WHOEVER made sure Mikel Arteta did not get Morgan Rogers deserves a pay rise.
I really like the 24-year-old former Aston Villa man.
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But while I don’t think he is a £117million player, there is no doubt in my mind that he is a bloody good footballer.
And had Rogers ended up at Arsenal, I reckon he could have made an already frightening side practically unplayable.
Chelsea will undoubtedly be a better team with him in it.
But Arsenal would have been the perfect fit for Rogers, because Arteta has built something that is becoming increasingly difficult to compete with physically as well as technically.
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Look at that Arsenal team at the weekend, They were a team of mountains.
Their centre-backs are as tall as the skyscrapers of Manhattan and almost impossible to beat in the air.
Ben White is one of the tallest full-backs around at (6 ft 1 in) but Ricardo Calafiori (6 ft 2 in)is even taller and bigger than him- that is the idea they had when they were putting the team together- team of giants.
Arteta appears to have found a glitch in the Premier League. He has built a team with the physical strength, size and athleticism required to survive the brutal rigours of a title race, while still possessing the technical quality to play beautiful football.
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And that is why Rogers (6ft 2in) would have been so frightening at Arsenal. Chelsea will benefit from his power, pace and ability to carry the ball.
But had he joined Arsenal, I genuinely believe they could have simply mowed over teams.
In midfield, they have the man mountain that is Declan Rice, a wonderfully technical footballer who is also about as physical as they come.
Then there is Kai Havertz (6 ft 4 in) up front.
Now imagine the three behind Havertz being Bukayo Saka on the right, Martin Odegaard through the middle and Morgan Rogers on the left.
That is a terrifying prospect.
You would have technical brilliance, pace, power and physicality all packed into one attacking unit.
And when you add the size and strength Arsenal already possess behind them, they would be incredibly difficult to deal with.
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At times, the tactical side almost becomes secondary when you have that combination of technique and brute force.
Arteta has effectively built a team of giants who can also play. And it got me thinking about another Arsenal side.
Because there are striking similarities between the team Arteta is building and the legendary Invincibles side that dominated English football.
That Arsenal team did not just have Kolo Toure and Sol Campbell as an enormous defensive pairing.
They had Patrick Vieira, arguably the ultimate Premier League midfield powerhouse, running the show in the middle of the park.
And alongside him was Gilberto Silva, another player who combined intelligence with tremendous physical strength.
Then came Thierry Henry. A phenomenon who had the physique, speed and technical ability to destroy almost any defence in front of him.
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And alongside him was Robert Pires, another player who had the complete package, technique, intelligence and enough physicality to handle the Premier League.
That is the fascinating thing about what Arteta has done. Perhaps he has not reinvented Arsenal after all.
Perhaps he has simply gone back into the club’s history and taken the blueprint that once made them dominant.
The Invincibles were not successful purely because they were technically brilliant.They were powerful, athletic and aggressive but they could also play.
Arteta appears to have understood that lesson.
He has built a modern Arsenal side around the same principle, get physically imposing players who are also technically exceptional.
That is why Rogers would have been such an intriguing addition.
Chelsea may have landed themselves a superb player.
But Arsenal might just have landed the missing piece to an already terrifying machine.
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And whoever made sure that move never happened at the Emirates?
They deserve a pay rise.