I do NOT like to gloat, but come on, Ole at the wheel? It’s my current binge-watch.
A month or so ago, after two solid wins against top 6 opposition, the media weighed into the irresistible.
PLUCKY OLE FINALLY TURNS CORNER
Passion, heart, glory… call it what you want, OGS has his team of young lions achieving the sort of elevated football we haven’t seen at United since 1999. King Ole, he knew.
They do it EVERY FUCKING TIME and it makes me JOY EVERYWHERE.
What an utterly garbage coach he is, United are in so much trouble because they’ve basically hired in a beloved family labrador that has perma-diarrhea. He’s stinking out the house, the cream carpets will never be the same again… but who wants to be the one to put him out his misery?
Not me. That’s for sure. Let’s ride this out and hope Woodward makes the correct decision with some elephant strength Immodium, a £100m ‘last chance’ vet bill, and #4moreyears.
… back to Arsenal.
The hottest rumours on the internet are firmly focused on Upemacano being the #1 target for the club this January. That makes me very happy, I really worried we had some contacts scouting™ going with Boateng. The last thing we need is another high earner where the ceiling has collapsed due to a burst water pipe.
Bringing in a 21-year defender that can play in a highly technical system works for me. RB Leipzig is one of the best incubators in the world for talent, so you know he’ll be a hard worker, have an excellent attitude, and be open to new ideas as well as being receptive to feedback.
He still feels like a very big signing for us considering the financial challenges we have, but I guess if we were going for him in this summer, we’re just eating into an overdraft. My initial thoughts were that we’d sell a few players this window, but all of the potential liquid assets seem to have been retained and reinvigorated. The only problem child we have is Mustafi who interestingly wasn’t even trusted to play at right-back. He’s gone from World Cup winner to someone you wouldn’t start in your Sunday League pub team. What a shambles.
I think there are a few folk that worry that Arteta is blinded by players that have let us down, I see it differently, I think he’s probably thinking that signing in new players is a huge gamble and disruptive. If he can get 5 months out of players that know the club and the league, he’s far more likely to have a chance at winning trophies now and going on a run in the league.
That said, I think the summer will be very dramatic. We’ll absolutely have to shift on players to fund the sort of summer that’ll move the dynamic of the squad in the direction of an Arteta model of play.
Our biggest issues at the moment sit in the middle of defence and at full-back. I think we can probably deal with the full-back issue internally, but at centre back, we’re relying on two defenders on the back 9 to see us through the season, playing in a far more intense system than the one we operated in under Emery. I love Holding, but he looked shot the other night.
The numbers on Arteta are moving in the right direction. Interesting that in your head, you imagine that we’re playing a totally different game, but really, the most dramatic shift in the above numbers is the tightening of defence and the build-up stats.
Shines a light on why Arteta doesn’t really care for distance run stats, they’re not particularly important as we saw under Unai Emery’s headless chicken approach. He’s looking at how you use your energy in the most efficient way. The team is only running 4km extra a game, but exerting far more energy through the more intense style. It’ll be very interesting to see what those numbers look like by the end of the season.
I watched back the Leeds game again. Couple of things. I thought Martinez made some truly excellent saves, he really did keep us in the game. I also still can’t believe the output in the second half. It really does show how much of football is in the mind at the highest level. We went from absolute bums to menaces… despite the team being heavily fatigued. It might not last, but you cannot put a value on a winning culture built on dedication to 100% commitment on the pitch at all times. Some leaders can command that, others simply can’t. I really, really, really hope this continues through the next few years. It’s electric to watch when it works. Plenty of massive tests ahead, but I’m excited.
Also, some fool said it was Sheffield United at the weekend, it’s actually not, it’s Palace. I think this game is going to be very interesting, Arteta threw everything at the cup game, so how will his team respond against a side that has regularly bullied us? He’s constantly talking about aggression, I’d really love to see us show some bite against Hodgson’s side. I’m hoping the learning from the Leeds game is that we can’t let our foot off the gas, it’ll be a huge physical test, one that we bottled last season when it counted, so a win here would be symbolic and a very strong indicator of how well the rest of this season will pan out.
After that, the squad has a whole 7 days off to recuperate and get some proper TLC with the coach.
DM
2
Tro4phy
Tr4phy
Trofee
Morning gents. Slept awkwardly so some terrible neck pain this morning.
Get Upamecano in!
I feel vindicated about the Arteta appointment. He has made me actually want to watch Arsenal again. If we get the RB centre back, we have a defence for a decade.
Ndidi in the middle and I think we might actually have a squad that could challenge the scouse bastards.
Arteta needs a statue right now.
Also, some fool said it was Sheffield United at the weekend, it’s actually not, it’s Palace
😂😂
👀👀👀👀👀
“He has made me actually want to watch Arsenal again. ”
The first half vs Leeds was, indeed, priceless.
“Arteta needs a statue right now.”
So you can go and cum on it, just like Pedro will do ??
Palace are having quite an injury crisis apparently, and their penalty taker who would have needless to say scored against us is suspended.
Who was it on here that said Bernardo Silva was average yesterday? Lol
Piatek to villa and Ashley young to Inter Are the weirdest moves I have seen in a while.
I think we should wrap up signing Upamecano now. If not offer them money now to make sure we get him in the summer. Then Loan Boateng for 6 months and Find a club who will take Mustafi on loan considering no one will touch him permanently right now. He might look good just like elneny and miki then we can sell.
RP A guy called Brooklyn hahaha
Habesha, terrible shout mate.
If Leipzig dont want to let him go now then agree the deal and loan back for the rest of the season. Maybe get in a loan CB if possible to cover for 6 months.
I really don’t understand the holding critique
People losing their minds that a guy who basically hasn’t played for a year looks rusty as hell
You can judge him after he’s had a run of games and has match fitness lol
I’ll never get how knee jerk people have to be. Everyone is either a hero or a villain based on their last performance entirely regardless of context
Seems like Bernardo Silva took offence to my comments yesterday. Managed to catch highlight brilliant goal and good assist for him.
Which position did he play yesterday?? Seemed very narrow formation for Man City yesterday.
I said average end product for the hype he generates, 8/10 player as wing playmaker….I argued that he won’t be as good as a CM or CAM in 3 man midfield due to his lack of technical qualities compared to the likes of D. Silva, Cazorla or Ozil etc….
Hopefully will better his 15 G+A season in future…
B.silva Would definitely start in our line up. Can’t believe he compared him to foden . Nothing against foden but Silva is amazing.
A Saliba type arrangement for 6 months wouldn’t be bad to get our targets if we can’t get them now.
China1
Guaranteed most of those posters who criticised Holding have never played competitive sport in their life.
I’m with you on that, Guns. I’m going out of my way to watch the games again. Been a while since I’ve done that. Let’s hope the turgid era is really over.
Brooklyn
“his lack of technical qualities”
Have you actually seen Bernardo Silva play?
“his lack of technical qualities”
Lol how can you mention Bernardo Silva and talk about lack of technique. His game is all about that.
What is this obsession with young players….long term thinking?? How long is long term, 5 years or 10 years??
Personally I think we are doing good enough in pure numerical terms of having young, prime age and experienced players in squad. Quality is another question.
Chambers, Holding, Tierney, Bellerin, AMN, Saliba even Kolasinac are long term investment in defence, more than 5 years…I would much rather sell from one of these players if we are getting in another quality young players…
Romford,
I meant he lacks technically compared to guys you compared him with, like Cazorla, D.Silva, Ozil etc. Even if similar in stature those guys are among best of best technically.
Brooklyn, I don’t see any difference technically between him and the others. At the moment he has better end product than all the aforementioned. He’s also faster than them too.
Re: Upecamero It it really the wisest thing to do- to spend another £50 000 000 on this unproven player? To pair him with another unproven one (Saliba-only the £30 000 000)- seems like gross naivety to me. Two raw , UNPROVEN inexperienced defenders in tandem at the cost of over £100 million……..that is not even remotely sensible. Sensible is paying £70 million for DVD – because he was PROVEN at Saints . Here is an idea: A novel one even. How about look for young defenders at sensible fees- that are playing in the championship or the premier league?… Read more »
Brooklyn I don’t think you have seen him play a lot. He is very much comparable to those players regarding his technique. Actually his close control, Technique and dribbling are the main components of his game. What he lacks is physicality but he has improved that too since joining Guardiola
Accept it, Bernardo Silva is so boss he could fill any position ahead of the keeper and slot in. Dudes an incredibly gifted baller as technical as they come.
China
“”””People losing their minds that a guy who basically hasn’t played for a year looks rusty as hell””””””
Totally correct.
If Saliba or DVD had suffered this type of injury- they would look indeed look rusty.
Best £2.5 million we have spent in years.
Probably since Ramseys £ 5 million
Proper scouting.
Sensible not ostentatious or gratuitous
Like it should be.
£100 million for two spotty teenage unproven overseas defenders……ludicrous
for £100 million – you should get 30 nuggets in the lower leagues in Britain.
Romford, Well we will have to see, if he can matchup to these guys technically as a CM/CAM in the future… Re: Upemacano, Lacks concentration when playing deep but suits Arteta’s style high line, high press game. Has good passing for a CB, not quite as good as D. Luiz or Chambers in this regard. Few injury concerns as well especially for a defender whose game is based of physicality than technical ability. 50 mil when his contract ends next season is big outlay. If Arteta thinks he is a solution and is young enough to improve further than no… Read more »
Brooklyn, he’s 21. You’re not paying for what he is, you’re paying for what he could be. Same with Saliba. We can’t buy the experienced finished versions as they won’t come to us. Plus the profile we need means we have to go younger and more athletic. With Upamecano and Saliba, they are young so they will make mistakes and have periods of bad form. it’s important we stick with them but we’re buying them for the base level and hope they can reach a WC level so the fee doesn’t bother me too much. Players haven’t been going for… Read more »
Bernardo easily has better technique than Silva and Santi. Maybe even Ozil if you dont count First touch and quality of passes
China
‘I really don’t understand the holding critique’
Wasn’t you the guy complaining about his passing and that you could even play an accurate 25 yard pass just a day or so ago?
Fair enough at 5 a side or whatever but try doing it in front of 60,000 people with a slick watered surface, whilst being pressured from all angles.
Lego
Exactly
Upamecano would be perfect next to saliba. We need players that can defend at the half way line and are mobile and athletic enough to fancy themselves in a footrace against most forwards in behind.
Lego Hair, spot on mate.
Guys last post re: Bernardo Silva… Excellent dribbler yes….my lacking technical aspect comes from lack of him showing(may be due to position he plays??) 1st touch pass or dribble(beating opponents press with first touch) under pressure, which will be the case if he were to play as a CM/CAM. Add being two way dribbler on that list(most likely to be wrong on this one)..and also slower in releasing final ball, you could just watch assists provided by all the guys on youtube to see where I am coming from. But theoretically like Messi, by virtue of his Superior dribbling/ball holding… Read more »
You saw the difference against Leeds in the second half what happened when the team stepped forward 20 yards. All of a sudden we compressed the space they had to play in and began to take control.
As Arteta said, if the shape is good, you actually end up doing less running because the space you have to cover is less. That’s why Torreira’s tackles and interceptions have gone through the roof.
“but try doing it in front of 60,000 people”
Ha I wonder when the Emirates last had 60,000 people in it!!
By all accounts club doing f** k all with regards to any permanent transfers & that most certainly includes Upamecano.wishful thinking to seal any deal now.even if it was a loan back.AFC are gambling the price will be lowered during the summer.a dangerous game with others hovering & Leipzig wanting a bidding war….
Bernardo Silva is a genius. Gets in my top ten players in world football.
My heart sunk when City signed him because it meant David Silva retiring wasn’t that big a deal and they could continue that type of football that enables them to go to OT and make it look easy.
He’s much better centrally as well so his game will take off the more he plays there rather than it being some litmus test of ability. City fans hate it when he’s played wide left.
Guys,
Upamecano or 21-22 years old Rudiger/Davison Sanchez??
All physical, quick, and all decent passer(Sanchez being the weakest in this respect) all have/had defensive lapses Upa is shortest among them all but not by much.
Upamecano is better at nicking ball higher up like Koscielny and probably uses his upper body strength better.
Howcome all has gone quiet on the Umtiti front? Admittedly I haven’t seen that much of him myself (not that I have of Upemacano either), but he’s proven at the top level, prime age, and not starting at Barca… Surely he’s another option?
I’ll say it again, I think Ake & Mings are worth a punt on. Strong, quick and young.
“Bernardo Silva is a genius. Gets in my top ten players in world football.”
Top top player man. All the technique with crazy intensity on and off the ball. Sometimes I actually think he’s on PEDS because he’s a duracell battery
DM, Umitti has big knee issues which is why Barca are trying to shift him on the cheap. Nobody will bite though.
Funnily enough he’s at Arsenal nearly all the time because he’s Laca’s best mate.
Would prefer Tanguy Kouassi instead of Upamecano. He is the guy from PSG that Redbull took to replace Upamecano
Romford – Yeah he’s played almost as a 6 in last few games and he’s got the industry and energy to do it brilliantly.
I think that Mendy incident might explain his little dip in the first months of the season.
Bernardo Silva was probably Man City’s best player last year he is shit hot, come on you know.
Paulinho – Yeah this is the first season where his industry has dropped off a little. But it’s City as a whole. They’ve been basically flawless the last two seasons so a drop off was inevitable. As this is David Silva’s last season they should go with him centrally next year with KDB with Foden as the first rotational option and then buy another winger.
Paulinho,
Yes you like players who can influence game better by staying in the middle, pull opponents towards him and release ball to other players, unlike Ozil..
Yes, maybe his game will take off in central position, like I said(compared) with Messi and his dribbling ability, after turning 26-27..
I am just putting theory as to why his game may not take off as you predict and won’t be as good CM/CAM compared to what he has shown as RAM…Would think back after he plays as a CM/CAM successfully for couple of season.
Paulinho,
Yes you like players who can influence game better by staying in the middle, pull opponents towards him and release ball to other players, unlike Ozil..
Yes, maybe his game will take off in central position, like I said(compared) with Messi and his dribbling ability, after turning 26-27..
I am just putting theory as to why his game may not take off as you predict and won’t be as good CM/CAM compared to what he has shown as RAM… Similar to Isco if you will.
Would think back after he plays as a CM/CAM successfully for couple of season.
My guess is that Arsenal are unlikely to spend significantly on transfers in this window, because we have already made heavy commitments in the current financial year. Last season we had a relatively old first team squad, but that has now been reversed following large number of departures and there are now only four players in the squad aged over 30 namely Sokratis, Luiz, Ozil and Aubameyang. We have now the youngest squad of the major clubs in EPL. Here is updated information. Arsenal 24,8 Manchester City 27,3 Liverpool 27,8 Manchester Utd 26,1 Chelsea 26,3 Leicester 26,7 Wolves 25,3 There… Read more »
Shouldn’t we be trying to get Nketiah to a Villa or Brighton for the rest if the season. See how he fares in the league before cashing in on him in the summer
Though I do understand that the game is changing , but from my experience the centre mid and centre back is all about reading the game. Great pace in those positions is a bonus. If you look back through the years , pace was not the greatest asset that the very best players at centre mid and centre defence had. Centre backs Terry, Adams, Campbell, stam, pallister, hansen, Phil Thompson, Frank Mclintock, Bobby Moore. Centre mid Vieira,Keane, Gerrard, Lampard , De bruyne, Fernandinho, Scholes. None of these top players were blessed with great pace. Even Arsenal’s famous back 4 were… Read more »
Batistuta, I don’t know if they’ll give Eddie the game time he needs. That’s why we called him back from Leeds. We need him to get minutes starting as the lead front man. Look at Tammy Abraham now leading the line for Chelsea. He had two successful Championship loans before 21 where he scored 20_ goals for Villa and Bristol City. Helped his development loads. For what it’s worth though, I don’t see Eddie’s long-term future here. I already think martinelli as a striker is better and more rounded. We have another striker in the U23s called Balogun who i… Read more »
R.P
“””Brooklyn, he’s 21. You’re not paying for what he is, you’re paying for what he could be”””
I am glad you aint my financial adviser.
Preposterous interpretation.
You should work At Arsenal with that thinking.
So we now spend millions upon millions on players who MIGHT be good!
How about we spend our millions on players that we KNOW will be good!
You might find – that philosophy actual works.
No wonder why we are now a mid table side.
Bould/Keown/Pates/Linighan/Young/O leary/Caton.
————–
O’Leary and Keown came through our academy.
Upmecano was linked all before Artetas in the fray.
Arteta probably has a say in what positions he needs ppl and what attributes, but which player is more edu and raul question.
So unless Arteta has substantial reservation about a player and can logicaly convince edu, it will be Edu and Raul that will have a bigger say on whom we sign.
Sol man could shift though
Pierre, the difference is the game has gotten a lot faster and more athletic. Unless you’re blessed technically to the point where you can evade pressure you have to be athletic. Players are now faster and stronger than ever before. It’s all about the marginal gains you can get. Arteta in his first press conference said: “For City or any top side, it’s obviously great to have players who’ll bring you control of matches. But in the PL it’s vital to have guys who’ll offer massive amounts of intensity and athletic aggression in key 1 v 1 moments. If you… Read more »
Also the most successful Wenger sides had huge levels of athleticism beyond belief.
“How about we spend our millions on players that we KNOW will be good!”
Outside of a few players there’s no such thing as a sure fire bet.
Every player comes with positives and negatives. And the rebuild position we’re in, we have to go young anyway.
Romford
I actually don’t also think he’ll make it here, too small and not clinical enough, Balogun is one to look foward to plus you’re right we already have Martinelli who’s looking levels above already…
My view is to make sure we get as much for him as possible… You see Liverpool and Chelsea making large sums from selling youngsters whom they realize rather quickly won’t make it there and cash in
A lot of those centre backs mentioned were very quick. O’Leary, Hansen, Adams, were all natural athletes that were very quick. Stam was a physical beast, as was Campbell. I don’t see any great progression in terms of athleticism when it comes to centre backs.
Batistuta, spot on mate. Obviously great if a young player can make it here but we should use it as a vehicle to make the club money too, like how we got £40m for Iwobi. We even made £4m by selling Thompson to Brentford in the summer. I think if Eddie has a good second half of the season scoring goals for whoever we can definitely cash in for a decent sum.
Whilst we definitely need to add a CB in Jan – we’ve got Sok & Luiz with Holding slowly coming back after that it’s Mustafi – I don’t think we’ll spend big. In fact I’m not sure we’ll actually buy anyone think we’ll look at loan deals.
I said months ago we’ve spent our budget so unless we do unload a clutch of players those expecting an Upemacano or similar signing are going to be disappointed.
Like what I’ve seen of Gabriel, the Lille CB that we were linked to earlier in the window.
22 years old, 190 tall, strong, fast left footed player with very good distribution from the back.
Could be a good option if we can’t get/won’t pay the dosh for Upamecano.
“but we should use it as a vehicle to make the club money too, like how we got £40m for Iwobi.”
Deal of the century.
Pedro
Whenever anyone pulls you up in an argument you always fall back on your “you’re just using Google but I’ve got contacts at the club” line.
All you’ve done with Upemacano is say that they are the hottest rumours on the internet. What are your contacts telling you?
Sky reported they understand Arsenal Is unlikely to make new signings this TW since we spent 150m+ last summer , and wouldn’t want to pay a premium in winter etc. As well, cited Arteta thought he has a better chance getting more out from his squad in the next 5 months vs. integrating new folks unknown to the PL. If this isn’t just Sky talk there wouldn’t be new faces then, bar a loan or two then. It’d also mean the summer will get very busy, starting with clearing those who wouldn’t eventually fit in or rake us any further.… Read more »
Tbh I wouldn’t listen to Sky. They haven’t been reliable for years and like other mainstream sources, they get their info from Twitter.
RP “Players are now faster and stronger than ever before. It’s all about the marginal gains you can get.” I do get that but faster and stronger is of no use without a football brain and technique, but of course you would know that. The standard of Liverpool’s back 4 defensively and offensively have no equal, as far as I’m concerned no other team comes close. Also for liverpool to have 2 outstanding offensive full backs , it takes the pressure off the midfield to be creative or to score goals . Klopp has a very good effective system of… Read more »
Marc
We only spent 35m net last summer and lowered the wage bill with around 30m.
No reason we can’t spend, especially if we can get some cash for players like Elneny and Mikhi that’s not at the club anyway.
But yeah, we’re probably going to play it safe and wait for the summer instead of pushing on now and try to win something or get a spot in europa/CL through the league.
Depends on how Saliba transitions to PL, he already looks quick enough, I prefer technical defenders. To extend to that Saliba looks like another Varane in theory. Good pace to deal with counters, not overly physical(in terms of bullying opponents) but has good height to deal against crosses and set-pieces. But not a leader/organiser in his own. Technical defender who is great at interceptions, positioning and organising with pace is needed ofcourse. Sokratis?? 🙂 Seriously I think Papa Sok is our quickest and least error prone CB?? Would accept tirades coming my way for this statement. Van Dijk is benchmark… Read more »
“I do get that but faster and stronger is of no use without a football brain and technique, but of course you would know that.” Of course, like everything in life, it’s about balance. But we need that. We are a very slow team in comparison to our compatriots. Our players are more likely to break down since we’re pushing them so far out of their natural limits, hence the need for more athletes. “I will add that liverpool’s midfield 3 are not exceptional in physique, pace , power, technique or strength , they are just a very good unit… Read more »
Pace when coaching Liverpool certainly, but I think main necessity for Klopp’s CB is/was physicality and height. Even during his Dortmund days. Theoretically his team would press opposition so only option for opponents would be to play long balls to striker. See Hummel’s, Subotic, Santana all 6’4″ and above but not particularly quick. Similarly his first buy at Liverpool was Matip and wanted Van Dijk desperately both 6’4″ but both are also pacy for a CB. Lovren although poor in other aspect is very good in air so is still around. PL is different beast compared to Bundesliga but also… Read more »
Paulinho
“A lot of those centre backs mentioned were very quick. O’Leary, Hansen, Adams, were all natural athletes that were very quick. Stam was a physical beast, as was Campbell. ”
I never mentioned O’Leary ,though was quick but never elite, he was a good servant for Arsenal but our defence improved as a unit without him.
Why you would think the other centre backs I mention were ” very quick” baffles me.
Freddie
You do know that we posted losses of £23 million a few weeks ago?
Pierre
Yeah not sure I would have called Adams “very quick”.
Bloody good defender though!
“Fabinho – athletic
Henderson – athletic
Wijnaldum – athletic
Ox – athletic
Keita – athletic”
If you mean they can run about the pitch then you are right , they are athletic.
You originally said , and I quote” Players are now faster and stronger than ever before. It’s all about the marginal gains you can get.”
Are milner , ox , henderson, fabinho , winjaldum or kieta faster or stronger than your average midfielders…debatable.
Except Sok, Luiz and Kolac we don’t have physically players , and none of the above is particularly pacy. You’d bulk up to an extent but I think a key weakness of the squad in general is a lack of strength. Our players, Sok aside, get brushed aside quite readily. Don’t know how Arteta could use his saucy structures and systems to compensate… When we buy need also to predict what the PL and opposition is like in the next 3 to 5 years. Liverpool and City likely to continue with current style and that would mean physique, pace, pressing,… Read more »
Pierre – the comment about being faster was general rather than in relation to Liverppol.
And while there are players quicker than Liverpool’s collection, my point was around them covering ground effortlessly which our current cop can’t. Anything more than 20 odd yards and they start to struggle.
For what worth I don’t want us to copy the Liverpool model. I don’t believe in following trends. What I do believe in is taking the good bits (increased athleticism across the pitch) and add your own twist (generally better footballers).
We don’t have much money to spend unless we sell. My sense is our transfer ins will be linked to whether we can offload a few players. Right now I am more interested in how we improve as a team under Arteta than signings.
As for Bernardo Silva, he is amazing. For me he is the best midfielder in the league along with KDB. If I had to pick one between the two, I would pick Bernardo.
I watched back the Leeds game again. Couple of things. I thought Martinez made some truly excellent saves, he really did keep us in the game. I also still can’t believe the output in the second half. It really does show how much of football is in the mind at the highest level.”
It was/is plain to see that so much or our issues were an “effort”/ “lack of direction” issue. Throw in a few “dross” players as well and you get what we have seen the past decade. A sh***te sandwich.
Liverpool midfield is mediocre. Their forward players and top notch back 4 make up for the lack of quality in midfield.
TR7. – it’s not great but I think Klopp has them getting through a lot of work to allow the FBs freedom to join the three attackers. The three CMs being athletic and stationed centrally also helps to prevent counters.
I might well be wrong though because Klopp spent big on a flair player Keita and now just bought Minamino too so maybe he wants to change that area.
RP
You sai
“Also the most successful Wenger sides had huge levels of athleticism beyond belief.”
That was 15 /20 years ago.
Then you said
” “Players are now faster and stronger than ever before. It’s all about the marginal gains you can get.”
I would say fitter than ever before not faster and stronger.
Campbell, Vieira and Henry have no equals , not even now .
“I would say fitter than ever before not faster and stronger.”
That might have been the better wording so fair point.
RP
I think we are in agreement that a bit of athleticism wouldn’t go a miss in all areas of the team if we want to get to the very top.
Put it this way, I doubt very much if Arteta will be buying any players that are slow and ponderous on or off the ball.
Would agree currently Liverpool has a ‘weaker’ midfield compared to City, while better in their back 4 and front 3.
But I think the systems they play have a lot to say about the overall results. Bluntly, their strength and pace isn’t burnt while being headless chickens out on the pitch.
In terms of athleticism, I think it is worth emphasising that we have lost a signficant amount of pace and movement with the injuries to Bellerin and Tierney. Liverpool by-pass their midfield with a pace and movement of Alexander-Arnold and Robertson.
By contrast we have AMN and Kolasinac who do not have the same technical ability. Or alteratively we are now graced with Sokaratis at RB – the equivalent of a deep-sea diver in full gear performing as a ballet dancer, bless him.
Pierre – I get your point about them all being known as intelligent first and foremost, but those defences still pushed up regardless of any perceived lack of pace. We were famous for the offside trap and used to hold a high line on a lot of those offsides in order to compress the pitch and pen the opposition in.
Kolasinac has pace and power but no real football brain, though on his day ( united) he can look very good..
Tierney has he very rare quality of finding a team mate from crosses., similar to trent Alexander Arnold, so hopefully he can get himself fit.
AMN has pace without the power but I think is technically very underrated.
Tierney and AMN could turn out to be major assets for the club..
A centre back and centre midfielder should still be our main targets.
RP
Minamino is a tricky player with good feet. Liverpool need players like him who can create chances on their own. A Henderson, Milner and Wijnaldum is high on athleticism but very limited on creativity. With flying fullbacks and VVD who has amazing ability to play a high line and recover well on counterattack, all that the current midfield is required to do is press high and keep the ball ticking over.
TR7 – I guess as the current set-up works there’s no real need to change it but as you say it’s nice to have other alternatives in case it’s not going their way. Klopp used to use Lallana a lot who has similar qualities to Minamino but now he’s old and injury-prone. Ox also injury prone who offers that drive through the middle. Keita so far hasn’t looked like that player they bought from Germany.
Pierre
‘AMN has pace without the power but I think is technically very underrated.’
I really don’t understand why so many on here think AMN is a shit player. He is athletic and has decent skills. His major weakness is loss of focus at times but he hs the ingredients to become a good player for us.
Pierre- agreed. Anyone we sign needs to not be slow and ponderous. Also should have intensity on and off the ball. After those requirements it should fit the needs technically of the coach.
“I really don’t understand why so many on here think AMN is a shit player. He is athletic and has decent skills. His major weakness is loss of focus at times but he hs the ingredients to become a good player for us.”
Agreed. He has the right tools needed for the modern PL. Whether he can develop that into being a good player for us remains to be seen. Hopefully Arteta can help him because physically and technically he’s good.
Paulinho The famous back 4 were masters at stepping up for the offside . We were very good at compressing the pitch at highbury as the pitch was small. I’m not sure they would have been quite so good on the large Emirates pitch. I think Tottenham and West Ham are experiencing the problem of coming to terms with a large home pitch. At the lane and Upton park the game was different , the crowd and the small pitches created a completely different environment to play football , much more intimidating for the opposition. Liverpool have probably been very.astute… Read more »