David Silva a better buy for Arsenal than Villa…and some more Euros!!!

Spain were simply amazing yesterday in the Euros. Torres was good, but Villa was better. His movement and clinical finishing was simply breathtaking. Arsenal fans would have been encouraged by Villa’s third goal in which Fabregas was the provider. They would be salivating at the prospect of watching that week in week out provided the much vaunted striker does end up at Arsenal. Though that is a prospect which seems more unlikely now than ever before. He was already a bit costly for Wenger’s liking; on top of that he is performing superbly at the Euros, which will hike his value like anything. Speaking of our very own Spanish hero, he did not start but did well in the time he got on the pitch. What more can you ask from a midfield sub? He scored a goal and got an assist, essentially being actively involved in both the goals scored by his team while he was on the pitch. I was a bit surprised when Fabregas replaced Torres. As per me, the best attacking combination for the Spanish would be Fabregas providing and Torres finishing, and here I was watching one replace the other. Fabregas played much further up on the pitch then he usually plays at club level and did some excellent work, though he was found out in one instance when his lack of speed made sure that the keeper managed to collect the through pass before he could reach it. This made me think, whether playing Fabregas in the same position for Arsenal would be a good idea in a 4-5-1. During the current season Hleb was the one who got that spot, though he did well, I get the feeling that playing Fabregas there could help us achieve much better results. With Adebayor up front and Walcott to run up from the wings, he could really do a lot of damage. On top of that, we could have Diaby or Denilson with Gilberto behind him in the central midfield. This would give some valuable experience to the younger two, and allow Gilberto to cover at the back and not run too much. Apart from the lovely attack displayed by Spain, their defense was distinctly bad. Puyol did the only thing he does best, last ditch tackling. Sergio Ramos was uncharacteristically poor and had a torrid time. If the Russian attacking force was half as good as the Spanish one, we would have definitely seen a score line of 4-3. The Russians inexplicably lost focus every time they had the ball in or around the Spanish goal. I didn’t know Arshavin would be suspended for this game, he could have made some difference, hope he is back for the rest of the group games. The Sweden and Greece game almost made me go to sleep, what with Greece persisting with the policy that surprisingly won them the title last time around. It took a moment of brilliance from the most inconsistent (immensely talented) striker we may ever see. It was amusing to know that the last time Zlatan had scored for the national team was 3 years back. I get a feeling that despite his age Henrik Larsson makes Zlatan’s life a lot easier. On top of that, we seemed to be watching the Ljunberg of old, I wonder what the West Ham fans might be making of that. If Zlatan can be a bit consistent, he should be able to take them to the second round; else Russia may have the last laugh. As far as the groups are concerned, only the Dutch group seems exciting for now, rest of the Euros would come live only in the second round.

Coming to the main point of this blog; the Spanish side had a typically shortish winger named David Silva, who seemed much like our very own Rosicky. Not only did he move infield, he was creative and on top of that pretty tenacious too. He provided something different to a midfield full of central midfielders in Xavi, Iniesta, Fabregas and Senna. Agreed, Villa was the star of the day, but Silva showed enough qualities to stake for a starting place in any of the top clubs. He too is in a similar situation to Villa at Valencia, and might not be that expensive. I am not sure whether the Nasri deal will happen or not, but definitely Silva is a quality player in an area where Arsenal are found wanting, something we cannot say about David Villa. There is no doubting the quality of Villa, but with Adebayor, Van Persie and Bendtner already there and Walcott, Eduardo and Vela on their way, I don’t think we need a striker, however good he may be. But a winger like David Silva is almost exactly what we need.