Arsenal vs Schalke: Throwing all hands on deck

At the start of the season, Arsenal fans were supposedly spoilt for choice at every position. With a host of midfielders and wingers available at Wenger’s disposal, every suggestion that the Frenchman needs to buy more was met with flurry of angry jeers by the Gooners.

Come mid October and the squad has been reduced to a bare minimum. Most of Wenger’s stars have been played in 4 international matches in the last 2 months, and have returned battered, bruised or on the brink of an injury.

While Wenger had 5 wingers in Gervinho, Chamberlain, Walcott, Arshavin and Podolski at the start of the season, he has lost 2 of his best now. Gervinho, Podolski and Arshavin are the only options available to him for the mid week CL match against Schalke.

Gervinho or Poldi on the left??

Many might argue that Schalke will be an easy and familiar run out for Podolski and that he should most definitely be utilized on the left, but there lies the problem of the position of Gervinho. The Ivorian was nowhere near his normal skillful self in the last 2 matches when he was played on the right side of attack. Gervinho’s entire skill and play is based on his strength in cutting the fullback and crossing in from the touchline. This was not possible from the right, where neither Garrido nor Jemel allowed him any space for his antics.

So to utilize Gervinho’s strengths, Wenger might just consider shifting Podolski. ‘Poldi’ has formed a good partnership with the left fullback, be it Gibbs or Santos, and shifting the German from the left is sure to affect the entire midfield.

Vacancy on the right

So the only option would be to remove the yet to settle forward Giroud, and play Gervinho through the centre. All this still leaves a spot to occupy on the right. Even though Wenger has Arshavin on the bench to fill this role, the Russian’s recent form and Wenger’s own statement that he would like to play Arshavin behind the striker, suggest that Arshavin might not be first choice to start on Wednesday.

Though YouTube might suggest otherwise, I do not think Serge Gnabry has reached the maturity or skill level to be drafted into the first team right now. Wenger brought him in against Norwich because his only other option would have been to use a raw Jack Wilshere in a physically demanding time.

Coming to Wilshere, recent performances with the under 21 show that Jack is indeed ready for a run out with the first team. Though a start might be too soon, Wenger might risk bringing on Jack to turn the momentum later on in the game. He’ll come on mostly for Santi Cazorla, on whom Arsenal have been relying way too much.

So the lack of options in midfield suggests that Wenger might use Aaron Ramsey again in that position. This might also turn out to be a tactically sound ploy as Schalke have more than decent talents in Farfan and Afellay on the wings. Bringing Ramsey on to the right will leave space for Coquelin to partner Arteta in the centre, and the French U21 captain will allow Arteta a lot more freedom to roam forward.

Lack of height in midfield

Schalke will be using 2 holding midfielders behind their front 4 of Holtby, Farfan , Afellay and Huntelaar. These 2 spots were occupied by Hoser and Neustadler in the game against Dortmund. But Stevens is sure to use the American Jermaine Jones to hustle and roughen up Cazorla. The Spaniard is certain to be tested by a few rough tackles by the burly American.

Arsenal’s defense has suffered after the injury to Abou Diaby. This has been due to the small stature of the other options in midfield, which allows the opposition to win the aerial battles in midfield and run at the Gunner’s defense. Though Mertersacker has proved that he will be ready to battle out Huntelaar’s presence, it is the captain Thomas Vermaelen who has caused a few concerns. Dynamic in personality, the captain often takes it onto his own shoulders to carry forward the attack, and has recently been quite error prone while tracking back on such occasions. The other central defender Koscienly continues his indifferent start to the season with a continuing back problem. Andre Santos on the left would be another liability against the threat of Farfan.

All in all, Arsenal might just squeeze past Schalke based on their home advantage and their 2 talented Spanish midfielders. But these are just the start of Wenger’s worries, and the Frenchman can’t wait for the return of Wilshere and Diaby. There are also many rumors of Isco and Adrian coming in during the winter, but looking at the current squad, these signings might just add to the current strengths and leave the weaknesses unattended.