 |
| Morgan Schneiderlin |
MANCHESTER UNITED
Manchester United look as though they will reach their goal of making
the top four relatively comfortably. But it has been a strange old season and
Louis van Gaal won’t be assuming that the club is ready to emulate its
achievements of old just yet.
They have ended up in a very functional shape, with Marouane Fellaini up
top, Juan Mata wide right and Ashley Young on the left. That has stretched
teams, given them more physical presence and allowed them to be more direct.
Van Gaal has done the right thing for the club, effectively saying: ‘By
hook or by crook we’ll get in the top four.’
He will have seen what happened to David Moyes last year and will have
been aware that he might not have survived if he didn’t achieve that minimum
goal.
But I can’t believe it is Van Gaal’s long-term solution for the club.
It’s certainly not the scintillating football of United’s past. It’s more huff
and puff than the kind of swagger we associate with United, and it has taken
some time to get to this solution, abandoning a back three along the way.
If it hadn’t been for David de Gea, who has been outstanding, he might
have been in trouble. Make no mistake, De Gea saved United’s season, especially
early on. Now Van Gaal has to improve and the areas on his agenda will be …
A world-class striker
Easier said than done. The best strikers in the world are tied down to
long-term deals at Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Juventus and Paris
Saint-Germain. Memphis Depay has come in as a wide player but they clearly need
some attacking players in that central role, with Robin van Persie looking as
though he might struggle next season and Radamel Falcao having failed to adapt
to the Premier League.
Harry Kane has been mentioned but Daniel Levy will be extremely
reluctant to let him go. Alvaro Morata looks a lovely player but is on a
long-term deal at Juventus. Paulo Dybala looks like he’s also going to
Juventus. Edinson Cavani or Gonzalo Higuain might be available.
Get Hugo Lloris!
Of course the priority would be for De Gea to stay. But Van Gaal’s
comments on Friday about having already drawn up a list of replacements and the
steady stream of reports from Spain that he has agreed a five-year deal with
Real suggests this is another urgent area of recruitment. The simplest solution
would be to persuade Tottenham to sell Lloris, probably the next best
goalkeeper in the Premier League — or else challenge Arsenal for Petr Cech.
Shore up the defence
This is the area that caused the most problems for Van Gaal. It looks
like United will make a move for Mats Hummels, who is a terrific footballer but
a player I feel may struggle with the tempo of the Premier League. He’s not a
natural defender in that he doesn’t kill danger, he reacts to it.
Next season, more than ever, Phil Jones and Chris Smalling have to rise
to the challenge and fully establish themselves as United’s defensive pairing.
They’re not kids any more — Smalling is 25 — and they have to step up.
Challenge for the title
An obvious aim but it is by no means a given that United will be good
enough to do so. Top four won’t be good enough any more. United are a club that
live off glory and next season they need to be in position, with enough players
of the right mentality, to challenge Chelsea for the title.
ARSENAL
Arsene Wenger has less work to do over the summer than Van Gaal. It’s
difficult to judge their season — they are going to finish 10 points or so
behind the leaders and they have failed to keep pace with Chelsea.
But with the form of Alexis Sanchez and that performance at Manchester
City, when they managed to win without dominating possession, you feel that
there are signs of progress. Mesut Ozil is coming into the kind of form we
expected of him and certainly going forward they look to have the strongest
options in the Premier League at present. Here’s what I feel they need to do …
Persuade Petr Cech that the M25 isn’t so bad.
It can be a nasty commute from Cobham to London Colney around the M25
but Arsenal’s job is to persuade the Chelsea No 2 goalkeeper to make it every
morning next season. Cech wants to stay in London and his loyalty over the past
11 years ought to earn him the move he wants, especially as he has only a year
left on his deal.
David Ospina has done very well since he came in,
during a period in which Arsenal have tightened up at the back, but Cech would
be an improvement. You can understand why Jose Mourinho is against the move, as
Arsenal have really lacked a dominant goalkeeper since Jens Lehmann, and Cech’s
presence will edge them closer to the title. But you don’t want a disgruntled
player in your squad — and if Cech stays at Chelsea, his career there is
effectively over.
Return to Southampton
My former club has been something of a breeding ground for Arsenal
players in Theo Walcott, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Calum Chambers. Now it’s
the midfield they need to improve and Morgan Schneiderlin would be a great
addition. He’s a good user of the ball, as well as someone who wants to snap at
people and win it back. He enjoys intercepting and has the defensive mindset,
something Arsenal midfielders often lack. I think he would be an improvement on
what they have, even though Francis Coquelin has done well.
Copy Roy Hodgson
Jack Wilshere impressed playing slightly deeper in midfield for England
earlier in the season and it’s likely we’ll see him play that role for them again
in their fixtures this June. He has been hampered by injury again this term —
how he needs an injury-free season — but he looks like he could play alongside
a Schneiderlin in midfield. They’ve been filling that role with Santi Cazorla,
who has had a superb season and is beautiful passer. But you feel that, against
the best clubs, they might need someone a bit more physical. Wilshere can do
that job and needs to convince Wenger to allow him to do it.
Learn to love defence
The 2-0 win at Manchester City in January was a real breakthrough for
Arsenal. They found another way of playing, winning with just 35 per cent of
possession. Then they beat United 2-1 in the FA Cup at Old Trafford in March
with just 41 per cent of possession. If they have really found a new way of
playing in those tough away games and are ready to embrace it, maybe we will
see a title challenge from Arsenal next season.
Source:dailymailsport
No comments:
Post a Comment