Interviewer - Neutral
Pundit - Arsenal fan
Q : We'll start of easily, which club pulled of the "coup" of the season?
A: Hands down Man City with Robinho as the main reason, but Spurs would be a close second if that had not happened. Robinho with Wright-Phillips, Kompany and Jo would be enough to convince me that they have come up tops in terms of signing players.
Q: How about overall in terms of buying and selling?A: This one would go to Spurs. Modric, Dos Santos, Bentley, Pavlyuchenko, F.Campbell and Corluka form a pretty impressive line-up of signings. I must say they too did a fantastic job in terms of selling players, 31 mil for Berbatov and 20 mil for Keane, that's good business. Plus, they got rid of Kaboul , Robinson and Lee which I felt were poor and the reason Spurs conceded so many goals last season and had only few clean sheets to show for. My hat is off to Ramos, I could really see that he is in control. He sells two tops strikers and brought in three where one of them is experienced and the other two has so much potential (Santos and Campbell) and is left with Darren Bent at his disposal as well. The Spurs team is really taking shape, they got Bentley and Modric playing the creative role , they got Bale and Lennon pushing down the flanks, Zokora holding and an added strength in defence with Corluka. I don't think Man City is the only team to look for this season.
Q : How about Liverpool, one of the big 4s that hasn't won the title for a very long time. How'd you think they fared?
A : This season again I am asking many questions of Liverpool. Where is the quality coming from. I still do not see it. They got Keane who could do the job for more goals which is the only improvement I really see. Ngog, Degen, Flora and Riera...I actually have not heard of any of them before so I am neutral . Back to the question, who are the big players? I really just see Torres and Gerrard again frankly. Based on the team's performances in the first 3 matches, the outlook doesn't look that bright to be honest. I might be wrong but based on last season's play, it doesn't really look much improved.
Q : Man Utd with the one and only signing, your take?
A : Actually it's two if you take into account Tevez' permanent deal. Two signings for a cost of 63 mil pounds is no small amount (B:31m + T:32m). Judging teams based on their signings is just 1 angle you can look at this. A really good analyst would look at things like this:Man Utd has kept their double-winning team together and added more quality upfront. Now they have I would say the BIG 4 (Berbatov, Ronaldo, Tevez and Rooney). Could you find a better combination of attackers? Certainly not in my book. Selling Silvestre, Pique and Saha. I don't think it would affect much, they weren't the main contributors to their success last season. I don't think there should be any criticism for keeping a winning team.
Q : Now to your team , Arsenal. Let's hear an overview.
A: I am actually reasonably satisfied with what we got except for a defensive midfielder which I have been hoping since Flamini, Diarra and Gilberto all departed. I've analyzed this team long enough this entire summer and I have an idea why Arsene hasn't made major changes. The defence is reasonably well-equipped. Sagna, Clichy, Gallas, Toure, Song, Djourou and Silvestre would be good enough for defensive covers. Now this is the part many people fail to see in this team. I call it hidden quality. The signings were Ramsey, Nasri, Bischoff and Vela.
Why haven't we bought a striker? Did you know we have Adebayor, Van Persie, Eduardo, Walcott, Bendtner and Vela as strikers?
Are 6 of them enough?
'Top scorer' Adebayor - Power, creativity, towering presence
'Flying Dutchman' Van Persie - Shooting, crossing
'Fox in the Box' Eduardo - Finishing and intelligent play. His conversion rate last season was amazing.
'Pacy' Walcott - Pace and drifting on the lines
'Confident' Bendtner - Heading from set-pieces, physical presence
'Creative' Vela - Cameo role
I don't see a need for a striker if you asked me.
Midfield - Fabregas , Rosicky , Nasri , Eboue, Diaby, Ramsey, Denilson, Bischoff
This list shows the weakness of the team. The defensive midfielder is lacking here unless Diaby steps up and fills that difficult position. He might do it if gets injured less often and does less of two-footed lunges. Bischoff and Song can do the DM job but not at the highest level I feel. On the brighter side, Fabregas , Rosicky and Nasri are the really dangerous prospects. I like to call them independent players. This means if they had make a run through a few players and make a shot on their own, they could do it. They technically have the abilities to do it individually. When the score is at a stalemate, the game is relatively open and one moment of magic is required, these 3 could deliver.
I know many gooners are really disappointed with the lack of big names, but keep faith, this squad is capable.
Q: Does Wenger's policy annoy you?
A : Sometimes.I'm sure he knows what he is doing but at times he could have done a bit better. I'm quite sure Flamini would have stayed if he was paid a bit more and this would have solved so many problems. Another thing would be reading "Wenger's 40mil warchest", "Wenger brings his cheque book to Euro 2008" and stuff like "Wenger vows to spend". I know they weren't promises but he hasn't given fans the confidence. This season spending amounts to 17.75 mil and return from sales amounts to 15 mil + 6 mil from the compensation from David Bentley. This means out net spending is NEGATIVE 3.25 mil ! Is the transfer market for making money? Which club has that sort of cash flow from the transfer market, you've just seen the only one. This means we have plenty to spend and yet I am not seeing my long awaited defensive midfielder either in the form of Veloso or Alonso. I really wonder sometimes what is on the professor's mind.
Q : Players to watch out for in the BPL?
A : Everton broke their record for Marouane Fellaini for 15 mil which I really got no clue about. I have mentioned Robinho and Deco in my previous Q and A. We'll have to see how Berbatov does at Man Utd. As for the rest who moved within the premier league, it's a pretty long list to mention. sorry.
Q : Last one for you , title hopefuls?
A : Despite everything I said, the big 4 stays realistically in the top 4. The most under threat would be Liverpool.
Q: Positions ?
A : (Takes a deep breath)It's a very hard one. Competitiveness is down to the wire. Last season it was all the way till the last day. I'm kicking myself for saying this.
1. Chelsea
2. Arsenal
3. Manchester United
4. Liverpool
~deyao~
