LA Galaxy Has A Good Problem On Their Hands

The Mexican has finally touched down in Los Angeles to incorporate himself to the LA Galaxy ranks. He was well received by a strong contingent of fans who literally mobbed him at the airport on Sunday. That is just a glimpse of his immense popularity and strong following that will follow him to the StubHub Center.

Giovani dos Santos will be officially unveiled Tuesday and will be eligible for LA’s upcoming matches against Central FC (Thursday) and Seattle Sounders (Sunday). The 26-year-old was part of the Gold Cup championship team for Mexico that won in controversial fashion. Gio sat out the majority of the playoff run due to injury, but his presence on the field was visibly missed.

Dos Santos posted a letter on Sunday’s edition of the L.A. Times directed towards the fans. He basically thanked the fans for standing by him throughout his career and that he can’t wait to start playing for the team. Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena will have a tough time deciding who will play for his team. A squad boasting Steven Gerrard, Robbie Keane, Gyasi Zardes, Alan Gordon and now dos Santos, minutes may become an issue. Not to be forgotten, Sebastian Lletget who can’t stop scoring for LA (6 goals in 10 games), will be another attacking option available for the head coach.

Moreover, young players like Jose Villareal, Ignacio Maganto, Raul Mendiola and Bradford Jamieson who played admirably while the majority of the senior team was on International duty gained some valuable experience further deepening the roster. Jamieson, Maganto and Mendiola will surely return to the Galaxy II squad to continue their growth.

How will Arena lineup with such an array of quality talent at his disposal? It’s pretty much a forgone conclusion that the four horsemen of dos Santos, Keane, Gerrard and Zardes will lineup together.

But which formation?

Here’s where it gets fun for the HC. He can field a 4-2-3-1 formation with Keane as the lone striker, Gerrard slotted behind him and Gyasi and Gio on the wings. Juninho and Baggio Husidic would man the defensive holding position. This lineup leaves the creativity up to each of the four stars since they can all score and create shots for each other. Juninho and Baggio can also provide support in the offense.

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Another option could be a two forward front line in a 4-1-3-2 diamond (or not) formation. A duo of Zardes and Keane as the forwards, Lleget and dos Santos on the wings and Gerrard behind the two strikers, leaving Juninho as the only defensive MF. This gives LA a quicker team that will inject more speed especially on the wings. It will be a high-octane offense for the Galaxy. I have complete confidence Juninho can handle being the lone defensive midfielder but at the same time, don’t want to overuse him.

Against Club America and FC Barcelona, I noticed speed was a huge factor against the Galaxy. Counter attacks were devastating against LA which is why the added speed on the corners could help in that department. Granted, Omar Gonzalez, Zardes were not available and Robbie Rogers was nursing an injury.

Nevertheless the parts in the second lineup are interchangeable which would create havoc for the opposition. Gio, Gyasi and Lletget can switch positions during the contest and provide play making abilities for the rest of the team. They can make deep runs and lead devastating counter attacks for the Galaxy.

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All in all, Bruce Arena has a wonderful problem on his hands. So much talent is available to him. He has a deep roster to make a furious run at first place. LA is currently third in the Western Conference. Given the slow start to the season LA had, the Galaxy have rebounded quite nicely.

They have an impressive record at home 9-1-2 and still lead the MLS in scoring with 39 goals. Safe to say with the additions of Gerrard and dos Santos that number will keep going up. What’s concerning is their road record of 1-6-5. They just picked up their first road win of the season in their 24^th match of league play.