Wild American Gooner

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A Look at the Other Top EPL Clubs’ Summers

With the new look Red Sox on an off day, I tuned in to watch the Manchester United-Liverpool game in the International Champions Cup Final last night. It gave me a nice opportunity to catch up on those two teams’ progress this summer. So I thought I would take this opportunity to discuss the summers of Arsenal’s Premier League rivals, analyzing the impact of the arrivals and departures at the other major clubs.

But before I get to that, I want to say something about the International Champions Cup. The name would suggest something other than a meaningless preseason tournament, but that’s what the highly publicized competition is. In general, I think it’s better for clubs to play against other European teams rather than MLS teams in the middle of their season. And I understand wanting to bring the game to the U.S. if the matches will attract large crowds and much media attention. So the idea is a good one. But I think it’s silly that Fox, ESPN and NBC have spent so much energy billing this tournament as a big deal. It’s not. Preseason is about finding form and building fitness, and nothing more. There should be no fireworks before the match, no great buildup and last night’s match certainly should not be referred to as a “Final.”

On that note, Fox’s soccer coverage continues to be horrendous. With the network taking over from ESPN in the next World Cup cycle, it’s worrying that the studio hosts continue to mispronounce names like Steven Gerrard. There is no such thing as Americanizing names. If refusing to learn simple pronunciations is their way of trying to get Americans interested, I want no part of it. If Fox doesn’t get their act together before 2018, a lot of people like me might be switching to brushing up on Spanish before the next World Cup.

I’ll start my analysis with the champions, Manchester City. It’s been a relatively quiet summer for Manuel Pellegrini’s side, as they have focused on adding a bit of depth to the squad rather than adding star power. Whether it was the impact of Financial Fair Play or not, City have been a lot more careful with their spending, taking advantage of free transfers (Bacary Sagna came free) and loans (Frank Lampard joins before his time with New York City FC). However, despite the lack of excessive spending, City will be pleased with their summer because of who stayed. Keeping Yaya Toure in town was vital. Fernando looks to be a decent signing in the midfield, but for the most part, expect a similar City side to last year. And they will be equally devastating even without any high profile additions.

Next comes Liverpool, whose summer has seen a lot of quality signings but far more significantly, the departure of Luis Suarez. John Henry’s club has improved their depth tremendously with new summer arrivals, but while all of their signings have talent, none will come close to matching the production of Suarez. Adam Lallana is the best signing of the bunch, but he can’t win matches on his own like the Uruguayan could. I think the money spent on Rickie Lambert was a waste, as I feel he’ll struggle to make an impact at Anfield alongside Daniel Sturridge. And while I like Dejan Lovren at center back, he is not a huge improvement on what was there previously. It’s notable that none of the signings came from major clubs. And as a result, I think the signings were ones who will make Liverpool compete for the top-four rather than for the title itself. They’ll need Raheem Sterling and Jordan Henderson to take massive strides forward should they make another run at the title.

Chelsea on the other hand have made a number of signings that can sway the title race. Cesc Fabregas, Felipe Luis and Diego Costa are all world class players who instantly make Jose Mourinho’s squad better. Costa and Luis in particular will help Chelsea become a more complete side, relying less on the midfield than they did last season. The one area I think they’ll need to strengthen in the last month of the window is at center back, where they are a little thin having let David Luiz go. The money from his sale though helped finance everything else, so I think it was a smart bit of business. In general, Chelsea have addressed their needs appropriately this summer, bringing in superstars to complement an already strong team. They are my title favorite at this point.

Lastly, Manchester United have had an interesting summer on the transfer market. While I’m sure they’ll have a series of departures that could finance more arrivals in the coming weeks once Louis van Gaal wields his axe, they have spent a lot of money on relatively little in my opinion. Ander Herrera is not a world class midfielder right now, and he isn’t much of an improvement from United’s other options in the middle. And while Luke Shaw will be great in a few years, I feel he’s overrated at the moment. United has the talent to compete, but it will be up to van Gaal to bring out the best in players that David Moyes overlooked. Their signings this summer will be the players misused a year ago. I think they’ll be much improved, but unless they add another star this month, I don’t see them challenging for the title.

If I had to rank the summers of all of these clubs plus Arsenal, I’d say the order from best to worst is Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United and then Liverpool. A lot can still happen in the next month, but with preseason coming to a close, the big clubs like these will be looking to switch their focus away from the market towards the play on the field. I’ll have more coverage on the EPL as a whole in the buildup to the new season, so check back for that. Thanks for reading.

Who do you think has had the best summer in the EPL? Please comment below.


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Emirates Cup Wrap-Up, Clay Buchholz and Paul George

As I previously mentioned, I wasn’t able to watch the Arsenal-Monaco game yesterday morning. I monitored the game via Twitter and tried to find extended highlights, so I have a pretty good sense of what happened, but there isn’t all that much from the match itself that I can fairly analyze. Overall, it’s disappointing to miss out on winning the Emirates Cup on home turf yet again, but at the end of the day, the results aren’t what matter.

What I gleaned from the stuff I’ve watched and read was that a few of the Arsenal players looked to be a bit behind on their fitness. Olivier Giroud in particular looked a long way off from being ready for the new season. It’s entirely understandable given the World Cup and his late arrival at preseason, but it’s now looking like it may take at least until the end of the month for Arsenal’s main striker to be ready for extended game action.

However, any fears about Giroud’s absence were surely lessened on Saturday when Yaya Sanogo scored four goals against Benfica. It also looks like Arsene Wenger is quite comfortable playing Alexis Sanchez through the middle, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see Sanchez start up front against Manchester City next weekend in the FA Community Shield. And even Chuba Akpom could be a decent option up top if need be, as he once again showed himself quite well against Monaco yesterday in a substitute appearance.

With the German contingent still yet to return to training, Wenger’s options in certain areas will be limited when he selects his team next weekend. A trophy is on the line though, so he can’t run out an entirely inexperienced and experimental side. At this point, I think I would like to see a lineup of Wojciech Szczesny, Kieran Gibbs, Laurent Koscielny, Calum Chambers, Mathieu Debuchy, Mathieu Debuchy, Aaron Ramsey, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Santi Cazorla, Alexis Sanchez and Yaya Sanogo take the field at Wembley on Sunday. Joel Campbell might also be in line for a start.

Other than fitness issues and an obvious penalty that wasn’t given late on, my only issue with the game was Aaron Ramsey’s inclusion in the starting lineup for the second day in a row. Ramsey is unquestionably Arsenal’s most important player at this point. And he picked up an unfortunate injury last winter due to overuse. So why Wenger thinks it’s a good idea to play Ramsey two days in a row in preseason is beyond me. Maybe it would have made sense to play him another half today to get him some more game action in the abbreviated summer, but he was on the pitch long after halftime. This wasn’t Wenger’s smartest move in my opinion.

Switching to baseball, watching the Red Sox on Sunday Night Baseball last night felt odd given the events of the last week in Boston baseball. This is certainly not a team built for primetime at the moment. The fact that Clay Buchholz is the de facto ace of the staff for the rest of the year is a scary thought for all those interested in fast-paced, low-scoring baseball. A Buchholz with no confidence against the Yankees in a nationally televised game is a recipe for a four and a half hour marathon. Who doesn’t love those games especially when the teams are bad?

But the bigger issue is Buchholz on the mound these days. Something needs to happen to get him in a mental place where he can pitch with confidence again, and I’m not sure getting hammered every fifth day is going to do the job. It’s strange to think about how he was thought about a year ago at this point, when he was the pitcher who was going to take the Red Sox to the World Series upon his return from injury. But now that he’s finally healthy, he’s been terrible all year. Maybe a trip back to the DL for shoulder tightness will allow him to take a break in order to get right mentally. It’s not like the Red Sox would lose anything with him not on the mound.

And on another note, while I think it’s a shame Paul George got hurt playing for his country in summer basketball, that injury should not mean the NBA needs to ban its players from participating in international tournaments. Injuries like the one he suffered can happen anywhere, anytime. Even if players aren’t competing officially, they’ll be out doing workouts on their own, playing pick-up basketball as well. And leg injuries are just as likely to happen then. So there is no need for overreaction. Fortunately for all of us who love international basketball, Adam Silver is a very reasonable man, and I think he’ll see this issue clearly.


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Day 2 of The Emirates Cup and Some Red Sox Thoughts

After a spectacular day at The Emirates Cup yesterday (see my recap here if you missed it), Arsenal are back at it today against Monaco. The unconventional scoring system of the two-day competition sees Arsenal in the lead by a large margin after the 5-1 rout of Benfica yesterday, so there might be a trophy (albeit not a real one) raised by the Gunners later today. With a real trophy up for grabs next weekend, another strong performance today could set the club up for a wonderful start to the 2014/2015 campaign.

This is essentially the last preseason game of the summer, and while we are all ready for the season to begin, I’m sure Arsene Wenger would have liked another game or at least a little more time with the late World Cup arrivals. The German contingent won’t see a single minute of preseason action, and Olivier Giroud and Laurent Koscielny will only have today’s game. Many of the players look ready, but some are still a ways off fitness-wise.

Today’s match will be all about Alexis Sanchez, who will start and play the first half alongside Giroud up top. Given only a short time to form any sort of connection on the field, it will be pivotal that they learn how to play with one another quickly. The match will also be big for Jack Wilshere in the midfield, who will look to build on last week’s positive showing against the Red Bulls in his deeper role on the pitch.

It will also be the unofficial debut of Mathieu Debuchy at right back, who will have a hard time surpassing the performance of young Hector Bellerin yesterday. The defense in general has not looked particularly sound this preseason, but it’s hard to criticize when players are out of position and haven’t played with one another. Getting Koscielny and Debuchy on the same page today will be a start, but it will be down to work on the training ground once Per Mertesacker returns to get this defense ready to go.

The lineup I expect to see today at the start of the match is as follows: Wojciech Szczesny, Nacho Monreal, Laurent Koscielny, Ignasi Miquel, Mathieu Debuchy, Mikel Arteta, Jack Wilshere, Francis Coquelin, Santi Cazorla, Alexis Sanchez and Olivier Giroud. There will be some cameos from players who started yesterday, and one of Monreal or Kieran Gibbs will start again at left back. I think it would only be fair to let Monreal play a game at his natural position, so I’d give him the nod. Expect Chuba Akpom to take over for Sanchez at the half.

Unfortunately, I won’t be able to watch today’s match. With a spotty internet connection and only Spanish commentary to listen to, I think this is one I can miss. Had yesterday’s match not been so satisfying, I might have felt worse about missing it, but instead, I’ll be out on the links with my brother and a couple of his friends. I’ll have something to say after watching match highlights, but I won’t be able to do player ratings for this one. Best of luck to the team today.

Now to the Red Sox. For the first time in forever, I’ve been excited to turn on the games this series. While the team will be out of contention for the last two months, a mixture of new players and youth will make the Red Sox watchable the rest of the way. The lineup now contains players capable of getting hits, and while we might lose games 8-5, we’ll still score more runs than the team did when A.J. Pierzynski was batting sixth. At least this style of bad baseball will be more enjoyable. And an outfield with both Yoenis Cespedes and Jackie Bradley Jr. will be fun to watch every time out.

Allen Webster was on the mound yesterday and once again he failed to impress. In my eyes, he’s a poor man’s Daisuke Matsuzaka right now – a player who doesn’t want to challenge hitters in the strike zone. Webster has the stuff of a major league pitcher, but he looks like he’s afraid to throw strikes this year. The memories of throwing too many strikes and getting destroyed on the mound last year must be clear as day in his mind, because it’s evident that he’s shying away from contact. When a pitcher hasn’t established himself, pitches off the strike zone are always going to be called balls. The walks will quickly pile up like they did yesterday. Even if you don’t get hit hard, walking the bases loaded will lead to disaster more often than not.

I think Webster needs to try attacking hitters again at the major league level. He’s a better pitcher now than he was a year ago, and he can’t shy away from hitters any longer. If he wants to keep his spot in the starting rotation for the rest of the season, he’ll need to prove his stuff can translate to this level. Otherwise, Anthony Renaudo showed himself to be more than capable on Friday.

 

 

 

 


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A Magnificent Display From Arsenal – Player Ratings From the Emirates Cup

The pitch was perfect, the new Puma kits looked surprisingly good and Arsenal was back at home for the seventh installment of The Emirates Cup. While many in attendance would have been disappointed when they saw Alexis Sanchez wasn’t starting, they were treated to a dazzling offensive display from a host of others. It ended 5-1 to the Arsenal, but it could have been even more.

If the first half of today’s game against Benfica was any indication, this is going to be a really fun year. The starting lineup wasn’t your typical Arsenal side, but it was full of hadr-working, pacey players full of drive to get forward. Unlike many Arsenal teams from years past, they were ruthless in the final third as well. The flicks and turns were gorgeous all day, and they came from just about everyone on the pitch. It felt like someone was finding acres of space every minute.

Arsene Wenger will sleep very well tonight knowing how much offensive talent he has at his disposal this year. Yaya Sanogo and Joel Campbell showed themselves to be more than capable of contributing this year, and of course Aaron Ramsey was back at his best. Even young right back Hector Bellerin put on a show going forward.

The inexperienced defense still looks far from in mid-season form, and it’s worrying that there still aren’t enough center backs to form a true back four with only a week before meaningful games. But the makeshift defense held firm when it mattered for the most part, and they did magnificently when they joined in attack.

My internet connection was rather poor, so I thought I was going to miss the game, but at the last second, I got things working. And I was sure glad I did, as this display has made me giddy with optimism going into the season. Even though the commentary on the feed I was watching was in Spanish, the play on the field did all the talking I needed to hear.

Player Ratings (1-10)

Yaya Sanogo – 10/10 – Four goals in front of the home crowd before the 50th minute was exactly what Sanogo needed going into the season. All game, he showed off what a talent he can be, picking up the ball in deep areas, holding up play excellently, making pacey runs in behind and then cleverly finishing anything that fell his way. None of the goals were from any great distance, but few will care. What an amazing performance. Let’s hope we see a lot more of that wonderful celebratory dance.

Joel Campbell – 8.5/10 – Much like Sanogo, Campbell did exactly what he needed to do today, scoring a well taken volley and contributing all over the field. He did well in possession in his own half, and combined excellently with Bellerin and Ramsey throughout the match in the final third, looking to take on defenders with skill and pace. While he squibbed his two easiest shots, his composed volley into the back of the net showed everyone his quality. This performance should earn him a place in the squad going forward.

Tomas Rosicky – 7/10 – Playing a little deeper than he normally does, Rosicky picked out a number of wonderful passes. He wasn’t directly involved in many of the goals, but he did quite well on the day in an hour of action.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – 7/10 – In only a half of action, the Ox created a number of chances with a variety of passes in the final third. Whether releasing Sanogo on a long through ball, or delicately flicking the ball to Ramsey on the edge of the box, he showed how effective he is in possession.

Aaron Ramsey – 8.5/10 – Ramsey looks ready for the new season, picking up right where he left off. With clever turns and imaginative chips, Ramsey set up a couple of the goals, and easily could have assisted one or two more. He popped up everywhere on the pitch, and was always in the right position. It’s scary to think he could get even better this year.

Mathieu Flamini – 6.5/10 – Flamini covered the inexperienced defense behind him with aplomb in his hour on the field. He was comfortable on the ball and made a couple of key tackles. He is showing no signs of aging.

Kieran Gibbs – 6.5/10 – As always, Gibbs was a menace when he got forward, and he helped set up one of Sanogo’s goals. But defensively, Gibbs wasn’t at his best today, as he could have done better on the Benfica’s goal. He also lost possession cheaply in his own half once which could have proven costly.

Nacho Monreal – 5.5/10 – The left back filled in again at center back and looked very uncomfortable. Composure is a vital part of being a center back and Monreal had little of that in the early going. He left large spaces at the top of the box and was trying to do too much when he got on the ball. He improved as the match went on, but he is a long way from being Premeir League ready at the new position.

Calum Chambers – 6.5/10 – In his unofficial Arsenal debut, Chambers didn’t have too much to do defensively. His positioning was solid, and certainly compared to Monreal, he looked a natural at center back. He also played a couple of nice balls from the back, and seemed eager to bring the ball forward when he got the chance.

Hector Bellerin – 8/10 – Bellerin was magnificent going forward today, combining with the midfielders time after time to get into space down the right. He also had one sensational run through multiple defenders that showcased his skill on the ball. Defensively, he has a little ways to go, as he was caught napping on the goal, but he played a starring role in Arsenal’s offensive clinic today. The young Spaniard may have earned himself a place in the squad with this performance.

Damian Martinez – 7.5/10 – Martinez wasn’t able to keep a clean sheet, but overall, he had a good game between the post. He was called upon to make a couple of saves throughout the match, and he was up to the task. His shot-stopping has gotten a lot better in the last year or so.

Substitutes

Santi Cazorla – 7/10 – Cazorla showed off some skill in the final minutes, and in general looked quite good off the bench. He was all over the field and showed off his two-footedness with a wonderful left-footed corner that nearly resulted in a goal.

Jack Wilshere – 6/10 – Wilshere didn’t make much of an impact in his half an hour on the field, but I’m sure he will be ready to go tomorrow. It was notable though that he was used in a deeper role than Coquelin.

Mikel Arteta – 6/10 – Arteta was quiet in his half-hour cameo, but he looks ready for the season. Expect him in the lineup tomorrow.

Francis Coquelin – 7/10 – Playing a role higher up the field than he normally does, Coquelin put in his best display of the preseason. He was quick to the ball, and picked out a couple of nice passes. He was quite unlucky to hit the post in the final minutes.

Ignasi Miquel – 6.5/10 – Miquel did next to nothing defensively, but he hit the bar with a header off of a Cazorla corner late on. He and Koscielny will partner in defense tomorrow.

Chuba Akpom – 6.5/10 – The young striker was deployed on the right in a brief substitute appearance, but he still was able to showcase his pace by getting onto a couple of through balls.

Alexis Sanchez – 6.5/10 – Taking the field to thunderous applause late on, Sanchez’s appearance was more notable for where he played than how. That Wenger chose to play him in the central striker role instead of out wide could say a lot about the manager’s plans for the new signing. Sanchez was pretty quiet in his brief cameo, but it was wonderful to see him in action.

 

 


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It’s Almost Here

It’s been a mentally exhausting last few days in the Boston sports world, and my energy for watching sports was a bit fried yesterday. I’ll be turning my attention to soccer this weekend with the Emirates Cup though as we near the start of the next Arsenal campaign.

The arrival of the Emirates Cup means that the start of the soccer season is nearly upon us. The two day, four match tournament is in its seventh year, and is one of the better preseason tournaments in my opinion. While having games in back to back days is not a realistic test of the players, it provides stiff competition for teams over 180 minutes. It’s a great way to judge where the team is at in their preparation, and it will give the full squad a chance to get in significant time on the pitch.

This year’s Emirates Cup brings Valencia, Benfica and Monaco to North London. Arsenal open play against Benfica today, and it will be the home crowd’s first chance to see this year’s team. This weekend will likely see most of Arsenal’s summer signings make their unofficial debuts, and I’m sure everyone will be eager to see Alexis Sanchez, Mathieu Debuchy and Calum Chambers in action. Personally, I’m quite excited to see how Chambers does, especially if he lines up next to Laurent Koscielny in central defense.

With the FA Community Shield a little more than a week away, it is preseason crunch time. Kris Olsson and Jon Toral have returned to the U-23 side, and the Arsenal teams on the field this weekend will be ones directly preparing for the coming season. There will be no false-nine experimentation this weekend. Expect Arsene Wenger to be in mid season form on the bench.

It’s hard to know who will play today and who will play tomorrow, but I would guess Wenger will mix it up a bit, incorporating likely starters into both matches. But the lineup I would like to see today against Benefica is one near to what I’d like to see against Manchester City next weekend. I want to see Wojciech Szczesny, Nacho Monreal, Laurent Koscielny, Calum Chambers, Mathieu Debuchy, Mathieu Flamini, Aaron Ramsey, Joel Campbell, Tomas Rosicky, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Yaya Sanogo today, leaving Alexis Sanchez’s debut until tomorrow.

I am really looking forward to watching Campbell play this weekend, as it will be his first time ever in an Arsenal shirt in a match of any sort. A good performance could see him as a surprise inclusion in the starting lineup next week, but a bad one might lead Arsene Wenger to look elsewhere for cover in the forward area. I know it’s unfair to judge a player on one preseason game, but Campbell is in a peculiar position. Wenger needs a secondary option up front, and at this point, I don’t think Campbell will be trusted to lead the line unless he proves he can do it.

Aside from him, the other Arsenal player that desperately needs a good Emirates Cup is Sanogo. The young Frenchman simply has to score to boost his confidence going into the season. He more than anyone else needs to see the ball hit the net. Sanogo has a lot of skill up top, but a striker needs to score at some point if he’s going to be effective, and he has yet to score for Arsenal. It’s obviously still preseason, so a goal now wouldn’t count toward his overall tally, but the confidence boost it would give him could send him on his way to a better second season in London.

I think beyond individual performances, it will be important for Arsenal to find fluidity in their play this weekend. The first two preseason  games were against far worse competition, and the Gunners rarely faced any problems in the midfield. But now, in order to break down a talented Benfica side, they’ll need to start putting things together in the final third, turning long strings of passes into chances. It is also important that new defenders Chambers and Debuchy integrate into the side smoothly. Keeping a clean sheet would be a great sign of things to come. This weekend’s games are the last meaningless ones. So the time is now for Arsenal to put things together.

It will be wonderful seeing Arsenal back on the beautiful Emirates lawn. And with every passing second, we get closer to the start of the new season. It’s almost here. I expect a fun weekend of action at the Emirates Cup. Check back later for my player ratings and analysis after the match.