The next Roberto Carlos? What Arsenal fans can expect from Andre Santos
By Christopher Atkins Mirror Football in Football Spy Published 16:56 30/08/11
http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/opinion ... 93323.html

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is finally showing his hand in the transfer window following the departures of Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri and the 8-2 thrashing at the hands of Manchester United on Sunday. First in was Korean striker Park Chu-Young , adding to the Gunners' options in attack, and it now appears that Wenger is making a move for international defenders Per Mertesacker and Andre Santos. While the German's will be a familiar name to most football fans in Britain, left-back Santos' might not be - despite his 22 Brazil caps. Straight out of the Brazilian school of full-backs, attacking is Santos' primary trade. His left foot is capable of unleashing powerful shots on goal, as well as whipped crosses into the box that the likes of Robin Van Persie and Park will no doubt be anticipating with glee.

Santos made his name in Brazil at Figueirense but a 2008 move to Corinthians really propelled him to the big time. In just a year and half at the Sao Paulo outfit under current Brazil manager Mano Menezes, the full-back won the Serie B Championship, the Brazilian Cup and the Sao Paulo State Championship. A move to Europe saw Santos joining the Brazilian contingent at Turkish giants Fenerbahce - one of whom was a certain Roberto Carlos. The Brazilian legend eventually lost his place in the team to the dynamic new arrival and returned to Brazil. The significance of this event would not have been lost on any Brazilian fan. Carlos' shadow has hung over every Brazilian left-back since his retirement and, given Santos attacking style, as well as his strong, powerful build, the comparisons were even more inevitable.

And while there's no doubt Santos is an improvement on Arsene Wenger's current full-back options, the Fenerbahce man has yet to convince many in his homeland. For all his attacking threat, Santos has defensive deficiencies that explain his inability to make the Brazil left-back slot as his own. Given his propensity to surge forward down the left, it will be no surprise to learn that positioning is not always the 28-year-old's strong-point. It is a common flaw among Brazilian full-backs - who are in many cases expected to provide all the width for a side's attack – and is often counter-acted by the inclusion of two holding midfielders.

Another accusation commonly levied at Santos is that he suffers from lapses in concentration. He was dropped from Brazil's squad for the upcoming friendly with Ghana following a glaring error in last month's encounter with Germany. In the midst of an uninspiring all-round performance, Santos was dispossessed in his own box to allow Andre Schuerrle to score the winning goal. Given the different role of the full-back in the English game, there has been much talk emanating out of Brazil that Santos may be used in a more advanced, left wing role for the London club. However, given Arsenal's wealth of options on the flanks, this is far more likely to be a back-up option.

All that said, Arsene Wenger's enjoyment of attacking full-backs should mean Santos is a good fit for the club's system - especially if Alex Song and Emmanuel Frimpong are combined at the base of the midfield. Sanros has struck up a good relationship with Neymar on the left flank of the Brazilian side, overlapping while the youngster cuts infield, and Wenger will hope Santos can replicate this with Gervinho. If Arsenal's coaching staff can work with the player on the defensive side of his game, the Fenerbahce man could turn out to be an absolute bargain.

For one thing is certain: when in full flow, Santos is a joy to watch and will be a new delight for the Premier League audience to savour.

Had his first start in an arsenal jersey against Blackburn, and really couldn't have put less effort in. He has a very decent strike of the ball for crossing. But you cant afford to have a defender that doesn't look hungry for it. Really should have been taken of early. He looked like berbatov playing at left back. Its far to early to draw conclusions but his first start was very disappointing.

I personally think he was to blame for the first goal (played Yakubu well onside), played Yakubu on for his second, and should have jockeyed a lot better on the fourth. I mean, he went square on to Hoilett! From the age of 10 players should know that's not what you do.

Agree he hit some fantastic crosses but he is either lazy or not match fit because he looked very lethargic.

Yep, the lad was definately a mixed bag against Blackburn. Still, it's far too early to tell anything after just the one match so I'll be reserving judgement untill after a good few games, when hopefully he'll look a tad more energetic and disciplined.

I agree, its easy to make snap judgements after one game and he isnt coming into a side that is doing well or even playing well.

The whole team defended poorly but he looked overweight to me.

To be honest I think he's just a bit of a thickset lad. He seems incredibly 'bullish' to me, and I just think it's a case of him being pretty broad that gives off a perception of him being overweight.

I totally agree. He is very good technically but he is just not fully fit to the standard we require. He will be very good in the next 3-4 months though once he has lost a few pounds and is of the required fitness level.

He didnt look sharp at all last night. By his expressions when he was getting done, he knew it aswell. I personally think when he is 100% fully fit he will be pushing gibbs and we might see a good battle for the first team between the two of them this season.

Interesting article about Santos' position, especially in the light of recent criticism of him ignoring his defensive duties. It seems we have to grant him much more time to adapt to the expectations he is confronted with here.

André Santos exposes an English blind-spot
By Christopher Atkins, November 1, 2011
http://www.zapkam.com/blog/index.php/20 ... lind-spot/

“André Santos is not a very good defender”

A phrase uttered countless times on Tuesday night, as Arsenal took on Marseille at the Emirates Stadium. Many would agree, including those from Brazil. In fact, some of André Santos’ numerous admirers may have an inclination to agree, because to many, it is a fallacy to describe the Arsenal man as a defender. André Santos is known as a ‘lateral’ in Brazil, which in English would often be described as a full-back, or wing-back. However, they are far from defenders, playing an almost box-to-box role from the flank.

England has become immune to tactical adaptations, particularly when it comes to the defensive line. Terry Venables much lauded experiment with 3-5-2 in Euro ’96 is still the most cited example of a manager having strayed away from a back four in recent years, with 4-4-2, 4-3-3 and 4-5-1 variations very much the order of the day. True, many teams in Brazil start with a four man defensive line. However, the role of the full-back is far from the same.

Take Fábio da Silva, Manchester United’s attacking full-back. When at Manchester United, although considered to be very forward-thinking, his primary duty is to defend. With Brazil it is a different story. Fábio made his Brazil debut last month and impressed, earning a call-up to this month’s friendlies with Gabon and Egypt. A fine source of attacking creation in the game against Costa Rica, Fábio was rarely deeper than the midfield line and quite often the only players more advanced than the youngster were the attacking duo of Neymar and Fred. Alex Ferguson would have killed him had it been in a Manchester United football shirt, but it is a different role and there are different expectations. The only thing the lateral and a full-back have in common is the same vague starting position.

A wing-back is a much better definition for the role, but it is almost an old fashioned term in English. Across the Premier League there are attacking full-backs, but the tactical set-ups do not allow for a Brazilian-style ‘lateral’. Chelsea, Manchester United, Manchester City, Tottenham and Arsenal – all play with full-backs intent on getting forward and overlapping. But, as cited in the Fábio argument, the primary duty is always to defend.

In Brazil, this is worked around by the presence of two holding midfielders. The ‘volante’ or holding player in the Brazilian game is not expected to supply much to the attack and the concept of a deep-lying playmaker is definitely something that could be explored in greater depth. But, with most teams width provided solely by the ‘lateral’, there is not any need for greater protection on the flanks and thus the centre-backs, supported by the two holding players are enough of a defensive cordon to succeed.

When André Santos was signed, it was widely assumed in Brazil it was to play as a left-wing in England. Arsenal, on the other hand, no doubt hope the player can develop into an English-style attacking full-back. However, with the player having played an attacking-role at Fenerbahce, the transition will take time and the British media in particular need to be more open minded about the idiosyncrasies of other footballing cultures. I come back to Fábio da Silva. Sir Alex Ferguson brought both Fábio and Rafael from Brazil as early as possible, to train them on the demands of the role in England. Here, from the English perspective, they are seen as positionally suspect; in Brazil, the perception is that the twins are too defensive.

Football is not one, universal culture. André Santos may be playing as a left-back at Arsenal and thus must do much better defensively. Importantly though, André Santos has never claimed to be a defender.

There are some interesting points made in that article. Of course he wll need time to adapt in order to improve defensively but for all we know, he could have been given the freedom to roam forward by the manager? He's good at it so he needs to be given that freedom to express himself. I dont agree that he is not a good defender. He does make some good tackles and interceptions and that side of his game will always improve under our coaching.

I keep seeing posts about how unfit he is, but I don't see it in some respects. He does go from box to box all day, he must have some engine. It's a different kind of fitness though, and because he gets caught out of position he can't get back quickly enough, because he's just charged forward 60 metres. I can see potential in him, it's finding the system within the team to bring out the best for the team. He can even defend sometimes when he is in position, he wins some tackles where I expect him to lose out. His distribution from the back is too casual.

Mano: Arsenal defender André Santos 'tactically irresponsible'
By Christopher Atkins 2012-06-23 13:09:00
http://www.sambafoot.com/en/news/32664_ ... ible_.html

Brazil manager Mano Menezes has given his reasoning behind dropping André Santos after last summer's Copa America, blaming tactical indiscipline. Santos, 29, had been first-choice under Mano Menezes, but has fallen out of the equation following Brazil's failure in Argentina last June. "The problem with Andre Santos is tactical. He turned my hair grey when we were still at Corinthians," said the national coach. "Why? Because he is tactically irresponsible, but he did score 20-goals and it was worth it in the end. It was value for money and with the Seleção, you cannot pay this price."

André Santos joined Arsenal from Fenerbahce last summer, making 15 league appearances for the Gunners.

I personally want to see Santos leave and we go in for someone more solid.

As poor as he is defending at times, I still feel more confidence than when Clichy was back there for the previous couple of years.

Is he on a 3 year contract? He will be around for at least this season, probably see out his contract and then leave on a free. I see him as the back-up to Gibbs, but Gibbs just can't stay away from injuries, so Santos plays more than he should based on his performance. That said we missed him when both he and Gibbs were injured.

For me we have bigger holes on this squad than Santos and Wenger at least seems to be addressing those first.

I think this is always going to be the argument with Santos - he is being asked to be a left back and defensively he is not good enough and at his age I doubt he will learn how to do this. However, first of all I don't think it is the intention for him to be first choice, more a reserve to Gibbs. And as an attacking full back I feel he offered more and produced more in the first three months of this season than Gael Clichy did offensively in what, 7 years at the club? He has also popped at some crucial moments with goals and gave us a way back into games when the attacking element has misfired. I think there is a case for keeping him in the squad definately and the one that I would looking at is Gibbs - is this kid going to fulfil the promise he has? If it looks like Gibbs won't then we should be definately looking at that position again. But I'm happy enough with Santos in the squad.