Via @Arsenal Instagram
Unai Emery hoisted 3 points up the #Top4 flagpole as he continued to progress his mission of bringing goodness, light and Champions League football back to the true home of London football.
The game was almost too easy. We burst out of the traps much in the same way as we did midweek, this time, the fight was led by the impressive Iwobi who looked inspired. The first goal came from his cross that found Mikhi at the back post, the ensuing scuffed strike found Lacazette 6 yards out for the tapped finish.
Did I just totally forget about the superb save Leno made just prior to the goal? I did. Mustafi made a mistake allowing the Redmond in on goal, the German saving brilliantly.
The second came on 15 minutes. Lacazette’s pressure from the front put Southampton under pressure, Angus Gunn duffed his clearance, the mighty Iwobes found Mikhi at the back post again, this time, the Armenian guided a stroked pass low into the near post corner.
The second half was very much taken in second gear. There’s a fair argument to be had that we should have gone hard at Southampton considering the potential goal difference issue we might butt up against, but ultimately, the three points is what mattered.
I think we saw the impact of overexertion in the ScouserManc game, Liverpool losing Firmino and Robertson, with United breaking 3 players in the first half (Mata, Lingaard, Herrera). The draw was good news for us, it looks like Liverpool are letting the title slip and the draw pegged United back two points in the #Top4 race (Matic is also out).
All in all, the game did the job. I thought it was a bit weird to start Ramsey over Ozil considering the style of game, but both landed some game time. Those two could prove vital for the run-in. Sokratis came through the match unscathed which is also vitally important for the week ahead. Additionally, I thought Bernd Leno was excellent. He made two excellent saves that stopped the game turning into an energy sapper.
I also think Kola is underrated. He made some deft touches, he was unselfish and created two very good chances that deserved more. Some additional stats: He made the most ball recoveries, he made the most passes in the attacking 1/3, he won 2 aerial duels and his pass completion rate was 86%. I know Southampton were shite, but you can only play who is put in front of you.
Xhaka had a very good game. Given time and space, he really can pick apart a team. He ran riot yesterday. Still managed to nearly gift them a goal, but I’d almost feel cheated if he stopped doing that. Lacazette was hardworking and decisive as always. Finally, Mikhi played really well. It’s nice to have some craft out wide, he gives us much needed balance.
So: A clean sheet. Our 4th halftime lead of the season. Back into 4th. That’s the way I like my Sunday afternoons.
The other big game of the day went our way as well. Manchester City won the first trophy of the season with a hard-fought win at Wembley. You had to feel for Sarri, tactically, he proved he could be flexible. No repeat of the disaster of a few weeks ago. Watching Kepa destroy the narrative of the game was quite something. I’ve never witnessed behaviour like that. Chelsea has to do something about insubordination like that. Player power gone mad I tells ya.
Chelsea will hurt from losing out on a trophy, but ultimately, the tired legs heading into a showdown with Spurs this Wednesday is likely their bigger concern. Depressed and leggy isn’t a good combo unless your name is Unai and it’s not your team that is depressed and leggy.
Things are all playing into the hands of Arsenal. We have a better run of fixtures and if we can turn over Bournemouth and Spurs this week, it’s ours to fuck up in my opinion.
Additional good news on the stats front. Unai Emery is clocking ahead of Wenger over the past 4 seasons. This stat, courtesy of powerhouse commenter, Redtruth.
2014-15: 51 points
2015-16: 51 points
2016-17: 50 points
2017-18: 45 points
2018-19: 53 points
That’s an average of 3.75 points more than Wenger. Two of those seasons, we won Champions League football. WON. Top 4 was a trophy and still is.
Right, see you in the comments. x
Jorginho has one major failing, he has no final ball ..The weight and timing of the pass is is never right from him and you often see Hazard looking frustrated when another final ball from jorginho fails to find the target . Alternately, Fabregas was the master of the final ball…The final ball is always the hardest to play as the window of opportunity is only open for a fraction of a second and the ball has to be weighted perfectly and timed to perfection … Fabregas is up their with the very best in my opinion and Chelsea miss… Read more »
Guns, millennialism won’t be tolerated
What Sarri does next will be huge for me. He’s likely gone either way but to preserve his dignity and his balls he simply cannot pick Kepa next game. I’d also say he’s utterly dickless too if Luiz escapes some sort of punishment
Sal
“Of those, id be most interested in seeing Keano’s reaction.”
Keane would just give him the stare , no words or action needed.
Who wins a balon d’or first — Mbappe or Neymar?
Marko. I desperately want Chelsea to beat Spurs. Last thing we need is for Chelsea to sack Sarri and go on a winning run like United did. A win at Spurs should keep him in the job long enough for them to drop points for another month. Plus St Totteringhams day is on the cards if we can go and beat Spurs.
Marko
I’m not saying you’re wrong, but do we really know what Luiz was telling Kepa? Couldn’t he have been advising him to listen to the manager?
Neymar. The Brazilian mafia at FIFA will make sure of it.
ValentinFebruary 25, 2019 17:09:07 @qna, When my godson joined his Ligue 2 club in France, he was given a specific training Program. They all trained together for 2 hours in the morning. However three times per week, he had skill drill specific bro him. As a winger one of them was to run for 10 yards with a bag attached on one of his shoulder to simulate a defender shoving you aside and then cross toward bucket. The coach was shouting a colour and based on the colour he had to cross to the target, different heights, different places, different… Read more »
Valentin,
I was at Bristol City for 2 years between 14 – 16 and the training was nothing like that in the slightest. Nearly 30 years ago now of course so I would hope grass roots level training has improved since then.
@Benny, It really depends on the club. Some have really innovative training session. Some are still rooted in the run a around a lot mould. Also because other sports are a lot more important than here in UK, there is some cross-pollination and not just on the conditioning front. For example their goalkeepers had sessions organised with a handball coach to help improve reaction saves with the feet. Handball is big in France. Arsenal is now only catching what is going on the continent. In general UK academies lag behind their European counterpart. Some others club with the highest status… Read more »
The only millennium’s I’ll tolerate is thus.
1. The falcon (millennials won’t even know what this is).
2. Robbie Williams’ song.
@bamford, I am not sure that Neymar will win a ballon d’or. With the new format mostly based on journalist the political and tactical voting is limited. Also MBappe is a much smoother operator. Polite, nice, never aggressive, making friend with everybody. Neymar is changing under Tuchel, more a team player rather than a showman. But he will revert to type. MBappe is more about the team and winning team competition rather than individual awards. Some think that Neymar is growing up, I disagree. I think that he went to Paris and suddenly he see that kid stealing his thunder.… Read more »
Neymar won’t win the balloon dior because he isn’t and never will be the best player in the world. Soz.
He is a playground player. Plus, the utter contempt he shows to the word ‘cowardice’ is vomit inducing. He’s actually invented another word for gutless.
All show…no dough. Neywont.
The Leicester owners are strange. They fired Puel and don’t have a replacement lined up.
It will be fun watching them them struggle to find a new manager.
Brendan Rodgers certainly cannot walk away from Celtic midseason, can her?
Leicester are lining up Emery.
Karl Lagerfeld’s Ballon Dior.
Slightly late but conceptually sound.
Balloon dead.
Dissenter
Leicester owner perished in helo crash on the King Power car park couple months ago.
His 30 year old son is making decisions apparently.
Explains much.
I’m not saying you’re wrong, but do we really know what Luiz was telling Kepa? Couldn’t he have been advising him to listen to the manager?
Bam absolutely wasn’t doing that check the incident again he was doing that cunty hand over the mouth thing and physically telling him to stay.
https://mobile.twitter.com/GFFN/status/1099750530946080775
Arsene who to take over at Leicester City.
Also Rennes have had their weekend game called off by the French FA so that they can better prepare for the Arsenal game. Nice of them to help. Maybe we can cancel the Spurs game help us out
Looks like Poch being charged by FA for his loosing plot post Burnley.
Bet they go soft and give him a fine, opposed to touch ban.
Surely we are expected to be a mid table Ligue un team
The ghost of Monaco is still with that squad when they botched what should have been an easy CL qualification at home.
Sal
I think h gets a lengthy ban
They can’t allow managers to publicly confront and berate official like that.
He won’t be on the touch line for our game.
***The ghost of Monaco is still with that squad when they botched what should have been an easy CL quarter-final qualification at home.
Hmmmm Seems Iwobi is the new Oxlade Chamberlain. I remember the weeks of endless debate about him too. He would show flashes and then fade into average to horrible spells as well. This week is going to go a long ways into determining the fate of this season.. 1- 13 points off 3rd…. damn that’s a huge different range of possible outcomes. One game at a time… the old coaches cliché. Doing my part, got all my superstitious lucky charms on standby.. we never lose when I’m sitting on the right side of the sofa with a beer in my… Read more »
On the surface it looks like Gerrard is doing very well at Rangers.
When you delve into their squad list, it becomes apparent that Rangers may be up to their old tricks again. It may be that they need another tax audit.
How can they afford so many fading premier league players.
So if we do get top 4..
will there be more money to spend…
So win Europa n qualify
Or get top 4 n qualify
MidwestGun
“Hmmmm Seems Iwobi is the new Oxlade Chamberlain. I remember the weeks of endless debate about him too. He would show flashes and then fade into average to horrible spells as well.”
Precisely. Ox was frustrating as hell to watch sometimes. Iwobi even more so. Ox though settled more or less at Pool before his injury. I think he’ll find it hard to break into the first team, especially with the likes of Xhaqiri in the team now.
Did a goalie actually refuse to come off in a major cup final after his number was up? Did that really happen?
Iwobi can be frustrating but he’s arguably the most improved player this season.
Mid
Have a cup of peppermint tea whe watching nld …
An celebrate with a glass of bubbly later in the day…
Marko “Bam absolutely wasn’t doing that check the incident again he was doing that cunty hand over the mouth thing and physically telling him to stay.” I’m not sure how you deduced that outcome….I sometimes think you let your imagination get the better of you to prove a point. “Physically telling him to stay” ….there was absolutely no physicality involved , Luiz said something to the keeper( no one knows what) and put his arm round his waist for a second ,moved away and then came back and said something else( no one knows what) .end of incident . And… Read more »
Good to see top posters Sal and Mid. How are you guys doing?
Sal
Think I’ll kill myself after GOT just ain’t worth it after that 🙂
Upstate – Yep… The arguments for Ox were similar too.. he just needs to settle into a regular position, needed to work on his craft, he worked hard for the team, etc.. I was always a fan of Ox .. Thought he had a lot of upside… but it’s similar to Iwobi in that how long do you let potential go before you expect better results. I’m in the camp that thinks we should keep Iwobi as a squad player and for games when we need to rotate. He shouldn’t be in a starting 11, imo,,, But that’s the state… Read more »
Hey Radio… long time no see.. eh? been a minute. I’m basically just making a guest appearance in the comment section lately. hahaha I’m in between life projects.
Rspc.. hmmm I don’t know. I think I should just soldier on and crack a cold one with the morning toast.
Mid
Enjoy whatever you do
I think it will be like 40 years ago…ala Brady n rix…
Radio and Mid in the house love it!
The new regime has ignited the fever in us again, coupled with Pedro stepping it up to the next level. Next we’ll have N5 and Kwikky’s dancing bear amongst us.
Radio
Its about to kick off the GOT, funny all the lil birds have blossomed.
Middy you ain’t going nowhere.
MidWest – I disagree, the arguments re the Ox are not quite the same. The Ox was prone to injuries, and never had a settled position. Iwobi’s position is usually on the left of a front 3 behind the striker, or on the left of a 3-4-3. At the moment Iwobi, is second (20th in the PL overall) for Arsenal in the PL’s “big chances created” with 7 “big chances”, after Kola with 8. He should therefore play, particularly when the “Axis of KolaWobi” is essentially the source of the most goals for Arsenal. Sure, consider getting rid of him… Read more »
Woab – I agree at the moment Iwobi is definitely a starter. We have no choice.. really. I mean part of the issue is we don’t really have the best players for any particular formation. All that needs to be sorted this summer.. But for now .. I hope Iwobi starts pulling up trees.. we are going to need him.
Sal-
Where is that Kwikfit? I imagine him passed out in some flop house in Germany on a weekend bender.. wondering where the last 12 months went. But that’s just me.
The Ox had more dynamism than Iwobi, however his decision was bad. He would run into blind alley and then release the ball. Because of that dynamism you always felt that he would do something brilliant, but most of the time there would be absolutely no end product. So frustrating to see what could and then have it withdraw in front of your eyes. Maybe with a more precise coaching setup, he can correct his deficiencies, but I believe that he will always be limited by his lack of vision. He can be coached, so that if you are in… Read more »
Pedro
Don’t know why you binned Charlie George
I enjoyed his rantings. Obviously devito didn’t get his sarky humour but hey ho it would be a boring old world if every one agreed on everything
Diaby announces his retirement. In all seriousness it was a shame what happened to him and hopefully he finds success in the next chapter of his life
I guess you could say 4-2-3-1 is our best formation with options for some positions but we have some serious weaknesses. Auba/Laca Iwobi, Ramsey/Ozil, Miki Xhaka/Matty G, Torr Kola/Nacho, Sok/Koz, Mustafi, AMN/ Lich Leno Got a lot of holes due to injury and players not best suited to that position. and our attacking midfielders all want to play through the middle and get forward and not defend as much . so ironically the middle of the pitch is a big hole a lot of the times between the lines as Matty G,Xhaka and Torr.. try to fill that space. Iwobi… Read more »
Diaby
208 matches
22 goals
36 injuries
Hope he finds a little more luck in whatever he does next.
If Iwobi fetches anything near what Oxlade-Chamberlain was sold for I would be amazed, Ox may have been inconsistent but he had “potential” that Iwobi doesn’t have, and “potential” is everything when pricing young talent.
CG was binned? Coulda swore he was Pedro’s drunk uncle, thought he was here to stay.
You know I never had a problem with Diaby .. I always had a problem with Wenger not signing anyone and then holding him up as like a new signing if healthy .. when we all knew there was no chance of that happening. And then giving him a new contract based on 1 maybe 2 seasons. Diaby was kind of the fall guy for AW’s transfer policy so took a lot of abuse for it.
208 matches in a 14 yr career. That’s a little less than 15 matches per year.
Christ imagine how good Diaby is at Fortnite with all that time off.
Mudwest
Yes Wenger’s like a new signing, Diaby epitomized that era.
Diaby became that target of all our frustrations, poor dude didn’t deserve that.
Don’t know what happened to Kwik Fit, hasn’t been on here in awhile. Neither had you!
Yes Sal.. Well the last 2 years of Wenger era… there was no point In commenting .. I just would have said the same things over again.. I mean I’m not really sold on Emery either but at least I can find different things to say… hopefully. And the backroom suits need to get their act together as well. Seems like the transition went about as smoothly as my first marriage…which is to say it was a cluster fok. I would say the odds on Emery being here are about the same length as my first marriage though..2 years with… Read more »
Marriage is over rated.
Hahaha I just realized Pedro quoted Redtruth as well… He is famous now like gambon.. only gambon doesn’t still live in his mom’s basement…. I’m assuming.
“This stat, courtesy of powerhouse commenter, Redtruth.”
If that doesn’t make you smile…
I think Kwikky’s migrated over to twitter (like Ahern).
Go to love Red… he has been binned and comeback more times then Kiss goes on a farewell tour. Yet here he is powerhouse and all… living the dream.
G-daddy – Thanks.. how you been? That makes sense.. I don’t do twitter or facebook. You lovin the new Emery era? or meh? I know it’s early..
Marko
David Luiz said in an interview after the match that he was telling Kepa to respect Sarri’s decision.
Could be lying of course but surely have to give him the benefit of the doubt?
Him and Rudiger were the only two who did anything to defuse the situation, particularly the latter who prevented Sarri from throttling the little prick before penos.
Good to see an OG favourite back in Middy, you were missed bud.
We missed your wise-cracks at Red, he’s been running riot on here in your absence.
Feel for Diaby, hopefully made his millions and is set for life at least now though.
Fuck knows we supported him long enough, shudder to recall the old socialist wage policy carrying crocks and useless deadwood.
Mid
I’m good thanks. It’s 7:45 am where I am, and I’ve already been in the ocean. Gotta do the school run in a minute….
I like Emery, with some of the same reservations everyone else has of course. Like you said, it’s early days yet.
I’m just happy we’ve moved on. The stagnation/decline under Wenger was painful.
You can’t buy that excuse by Luiz. Certainly nothing he did looked remotely like trying to get the player off or respecting the manager’s decision. Had it been the case he would have been remonstrating with the player to get off more visibly instead of whispering and putting his arm around his waist
I mean possibly, would be very slippery to come out with that then wouldn’t it? Wouldn’t be pleased with that if I were Kepa, would make me lose major respect for Luiz for refusing to stand by you in public.
Sarri been totally marginalized.
I’ve not read all the reports about what happened from various standpoints but on the face of it, seems impossible for him to be taken seriously moving forward.
Where was Captain Azpilicueta in all this?
You not hear Sal, he ‘was on the other side of the pitch so can’t comment on it’.
Yeah Cesar, because it wasn’t a protracted saga that lasted for over 3 minutes…
Cowardly take, guy is a joke of a captain. New gaffer ought to immediately strip him of the armband because Sarri is obviously not lasting the season.
ESPN is reporting that Kepa has been fined one week’s wages for his refusal to be substituted yesterday. That’s £195,000, if you were wondering.
I’m not getting all the Iwobi hate. It’s pretty clear he’s been one of the better players this season. Especially AFTER the streak of wins and tied earlier this season. Dubious honor to be sure but we would have had worse results without him and the Bosnian doing all the goal creation.
200G fine will sting. Until next week when he gets another 200G.
If that’s true Bamford then as suspected, Sarri was merely refraining from publicly hurling Kepa under the bus in his post-match interview by chalking it up as a ‘misunderstanding’.
His intentions were good but it probably comes back to hurt him, I mean if you are a player in that dressing room do you respect his authority anymore?
That’s not enough
How much fuck Sarri’s wife? Asking for a friend… his name’s Kepa purely by coincidence
PierreFebruary 25, 2019 20:52:41 Marko “Bam absolutely wasn’t doing that check the incident again he was doing that cunty hand over the mouth thing and physically telling him to stay.” I’m not sure how you deduced that outcome….I sometimes think you let your imagination get the better of you to prove a point. “Physically telling him to stay” ….there was absolutely no physicality involved , Luiz said something to the keeper( no one knows what) and put his arm round his waist for a second ,moved away and then came back and said something else( no one knows what) .end… Read more »
pedro
Great post, a bit too pro arsenal ? Hope red truth wasn’t holding a gun to your head when you wrote and posted that piece 🙂
But it’s all looking good for the arse. Top 4 was a miracle at the start of the season, now it’s looking like a given and ours to lose. Hope spurs lose a few players before we play them at the weekend.
https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/football/8495082/arsenal-wan-bissaka-crystal-palace-transfer-40m-man-city
I know it’s only the sun but this is an exciting young un Spanish link.
‘Ours to lose’ is a bold statement, United are right up our arse and have taken 26 points from a possible 30 since OGS’s taken the hot-seat.
They have to be considered favourites given their form. Better players too for me, last season’s 2nd place finish was closer to their ability than what we saw in the first half of the season when they downed tools on Mourinho.
Wan Bissaka? What’s the catch he’s secretly 40? And from a Spanish fishing village? Nah but seriously he’d be a big signing
Marko,
Lol! I’ve been calling for him, Chillwell too Get rid of Lich, Monreal, Kos, Mustafi & Elneny would leave us Holding, Mavro, Sokratis plus bring back Chambers or sell him to facilitate another centre back as we’ll be short if Kos and Mustafi go. We’ll probably keep kos as he has no sell value.
Trouble is City, Spurs and Utd are being linked with Bissaka and Chillwell too so that makes it unlikely in my mind that we’ll get either unfortunately.
WwngerEagle,
Agreed 100%.
Hopefully we’re making the most of the chaotic situation over at Leicester. Wouldn’t mind Chilwell and Maddison in our squad next year. Maguire would be great but at £50m? Definitely overrated and overpriced.
However with Brendan Rodgers now in the lead for the hot seat at the King Power they might be open to Chilwell offers, because I can see Rodgers bringing in Tierney with him.
Personally I think Rodgers would be a bad choice but if we’re quick and decisive we can use their grief to our advantage.
4th is ours to lose and yet the narrative from the useful idiots is that Emery should be fired as he is shockingly bad, with no style nor substance… I kid you not! If we do manage to get 4th, it will be no less than a masterstroke by Emery, and something akin to Leicester winning the league. The sixth-rated team in the league, 3 first team members out for the season, limited to no budget, a first season manager new to the league, incorporating a new playing style whilst bedding in new players, a divisive fanbase, structural changes and… Read more »
Jason. It would be absolutely outstanding and far and above more than we could have expected if we finish top 4. As for comparing it to Liecester’s league title. Umm… hehehe. I think you should retract that part. Otherwise, a good comment.
Right back is not a problem position for Arsenal. Jordan Osei-tutu the U21 could deputise until Bellerin return. Plus I am not sure that we can afford to spend 40 millions on a right back, swhen have more pressing need.
On the other hand Left back, there is nobody at U21 ready to step in. Monreal and Kolasinac are not the long term solution.
Yeah, the links to Wan-Bissaka only makes sense if we already have a buyer lined up for Bellerin for more than the reported 40m we’d have to shell out. Since Bellerin is injured and will be for a while longer that seems highly unlikely. We’re not buying a 40m player where we already have a young, established starter that’s for sure. We’re being linked with Pepe and Marcus Thuram again, that’s the only scenario where it makes sense to sacrifice one of our strikers to fund those moves. Both would give us physical presence, dribbling and goals from the wings… Read more »
Valentin. Agreed. Right back is one of the few positions that is not an immediate concern for an immediate first team replacement on the proviso that Bellerin is fit. If we did go for Wan Bissaka then I would advocate that we sold Bellerin, most likely after a year of getting himself back to good form. Cech, Bellerin, Holding, Sokratis, Guendouzi, Torreira are pretty much the guys that dont need replacing. We obviously have two very decent strikers in Auba and Laca. But I would be open to selling one of these and investing the money in an attacker that… Read more »
Valentin,
Agreed. I’d rather see us put £40m down on Chillwell as we can also recall Chambers to deputies at right back.
LW – Julian Brandt (40m) -> Welbeck (0)
RW – Nicolas Pepe (50m) -> Laca (50m + 20m*)
CM – Adrien Rabiot (free) -> Ramsey (0)
CB – Daniel Rugani (20m) -> Mustafi (20m + 5m*)
LB – Alex Grimaldo (30m) -> Kolasinac (15m+10m*)
AM – Kai Havertz (75m) -> Mkhitariyan (10m + 20m*)
FW – Jan-Fiete Arp (15m) -> Asano/Eddie N (5m)
* in wages saved over 3 yrs, assuming new player gets around 75k/wk.
Strike Grimaldo and get Chillwell for 40m or less if he is available.
Jasongms “If we do manage to get 4th, it will be no less than a masterstroke by Emery, and something akin to Leicester winning the league” slight exaggeration don’t you think. There will always be 2 sides to the argument on whether it will be some kind of masterstroke or not and really no one is right and no one is wrong in their perception of this. The argument for it is being a masterstroke is ….quoting jasongms here “The sixth-rated team in the league, 3 first team members out for the season, limited to no budget, a first season… Read more »
“Agreed. I’d rather see us put £40m down on Chillwell as we can also recall Chambers to deputies at right back.”
Chambers is a horrible right back.
Chambers also did a interview last week mentioning that he’s not naturally comfortable at right back but played that position to get into the Southampton side on his “breakthrough” year.
Brendan Rodgers to Leicester. Just broke on BBC.
RH
“Chambers is a horrible right back.”
Gus Caesar springs to mind when I see Chambers at full back …watching swansea’s Montero embarrass chambers was reminiscent of seeing Chris waddle tie Caesar in knots in a league cup semi final many years ago.
Jasongms
“If we do manage to get 4th, it will be no less than a masterstroke by Emery, and something akin to Leicester winning the league”
___
This is pathetic.
The acquisition of the five defensive players being starting first-teamers and therefore adding to the balance and structure of the team is idisingenuous.
Only Torreira was bought as an initial first-teamer. Leno was bought as the long term successor to Cech. Sokratis was bought as cover for Kos, Guendouzi was bought as a prospect, not a starter. Lichtsteiner was bought as an emergency cover, he was never meant to play this many games. Please keep to the facts.
Thomas, you just went full retard…
“Gus Caesar springs to mind when I see Chambers at full back …watching swansea’s Montero embarrass chambers was reminiscent of seeing Chris waddle tie Caesar in knots in a league cup semi final many years ago.”
Montero completely ruined him at full back. I would rather see Chambers as striker than as a full back. he should never be an option there, doesn’t have the pace for it.
RH
Speak it believe it receive it!
Seriously though, Chambers did a year as a striker in the Soton academy, played on the wing aswell I remember him saying, played right back, centre back and even in midfield. Utility player if I ever saw one.
Jasongms
“The acquisition of the five defensive players being starting first-teamers and therefore adding to the balance and structure of the team is idisingenuous.”
I don’t know why you are reluctant to admit that players like sokratis,Torreira and Leno have improved the team plus the addition of Guendouzi have without doubt added balance and structure to the squad.
Surely this is a good thing , it means the club has spent their money wisely in areas that needed addressing and I would suggest that the 4 players mentioned have all done themselves justice so far.
If we’re looking for an amazing midfielder for next season, there’s a player ripping it up for Getafe (currently in fourth place in La Liga this season) – step forward fabulous Matthieu Flamini!