Is Vermaelen Now Our 3rd Best Centre Back?

I cant think of a single department he's better in.

 

TV and Kos are similar, but Mert adds one thing they are not overly blessed with - height (as if you didnt know). Watch out for him in games and you will notice that recently Mert has probably cleared well over 50% of all set pieces around our box. That is a huge proportion for one player and an area we had a reputation of being very poor at for the last few years. Mert is by far our best defender at set pieces and for this reason must be in the first 11.

As for who's best out of Kos and TV its a hard call. TV was better last year but Kos has caught up now. Until both have a good run of games at CB (and I think Mert will play so dont know when it will happen) it will be very hard to say who's better.

 

Tackling, positioning, game reading, passing and arguably heading.

 

Disagree. Koscielny will not and cannot be dropped.

 

But Koscielny is better in every other department. You can't just drop him because Vermaelen is a better leader.

I personally think it will be Mertesacker who's dropped when everyone is fit, but I think it should be Vermaelen.

 

Yeah, it's a very good problem to have. We'll just have to wait and see.

Anyway, it's an early night for me. Got college in the morning!

Night xx

 

him and TV are immense

 

With everyone fit Wenger will pick Vermaelen and Mertesacker and rightfully so. I'm willing to bet money on it.

 

Koscielny cannot be dropped.

You'd only lose your money if you bet on him being dropped.

 

Mertesacker is far from commanding in the air, he hardly gets off the ground, like Zat Knight, thats why halflings like Dempsey can out jump him.

I would say our best CBs are Vermaelen and Koscielny and on current form, Koscielny is the best. He is all round better than the rest, makes fewer mistakes, is quicker across the ground and has a great distribution

 

Tad harsh as Verm is injured and has mostly played out of position this season.

Anyway, finally it's a great problem to have. I think Verm is number 1 and Mert and Kos will rotate depending on the opposition. I think Mert has looked better and better as he is settling in, but after VP, Kos has been my player of the season. I'd personally prefer Kos and Verm to play, but think that Mert and Verm gives better balance.

 

He will and can!

I've already given you stats to show Mertesacker is the better option.


also...

Tony Adams has backed Per Mertesacker to be a success at Arsenal following the German’s promising start to his Premier League career.

The 27-year-old secured a £8m move from Werder Bremen to the Emirates in August and the centre-half has been a regular presence in Arsène Wenger’s back four, making 21 appearances.

And Gunners legend Adams is keen to see Mertesacker forge a successful partnership with Thomas Vermaelen, who could return for Arsenal’s next game against Swansea City on Sunday.

“I’ve seen Per Mertesacker a few times now, he interests me and I think he is a good player,” Adams told Arsenal’s website. “I think he is very intelligent and he knows how to play central defence.

“I’m really looking forward to seeing more of him because I don’t think Thomas Vermaelen has actually played enough with him just yet. But they could be a fantastic central defensive partnership and would certainly excite me. It’d be like going back to the days of Adams, Bould, Keown maybe.”



If there's one man who knows about defending it's Mr Adams.

btw... arn't you Jayram from the old 606?

 

Still humble then, Tony

 

Right though

 

You haven't given me any stats. Plus, stats mean nothing.

Also I'm not saying Mertesacker is a bad defender, he's just not as good as Koscielny. He's probably on a similar level to Vermaelen.

And no, I'm not Jayram.

 

These...


Koscielney has 66 appearances for Arsenal. In that time we have conceded 80 goals. (GOALS TO GAME RATIO = 1.21)

Mertesacker has 16 apps and in that time we have conceded 13 Goals. (GOALS TO GAME RATIO = 0.812)




A good defence is all about balance so it's always going to be either Vermaelen and or Koscielney to partner Maertesacker.
Vermaelens experience, leadership skills, distribution, goals and aggression will always make him favourite to start over Koscielney.(that and the fact he's our vice captain)


I like Koscielney he's put alot of effort into getting better at Arsenal but you have to wonder why it took him to the age of 25 to make in top flight football? I think the reason is that he's physically too small to be a Centreback.(i'm not talking height) Arsenal have had him on a strength training regime for 18 months and although he's made big improvements (in terms of strength and mass), he's still one of the smallest centrebacks in the country. Even if he's got stronger his bodyweight will always be an issue because strikers like Drogba, Carroll, Ba etc.. are going to have a good two stone weight advantage over the little Frenchman. (I'm a certified Crossfit coach so this is something I know a bit about btw.)


I still think Koscielney's best position could be Defensive Midfield or Full Back.

 

Ummm yeah, you do realise that Koscielny was often paired with clowns like Squillaci last season? Plus like I said earlier, stats only tell half of the story, not even that.

Koscielny is not too small. Vermaelen is smaller than him. Plus Vermaelen makes a lot more mistakes than Koscielny.

Koscielny can do a good job at RB and maybe even DM, but he's our best CB so that's where he will be played.

 

I would absolutely go along with this. Some rotation would be fantastic, and keep all the players fresh. Although...Koscielny is apparently an inch taller than Vermaelen. But then no-one's really sure how tall Vermaelen is are they!?