Arsenal’s Missing Piece: A Left Winger

By Joel Martin

Arsenal’s ineptitude against a half-strength Blackburn made me ask one question: WHY? Why can’t we beat the teams we are supposed to beat? We are 17 points behind ManUre after taking six points from them. Why are we not ahead of them? Why do we find ourselves behind the rest of the top four, even though we haven’t lost to any of them (we’re the only team in the league who can say that)? Why are we dropping so many points against the lower teams in the Premiership?

There are a couple of reasons, some are obvious, and some are not. One reason is because we are not as tough as the Boltons and Evertons of the Premier League. They outmuscle us and beat us physically, but that will change as our young team matures and grows stronger. Another is injuries. We’ve had a number of unlucky injuries that have hurt our chances severely in many games. That problem is more bad luck than anything.

There is one problem with the squad, however, has nothing to do with luck and will not fix itself: our lack of a left-winger.

The lack of width and balance that Arsenal has shown at times this year is largely due to the Gunners’ need for a true left-sided midfielder. Tomas Rosicky is a fantastic talent, and I am confident he will star at Arsenal for years to come, but he is a central player stuck on the left. Too often he strays to the middle and even the right as he tries to find holes in opposing defenses, and this wrecks our balance and width. He might be best used as a sparkplug off the bench, as he was against Tottenham only a week ago, but he does not seem to be the answer of the left. I hate to say it, but Freddie Ljunberg might be done. His old injured legs just couldn’t keep up early this year, and that was when he was fully fit. He is not the answer, either. Hleb and Walcott are naturally right-sided players, and they both (Hleb especially) do not seem nearly as comfortable on the left. Neither Hleb or Walcott are the answer either, not now anyway. Walcott could be there in a couple years, but even then I think he might be better suited as a right winger or a striker rather than a left winger.

Jose Antonio Reyes, had he not been a whining Spanish prick who couldn’t handle the chilly weather and missed his sunny beaches, would have solved this problem perfectly. He was a great left winger for us last year and propelled us through our Champions League run, but he is gone now, and Wenger is too stubborn to take him back (not that I think Reyes would want to come back).

This is a problem that requires a new addition to the squad. There are a couple of options, some are obvious and some aren’t, but an addition needs to be made.

The first, and most popular option, is Franck Ribery. Ribery has been strongly linked with us since the World Cup, and he and his agent have not exactly been denying the fact that he would like to play for Wenger. Ribery is not naturally adept to the left side, but he showed in the World Cup and for Marseille this year that he can play there easily. The World Cup has driven up his price, which is the reason he isn’t a Gunner already in my mind, but his quickness combined with his toughness and work ethic would be a welcome addition to the squad, in my mind. Unfortunately, Marseille is only two points shy of the French League’s last Champions League spot, which would only make his capture more expensive and less likely.

Another option is Ryan Babel. Babel, who doubles as a striker, is one of the best young talents in the Dutch squad. He is good friends with RvP, which is the reason the Babel rumors in January sprung in the first place. He doesn’t really score or set up goals (only 3 goals and 1 assist in the goal-happy Dutch League this year), but Babel is a good player, and I think Wenger would consider adding him if he indeed only costs 5 million pounds, but I still am not sure he wants to leave. Soccernet.com quotes him as saying:

"I will play at Ajax next season. I have a contract for another one and a half years and as far as I know I will hold on to that.”

Babel would be a good addition, not as good as Ribery, but a good addition nonetheless. 5 million would be a steal, and if the offer is there this summer, I hope Wenger takes it.

The final option, which may seem random as he has not been linked to us at all to my knowledge, is Blackburn’s Morten Gamst Pedersen. Although he is injured right now, Pedersen is one of the best left wingers in England. His left foot is uncanny, both on crosses and on set pieces. He does not stray to the middle and would keep balance to the side. He is a creative passer stuck on a boringly uncreative Blackburn team. He scores goals from the midfield, which would help us out immensely. We haven’t found a goal-scoring midfielder to replace Pires—Rosicky or Cesc could be eventually, but Pedersen would be a genuine threat immediately (6 goals already this year in the Premier League, 8 overall). He’s only 25, which means we’d have at least three good years with him in the squad and we could use those three years to groom Fran Merida into a left winger. His comfort level in England, combined with his ability to score would be well worth 8 to 10 million pounds.

Anyway those are my thoughts, if it were up to me I’d take Ribery at 15mil first, Pedersen at 10mil second, and Babel at 5mil third, only because to me its time to win right now. It is time we started trying to win right now, not three or four years down the line. We are an extremely young team, and the last thing we need is to wait for a 20-year-old Ryan Babel to mature while the rest of the squad is ready to win now. Either Ribery or Pedersen would be better answers, if we indeed are trying to get back where we belong: the top of the Premier League.