Mikel Arteta has an entire week with his players, the longest gap of time between games since he joined the club. That means more recovery time for the players, more time to spend talking through ideas, and plenty of practice for whatever the plan is against Chris Wilders excellent Sheffield United outfit this weekend.
One of the main challenges the coaching staff will be dealing with is the loss of Auba, our most lethal player. Overall, one of the issues we’ve had for a while is the lack of shared responsibilities when it comes to goal-scoring duties. This was Arteta.
“They now have to make a step forward now he is not able to contribute to the team with goals.
“Someone else has to do it and I want to see that reaction too.”
My hope is that as we move closer to the vision of the new regime, goals will start to be more evenly distributed.
There are a few players I’d love to see step up to the plate, one of them is Gabriel Martinelli. He has a monstrous opportunity ahead of him. He’s Arsenal’s Gabriel Jesus, so I’m intrigued to see what the manager does to the structure of the team to unleash him. My guess is he’ll slip into the left of the front three and just replace Auba. He’s more of a natural presser though, so maybe the temptation might be to have him lead through the middle.
Another player who should start offering up more goals is Nicolas Pepe. We’ve seen flashes of what he’s capable of, but he really needs to double down and focus on more consistent delivery. He can be a bit ponderous at times. His casual nature can come across like he’s not bothered, I’m hoping a bit more urgency in his game and the added responsibility over the next 3 games will see him rise to the occasion.
When it comes to our midfield, it’s hard to see where the goals will come from. Torreira finds good positions sometimes, but when he’s too far forward he struggles to make up ground, he’s thrived playing in a smaller area of the pitch. Same can be said of Xhaka, though it has been noted that he’s powered through on the overlap twice in two games. Matteo and Ceballos both have limited productivity, and Ozil has rarely shown much of a gift for goal scoring.
It seems I have talked myself out of this, let’s just hope the front three can offer something otherwise we’re in trouble.
In defence, there appears to be movement. Mavrapanos has been sent out on loan. Sven Mislintat came back in for the player, but Nurnberg appears to have won the race for the Greek defender. Everyone loved him when he joined, but he’s been well off the pace since. Hopefully, a stint in Germany can help with his fitness and confidence.
The player we’re all desperate to see the back of is Mustafi. Sport is a brutal job, but he’s quite simply not good enough and no amount of coaching is going to save a player that stopped being hungry. He’s certainly a lesson in what £90k a week contract can do to a persons appetite for success. Galatasaray, regularly a saving grace for persona non grata in the Premier League, are rumoured to be interested in reinvigorating his career. Good luck to them.
The worry I have with exiting these defenders is we’re left very short through the middle. We’ll be relying on two 30+ centre backs, and the fitness of Rob Holding. Feels very, very risky… which is why I suspect there will be some sort of cover on loan. I just hope it’s not Jerome Boateng, who is hilariously being courted by Ivan Gazidis.
ESPN ran some analysis on bad reffing this season, it had Arsenal down 9 points.
I DON’T WANT TO BE A VICTIM BUT COME ON FEEL SORRY FOR US.
The reffing was pretty bad at the Palace game and it was atrocious at the Chelsea game. I don’t understand how they run the associations. What are they looking at? Who is bringing them patterns of bad behaviour that go on? Like, how can this tactical fouling thing still be an issue? Shouldn’t the refs make a statement to clubs and say that they’ll be dropping red cards as a deterrent. If we’re using VAR, can’t someone update a live iWatch table that tells refs how many tactical fouls a player or a team have dropped in a game? These problems we have in the game seem fairly simple to solve, but when the problem is given to Mike Riley, he comes up with the most bizarre ways of fixing them.
I still maintain the refs should be accountable to press. I also think we should hear them justify decisions. It works in the NFL, it brings the fans into the decisions.
Right, that’s the blog done, jump on board for the latest podcast with Alex who occasionally blogs on here. I bought a new mic, the sound is pretty damn crisp. Let me know what you think in the comments!
Jim – The fact you are putting it down to bias rather than actual stating reality is, well, something, considering how shit we are in midfield in terms of being any sort of threat to the opposition.
Ramsey premier league
Played 262
Scored 40
At a rate of a goal every 6.7 games
Mesut Ozil premier league
Played 178
Scored 32
At a rate of a goal every 5.5 games.
Looks like the shot shy Ozil is more prolific in front of goal despite Ramsey’s continuous presence in the opposition box.
Strange that .
Not exactly prolific admittedly.
Paulinho
I’m well aware of that, the question was posed to you because again it’s you making out the dire situation of being Ramsey-less come what may.
If we’d had opted for someone that had an end product this summer the entire debate would be moot because signing X would have 6/7 goals which would’ve made the difference.
We didn’t, but you’re using that as an opportunity to value Ramsey above and beyond once again.
Pierre – How is it strange?
Charlie – Well my entire point – and always has been – our squad is shit without him. I’m the only one who has always maintained last year’s squad is better than this years. It’s just not the goals. It’s the whole package. You might get a goal-scorer that can score the odd goal, but can you task him with shutting down a Jorginho? It’s not just type, it’s quality. We brought in Pepe so our shape changed, so with Ceballos the idea is where have more sitting midfielders, but one more out and out forward to get the goals… Read more »
Any news about Torreira’s injury?
Paulinho
Its strange because Ozil is is talked about as this shot shy player ,whereas Ramsey is perceived( by you) as the second coming of Frank Lampard.
One would have thought that Ramsey, who I think it’s fair to say has an insatiable appetite to get into the opposition box , would have a much better goals per game record that the shot shy Ozil.
Pierre – Not really. Unlike that lightweight flange Ozil, Ramsey actually does other stuff. Hence no one being interested in Ozil for about eight years. Even when we signed him no one else wanted the tit.
Pierre – Still waiting for Willock to come in and be the goal-scoring replacement with discipline. You’ve back-tracked on that one sharpish.
Paulinho
” – our squad is shit without him. I’m the only one who has always maintained last year’s squad is better than this years.”
Ramsey started ,I think it was, 14 premier league games last season so I’m not sure whether those very limited amount of games would make any sufficient impact on the quality of the team’s performance, good or bad.
I find Palace is one of the most dirty team. Their players kept kicking the legs of our players. The Ref. didn’t hand out yellow card. I have more respect for the Watford team. They just bully the opponent players.
Pierre – We’ve had this convo about ten times. Next you will mention his central midfield performances where played with ‘never seen before’ discipline after I remind of how much of a role he did play.
Pierre, Arteta 1 goal conceded in 3 games! I think 4 goals conceded in 5 games is a better stat . You said in the past that Emery was too negative playing 3 central midfielders and cried because he didn’t play ozil enough Now you admit ozil is not functioning with the current squad and tactics, because they are not willing to take risks to find him in spaces ! isn’t that the definition of negative football!? Is it ozil fault or is it tactical problem? And what do you think the Art should do in the summer ? Get… Read more »
Paulinho
I will not judge any player who has had to play their football under Emery
unless I’m mistaken willock has scored 4 goals this season in the limited amount of games he’s played
He may even reach the average of Ramsey’s 6 goals a season.
Pierre – Not only that, he may even score in a game that matters.
Aguero has beaten TH14’s goal record.
Soon Liverpool will become the new invincibles… while we become the new Liverpool.
2020, a year to remember, quite obviously. lol
Willock concerns me.
What is he exactly?
Needs to beef up.
Needs to man up.
Needs to show some desire.
Otherwise will be joining that special Arsenal club of not being quite good enough.
What a starting XI that would be.
Aliko Dangote, who is said tobe Africa’s richest man, has given an interview today claiming that he wants to launch a take-over bid for for AFC. He’s big in cement, apparently.
Accommodating Mesut Ozil is like trying to fit a square peg in a round hole.
Problem is we have to try and do it until there’s another solution.
Michael – Stan will not sell his asset, no matter who wishes to invest.
“Michael – Stan will not sell his asset, no matter who wishes to invest.”
Delighted to hear that you have inside knowledge on what Stan is thinking.
However as a general rule, everyone has a price. This African guy is immensely rich. Personally I’d expect Stan to issue a flat denial that the club is for sale and then see what jhappens. I have no idea if he will sell or not. But everyone has a price.
Paulinho
Honestly…stop this Ramsey hero worship. The lad is gone and is not exactly lighting up Serie A either.
There was nothing “rare” about Ramsey. He was a good midfielder who craved the Hollywood moment more than applying himself for the team.
He was not even as good as say …Madison at Leicester who’s going to get even better if he finds his way to a bigger stage.
So Dangote is “big in cement”
Are we supposed to read into that?
Suddenly remembering that scene in Beverly Hills Cops 2 when that guy was killed off by being covered in cement at the construction site.
Could Dangote arrange a similar fate for Stan?
No it wasn’t Beverly Hills Cops it was Lethal Weapon 2 or 3.
Help me out here.
“Help me out here.”
There a few people wearing cement overcoats helping to prop up motorway bridges.
It was Lethal Weapon 3.
And it was a real shite movie.
Michael – no everyone doesn’t have a price. Some would rather keep their assets than sell them especially if they are under no financial pressure to do so. His son also reaffirmed his commitment to the club in the summer. I don’t like it any more than the majority of arsenal fans but there it is.
Dissenter – Maddison is complete number ten. Could never play him in central midfield against United at home and have him run 13k, win the most tackles, and win the man of the match award mostly on the basis of combativeness. Which Ramsey did last season.
You’ve changed your tune again I see. When Ramsey got injured at the end of last season you were full of praise for him, and denouncing your earlier criticism of his ability and importance to the team.
If the team keeps losing money for a few years, it may change Kroenke’s mind. Currently, Arteta’s hands are tied. The club has spent a lot in the last TW. There is no money available to sign good players now. He’ll have to do the best with the available players.
Another great read from PedRo- many thanks. Bizarre what has happened to the young Greek center back…Mav Played exceptionally when he first arrived. Especially a game at OT.( ironically under Wenger) Shows you – always have to be careful with ones appraisal of young players. Eg. Genduzi when he first arrived – we thought we had found a little gem. 12 months later- he looks absolutely atrocious. He dont score,assist and even seems to have given up running around anymore. Like wise Martinelli. Stop with the adulation. 1 goal in 15( not starts,obviously) and folk are raving about him- because… Read more »
“Another great read from PedRo- many thanks.”
Another cum shot from CG.
“Michael – no everyone doesn’t have a price. Some would rather keep their assets than sell them especially if they are under no financial pressure to do so. His son also reaffirmed his commitment to the club in the summer. I don’t like it any more than the majority of arsenal fans but there it is.” An interesting philosophical point. However the evidence from hundreds of years of people in business is that, eventually, everyone has a price. I totally accept that Stan is under no pressure and has shown no inclination of selling. But I would not accept the… Read more »
Can’t believe anyone is clamouring for Ramsey, a total crock who lacked discipline.
Add to the fact he tried to bend us over a barrel ala Ozil says all you need to know, better off without paying him the wages of 2 players for half a season playing time.
I thought we were as guilty as palace for slowing the game down, in fact, after 30 mins, that’s all our lot had in the tank.
Regarding bad refs, I’ve always assumed they structure the games the way they do in american sports, but more so because football doesnt have commercials every 3 fkn minutes, which is to say they want to make the games as appealing as possible to the neutrals. Imo that means allowing the mid and low table clubs a lot of leniency when playing against a team like arsenal to add a brute dimension. I don’t pretend to watch every game as i’m on the west coast and that often means 430am kickoffs, but i’ve watched quite a lot of games over… Read more »
Also… Dangote is just click bait for under nourished fans who pissed all over Usmanov in favour of Kronke.
Ironically we could be looking at Everton in 5 years wondering what might have been.
Sad times.
Unai
“””Can’t believe anyone is clamouring for Ramsey, a total crock who lacked discipline.”””
Thats fine to have that opinion
Where you and your ilk come unstuck though is:
You support the new regime in spending £30 million on Tierney
Who is even more injury prone and never played a proper competitive match( barring a few CL matches ) in his sorry career.
But then again- your not as bright as myself as Paulinho – who know the importance of Ramsey to Arsenal.
“You’ve changed your tune again I see. When Ramsey got injured at the end of last season you were full of praise for him, and denouncing your earlier criticism of his ability and importance to the team.”
Glad someone remembered.
CG, Tierney isn’t being paid 250k per week so kinda pisses on them particular chips.
He’s not in the limelight of his career either so plenty of time to recoup that investment.
At least the current regime is investing, rather that than some indistinguisable waffle about values, handbreaks and Sanogo the new £50m superstar.
“When it comes to our midfield, it’s hard to see where the goals will come from”And yet somehow people didn’t see this as a huge problem at the start of the season.I warned fans on here for at least two years how fucked we would be without Ramsey, because we had literally no one to score goals from deeper positions or make off the ball runs, and everyone was so blase about it. Even being injury prone look at his stats the last few years. We could do with them now, and next year as well. We need to nail… Read more »
Ramsey came in as a 16 year old player to Arsenal. Ozil? An established 25 year old.
Utterly embarrassing the numbnuts that cite years at the club or some other comparison.
Tierney’s injury was a major setback however.
I’m kinda split on it though, if Bellerin and Tierney were fit all season, Emery could still be in a job.
Silver linings and all that.
Unai
“”””At least the current regime is investing, rather that than some indistinguisable waffle about values, handbreaks and Sanogo the new £50m superstar.””””
Yes they sure can invest alright
(Anyone can invest- when it ain’t their money )
Investing in overrated,over paid, injury prone, one footed ,overhyped garbage.
They are masters at it.
That’s why we are mid table- for the first time in 40 years.
Arsenal FC the only club in the world who
Invested 1/4 of a billion of players and went backwards and dropped 5 places.
That’s some achievement
Ramsey was a proper big game player. Brought drive and energy to the team everytime he played. Right now all we have in midfield are listless nancies.
There is no way you can improve this Arsenal team without improving the players. Our keeper is on par. Of our defence only Luiz could be graded as average, the others are too poor for any other team in this league and that would include anyof the current bottom 6. The only reason we are above that lot is that we have a better striker than them. Midfiled is another poor collection of players. Any tea that has the lethargic, monolithic Xhaka as the crux of its team is going to struggle. He is completely unsuited to this ;league. Ozil… Read more »
Investing in overrated,over paid, injury prone, one footed ,overhyped garbage.
I’m confused, are you referring to Ramsey here?
Freddie Ljungberg
Xhaka is not designated by any figment of imagination as a “creative ” midfielder.
His main attributes are “breakdown” of opponents play.
Pierre
In recent years there was far more concern about our defence rather than attack. However, this season our attack has underperformed.
We are not scoring enough goals to compensate for deficiencies of our defence.
For the record i liked Ramsey, great player at times but.
Inconsistent, injury prone and his wage expectations were ridiculous last summer.
Ironically CG, if Wenger & Ivan had done there jobs right, Ramsey would still be on the books at an affordable wage.
Remember the ideal situation of players being in the last year of their contracts? Classic that one.
Unai
“”I’m confused, are you referring to Ramsey here?”””
Yes
The shrewdest club around have invested in him Juventus
(The one that has Ronaldo playing for them)
Didn’t see Juventus come in for Pepe and Tierney for £100 000 000 combined though.
They do smart business.
We do Dopey business.
We have a Spiv in charge.
They have expertise and experience in charge.
And I have no idea- you defend it.
Because its indefendable
If your looking for someone to blame CG, blame the people who let Ramsey’s contract situation stagnate in the first place.
We couldn’t have afforded him if we had wanted to at the end.
Am no fan of Ramsey but let’s face it…no one in the arsenal squad can do what did…key point being the jorginho marking.He wasn’t that prolific but those kind of runs drag opposition midfielders/defenders all the time.Think of it as a poor man’s Frank Lampard/Vidal…speaking of why don’t we look at Vidal on a short term deal?
Paulinho
I haven’t changed my tune
Ramsey was a good midfielder for Arsenal and was the consummate professional who never gave the club problems. He deserves respect for what he did at Arsenal.
He was indeed replaceable, if we bothered to try. The problem is that you always bring every thing midfield related to Ramsey’s exit.
We largely pulled through thanks to Lacazette and auba goals but now laca has stopped scoring and we have no one in midfield who can score and it is a major problem.What happened to xhaka long range shots?Why did he stop shooting nowadays?
Here are stats which should worry every supporter this season.
We have played 22 games sofar this season and managed only 2 goals + in NINE of those games
Of those 9 games we have managed to score 3 goals on TWO occasions and won both games against West Ham and Aston Villa.
In the 7 games where we have scored 2 goals we have managed to win only against Burnley and Manchester United. We have DRAWN the other 5.
The obvious conclusion is that we struggle to win games unless we score 3
goals.
“To do this he has the team playing risk free football, At the moment the balance isn’t right but it is the right way to go as the amount of chances we were conceding was a serious problem. If we only score on average one goal per game and concede 0.5 a game until the end of the season, that’ll do for me .Fans are getting hung up about not scoring, not creating , midfielders not scoring but they need to make up their mind what they want . If they want us to concede less chances/goals then they have… Read more »
Paulinho
Yes I’m aware of your view about our squad, and the very fact you brazenly equate it to being ‘shit without Ramsey’ tells its own story.
Ramsey has played 900 minutes this season, 270 of which came for Wales. So 630 minutes football for Juventus, 7 whole games worth.
You’re honestly going to claim that player as a ‘rare one’ and ‘hard to replace’ this past summer? I’ll have to strongly disagree. The fact we didn’t replace him is poor, but to try and redress that as if we lost Thierry all over is just bollocks.
ES “”””We have played 22 games sofar this season and managed only 2 goals + in NINE of those games”””” Great stat An illustration of the absolute horror show the club has become. 3 different head coaches. Very little discernable bounce each time. We will have Years and Years of this unless a whole New Regime is installed starting from complete new ownership We are finished as an Elite entity. If Leeds and WBA get promoted- we will be struggling to reach their levels next season. They will have a £100 million to spend on players . We dont have… Read more »
“We will have Years and Years of this”
Said that 10 years ago…..
Oh,
Now with Auba would have been good time to give Pepe his preferred role with wingbacks switching their role.
Let Pepe play tucked in closer to Laca,but on the right, ask Martinelli/Nelson to play more wide defensive winger on the left. For that to work AMN(lol) should do Kola’s role of stretching the play and Kolasinac should tuck in and pass the ball around. Kolasinac can probably do that better than AMN has done in last couple of games.
Wonder if Bellerin will be fit enough??
** now with Auba out
Azed Our confidence was rock bottom. Our football was dire . Every player was regressing. We were in the bottom half of the table. It shows the ignorance if you and the rest of the know nothings expect Arteta to come in and play open expansive football . Yes 4-2-3-1 has addressed the weakness defensively in midfield and made us a better balanced team I said play 4-2-3-1 for a better balanced side, which we certainly are. I wouldn’t get too confident with your snarky comments if I were you, because as you know , ultimately I tend to be… Read more »
Spurs and Man Un acting on their Midfield weaknesses.
Arsenal no such luck?
And one things for sure Cellabos is not the answer.
@James Wood : Granité will stay, and that’s all that really matter.
Stroller
“The obvious conclusion is that we struggle to win games unless we score 3
goals.”
Hence why Arteta is addressing our weaknesses, one goal conceded in the last 3 games is confirmation of that.
Patience is the key .
The position that Arteta has taken over in mid season is nearly an impossible situation .
He is not going for the quick fix , he is trying to build from the back which will mean we do not have to score 3 goals to won a game.
Pierre
Now you are starting to give excuses . When the issue came up about us not creating chances, you said playing Ozil behind the striker would solve that problem.
Don’t worry, at the end of the day, you and Pedro would finally admit that we need better players.
“Don’t worry, at the end of the day, you and Pedro would finally admit that we need better players.“
There’s nobody on here that is against better players Azed, peddling a myth.
““Don’t worry, at the end of the day, you and Pedro would finally admit that we need better players.“
Of course we need better players. But we also need better coaching, better scouting and better youth development. We have started to improve the coaching and let’s hope the better players, scouting and youth development folow.
Lethal Weapon 5 was the best of the lot.
Emiratesstroller “Xhaka is not designated by any figment of imagination as a “creative ” midfielder. His main attributes are “breakdown” of opponents play.” How many years have you watched Xhaka now? And you tell us that his main attribute is breaking up opposition play? Really? How can you even conceive such a notion? He isn’t particularly creative no. His main attribute is to give some sort of control in the midfield in terms of possession. On occassions longer flighted balls from deep. We saw again yesterday Man City’s pinball machine passing between many players. Quick combination passing . Give and… Read more »
Thinking of players like Ramsey. Who regularly (home or away, the game we dominate or get dominated in like Paulinho says)destabilize opponents defensive setup to open up spaces for others regardless of him personally getting in score sheets.
Khedira, Vidal, Paulinho, Mautidi all old. Among young players or players in their peak Dele Ali, Rabiot(briefly for PSG), Ramsey ofcourse, Doucoure(plays as advanced mid under Pearsons), Fede Valverde, Sergi Roberto, Aranguiz, Hojberg, Goretzka, Tolisso.
Another area of the club neglected over the past ten years is the whole youth setup, how can the likes of spurs, chelsea,liverpool ,produce players who are regular starters in the first eleven, not substitutes and we cant, what the hell was Wenger and gazidis doing ? This rot will take years to fix.never seen one man destroy his legacy so much, a good lesson as to how power corrupts.
I don’t think any poster has ever said we don’t need new players. In fact every football clubs will always look to improve their respective team anytime the transfer window is opened. Even Liverpool who are about to run away with the league just bought minamino. What I believe some posters said was that the team is not as bad as some posters make it out to be but we still need to be adding proper players to improve the team till we get there. If my memory serves me well then arteta has not for once said he will… Read more »
Azed
“Now you are starting to give excuses”
True, the excuses I’ve used are that under Emery the football was dire, the players were regressing and our confidence was rock bottom .
“There’s nobody on here that is against better players Azed, peddling a myth.”
CC
Take a look at Pierre’s post.
Xhaka and Torriera are now the culprits because Ozil is a past it player.
“You’re honestly going to claim that player as a ‘rare one’ and ‘hard to replace’ this past summer? I’ll have to strongly disagree.” Well it’s a pretty obvious in my book. We will see how easy it is when we are still bemoaning our midfield next season, and probably the season after. It’s pretty hard to sign quality midfielders full stop these days with our financial situation, not being seen as a serious threat, and the fact supply is low to demand, never mind sign someone with Ramsey’s exact attributes. Dissenter – Our midfield is gash, and Pedro mentioned goals… Read more »
“Lethal Weapon 5 was the best of the lot.”
@Jim Lahey : you must stop your shots of heroine, for your own good.
Having a goalscoring midfielder is grand, but its not essential.
@Highbury –
I suggest you watch it, a modern classic.
Paulinho
You were strongly advocating the addition of a winger. We spent 70 mil on Pepe, you telling me we couldn’t have landed a player to replace Ramsey for that coin?
Azed
You dragged Pedro into the mix and made it a comment that wasn’t solely directed at Pierre. It became a blanket statement suggesting there’s folk who don’t care for better players (the sort of rubbish I myself have been hit with), which is flat out nonsense.
Ramsey isn’t the go to type of CM for any tactical team. All he did was to search for goals even the they are not needed. There were matches were we were to see off games but you still found Ramsey ahead of the strikers looking for his glorious goal. That Juventus signed him means nothing because it was on bosman. Those are the kind of deals they are looking for. I watched him against Roma and I was like it’s good he was let go at the end. You don’t give a huge wage packet to a crocked player… Read more »
CC Our squad is inbalanced and some players are living of past reputation (cough, cough Ozil). We have a collection of players that are not really suited to any known formation so any system picked by the coach would have issues. For 30 mins against Palace and 25 against Chelsea, we were dominant without creating chances. Once Palace started to press and Chelsea add an extra man in midfield, we could not do anything. Ozil -Xhaka and Torriera is a poor midfield that can overcome by most teams. Ozil and Xhaka need space and once that is not there, we… Read more »
Lethal Weapon 5 don’t exist, dear Jim!! lol
There is 4 films. One classic, one good, and 2 other totally pathetic.
“Paulinho You were strongly advocating the addition of a winger. We spent 70 mil on Pepe, you telling me we couldn’t have landed a player to replace Ramsey for that coin?” Yeah, Zaha or someone that can keep the width out wide on the left. I knew there was zero chance of replacing Ramsey like for like so the only way to move forward was wide goal-scoring threats and bring in central midfielders that had some flair or passing ability to link with them. We brought in a wide right player instead, and Ceballos. So we didn’t address it completely… Read more »
“You dragged Pedro into the mix and made it a comment that wasn’t solely directed at Pierre. ” CC Pedro made his bed when he said our conversion rate was unreal and Emery was to blame (he was the coach though) for our lack of chances created at a time when Iwobi was our best winger. I made a post after the Palace game that said last season, Iwobi to Kolasinac and a cut back was our best/ go to attacking move. Under Arteta, its Luiz to Kolasinac. Two coaches with different philosophies employing similar tactics with one constant, the… Read more »
“We spent 70 mil on Pepe, you telling me we couldn’t have landed a player to replace Ramsey for that coin?”
That’s how we replaced him. Again, the fact we didn’t replace him -like for like with that money suggests these replacements for him are not as common as you like to claim.
Unless you want to give me list of players that can play central midfield, get a combined double figures in goals and assists, as well as run 13k and make tackles.
@Highbury –
https://itsalwayssunny.fandom.com/wiki/Lethal_Weapon_5
Modern classic.
Ok Jim, sorry, my mistake. lol
Morning all. Some good points on here. We DO Need goal scoring mids. Our Mids are woeful and hardly create worth a shit. Our passes are conservative and easily read. In addition, our mids are weak physically, have little stamina and more importantly technical creativity. Ozil is not the answer. Any questions about Ozil being this or that is utterly pointless. A midfield revamp is what is needed. Look at the top 4 teams. Their mids are creative, hard working, press, and can score. Wolves mids are great IMO. Work horses that equally create and at any given time, anyone… Read more »
Rambo…. nice kid, good heart, good engine but crocked most seasons.
Not the answer.
Pierre when exactly does the Emery PTSD wear off?
When can we start holding this players accountable?
Paulinho “Grealish has only started being a final third threat when pushed further forward, so he will have to replace one of attacking options, to bring goals. If you play him deep, you get ball-carrying but little goal threat.” Saw the Villa – Man City highlights. One of the “highlights” shown was Grealish yet again being caught on the ball trying to dribble out in front of his own penalty area and this gave Man City a big chance on goal from which they really should have scored from. He has to learn when not to overplay in certain areas… Read more »
Ishola – He got caught twice against Spurs earlier in the season as well.
He’s a talent, and we need that type of footballer to liberate our stodgy bunch, but there are question marks.
RH Do you really think it bothers me if you or Azed care whether I think the players should be held accountable. Is this the best the know nothings can do..they spent 18 months defending Emery’s tactics and man management and all we are hearing now is imbecile comments like “when can we start holding these players accountable ” I can guarantee that when Arteta brings in new signings in the summer ( which he will do) , the know nothings will be claiming this is proof that the players are not good enough. Just remember, you are called the… Read more »
Guen needs to go on loan… he was promoted due to having a good preseason with Emery year one and also partnering the shitty Xhaka.
Now the jury is out… the runs a lot but does not do much at all.
Needs to learn how to play with more purpose instead of being a battering ram out there..
He is 20…. clearly has time to develop still.
This summer we need to acquire 2/3 mids that can cut it.
Im not so sure about Dani C- jury still out… need to see him do something for us this season.
Very funny news from Chel$ki:
“Antonio Conte has won his legal battle with Chelsea and the club will have to pay their former manager £85,000 in compensation. An employment tribunal ruled in the Italian’s favour and Judge Andrew Glennie found that he was unfairly sacked by the Blues in July 2018. ‘The complaint of unfair dismissal is well founded,’ he said. ‘The respondent (Chelsea) shall pay to the claimant (Conte) a basic award of £1,524 and a compensatory award of £83,682, being a total of £85,206.”
I hope that Emery dosen’t get any ideas!’
People are caught in Maddison hype. But Grealish is coming along nicely, far better and influential/take match by scruff kind of player.
But a CM he is not. Maybe CAM at a pinch in counter attacking teams(could develop still young lad), still would bring nice balance to our team as LM, opposite to goal scoring direct player Pepe/Martinelli at RM.
Does Ramsey’s goal every 6.7 games equate to him being a goalscoring midfielder.
Ozil has scored a goal every 5.5 games but I wouldn’t for a second call him a goalscoring midfielder.
I hope that Emery dosen’t get any ideas!’
Nothing unfair about his dismissal..
And some good news for us for a change!
“The richest man in Africa, Aliko Dangote, has revealed his plans to buy Arsenal in 2021, with the billionaire Gunners fan determined to oust absentee owner Stan Kroenke”.
Dangote better hurry up….
I am hoping he does something this summer… when our teams value continues to drop… Stan might want to cash out.