Which new signings have impressed for Arsenal already this season…
While for some, it might be too early to judge summer signings who are still bedding into their new team, for us here at CaughtOffside, we can’t wait to get our teeth into whether we think a player is likely to be a success or failure.
Because lets face it, that’s what most fans are thinking. A couple of bad games, and the jury is firmly out. Conversely, a couple of good games, and he’s the new club hero.
In the latest in a series of articles – check out our ranking of Arsenal’s summer signings so far – ranked from five to one:
Liverpool Summer Signings – How have we rated the Reds new stars so far
William Carvalho Arsenal – Is the Sporting Lisbon man going to be joining this list in January?
Arsenal Predicted XI – Who will get the nod as the Gunners take on Aston Villa?
Note: Appearances and goals are accurate as of 20/09/2014 and exclude Champions League qualifying matches and the Community Shield
5) David Ospina
Games: 0 Goals: 0 Rating: N/A Grade: D
It can be frustrating to be a reserve goalkeeper. It can be even more frustrating to be an injured reserve goalkeeper. For the Colombian, missing all of Arsenal’s pre-season campaign ended any small hopes he might have had of starting the season ahead of Wojciech Szczesny. It seems harsh to mark down the 26-year-old who by all accounts has settled well to life in London, but there is little other choice when he is yet to play a game. He may well get his first chance in the Capital One Cup next week, when his team host Southampton.
4) Danny Welbeck
Games: 2 Goals: 0 Rating: 6.44 Grade: C
Is he the answer to Arsenal’s striking problems? Will the £16m man score the goals to keep the Gunners in the hunt for major honours until Olivier Giroud returns from injury early next year? Based on his first two performances, the jury remains firmly out. He showed several glimpses of potential against Manchester City last week, but he was disappointingly wasteful against Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday – begging the question, is he what Arsenal needed right now? Sure he has potential, and lots of it, but would they not have been better served by chasing a more experienced striker to fill in during Giroud’s absence.
3) Calum Chambers
Games: 2 (2) Goals: 0 Rating: 6.97 Grade: B-
It’s been an encouraging start from the 19-year-old, whose form has already earned him his first England call-up. It’s worth remembering that he is still a relative novice, with only a handful of Premier League games behind him, and therefore there is still plenty within his game to work on. He has been caught out by his positioning a couple of times already this season, but those errors are to be expected when he spent the majority of his time with Southampton playing at right-back, rather than in the middle of a defensive four. Nonetheless, he is an incredibly bright prospect who could become a cornerstone of Arsenal’s team for years to come.
2) Mathieu Debuchy
Games: 4 Goals: 0 Rating: 7.54 Grade: B
He has look every bit the ideal replacement for Bacary Sagna. At 29, the Frenchman is not a long-term solution by any means, but he will be a solid option for Arsene Wenger over the next couple of seasons. Unfortunately, his injury could not have come at a worse time, and his absence was exposed during Tuesday’s match with Borussia Dortmund, when teenager Hector Bellerin made his forgettable Champions League debut. The sooner they get Debuchy back, the better.
1) Alexis Sanchez
Games: 5 Goals: 2 Rating: 7.15 Grade: B+
Arsenal fans can be forgiven for fearing the worst when their big-money signing flattered to deceive in his first couple of games (just look at how Mesut Ozil is turning out). But the Chilean is slowly growing accustomed to life in the Premier League. As well as scoring the crucial goal against Besiktas in Champions League qualifying (which is not counted in the statistics above), he found the net against both Leicester City and Manchester City in the Premier League, with the latter strike coming from a peach of a volley. If he continues to progress at the rate he has so far, he will be a top player come the end of the season.
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