Arsenal are four victories away from retaining the FA Cup for a second time, a feat only achieved by a certain team who play in white and reside just up the road in north London. The Gunners' first back-to-back wins are fresher in the memory, however (2002 & 2003), and were under the same manager in Arsène Wenger. But which group of players were better, the Cup-winning team of 2003 or today's crop? Who would you pick in your composite XI?
David Seaman vs David Ospina
On the surface this could be a mismatch - Seaman has four FA Cup winners' medals in his drawer, two league titles and a European Cup-Winners Cup to his name.
But, if performing on the biggest stage is the measure of the man, Ospina, who has nudged out Wojciech Sczcesny from Arsenal's best XI, had a brilliant World Cup in Brazil, while it's best not to mention World Cups and Brazil in the same sentence to Seaman.
Lauren vs Hector Bellorin
This could be a question worth asking again in a few years, as Bellerin appears to have everything a modern full-back could need - he is fast, has fine distribution, and was schooled at La Masia, Barcelona's famous academy, before Arsenal enticed him away. The 19-year-old has broken into the first team this season, albeit in arguably the position most up for grabs in Wenger's first XI.
Few Arsenal fans had heard of Lauren when he arrived at Highbury, but the Cameroon international would go on to become a key member of Arsenal's Invincibles, an attacking full-back when attacking Arsenal full-backs came into fashion. Two Premier League titles and three FA Cup finals are tough to dispute.
Martin Keown vs Per Mertesacker
Two defenders who have made the most of their strengths and minimised their deficiencies. Keown was a snarling, in-your-face hard man that no forwards would enjoy playing against. His team-mate Ray Parlour described him as a rash, and he was not talking about his pock-marked face.
Mertesacker is slow, ponderous, and was described as having the "agility of a rhinoceros" by Wojciech Sczcesny's father this season, but he is also a key component of Germany's World Cup winning side of last year, so you do the math.
Oleg Luzhny vs Laurent Koscielny
Luzhny was predominantly a right-back, signed to take over from Lee Dixon, which never really happened because the Ukrainian who arrived at Highbury never hit the heights he did at Dynamo Kiev. Nicknamed "the horse" by fans for his tendency to gallop upfield, he picked up a league winners' medal and was at least versatile enough to play in the middle.
Koscielny is equally versatile and has attracted the attention, according to his agent at least, of Barcelona and Bayern Munich during his time at the Emirates. The Frenchman displaced Thomas Vermaelen at Arsenal, leading to the former captain suffering the ignominy of a transfer to Barcelona.
Ashley Cole vs Nacho Monreal
"Cashley", for all his perceived faults, was a rampaging full-back who used to play centre-forward in his youth, another key member of Wenger's Invincibles. He soured relations with fans with the £55,000 a week car-swerving episode, but is quality was beyond question.
Monreal goes relatively under the radar in Arsenal's public consciousness, but the 28-year-old Spaniard is a more solid defender than the left-back he is keeping out of the team, Kieran Gibbs.
Gilberto Silva vs Francis Coquelin
There is an argument that Arsène Wenger have failed to fill the hole in defensive midfield left by the Brazilian World Cup winner, another Invincible. One swallow does not make a summer, but Francis Coquelin's brilliant performance in Arsenal's 2-0 win away to Manchester City in January, provoked comparisons with the great Gilberto. Time will tell.
Ray Parlour vs Aaron Ramsey
Parlour's love of a sociable evening indicated that he would not thrive under Wenger's lifestyle-conscious regime, yet the "Romford Pele" grew to be one of the most reliable and underrated members of his manager's early years. Tenacious and hard-working, an Arsenal man through and through.
Ramsey is injured - again - which is the biggest negative about a player who over the last two seasons appeared to be fulfilling massive potential as a midfielder with every string to his bow.
Robert Pires vs Alexis Sanchez
A heavyweight contest. Pires, at his best, was a magnificent sight down the flank for Arsenal, tall, graceful, skilled and voted by fans as their sixth-greatest player ever. A World Cup and European Championship winner with France to boot.
Sanchez has settled into north London, quicker than anyone could have dreamed, hitting 18 goals in 33 appearances for the club playing either out wide or through the middle. The Chilean can never expect to emulate Pires' international achievements, but the former Barcelona forward is a genuine candidate to be the Premier League's player of the year in only his first season.
Fredrik Ljungberg vs Mesut Ozil
Ljungberg, the Swedish underwear model, was a highly popular exponent of the Wenger way - athletic, versatile, and committed. Coming in off either flank or sitting behind the strikers, he also had a habit of scoring goals when they were most needed. Five major winners' medals are evidence enough of his quality.
Ozil, has a World Cup winners' medal, however. He also has Real Madrid on his CV and a reputation as one of the world's most creative players. Like Ljungberg he has played out wide and in the centre, but to the same great effect?
Dennis Bergkamp vs Santi Cazorla
Bergkamp is credited as the man who made it all happen for Wenger's Arsenal, who took Ian Wright's game up a level with his technique, vision and knowledge. How much stock can you put on the one key weakness to his game – a morbid fear of flying?
Cazorla is another player who appeared to hit new heights in January's 2-0 at Manchester City, looking completely at home playing through the middle rather than out wide, with a performance of jinking, tenacious, quality that few Arsenal players have rivalled in recent years. A glimpse of what he is capable.
Thierry Henry vs Olivier Giroud
One is a World Cup winner, European Champion, and Arsenal legend, the other is not.
0 nhận xét:
Đăng nhận xét