Arsene Wenger allowed himself a nostalgic smile as he recalled how routine player checks on a Friday produced some impressive results in the old days. Building up to the weekend, everyone was weighed and underwent various tests, and when Arsenal had a team of powerhouses, the scales were put under a fair amount of strain.
“Petit, Vieira, Parlour,” Wenger said. “It was quite something there.”
But it would not surprise too many to discover the Premier League team who came in with the lowest figures in weight and height on the opening weekend of this season were Arsenal.
Wenger’s starting XI averaged 5ft 10in, some three inches less than the tallest teams (Chelsea, Crystal Palace, QPR, Stoke and West Ham). An average weight of 10st 12lbs was way below QPR’s hulking 12st 7 lbs.
Such data is useful only up to a point. Put Lionel Messi’s height and weight next to Cristiano Ronaldo’s and the contrast would be extreme, without reflecting their qualities. Besides, Wenger felt inclined to joke about his present team being comparatively lean. “Because our diet is better,” he quipped.
But there is a serious element to the question of whether Wenger’s preference for small, nimble players has an effect. That certainly seemed to be the case in the high-profile games last season when Arsenal were easily outmuscled and rendered impotent.
It was a particular problem away from home against the strongest clubs, and was manifested in some shocking scorelines. Arsenal were pulverised each time they visited a rival from the top five.
The fact Arsenal had an excellent away record against teams lower in the league suggests their emphasis on technique was generally enough to overcome routine challenges.
Arsenal travel to Goodison Park today, one of the scenes of their horror shows last season. That defeat at Everton – a comprehensive 3-0 win for Roberto Martinez’s team in April – exposed the soft underbelly Premier League managers tend to target.
The image of Romelu Lukaku bulldozing through, with waves of blue attacks spreading anxiety through Arsenal’s ranks, is still clear in Wenger’s mind.
“We were a bit bullied,” he says. “In the quality of our performance – and even more than that in mental resistance, the steel on the day – that was one of our low points.”
It was interesting that when Wenger reflected on why his team were perceived as fragile he pondered how the choice of a player of Mikel Arteta’s physique as a holding midfielder might be part of the explanation.
“Maybe because we use more technical players in the middle of the park, especially Arteta,” he said. “You always want to improve technically and sometimes when you want to do that you go a bit more for skill, which can be more lightweight.”
Wenger is still "open" to buying a defensive midfielder which would instil more power and height in that department. All the players on Arsenal's radar this summer in that position – Sami Khedira, William Carvalho and Adrien Rabiot - are around 6ft 2in, which gives a different dynamic to when Wenger picks two from Arteta (who is out of today's game with an ankle injury), Mathieu Flamini, Aaron Ramsey or Jack Wilshere (all 5ft 10in or under).
Although Calum Chambers is an option in defensive midfield with more physical presence, the youngster is needed at the back for now. – Guardian Service
