In the latest of our series of interviews with professional journalists, THC caught up with Oliver Kay from The Times to get his opinion on Arsenal this coming season.
1. Stability when it comes to key players has been rare at Arsenal in recent years – however, this year seems to be different, do you think this will have any particular positive effect at the club?
The positive thing is that they’re in a far healthier situation than they were two years ago, when it took a late-August trolley dash to get a team that could compete for (and ultimately finish) fourth. This summer they’ve been looking to sign players to improve them, not just to plug gaps. It’s a far healthier situation, but it brings a different type of pressure and a different type of anxiety.
2. Walcott was widely expected to leave the club but signed a new contract in January before having his most productive season with the club – do you think he can only improve from here and where do you think his best position is?
To answer the first question first, no I wouldn’t agree that he can “only improve”. He’s 24 and he relies very heavily on pace. That type of player usually peaks earlier rather than later in his career. What is encouraging for Walcott is that he has become a stronger, more direct, more confident, more composed player over the past two or three seasons, so hopefully that continues, but there are no guarantees. And sorry Theo, but I think that, the way football has developed, you’re better out wide than through the middle. But maybe out wide in a more modern 4-3-3, which would suit him more.
3. Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny provided Arsenal with a brick wall-like defensive partnership at the end of last season. Can you see club captain Thomas Vermaelen breaking back into the team – possibly at left back?
I’m sure he’ll get a reasonable amount of games –probably as back-up central defender rather than left-back – but I’d expect Mertesacker and Koscielny to be the first-choice partnership. I’ve yet to see Vermaelen strike a convincing partnership with anyone. I wouldn’t go so far as “brick-wall-like”, though. I don’t think there’s any defence in the Premier League that comes close to that description.
4. Arsenal has one of the best academies in the world. With the pressure on clubs to achieve top four greater than ever before, do you see Wenger blooding the new talent from their youth ranks?
I’d say we’ve seen him do slightly less of that in the year or two. Perhaps, with himself and the team under more pressure to finish in the top four, he’s not had as much opportunity to indulge the younger players. I know there are reasonable hopes for Yennaris, Afobe etc, but I don’t think anyone is expecting a Fabregas/Wilshere-type breakthrough this season.
5. Jack Wilshere is one of the hottest youth prospects in world football. How do you see him developing over the course of next season and where does his potential place him in 5 years time?
I love watching Wilshere. My only concerns with him are about whether the injuries of the past couple of years have left any wear-and-tear issues and whether he’s going to be capable of playing a long, hard season for Arsenal, going to the World Cup and then picking up again next August. Where will he be in five years’ time? Hopefully he’ll be captain of Arsenal and England, enjoying his football and having a measure of success with both. I suspect he’ll be Arsenal’s captain sooner rather than later.
6. Now the Emirates Stadium is nearly fully paid off, are we seeing the benefit of a club that has taken a risk on spending big for the future off the pitch?
We’re seeing some benefits, such as stability and money to spend, but the planned benefit of that “risk” was that they would have been successful over these past few years. I would always argue that Wenger has done a good job to keep Arsenal as competitive as they have been over the past few seasons, on a Europe-wide level, but they have made the top four by the skin of their teeth at times. It was a risky kind of prudence. I think most fans would have preferred prudent risk, if you know what I mean.
7. With Luis Suarez and Gonzalo Higuain both linked this window, are Arsenal starting to realise the calibre of forward they need to improve the squad with?
I’d say so, yes. I think Suarez would do an excellent job for Arsenal. But if they miss out on him, what they can’t afford to think is that it’s big names or world-class players who can improve them. That’s not the case, just like it wasn’t the case three or four years ago that only a real “A-list” central defender would improve them. Yes ideally they would get one of those players, eg. Suarez, but if they can’t get a Higuain/Suarez/Jovetic/Rooney type, they can’t just think they can win the league with Podolski, Giroud, Walcott, Oxlade-Chamberlain as the front four. They need more – not just quality-wise but quantity-wise.
8. Do you think we could see a situation where Gazidis is willing to spend in the transfer window but finds Wenger less so?
I don’t think Wenger would be opposed to spending on the right player. What I think he’s reluctant to do is compromise. If, having not managed to get Higuain or Jovetic, they can’t get Suarez or Rooney, the next decision is whether to go further down their list. I suspect Wenger’s inclination at that point might be to go with what he’s got, convincing himself that it’s good enough. In one respect, that’s extremely cautious. In another, it’s extremely risky.
9. Last year, Arsenal had a stand-out performer in Santi Cazorla, who do you think will shine for Arsenal in the upcoming campaign?
Cazorla and Wilshere. Obvious, I know.
10. Realistically, where do you see Arsenal finishing next season? Can they mount a title challenge? Is it finally a year for a cup?
First of all, I expect Manchester City and Chelsea to improve. So if Arsenal are going to improve on fourth, they’re going to have to raise their game. That’s not going to be easy unless they make a good-quality signing or two. If they got two really big-hitters in, and if United and Chelsea struggled to fill holes in their squad, then yes Arsenal could challenge. But, as usual, there are a fair few ifs in there.
Thanks to Oliver for answering our questions. You can like his facebook page here or follow him on Twitter: @OliverKayTimes
