It’s a subject I enjoy debating with people because there is no right or wrong answer to it, it’s about opinions but it’s also about what you expect him to actually do. I don’t blame Denílson for not being as defensive minded as Gilberto and Flamini before him, I blame Arsene Wenger for not buying and then expecting Denílson to change his whole game completely, yet it seems that Denílson is at the forefront of most people’s criticisms because of it.
Let’s get this straight, Denílson is a very good player, so don’t take out your ‘Arsene didn’t buy anyone anger’ on him, because he’s done what he’s been asked to do, admirably well I think. Denílson is someone who gets more involved in the defensive game than someone like Fabregas, but gets more involved in the attacking game than someone like Flamini, so he’s pretty much suited in a flat 4-5-1, and as shown on Saturday, he did very well but people forgot his role wasn’t to defend, that was Song’s, and his clumsyness cost us the goal, but Denílson got the criticism for not doing his role well enough.
What is Denílson’s role? I beleive it’s to take some pressure of Cesc, if he doesn’t fire, then Arsenal reply on some magic from Ade or van Persie which isn’t coming at the moment, so Denílson keeps the play ticking over and retains possession well enough. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve seen him give the ball away quite a few times from sloppy passes but so has Cesc, et Sunderland where he did so 4 or 5 times in about half an hour.
Denílson has been asked to change his whole game to suit Fabregas but it clearly isn’t his position, but don’t call Denílson a bad player because of it, he’s far from it. I know statistics aren’t always an accurate read on a players game, but look;
Tacklers Team Tackles Success rate
1. Behrami West Ham 33 73%
2. Petrov Aston Villa 30 63%
3. Butt Newcastle 29 62%
4. Muamba Bolton 26 81%
5. Denilson Arsenal 26 73%
Passers Team Passes Accuracy
1. Alonso Liverpool 424 84%
2. Denilson Arsenal 416 85%
3. Lampard Chelsea 415 84%
4. Parker West Ham 353 87%
5. Butt Newcastle 352 81%
Player Team Assists
1. Arteta Everton 4
2. Young Aston Villa 3
3. Barry Aston Villa 3
4. Denilson Arsenal 3
5. Ireland Man. City 3
Denílson may not be the perfect partner for Cesc, but don’t say he’s not a good player, because he’s very talented and still only 20 himself, it’s his first run in the first team and although I feel Diaby could do a better job next to Fabregas, I do beleive that if Fabregas is every injured, Denílson is the man to fill his boots as best as someone who isn’t Cesc can at Arsenal.
Well done Ell, I love me some stats and these ones do a pretty good job of showing the little things that Denilson does for the team.
By: Tim on October 7, 2008
at 9:19 pm
Ell: The stats are good I must agree but they don’t tell the whole story; they could have been easy tackle and the ones he failed in where hard. I haven’t seen him yet make a great tackle and I have watched all Arsenal matches this season. Some good tackles yes, his passing hasn’t been great. Too many square passes when in the middle of the park. It’s when he is higher up is when he does better passes. I like I just don’t think he is the answer just yet.
http://arsenalcolumn.wordpress.com
By: The Brain on October 7, 2008
at 9:51 pm
Also they don’t tell u how he positions and communicates etc. Flamini was brilliant at these things. The best way to judge is to watch the match and then use stats like these as supplement.
One peice of advice: ur doing a blog that seems similar to a cultured left foot. You have to try and differentiate a bit more as they both look identical.
By: The Brain on October 7, 2008
at 9:53 pm
What exactly is an easy tackle? Numerous times I’ve seen the opposition attempting to counter and Denílson coming across and sticking out a last leg to win the ball back. His distribution isn’t as hollywood as Fabregas’, but who’s is? That isn’t his role, he keeps the ball well enough (most of the time, 75% according to the stats) and keeps the play ticking over, that’s crucial to our play.
You’re own blog showed the lack of movement up front for the likes of Denílson and Fabregas to work with, and it wasn’t Denílson’s job to soley defend, so I was a bit miffed at why he was the man getting the brunt of the criticism of fans in the Pub and on certain blogs / forums.
By: Ell on October 7, 2008
at 10:58 pm
Denilson is a very good player .. to be honest he has been more active than Cesc so far in the season ..
Cesc has been drawn into trying to provide these long ridiculous passes to Adebayor where 9.9 out of 10 Ade is offside ..
Cesc corners have been shambolic so far .. picking up the opposition instead of team mates.
Denilson seems to be on a mission to prove himself, and he is doing a very good job.
The problem we have isnt only about partnerships .. see .. we dont have any urgency in our play ..
We can compete with Manure and chelski .. but the chavs keep pushing forward, putting bodies and forging goals .. manure rely on quick passing and speedy movement, confusing the opposition.
We pass and pass and bore and pass .. no urgency for 80 mins .. if then we are winning we keep passing .. if we are not we panic and start moving quicker..
If we play for 50min out of 90 in the same way we play the last 10mins (when we are losing) we would kill games and secure points ..
How many times we have seen over the past 4 years in one game .. 4-6 consecutive passes between our centre backs inviting each other to move the ball forward ..
As long as the opposition doesnt stay focused and keep their lines tights, we score and win .. when they close us down we just pass back.
By: R3DD3R on October 8, 2008
at 9:50 am
Good post and I agree with it, we seem to try too hard to get into the box, but it also depends on how deep they play against us, Man Utd don’t seem to have that problem because the speed they attack at.
We like to keep the ball and in doing so, we seem to allow the team to regroup, sort themselves out and defend well.
It’s almost as if we need to let them onto us so we can counter..
By: Ell on October 8, 2008
at 12:35 pm
He’s not a blocker! We need a blocker, a Mascherano type player who’s tackling and intercepting stats are probably more like 90% over a season. Denilson is a good player if Fabregas isn’t fit, but together it ain’t working! Unless we sign a defensive midfielder or someone fills that viod soon, we’re going to struggle.
By: scottpuffin on October 9, 2008
at 12:12 am
Hi Ell. Not everyone will agree on this issue but I will say is that we have lost two games and drawn once. Yes they were lucky goals that we conceded but never did the other teams look out of the game. We would have shut the game out last year.
The strikers have their part to play by scoring but in as the saying goes, ‘defense is best form of offense.’
The other teams we beat were really poor and we capitalised. The balance is not quite there yet. I know we wont agree but just a thought.
I like deni but at the moment he isn’t quite ready yet IMO.
By: The Brain on October 9, 2008
at 11:20 am
Fulham was a poor performance, and Hull were 2 shock goals, out of the complete blue. I don’t want to make excuses but it’s true, we really should have beaten Hull and on a normal day, we would have, we rained efforts on their goal for most of the second half.
Sunderland was poor again, not as poor as Fulham but not as good as Hull, and it’s expected away from home. To win the title we need to start winning these games, so it’s best we forget about these and focus on Everton.
I don’t think he’s ready, and I don’t think he should be playing next to Cesc, but I don’t think he’s a bad player either.
By: Ell on October 9, 2008
at 1:14 pm