Why I got it so wrong over Mikel Arteta’s move to Arsenal

On deadline day of Summer 2011, I wasn’t sitting at home eagerly watching Sky Sports News till the transfer window slammed shut,  (which is something I dreamed of doing.) Instead, I was in the middle east, on my dad’s BlackBerry, constantly refreshing the BBC Sports website looking to see which clubs had made some dramatic last minute business. 

I inevitably stumbled across the news that Mikel Arteta was on the verge of joining Arsenal.

I chuckled to myself and instantly thought, ‘oh no, Arsene has lost the plot, he’s only gone out and spent £10million on a 29 year old.’

But by the end of the season, it seemed if anything, I had lost the plot for even thinking Arteta would be a bad buy for Arsenal. 

When I arrived home from my holiday, I got back on Twitter, one of the first things I tweeted was something along the lines of Arteta is a panic buy. No one really disagreed with me, no one tweeted me in disdain arguing that he was a good buy. 

If I wrote the exact same tweet now, Arsenal fans and fans from different clubs would openly disagree with me and they would have every right to. 

Mikel Arteta has been an absolute revelation for Arsenal. 

The first time I got the chance to watch Arteta was when Arsenal was defeated at Ewood park by Blackburn. Indeed, Arsenal may have lost that game, but my eyes were fixated on the new Arsenal number 8. 

He was brilliant. 

During this defeat, especially in the first half, Arteta kept the ball fantastically and moved the ball with great ease and simplicity. But what impressed me the most about his performance that day was his positioning, movement and decision making. The Spaniard continuously picked the perfect moments to support Arsenal’s attacks, and defensively, he wise and experienced enough to stay back and control the game in the quarter back position for Arsenal. 

But that wasn’t all, in a physical affair at Ewood Park, Arteta did enforce his presence onto the game. He won every single one of this tackles in that fixture and by the end of the season, he had won 82% of his tackles. A very impressive feat. 

As the season wore on, Mikel Arteta looked even more comfortable in the Arsenal set up. It was as if he’d been at the club since a young age. 

I’ll be honest with you, I tried to look at the flaws of Mikel Arteta and indeed, there were some. But they were outweighed immensely by his strengths, such as his majestic passing, his fantastic ball retention and his ability to create within confined spaces and time. 

It became perfectly clear to me,  Mikel Arteta was the engine of Arsenal. He was on the one linked all the departments on the pitch for Arsenal, he ultimately became the heart of Arsenal. Everything went through him. He was the one who made Arsenal tick. 

The stats tell you this too. 

Last season, Mikel Atreta passed over 2200 times with a pass accuracy of 91% for Arsenal. He also made 2023 accurate passes, no Arsenal player made more accurate passes than him. It’s a real testament to his passing abilities. It also demonstrates how the Spaniard is at the core of Arsenal’s passing game. In fact,  Mikel Arteta averaged the most passes in the whole of the Premier League last season. He made 76.9 passes per game, within the space of a few months Arteta became indispensable to Arsenal’s midfield. He brought stability, composure and fluidity to the side.

Arteta became like fuel to Arsenal. Without him Arsenal often stalled, stuttered and laboured through games without him. Last season, without Arteta, Arsenal won 6, lost 6 and drew 4. Furthermore, to make it even clearer on how Arsenal stuttered, the Gunners only one once in the Premier League when the former Everton man didn’t play. 

Arsenal depended on Mikel Arteta. They depended on his passing, positioning and ball retention. But perhaps most crucially, other Arsenal player’s success hinged on him.

One of the best things about Arteta is his ability to bring out the best In the players around him. That’s what fantastic players can do, they can use their abilities to make other players better.

No player benefited more by the signing of Mikel Arteta than Alex Song.

Prior to Arteta’s arrival, some viewed Song as a limited defensive midfielder, while others even argued his best position was as a centre back. But now almost everyone agrees he is a central midfielder.

Last season, Alex Song managed a sensational 11 assists in the Premier League. Mikel Arteta’s fantastic positioning and reading of the game allowed Song the licence to roam forward and be something of a creative force for Arsenal. In the season before the Spaniard’s arrival, Song assisted just 3 times, creating 32 chances. While with Arteta joining, the Cameroonian has managed to create 45 chances. 

Indeed, when Mikel Arteta joined, I thought he was coming in as a direct replacement for Cesc Fabregas. I was wrong, wrong, wrong. 

Arteta has not joined to be a replacement for Fabregas. Arsene Wenger has simply changed the style of his midfield make up. Now Arsenal are far more fluid, organised and perhaps one could agrue, they are even more unified. As everyone in the centre for Arsenal are playing in dual roles. 

Take this for example, Mikel Arteta created 60 chances, with 19 of those chances coming from set pieces last season. He created more chances than Walcott, Gervinho and Song. In fact, the only player who he hasn’t created more than Arteta is Robin Van Persie. 

I often ponder to myself, if Mikel Arteta was an English footballer, would everyone be raving about him? Or perhaps would Everton demanded double to what Arsenal offered for him in the summer of 2011.

Probably. 

But regardless of this, the true reality glistens like a star. 

Arteta may not be in the ilk of Nasri or Fabregas. Arteta may not be one of those typical Arsenal signings where they make a huge profit on him. But in his own way he is a glorious footballer. Arteta is the man has poured a new lease of life into this Arsenal side. Arteta is the man who has added balance, composure and desire to this Arsenal side.

Arteta is the man who has got Arsenal ticking for glory the club crave for.

Why more English players should play abroad‏

Kevin Leonard explains his thoughts on why more English players should ply their trade abroad.

It is not often today or at any point in history that an Englishman will venture abroad for anything else other than a barmy drunken holiday or to invade a foreign land, take it over and tell the terrified locals to speak English from now on. And let's be honest, there isn't much difference between those two activities especially in the case of Gaza's transfer to Lazio. However, so far in this transfer window two young English players have transferred to two former European Cup winning clubs in Germany. Michael Mancienne has swapped the blue shirt of Chelsea and London's eloquent West End for the black and blue shirt and ice bars of Hamburg. Where as 18 year old Dale Jennings has some how landed a transfer from Tranmere Rovers to the German giants Bayern Munich, odd times indeed. It seems the transfer window had taken on a nostalgic feel to them with rumours of Scottish strikers like Kenny Miller joining Italian clubs and Irish strikers allegedly heading to Arsenal. But two young English talents signing for the elite of the Bundesliga does not represent any bygone era at all.

We are ‘well and truly in the twilight zone’ to quote a bygone Belgian rock band.

Besides the mysterious nature of these German shopping habits, we as English men and women (half of me actually) will inevitably ask the question; is this good for English football?

The egotistical nature of the TV presentations of the Premier League often leave the claim "best league in the World" ringing in our ear. Naturally most English fans believe this, which is fine. However when it is uttered from the mouths of pundits who don't actually watch any other league in the World one most question their claim. The fact is other leagues are very very good as well. The Bundesliga is perhaps one of the fastest improving leagues in Europe at the moment.

This is an environment which will excel the development of Michael Mancienne and Dale Jennings. It will give them an alternative view of the game in comparison to the one they would have viewed and experienced in England.

A lot of these clever pundits were very quick to belittle the Bundesliga, when Schalke were beaten by Manchester United in last seasons Champions League. Where as others like me have a slightly longer memory and can all too vividly recall 11 Bundesliga players humiliating 11 Premier league players in South Africa 12 months ago.

I would dare to say that this could be the catalyst of a new era of English football. That wonderful memory I mentioned can also recall football from further back than South Africa 2010. In fact it can recall a time before 2008 where the Spanish national team were not very good. Plenty of players that now make up Spain's first choice 11 were present in the years where La Liga sides would consistently perform well in European club competitions with an abundance of Spanish players. Yet Spain would fail on the international stage. The Spanish national side’s first choice 11 pre Euro 2008 was 100% La Liga players. The players were mostly from the very best La Liga clubs such as; Real Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia etc.

What was slightly different at Euro 2008? Xabi Alonso, Pepe Reina, Cesc Fabregas and Fernando Torres were not playing in La Liga. They were playing in the Premier League.

Another fact that some would claim makes the Premier league the ‘best league in the World’ is because it some how hardened up the Spaniards. This is not what happened. Believe it or not they do have tackles in Spain too. If you want to really talk about the physicality of both nations, us English don't wave red flags in an attempt to piss off a raging bull that would quite happily impale you onto it's horn and shake you until you were unable to wave a flag ever again.

What the English league gave those players was a different style, a different point of view on the game if you will. On the international stage you will of course encounter more contrasting styles than in club football. This variety gave the Spanish a little something extra and even though Alonso is now back in Spain and Fabregas soon will be too, they have that little experience of another footballing culture which has helped the Spanish win a World Cup.

If Manchester United's Owen Hardgreaves, was fit he would be picked in the England squad every time. His time with Bayern Munich made him a unique player, not necessarily better than some English central midfielders, but he has a discipline in the holding role that other English players just don't have. This is no doubt a direct result from playing in the German mindset which places great emphasis on tactical awareness and positioning rather than work ethic and passion. Brains over brawn you could say. Having viewed Michael Mancienne’s display for the Under 21 side against Spain last month, I would say he greatly needs a brain and to immerse himself in a more tactical thinking environment or at least one where he can learn to pass a ball.

The foreign journalists in attendance at the Under 21 European tournament remarked that England had changed somewhat, they felt that our problem was we tried to play too much football. England are making a transition into the modern game by placing the emphasis on technique now rather than power, hence the inclusion of Jack Wilshere at senior level. The problem is changing a countries ethos is not like flipping a switch. It takes time. With defenders like Rio Ferdinand and midfielders like Jack Wilshere England has shown they can produce players of a more intelligent and technical calibre. We just need to do this on a wider scale.

Two youngsters in Germany is a good start to a new approach. They are not just any German clubs mind you. Only three German clubs have won the European Cup and two of them are Bayern Munich and Hamburg.

Personally I would send every 16 year old we have over to Brazil and tell them to do whatever it is those Brazilian kids do all day long. Or just hire Pelè to shag 11 English women so we can raise a team of English/Brazilians in time for the 2030 World Cup.

A World Cup we'll hopefully be hosting, hint hint FIFA!

You can follow Kevin on his Twitter - @megatronSTALIN, Kevin regularly writes for Away Goals too.

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Are some players given the captaincy for the wrong reasons?

To many people, the ideal captain is a charismatic leader on and off the pitch. A player who sets the standard. An individual who can bring the team together. And a player who is a role model on and off the pitch.

But it seems more often than not, that these imperative values which are a hallmark of a successful captain, are being overlooked by other factors.

A common occurrence is that players are given the captains armband in a vain attempt by the club to keep the player committed for a little longer.

One can think of many clubs who have adopted this strategy. Look at Carlos Tevez at Manchester City. Look at Abel Taarabt at Queens Park Rangers. And maybe more controversially, look at Cesc Fabregas at Arsenal.

A majority of football fans have questioned whether these players are suitable for the armband. The Manchester City striker Carlos Tevez, has been a hotly debated subject. Is he really a suitable individual for being a captain? Most think he isn’t. Carlos Tevez still hasn’t grasped the English language sufficiently. So this obviously hinders his influence on and off the pitch. As he cant get his message across to his fellow team mates. Perhaps a captain should clearly understand the language and can speak it sufficiently, so they can support and motivate their team mates.

Furthermore, with Tevez, it seems, from day one since he joined Manchester City. He has been unsettled and has been looking for a move elsewhere. Last season and the first half of this season, it seemed Tevez had his heart set on South America. Preferably Boca Juniors. However, now it seems the Argentine wants to move to Italy. This only emphasises the unsettled nature of Carlos Tevez. Surely, a captain should be an individual who stays loyal to the club, rather than angling for a move at every possible occasion. One must consider, captain Tevez even handed in a transfer request demanding to leave Manchester City earlier in the year. So much for the captains loyalty towards the cause.

Perhaps one would say, probably a Manchester City supporter that Tevez is a good captain. As he leads by example on the pitch. That is a fair point, too an extent. As Tevez has been the life beat of Manchester City in past two years. Everything centres around him. But Tevez has thrown strops on the pitch too. Earlier this season, Tevez threw a strop and showed his anger at being substituted. This is hardly the most suitable behaviour for your captain.

It seems Manchester City have made Carlos Tevez the captain as a method to keep the player contented and make him understand his importance to the team.

While Abel Taarabt, 21 of Q.P.R is another questionable captaincy appointment. The Moroccan international is a great player. But, he is a player who sadly, doesn’t like to pass and often has tantrums and disputes. Furthermore, the fact he is 21 and is the captain is alarming. Is it right a 21 year old is the captain of a Championship team? Perhaps it would be justified if the player had a better professional mentality. And didn’t clearly suggest that Q.P.R is a merely a stepping stone in his career.

A more controversial figure to question is Cesc Fabregas. Some argue, because of his experience and his professionalism on and off the pitch it makes him a good candidate for being the captain. However, there are serious question marks over Fabregas’ credentials as captain. Perhaps, Arsenal’s failings this season have made people ask more question of whether Fabregas is a good leader.

Football fans and especially Arsenal fans have a right to question him. The Arsenal players have lacked unity on the pitch. They team also does not seem to have any leadership on the pitch. The Gunners are missing a player who can settle the other players down and can support them. Just take the two Spurs results and the Newcastle results. For me, Fabregas may have the experience, talent and a nice personality. But he still isn’t captain material. He lacks the leadership mentality to galvanise his team mates.

However, the issue of giving the captaincy for the wrong reasons has been common for the past 10 years.

In 2003, Fernando Torres was made captain of Atletico Madrid. Torres at the time was only 19 years old. This was startling. It was startling simply because he was a teenager when he captained his side. Is that right? Surely a captain should be a player who has relative experience in the game. But of course, Torres is a world class striker, who At. Madrid were desperate to keep hold of. But is he captain material? When you think of Torres and the idea of him being captain it makes you chuckle. As today’s Torres is a bit of a stroppy striker who moaps around the pitch.

A common theme to all the players I have discussed, is that all these players have issues regarding their future. This emphasises the lengths some clubs will go to in order keep hold of their prized assets.

However, for all these examples discussed. One could easily argue that these players do lead by example on the pitch. As these players set the standard with their brilliant ability. However, the responsibly of being a captain extends to more than that.

It’s refreshing to know that in the Premier League and Europe that most players are given the captaincy for the right reasons. Take a look at Steven Gerrard, Carlos Puyol, Iker Cassias, Nemanja Vidic and perhaps even John Terry. All of these players are good examples of great captains and leaders.

But clubs are more desperate than ever to keep hold of their prized assets. A way in which the clubs feel they can cling onto these players is by giving the player the symbolic armband. And more clubs, be it small or large teams are now being tempted down this route, in a futile attempt maintain their star players.

It’s imperative that clubs try and avoid going down this route. Clubs must associate the captain’s armband with players who are the hallmark of a successful captain. Players who lead by example and represent the club superbly.

Certain clubs need to stop undermining the significant value of being the captain.

Things you may like to read

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Just how good is Gary Cahill? - http://tiny.cc/q3lku

Why Arsenal’s complacency and lack of professionalism has seriously hindered their chances this season

Arsenal, find themselves in second place, 5 points behind the leaders Manchester United. This story could have been so much different had Arsenal shown a stronger mentality and a little professionalism.

Most Arsenal players, fans and staff will viewthis season as a metaphorical head banging campaign. They have dropped points in places and circumstances which are almost unforgivable.

Arsenal’s home form has seriously hindered their title credentials. The Gunners away form has been very decent. In fact, they have the best away record in the Premier League. So technically they have cracked the hardest part. But their home form has been the critical issue.

Arsenal’s first home defeat of the season came against West Brom. A rather shocking result, to be honest. Some will argue this result is typical of the Premier League’s climate of inconsistency, as teams are beating each other more often than before. But you have to remember, this is West Brom. The Premier League’s yo-yo team. They managed to score two goals in two minutes. They rattled Arsenal. The Arsenal players have seriously got to look at themselves. Especially at home they should show a far more resilient character. After going a goal down, they should assert themselves and show their mental strength by instantly getting onto the front foot. Not let in another goal. It just highlights their weak mentality as a team.

The most embarassing home defeat for Arsenal this season is clearly the game against Spurs. This game demonstrates the weak attitude of the Arsenal players. Arsenal were a far better team than Spurs in the first half. And deservedly got themselves two goals ahead. But come the second half, Arsenal showed their lack of professionalism and complacent attitude. And they let their two goal lead slip and lost the game to their arch rivals. The Arsenal players are simply to blame here. Their complacent attitude has resulted in a comfortable two goal lead at home to be taken away from them. The most humiliating aspect for the Arsenal faithful is that this result was at home and to their local rivals. It’s an unforgivable mentality shown by the Arsenal players.

It must be so frustrating for the Arsenal fans to know that they have lost more games at home (3) than they have on the road (2). This really could have been their year had the Arsenal

Arsenal have again shot themselves in the foot. But this time in Europe. They initially started off cruising the opening group stage matches. Smashing Braga for 6 at the Emirates and then beating Partizan Belgrade away from home. But come the remaining three games of the group stages, Arsenal showed their brittle nature. They lost to Shakhtar Donetsk away from home. This result could have been far more different, had Arsenal had the character to hold onto their lead. But yet again, the story of the season for them, they simply didn’t have in it them to hold the lead. But losing to Shakter isnt a shocking result. After all, they are a very good side with some quality players. However, the defeat against Braga, in Portugal was fatal. As it put Shakhter in pole position. Meaning if Arsenal were to finish the group in second they would have to play one of the top European teams in the last 16. Low and behold, they now face the might of Barcelona, with the second leg at the Nou Camp. The brilliant recent form of Barcelona will seriously worry Arsenal. As Barcelona are hammering everyone in their way. It will test the character of the team. But the mediocre mentality of the Arsenal players, will worry the fans. As Barcelona could potentially embarrass Arsenal, like they did last year.

Back to the Premier League, Arsenal have shown some consistency recently. But their weak mentality has infiltrated through, yet again. Arsenal travelled up north to play Newcastle. The Gunners started off the game perfectly, scoring three goals in the opening 10 minutes. That’s most defiantly Premier League title contenders form, simple as. Especially away from home. They finished the half being four up. Yet Arsenal, still let the three points run away from them. Arsenal again highlighted the complacency in the team. Abou Diaby got himself sent off for horrendous behaviour. Yes it wasn’t the best challenge from Joey Barton, but the reaction from Diaby was a definite red card. There was no need to react so abruptly. It’s just a lack of professionalism.

Arsenal completely lost their bearings after that. Thus allowing Newcastle to come back from four down. It’s humiliating for the Arsenal fans to see their players showing a lack of professionalism to see the job through. The Newcastle come back again highlights the complacent attitude of squad. As it’s the second time they have let a comfortable lead get away from them. The Arsenal players lack resilience when the going gets tough.

Arsenal have been caught being first class mugs time and time again this season. Yet one thing stands out to me. They seriously lack leadership on the pitch. Had the captain Cesc Fabregas shown some leadership skills maybe Arsenal could have kept it together, rather than crumbling. Cesc Fabgregas shouldn’t be captain. He is the captain merely because Arsenal want to prolong his stay at the club. But Fabregas isnt the only player. The other senior members should take some responsibility in making sure everyone on the pitch sticks together. The players simply lack the grit to be really successful.

Arsenal haven’t won a trophy since 2005. Yes, they may well beat Birmingham in the League cup final later this month. But Arsenal could have been in pole position of this season’s title race. They have seriously let themselves down. They clearly have the ability and strategy to be successful. But collectively as a team they lack the drive and professionalism to see games out.

It’s a shame, this really could have been their break through year.