For me, the biggest difference between last year and this year (post transfer period) is the mental toughness and character of this team. I think last year we had a bunch of bottlers in the dressing room, without much, if any, leadership. I feel like this has changed considerably over the last year. So, as opposed to this (an average lineup from last year): Fabianski--soft slash Szcz--hard Clichy--soft Djourou/Squillaci--soft and soft Kocielsny--al Dente Sagna--hard Wilshere--hard Song--hard Fabregas--softish Nasri--softer than my shaven testicle sack Walcott--soft Chamakh--soft slash v. Persie--hardish We have: Szcz--like granite Santos/Gibbs--hard Mertesacker--hard Vermaelen--like granite or steel or some other very hard object Kocieslny--presently less cooked than al dente Sagna/Kos/Jenks--hard Arteta--hard Song--hard Ramsey-meh Gervinho--hard Walcott--soft v. Persie--well 'ard So I think just in our starting lineup we've cut down considerably on the mentally weak who let leads slip consistently last season. This is not even counting the fighters we can bring off of our bench. Now, we can bring on Frimmy or Coquelin, too brash and hardcore individuals who will fight people. Last year our bench players were people like Eboue, Denilson, and Bendtner, some of the biggest ************** in the prem IMO. My point is that even the beautiful Arsenal of yore had some players that nobody wanted to fcuk with. Vieira, Keown, Adams, Parlour, Kanu (jk), the list goes on. To win the league, you can't get bullied like we were last year. You have to stand up to people and fight back. And I think this new edition of our team is well-equipped to get physical with any team in the league, if need be.
I agree. I think we are more resilient than before. Cesc was a legend, but was a poor leader IMO. Being a captain is more than simply being the best player, it's more psychological (in terms of how other players, even fans, see the captain). Adams was a no nonsense giant, as was Vieira. Henry led by example. Cesc whilst technically good had no true shit kicking persona.
Cesc's problem is that Wenger never fixed any of the holes in the club. How many times did he play with no real striker up front? Or with shit at CB? Or with a shit GK? A captain can't fix everything. This team needed some turnover it has finally gotten. And of course, a healthy RvP. I wish Cesc would have gotten to play with a team he deserved, but he came at the wrong era. 'Tis unfortunate, but we've all moved on.
dont attempt to save Cesc. He was a terrible captain who wasnt inspirational in the slightest. Every time their was some adversity, he dropped his head. That pissed me off more than anything else and he was out last year mentally. ON top of that, he put himself before the team by insisting to play at the Nou Camp.
Cesc wasn't a good captain, he's a good passenger/co-pilot. Exceptional players don't necessarily make good captains. RvP excluded. Even Henry was a horrible captain imvho.
Henry was not suited to be captain. He was sulky and petulant. Cesc may have been the worst Arsenal captain the last 20 years though, he was not captain material. Adams, Viera or even Gilberto were great ones. I like RVP so far. He is showing leadership, encouraging his teammates, giving them credit. He is growing with the role.
Szczesny, Szczesny, Szczesny. He is the big reason that this team is much, much better. No Almunia or Fabianski. Szczesny is a leader at the back, along with Vermaelen. Nasri and Cesc sulked far too much. Arteta is an experienced player and he hasn't always been at a top club. He doesn't drop his head when we are down.
He was never given the armband full time, so I agree that you can't call him a great captain, but he was very good when called upon. I distinctly remember him taking charge in Henry's absence in the winter months of the grim 06/07 season. And I remember his game elevating, along with the rest of the team. There was a massive amount of respect for Gilberto at the club.
I would agree that Cesc wasn't a very good captain, but you're just as guilty of unfairly bashing Cesc as you seem to imply that Woodraw is in defending him. He had numerous inspirational moments for us and didn't drop his "every time" there was some adversity. Just off the top of my head, I can think of him coming in as a sub and scoring two goals against Villa when we were looking shaky despite having a strained hamstring. He helped rally the team after Shawcross broke Ramsey's leg and stepped up to hit the penalty so there wouldn't be a repeat of the B'ham/losing Eduardo meltdown. He was brilliant bossing the midfield when we beat AC Milan at the San Siro in 2008. And I could come up with plenty more examples if I took the time. Again, my point is that he was much more of an overall positive for the club than not, even if I agree that it looked like he had checked out mentally for much of his last season with us.
This is something I never understood about the captain-ship in Europe. In the US sports, captains aren't necessarily the best players but it's players that are respected, inspirational—leaders. You could tell a mile away that Cesc had questionable leadership qualities. Same with RVP. Henry was a bit mild mannered to be a captain, IMO. Roy Keane. Viera. Dunga was the captain of Brazil in 94, but he was hardly their best player (Romario). Right now, for me, only Vermaelen has the aura of a captain, of a leader.
i think it's one of those things where his "leadership" comes from performance, stepping up in big games and efforting (ie, "leadership by example"). it's great when things are going right for him and he can offer positive effects by his presence. i think it's similar to what vermaelen brings to the table where the rest of the players can see his desire and determination and they want to be a part of it - the main difference being that it's more visible with vermaelen and, to me, it brings the other players up more. you can see the players picking up at fulham when they were starting to get down and vermaelen wasn't having any of it. but the problem with it (fabregas' style of "leadership by example") is that it doesn't really bring up a down teammate or call out somebody who was an idiot. you can see van persie going to talk to someone (was it jenkinson on an own goal?) and you can see van persie running over to give people credit (like when he made a point to point out walcott on saturday). finally, i think that the other players can pick up on the fact that he's a temporary rider where i think they can feel that van persie and vermaelen have given every indication that they're in for the long haul. i'm not remotely bashing fabregas - he was a terrific player for the club, he brought a ton of special moments and i had a great time watching him. i thought he was a great player for the club, just not a good captain (granted, he was a significant step up from his immediate predecessor). i just love the combination of van persie/vermaelen and what it brings to the table.
I would disagree on RVP. He should not be placed in the same category, leadership wise, with Cesc. That is totally unfair to him. He has demonstrated this year that he is a strong leader, not only leading with spectacular performances, but also with encouragements and advices to his teammates and a positive attitude on and off the field. Just listen to the other players, specially the veterans, talking about RVP and you will realize how much he has grown since he became captain.
I disagree. I would say that of our players right now, Szczesny, Wilshere, RVP, and potentially in the future Frimmy all have qualities that would make them great captains.
Szcz: Sure, down the road. Wilshere: Not so sure. He's a good player, but would you follow him into battle? I don't believe he's exhibited any leadership qualities. RVP: Again, great player in great form. Players rely on him. Being a leader is more than an armband. Was he exhibiting leadership qualities before he was given the armband? Frimpong: He's a classic hard man, we'll see if he can develop into one the troops can rally around.
Regarding Wilshere, watching matches he played in last year, he was consistently the most vocal player on the pitch. He would also go and stand up for his players if they were getting kicked, which was something Cesc never seemed that interested in. I think that actually, van Persie has matured into a good leader. I don't think he should be the captain, but I also don't think he should be stripped of it. As long as there are other leaders on the pitch, we will survive. And I think now we have not just the vocal, hard men types, but also the veteran experience and cooler heads (a la Arteta, Benayoun, Mertesacker).