By Andrew Hutchinson
I’m sure most of you have heard the press rumours about Liverpool making a bid of £5 Million for Gael Clichy.
When I first heard the news my first reaction was….. I was perplexed… it just didn’t seem right to me. My Brother is an Ardent Arsenal Fan.,… so I’m constantly extolled with the ‘virtues’ of Arsenal.. but one thing that stuck me was his lack of anything positive to say about Clichy,…. so when the news came out about him and us.. I was confused to say the least.
Is he good enough to play for Liverpool?
The questions been swirling in my head for a good 24 hours now.. and so I had an idea… why not see what other Arsenal Supporters are saying about him…. are they disappointed to see him go…. ready to picket the front gates or the emirates.. or are they queuing up in their cars outside his door waiting to drive him to Anfield.
The initial results I’ve found make grim reading if I’m honest……………
After doing a search on newsnow for Gael. I came across an article on a blog called “Arsenal Truth”. Titled Clichy’s progress will be fascinating – at another club.
First paragraph of interest:
It will, however, be fascinating to see how Clichy develops at another club. His athleticism is unrivalled and technically he’s sound, but positionally the French left-back is dismal. Mentally feeble, he is prone to consistent and costly panic attacks. Under Wenger, Clichy has been a mechanical loose cannon from day one; but under a coach that can instil regimented discipline and mental strength into his game, he might yet develop into a much better full back.
Ouch…. It doesn’t get any better:
I could be wrong of course, Clichy might simply be an overpaid dimwit. Out of all the horrendous defenders Wenger has bought, Clichy has surely cost Arsenal more points than any other. I know it’s a team game, but his individual mistakes have been perpetual and consequentially disastrous.
And the subject of Clichy comes to an end with the following missive:
I have longed for the day that Clichy got sold, and it’s down to Wenger’s poor decision making (or blind-sided arrogance) and ineptitude as a coach that the player has been held onto for so long when most top clubs in Europe would doubtless have dumped him at least three years ago had he produced equally poor levels of performance for them.
Now…… don’t get me wrong there is a chance that the author of the article is a bitter gooner,…. or the comments that were added to the article that mirror his views were also from disappointed gunners…,and if anyone can set him straight defensively,…. then surely Steve Clarke can…. BUT… whatever happens… it is a gamble? Gambles can become successes no doubt, but the questions I have are:
· Is he the best we can get for that position?
· Does he have what it takes to smooth out the potential issues he seems to have?
· Does he meet the standards of a Liverpool player?
I’d Appreciate your views
YNWA
5m only thats a bargin!! but i prefer jose enrique.
That’s the kind of thinking that will get us into 7th, again. Clichy is not good enough, aly cissokho will do nicely though
i have to admit i always thought he was a weak link in the arsenal back line, however he is very quick and physically strong also got plenty of premier league experience. We have to realise that we will not be in the market for the very best full backs as we cant offer champions league and I firmly believe that he will be a fine addition should he arrive yes he has flaws but is far and away better than anything we have had in years. Ally Cissokho is a quality player but is he available would he want to come to liverpool and would he need time to settle into the league?
kenny is dumb . he is woth more thn 12mil and arsenal wont sell for such a daft amount. not only that hes too good for liverpool.
A couple of years back he was the best LB in the league. Steve Clark will sort out any weaknesses. I think his no. of assists would soar with us as he’s a good crosser. This meant nothing at arsenal as they want to pass it into the net.
Seriously – as an arsenal fan, he is one of the worst crossers I have ever seen.
Seconded, he is a terrible, terrible crosser of the ball. Also – author, I’m sure you don’t spend all day reading through Arsenal bogs but Arsenal ‘Truth’ (no comments section? even he knows he’s a c**t) would be slating our whole team if we won the league by 10 points, it’s a poor poor blog. Clichy reached a certain level by 20-21 and just hasn’t advanced, which is a shame, who knows what a move could do for him.
@Gregspar – your right First and probably last time unread that blog…. I have enough time taken up reading on Liverpool…. Take your comments on board – thanks – just wary about the growing view that he can be a bit of a panicker….. You’d expect those traits to be coached out of a player by now..
Thanks for the cooments.
He is a terrible crossed. Dismal at best
A good crosser? He’s an abysmal crosser. He has some attributes; I doubt there is another defender in the league who makes as many interceptions. If you want to play a high pressing game he’s brilliant for this. However, if put under pressure, he looses his head. And his final ball is appaling!
Dear me, does Gael’s head falls off when he “looses” it?
Oh good lord, please take him! Actually he’s really good! Steve Clark has something to work with there – still only 25! He’s actually worth 10 million not 5!
If someone has a problem with Windows, the relevant forums will undoubtedly be flooded with hate messages about Windows and Microsoft. The people who tend to chime in on these things are those who have nothing good to say. Ranting is contagious, especially when a player is due to leave. Better to dwell on the negatives than risk missing the positives.
And this article takes it further, dwelling on the worst of the negatives, which may or may not be isolated among general consensus. All that said, I have my doubts about Clichy’s composure, but I don’t buy into the view portrayed here. Arsenal fans do not universally despise him, as implied.
Perplexing opinion!
Maybe the fact that he has been playing with a largely poor collection of defenders has hindered his progress. Arsenal have not been a solid defensive unit for many years and he might flourish under the tutelage of dalglish, clarke and carragher.
Still seems like a much better punt than konchesky…
As an gooner, I will be sad to see him go.. As with the right defensive coach on board Gael has the potential to be a world class full.. He reads thr game well.. Intercepts high up the pitch and has great pace and stamina.. Yes he panics, but show me a arsenal defender that doesn’t, and yes his positional sense is awful at times. These are things that can be learnt.. I don’t agree with arsenal truth when he says he’s mentally weak or a dimwit it’s very short cited.. He’s playing in a weak defensive unit and doing ok. Gael looked good when playing in a well drilled back four and team as a whole.. With the likes of Campbell, Toure, Adams, Keown.. Etc.. Your boys looked tight towards the end of last season so for Clichy to move to another great club with defensive stability will be great for him. I think he’l be a great signing for you guys you’ll get the best of him.
I agree dude :-)
ReikiRebel
(LFC)
He’s only the Arsenal left back cos Gibbs has been injured. Not consistently good enough. Seem to remember him being caught miles out of position of in a United game which cost them dearly not too long ago? Do we not have a fair choice of full backs, and surely a professional player can play right or left? Just a notion since I saw Henderson being signed. Does anyone think Stevie G could be a good right full? Has played a bit there before. If his positional sense and tackling improved could be an option cos he’s definitely be aggressive enough and class going forward. Just a mad thought completely off the subject!
Tell you wat I think , if Kenny wants him then that means that he is good to be a liverpool player , I still would prefer Cissokho or Taiwo , but KK wants him , I wont say no ,
And when Kenny says “JUMP”, you probably enquire “How high?” So obedient. Good dog.
Up to 2 years ago Clichy was the best left back around. He stopped EVERYTHING. Me and the boy used to be amazed at his tenacity. Then something happened and he gradually seemed to start daydreaming. He loves to make forward runs but he cannot cross to save his life. Compared to Sagna now he is just not there. He can do it, so why doesn’t he? Maybe he will do well at Liverpool. He looks to me like he needs a change. But I will remember his many years of service at the top level including being there during the invincibles season. And of all the other clubs at the top, Liverpool is the only one most Gunners don’t despise. Mind you, we have some amazing defenders at Arsenal, we just don’t seem to be able to coach them any more. As you say, your man may be able to bring out the best in him. Good luck next year, it would be nice to be fighting for the title with you lot whilst the vacuous United, Chelsea and Sours battle it out with City for the scraps.
Up the Arsenal!
Hey Jim, how about Arsenal and Liverpool battling for the PL title this coming season, now that would upset the load mouths ;-)
I’d take that now !!!
RR
Liverpool and Arsenal supporters are the best!!
I agree. Think he needs a change of sceenery and KK, Carragher and Steve Clark can get the best out of him. Also i am a Liverpool supporter and little bit Arsenal fan.
They’ve said that he’s got the athleticism & technical skills required but that he seems to lack the positional awareness required for Arsenal’s method of play. This doesn’t concern me too much as I think that 1) not every player can automatically fit into into Wenger’s style of play (particularly problematic for wide defence) & 2) Steve Clarke is excellent at drilling positional play into defenders. I would imagine that most of his issues come from a confusion over his exact role. If we can remove this & simplify his game plan then his other gifts should come to the fore.
On a similar note, Newcastle supporters have been pretty critical of Enrique’s defending. I think it’s a close call between these two of who would develop better at Liverpool
clichy v kon the crap one = clichy
clichy v aurelio the injury prone = clichy
clichy v robinson the inexperienced one = draw
in other words i would take clichy i think he needs a change its arsenals coaches that are not getting the best of him. i rate our coaches higher so i cant see the problem.
robinson is a solid defender who has good positional sense but he could learn a lot attacking wise from clichy
I had the same thoughts when we got linked with Clichy. I’ve always taken Clichy to be a sound left back who is decent in defense and makes a good contribution in attacking situations. However when I go home to London for the summer or at christmas, Arsenal fans will constantly point him out as a weak link.
This could perhaps be for his role in the Birmingham City debacle a few years back (better known for Gallas’ meltdown).
Talking to a gunners fan online yesterday, I found a mixed response there to. They think their getting bumped on the price. So its not like they completely don’t rate him. Its not like us trying to be rid of Djimi Traore or Paul Konchesky for example. The Arsenal fans I’ve seen all consider Clichy to be worth more the 5 million. They also will loath to see him going to a rival premier league club. The taunts of feeder club are going to much worse if they lose Clichy to Liverpool and Nasri to United to United this summer.
But again the mistakes did come up with Clichy. They’re not overly bothered about losing him as long as they get what they see as ‘the right price’. With Gibbs and Armand Traore emerging in the background, I guess they can be nonchalant about a left back leaving.
I personally feel he’ll be a good signing and perhaps is a sign of what way Kenny wants to go. The central midfield looks a little congested right now, but then that could be because Kenny is trying to build a system which utilises attacking full backs. With Johnson and Clichy, we’d be set up to play like Brazil….
a good crosser? guess you haven’t watched many arsenal games! i’d say 1 good cross for every 20 attempts, never beats the first man
My only hope is that he’s been part of a weak defence and as such been exposed more. Also Arsenal lack the regime of other teams due to their quest for fluidness. I too was was surprised and concerned when I heard the news but i have faith in the King and Clarke so I can only hope he turns out much better for us if we do sign him.
he’s better than anyone we have for that position. never gets beat for pace positioning can be improved working with clarke and carra every day. at 5mil this is a great deal just because we have alot of money doesnt mean we shouldnt go for the cheaper option. clichy,robinson&insua for LB’s next season wouldnt be bad at all.
I am a long standing and avid Liverpool fan. When I first the report about the Clichy bid I was not impressed to say the least. I have seen Clichy play and really don’t rate him at all. I don’t regard him as a ‘Liverpool player’.
That said I have complete trust in Kenny and Steve. And their decisions so if they think they work with him they have my backing.
In Kenny we must trust YNWA
As you rightly point out, the blog could well have been one sided (most blogs are).
What we can say about Clichy, is he is proven in the PL … i’ve never seen anything in the press or watching footie that would suggest he is a poor player, maybe he hasn’t reached expectation but often a new challenge helps.
Also there seems to be a shortfall in left sided defenders, so to me a good PL player who plays LB and is available for about £5m doesn’t seem to be a risk to me …
Of course we want the best as does any club and let us also remember, Clichy has been offered a new contract at Arsenal and is being watched by several european teams, so lets be careful about wanting and expecting too much, greatness is never bought, it comes with time and effort … do I think he would be a good addition? yes! but does he want to play for LFC, thats another question and no doubt many more blogs :-)
ReikiRebel
I agree with Liam, look at all the shite said about Torres when we heard he might be leaving! He was the worst in the world, he’s past his best, yet if he had decided to stay he would of immediatley regained god like status! I really like Clichy and Fredrico is spot on Steve Clark will get the very best out of him, it’ll be a bargain at £5m too!
I would take any comments from Arsenal Truth with a grain of salt. You are correct with the bitter comment, the game has passed Arsenal Truth by. To be fair they’ve been anti-Wenger for a long time, not just jumping on the bandwagon.
I’m a home and away gooner.
Frederico, you are very wide of the mark. If Clichy has one weakness above all others, it is his crossing. I have been saying for years that he is the worst crossing full back I’ve seen at the club.
And I have seen Luzhny.
He’s a fantastic player on the middle 3rd. He has incredible speed, energy and a very good first touch. His passing is sound.
But he makes way too many errors, his defensive positioning is at best questionable and he will offer very little in terms of assists.
If we can get around £7m, I’d consider that great business (for us)
same case with glen johnson at hodgson’s era..
a good attacking side back, but bad defensively
and take a look at johnson now!! his defence is getting better
kenny & clarke managed to fix him and I’m sure they can do the same with clichy
Excellent man marking defender, good going forward, quick, tireless, and has loads of potential. he’s only 24, his bets years are ahead of him for sure. The downside, leave him in space and he’s a frail train wreck. something which can be developed on, but many top teams have figured out that Clichy is the weak link in Arsenal’s defense. Isolate him, and its as easy as cake breaking into their rear guard
johnathan bradley i think your right and the ‘championship managers’ on here would do well to remember that up until kelly got injured, in a lot of games we went 3 at the back with 2 wing backs 3 in midfield and 2 upfront..it would not surprise me if this is why he wants clichy.. cissokho is a decent player but there is no proof he wont get roasted in the prmier league, just look at how long it took evra to settle in at united being subbed against liverpool at half time if i remember rightly in his 1st game.. the club are right to be buying proven premier league players, and to say clichys success rate from crosses is awful?? well thats not surprising when the most arsenal ever had in the box at any given time was 1 player against 4 defenders?? We wouldnt be bidding for him if the stats didnt add up, enrique was awful against us at anfield this year, and id take clichy over him all day..
Hmm, amazed that you come up with quotes from Arsenal Truth, a nasty blog full of bile and hatred. Try e.g Vital Arsenal for a much more balanced opinion.
Yeah, I had a little chuckle when I saw someone quoting Arsenal Truth as if it’s a great source of information.
That said, I agree with what a lot of other Arsenal supporters here are saying about Clichy’s main weaknesses: positional awareness (particularly with the offside line) and crossing.
His strengths are valuable though and I’d hate to see him go. Gibbs is a better crosser, but that’s all. Not to mention the fact that Gibbs is always injured, so Wenger is taking a huge risk by depending on him as Clichy’s long-term replacement.
Agree, try getting the likes of Young Guns, Arseblog, Vital Arsenal, or Gunnerblog for a more balanced opinion.
Arsenal Truth is a very very poor blog. Don’t go anywhere near there.
Clichy’s fine. Possibly unhappy, stagnating at Arsenal. Lots of Gooners are down on him at the moment, but then lots of Gooners are down on EVERYTHING at the moment. The Arsenal Truth blog you quoted is one of the most negative around. I’d take anything they say with a pinch of salt.
Under Wenger’s formations, LBs get put under a lot of pressure. We have Theo out wide on the right, but on the left we have Nasri or Arshavin who drift infield, leaving Clichy a lot of ground to cover if and when we lose posession. Generally in fact, I think he does a fine job. He’s athletic, he never stops running, he’s technically good, he makes some fine interceptions and saving tackles. Where he’s weaker is on delivering crosses.
I think gooners are generally ok with the idea of him leaving because he can come across as a bit passive and right now gooners want passionate and fierce players. But I think it’s a shame if he ends up as a scapegoat for our failing form.
5m is an absolute steal.
he’s the kind of player we need, he’s a big flop we shouldnt waste money on him
I prefer jose enrique but clichy is not bad.
I’m a gooner for 20 years, and on behalf of most of us watching him over the years, I’d say he’s a good LB. He was on the edge of being great a couple of seasons ago, but lets face it – Clichy has never had any competition for his place, thus allowing him to be caught out and be complacent time and time again. It’s a mental thing I guess.. But in all fairness, the Arsenal defensive side of things has been awful. Clichy is 26 now and is reaching his peak in a few years. For £5mill I’d say he’s a friggin bargain!
Yes he’s a bit prone to ‘panic-footie’, but thats down to the goalie and the rest of the defence as well, or the lack of it.
I’d be happy for him to sign on, but wouldn’t be crying my eyes out if he left! there are many good LB’s out there after all :-)
I am thinking though that do we really have time to remain buying players who have “problems” and then spending it trying to straighten them out? Now we are getting a more positive Liverpool team let’s use the money to get a more positive and better equipped defender. Remember Robinson is practically through the door and will be steady first team materiel soon.
Prefer Aly Sissokho but, at the prices of £5M and £9M being muted, why not get them bothompetition and cover? We have no left back and Robinson, good as he is, is too young and inexperiences and should be loaned out for about 2 years.
As a gooner, i can confirm that the opinions of the above stated alleged fans are the ignorant ramblings of fuckwits. Clichy’s biggest problem has been the lack of cover he receives in the 4:3:3 formation we have enacted over the past few years. Can you imagine how hard it is to defend the left flank when you have a fat lazy Russian playing in front of you who cant be bothered to track back. The 3 CM players are also woeful when it comes to the transition from the loss of position, which leave him constantly hung out to dry. The amount of times the guy saves us when he gets isolated 1 v 1 against the oppositions right wingers is frighting. No wonder the poor bastard wants to leave, don’t blame him (also does not help when he is getting paid approximately half as much as that colossus of world football Gary Nevil. At 5m it would be the bargain of the season for the pool.
Wasn’t Glen Johnson a defensive bust until Dalglish and Clarke got their hands on him? Maybe they feel the could do a similar job on Clichy!
Arsenal are defensively poor right across the back line and blaming their woes solely on Clichy seems to be papering over the cracks of a much bigger issues!
Bollocks, Clichy is a proven international full back with years premiership experience. For 5 million-ish, there isn’t better business we’ll do this summer.
As for what the Arsenal fans think, so fucking what? How do some Liverpool fans still rate Lucas, occasionally vocally?
Let’s see how many times he gets caught out of position in jamie carraghers defence I bet it will only happen once! I rate him and he just needs to be in a solid defence arsenal are too fluid for him I know that sounds like a weak argument but if he plays for Liverpool he will know his position that will sort his mentality out and like I said let’s see him out of position with carra screaming at him!
This is something I have heard before and whilst it is difficult sometimes to get honest opinions from fans about players of theirs who are about to leave I don’t think Arsenal support falls into this category. I think they are generally honest, pragmatic and knowledgeable about such things. If this were a Spurs player my opinion would be completely different after listening to their fans!
I don’t know if our coaches can sort Clichy’s defending out, but from what I have seen and remember of him he is prone to errors in defending as well as passing. The good thing is that he is relatively cheap and if it doesn’t go well we can hopefully get someone else in during January and at some stage recoup most of our money! However, I’d prefer another option in the first place!
Good crosser hahahahahahahah……….. worse ever, good riddance.
can i just say watch any game arsenal have played against man utd in the last 6 years and youll see he is a terrible full back! fergie has constantly targeted him as a weakness and hit him with barrages of long balls out to a number of right wingers and laughed as hes crumbled! just watch some highlights of their goals they all come from the right wing into park or rooney
He has played behind a succession of attacking left-sided players who do not tackle back so he is often exposed. Because of that he is also less likely to get forward and put in those crosses so he gets no practice. He was never as good as Arsley Hole but he is worth more than £5m.
As an Arsenal fan who picked this up on news now, the gooner is being harsh. Clichy is a very good full back. See last seasons performance against Chelsea. But the gooner isn’t wrong about his positioning or his ability to panic. See Newcastle away 4-4. I disagree about the mental feeble comment. Clichy is notoriously brave even in pre season and he was mentally strong enough to come back from a broken foot three times in a year and a half when he was younger. There are better around but you would be talking mega money for them. He is a lot better than Konchesky or Wilson but much as it pain me to say it he is not a patch on Ashley Cole. If he goes though it is with my best wishes and he is going to a great old club but actually a would keep him if possible,we don’t need the upheaval.
Sounds like sour grapes to me from Arsenal fans. When Torres left Liverpool there were some outrageous comments made about his ability and mental state as well. lets face it no-one likes to see their better players leaving for a rival. I take all gooners comments with a pinch of Sodium chloride.
as you should, and visa versa!
The really excellent ‘arseblog’ seems to agree. Can’t find a gooner who isn’t pleased to see him go.
I really liked Clichy a couple years ago, even thought he was better than Cole. Such a gem. But the few games I saw of him this last season were appalling. He got caught up in no man’s land time and time again, got out-muscled and dribbled plenty of times and wasn’t confident enough to drive forward. I’m not sure what to expect from him on this basis, but for 5 mil it’s well worth the gamble, considering Coentrão is worth 25 mil and he’s not 5 times better than Clichy.
Let’s solve our leftback slot for 5 mil and spend 20 mil on Mata and 8 on Nzogbia!
Personally, as an avid Arsenal fan, I hav ebeen waiting for Clichy to leave or be dropped.
He is prone to mistakes and is far too aften out of position – usually too central rather than too far forward, leaving massive spaces down the right wing.
Trust me, this is not “sour grapes” from Arsenal fans. Check any Arsenal forums and you’ll see numerous threads criticising Gael Clichy’s performances over the last few years. Back in 2008 he’d have been a good signing for Liverpool, but over the last few years he’s been a constant weak link in the Arsenal team.
If you don’t want to trust Arsenal fan’s opinion of him, hopefully you’ll soon see for yourself what a poor player he is, as i’d be delighted if we get rid of him this summer and replace him with a player such as Cissokho.
Poor mentality, constantly loses his focus/concentration, can’t cross, can’t shoot, easily outmuscled, poor in the air, positional sense non-existent. He’s a good athlete and a nice guy, that’s about the only positive thing I can say about him based on the last 3 years. Belongs at a club like Lens or St Ettienne, not Arsenal or Liverpool.
Clichy had one assist I think last season…
and it came with his right foot!!
worst crossing back in the league, wich he can get away with at arsenal, but it’s a shame if you have Andy Carroll in your team.. lol
Please don’t buy him he is AWFUL as a defender but great at attacking down the wings..
The thing im surprised no one has picked up on is the fact that it took twatley Cole a couple of years to understand the game of football outside arsenals system, and remember he was coached at the time by a certain s Clarke, so won’t clichy have these issues as well?
However, as an lfc fan taking an objective view then 5m for an international with proven experience in the plans for a top four team and who should be hitting the peak of his abilities in the next couple of years then it really is a no brainer even if he’s used as a stop gap until the youngsters are ready to be played week in week out over a whole season.
To surmise, go for it kenny!
Clichy could have been one of the world’s best – at a different club. I am an Arsenal fan and have seen plenty of Clichy; he is very athletic, fast and never seems to tire. I’ve never seen anyone close down a player quicker than Gael. His final ball isn’t the best but his biggest downside is his positioning. He does seem to get caught out quite often. However, there are two good reasons for that. 1, He has no cover from the 4-3-3 system and Arshavin in particular, who is the laziest player I’ve seen in an Arsenal shirt since Adebayor. Two peas from the same pod, that pair. 2, He tends to play attackers onside because we have no General at the back screaming orders. It is no coincidence that if Clichy isn’t playing someone onside, Bacary Sagna will be. At Liverpool, playing alongside a commanding Carragher and having cover from Meireles, Lucas, Gerrard, Kuyt, Spearing or whoever’s on that side, he will be a better player. It is evident Arsene Wenger doesn’t spend too much time drilling a defensive ethic into the players, so at Liverpool Clichy would improve. If you get him for £5m ( I can’t see that btw) then you have a real bargain.
simlar to glen johnson and since KING KENNY took over glen startin to look like a 15mil plus player,
plus with carra and clarke on side GC would most certainly become a complete player and his attackin ablity is quality end product needs workin on thobut 5mil is better the 15mil for jose enrique but jose enrique would be my 1st choice if im honest as he seems to have become a real solid player, but n.u.f.c need to get real and not ruin the move to anfield for him, id still keep insua aswell for bkup,,
well said. If Glen Johnson’s positional play can be sorted out by Kenny and Clarke then we could buy a rabbit at left back and they could also ‘coach it decent’. Glen was one of the worst defenders (alongside the woeful Insua) we have had for a while but since Kenny came in GJ does look one of the most complete right backs in the country. For 5 mill bring on Gael Clichy.
I have an avid arsenal fan as a mate who absolutely hates clichy… dont want him!
I am an Arsenal fan.
Clichy is freaking HORRIBLE. He is the epitome of the headless-chicken syndrome that plagues our defense where we appear to have no clue as to how to hold a line, play an offside trap, mark a player. This guy is a disgusting player, and it all started with him throwing the game away against Birmingham 4 years ago when were were 9 points clear, and Eduardo broke his leg in the same game, in the last minute.
Keep him away from your club, trust me!
Not sure what the point is in writing this article. We are linked with about 100 players at present including at least four left backs.
I have been an Arsenal fan for a long time, and like to think I can be objective about the shortcomings of the team or players within the team. I believe Clichys problems are a result of a combination of things. The first being the weak defensive coaching at Arsenal, second being the weak defence lack of confidence in the defence and keeper, which makes his role in the defence uncertain and with no leadership at the back it’s every man for himself. We then have a situation where the formation has been changed to 4-3-3, which puts more pressure on the full backs. We play a high defensive line, which means we can get caught out easily on the counter attack. If you add Arshavin on the wing who doesn’t do his share of defensive duties and the fact that Clichy gets forward too much and either loses possession outside our box or loses the ball cheaply he is then left isolated. Teams know this and target that side of our defence which adds more pressure.
He is quick athletic and has stamina to run up and down all day long, but defensively he has been caught out a lot even on 1 v 1 he cannot be depended on as he has been turned quite a lot particularly over the last season. His crossing is appalling, and obviously something that isn’t worked on because Sagna is just a little better. He has lapses where he either plays players onside or is caught out ball watching. Positionally he’s not great but can make up for this with speed.
I personally think we would be better off without him and if we want to challenge the top teams we need someone better so I am pleased to see him go. His mistakes have cost us at least 6 points per season for the last couple of seasons. If he stays with us it will be more of the same, and I don;t believe he is worth the money he is being offered. I was hoping that as a sign of understanding the problems at Arsenal Wenger would have been looking to get rid of Clichy instead of trying to pay him more money.
That being said I think he’s worth more than 5mill nearer 8mill because he has potential to be better. In a team that plays 4-4-2 or 4-5-1 he will be more comfortable. I believe the defensive coaching at Liverpool will be better than at Arsenal. They have leadership at the back which will keep him in check, which we don’t. He will have to learn to cross a ball as Liverpool have proper wing play and get men into the box for crosses. Clichy just needs good drilling and to be under good defensive coaching and not be put in a position where he has to get forward constantly. If that can be established then I think he will probably prove to be a better player than he has show for us over the last couple of seasons. So I think his problems are more due to us than to him but because we’re not going to change anytime soon he is better off going.
That’s an excellent review. I would be curious on your opinion of Bendtner. He’s been linked with Bayern for 12m yet everytime I’ve seen him he’s been your Ngog.
Like most Arsenal fans I’d like Bentner to be sold also. Not necessarily because he’s a bad player because I don’t think he’s as bad as he’s appearing to be. He is another player that has been suffering under our formation and Arsenal not playing to his strengths. He has only featured on the wing for us this season, which is a total waste of his best assets.
He should only be played through the middle where he is a good target man. Had he been developed in that way I think we would have seen a different, better Bendtner, but when you;re in a team where the ball is played mainly on the ground, there are barely any crosses and the fullbacks aren’t good at crossing even corners are quite poor so he is being starved and has to revert to playing the ball on the ground, which means he gets involved a lot in build up play around the box instead of being in the box. We had the same problem with Adebayor who didn’t always play that way but eventually started playing that way, drifting out to the wings and getting involved in build up play instead of getting in the box.
Bendtner has made the right decision for his career as I believe he is still young enough to pull his career back. He would be great in a 4-4-2 but would need time to get back to himself so would probably struggle as a lone striker at first in a 4-5-1. If he played for mid table team he would probably do well as he is a traditional CF type who Wenger has tried to change to be more dynamic but it hasn’t worked. With basic bread and butter CF tasks Bendtner would do well. Not as well as he thinks he will i.e. achieve the best striker in the world, but he will do a lot better than he is doing with us.
Another aspect to this which is not good for Arsenal or Bendtner is that Wenger allowed Chamakh to come in on a free, who is similar to Bendtner in style but a bit more adaptable. So Bendtner has been pushed out of the picture and Arsenal are left with one less option because they are too similar. One of them would inevitably have to go so we have an alternative option, which means Bendtners departure.
I think Bendtner is worth 10mill and would do well in teams where the focus is on getting the ball forward to the front men quickly, have good crossing ability and he has a supporting player and in that sense there are a lot of teams that could accommodate him. I think currently at Arsenal he is in the worse case scenario considering the way we play and the formation we play which isn’t suited to him.
Sounds like an exact mirror of our glen Johnson. Lack of consistency from players in key positions will be our downfall. Give clichy a miss, prefer the mistakes and learning curve for young Robinson than an overpaid never been.
Neil you are talking utter bollocks,Johnson has come on leaps and bounds since Dalglish arrived,he’s much better than Cichy so shut up you retarded fuckwitt
The Johnson pre-Kenny maybe but whenever he’s been played at left-back he has been fantastic. I don’t think we need to waste money on a left-back because of Johnson’s form since January and the fact that Robinson looks to be an excellent young player. We also have Aurelio (when fit) and Martin Kelly has also played there and done superbly.
Personally I think he would be a great signing, Kenny and Clark would sort out any of his defensive frailties and Carra would teach him a thing or two also. Johnson has improved recently also up until his injury that is.
Lads chill, whoever KK brings in will be fine under him & steve. Interestingly I was talking with one of Arsenal’s ex-captains today who seriously wanted to see the back of Clichy as well as Arshavin, basically very close to comments made by Gunner 2301!!
Still shame on the gunners, we stuffed manure at Anfield and gave them a perfect platform to go & win the title.
YNWA
i like clicky’s pace
apart from that i havent looked at the player’s tactical side…
i think he can do a good job…
well on my owm point of view our club lfc does’nt need a player like clichy in our fold because we have a lot of them which we are looking for one way or the other to offload them,so don’t any reason for kenny to bring clichy to lfc when him kenny was have been saying if he’s signing any player this summer that the player will be even better than the ones in team presently,and i was expecting kenny and comolli to bring -f.coentrao or rolando even other good defenders in other clubs accross europe he has been linking before the end of the season,am really dissappointed.
Clichy has pace he will be fine in the back. are you serious youd rather see teenagers starting? bring in clichy and see how it goes, leave ribinson and kelly on the bench and let them play 20 min a week. see how it goes… who else would you bring in? jose enrique? hes big and slow. he attacks 75% of the game and gets caught upfield on counterattacks because of it. watch newcastles game tapes, whenever you see a team scoring on them you see enrique jogging back 20 yards behind the ball. chichy and enrique are the two best cantidates for the job and we dont need a left back to play as a left winger, we have plenty of attacking talent without a left back standing at the corner of the opposing teams box for 60 minutes.
Hey but why is everyone here just talking about robinson when flanagan was the one who really impressed at the end of the season and started a few EPL games not to mention winning reserve player of the year. When it comes to clichy he wouldn’t be my first pick for a starter cause he’s actually pretty mistake prone and seems to lose the ball at the wrong moments quite often and also mysteriously disappears at times when arsenal’s goal is under threat. I’d rather Liv brought in a more defensive wing back cause they already have johnson who likes to push up and sometimes forgets his defensive duties. But that being said KK knows best so I’m sure he’ll make the right choices:)
What can I say about this … It’s just non sense !!!!! Yes clichy has had a few bad months but look well all around him… English people who wants English players and so are looking to create space for British . Clichy has been low coz of arshavin playing in front of him, sagna played only one game with him in front and was not good at all too . Teams could see clichy was alone on his side any player would struggle in a 2vs1 or 3vs1 situation . Have a look at clichys games when the Russian was left on the bench and you willnsee that clichy wasn’t poor but was in fact the best left back in the league !!!!!!