Alex Lacazette is dropping a different sort of criticism into the ether… he’s moved beyond liking naughty Instagram posts, he’s now saying actual words with bite.
“They [Sheffield United] were not very dangerous but this match summarises how we are this season. We are winning the match but don’t get it over the line,”
“We are quite naive at the moment. We need to be nastier and more consistent in the 90th to 93rd minutes of matches.
“Especially when we can do better than this. We have the players required. It is a shame.”
YES ALEX. I don’t normally like to see players and coaches airing dirty laundry, but when it’s this sort of thing, it kind of signifies a shift in mentality. It’s more punchy than Johann Djourou or Denilson telling the fans we should be doing better. This feels like a rallying cry. We are better than the results we’re dropping, he can feel that the squad is underperforming, he’s one of the more senior players and he has a right to say these things.
Sure, there will be criticism of him, there haven’t been a lot of goals to speak of, but as everyone keeps telling me, he’s putting in a filthy shift for the greater good.
Mikel Arteta didn’t shirk from the comments.
“Yes, I think it’s part of the game management and I think there were things we could have done better to put more pressure on the opponent, to bring the ball into certain areas where we could rest with the ball and control the game better. That will come. It’s a good process for us to learn about those situations.”
One of the more ridiculous notions being peddled is that nothing has changed, which I’m guessing is why the new manager is being asked about the players and whether they are still feeling the excitement a few games in.
“I don’t have that feeling. The feedback I’m getting from them is very positive, they know when we haven’t won the reasons why and there are many different aspects to that – some we can influence some we cannot influence – but they are there and they are very aware of that.”
Here’s where he’s seeing the improvements since the last time we played Chelsea.
“Well a lot of things have happened and it feels longer than a month to be fair. The amount of games, the (amount) we’ve trained, the amount of things that happened. Yes, a lot of things changed, a lot of positives in terms of reactions and the things they are taking on board, the way we have managed to change the energy, atmosphere, relationship and chemistry with our fans was massively important for us. So yes, in terms of results it could have been a little bit different, I think we have been very unlucky and other aspects have influenced that.”
It was very amusing to see the vampires out post-Sheffield United.
‘WE AIN’T HAD A NEW MANAGER BOUNCE’
‘WHY AREN’T WE IN THE TOP 4’
‘HE’S A FRAUD’
I have absolute faith that these people will be deleting their tweets and apologising for their limited world view of football coaching that led them to those opinions. Xavi refused the Barca role because he lacked the confidence to take over a sinking ship midseason (thanks Wasi).
Mikel has jumped off an Elon Musk Space X passenger ship to Arsenal’s Titanic. He is picking up the worst Arsenal moment in almost 40 years. Emery had fired his captain, alienated Ozil, pushed LT out the door after playing him as a 10, had AMN taking red cards to get out of playing full back, had Auba leaking stories about leaving the club, and had us in a death spiral. The confidence in the squad was at ground zero when he landed. Remember fans pontificating on our players being so bad they were uncoachable?
There is no quick fix for Arsenal, anywhere. Look at what is happening at Spurs under Jose Mourinho, no new manager bounce, no improvement in style or thinking, he can’t even make the defence solid. He’s working with Champions League finalists.
Also, we don’t need a quick fix, we need something that’s future-facing, and that takes time. So ignore the people creating false expectations, we’re moving in the right direction, and the form will come.
The Chelsea game is huge for Arsenal. We still have a pretty broken squad of players, but there has to come a point where the vision clicks, and hopefully a bit of luck falls our way. Chelsea are further ahead under Frank Lampard, but have still been very, very inconsistent. A win against them will show a very defined mark of improvement and it’ll be huge for the fans to go away from home against a big club and win.
It’ll be tough though. We’re still playing midfielders in defence, we don’t have an Auba to lean on, and the squad is struggling for confidence. I think fitness is still a challenge, Statsbomb had a rolling xG chart that shows we’re tanking in the second half, maybe a combination of new ideas, legginess, and panic because of second-half-history is going against us. We need to get over those things and start pulling in the three points.
The real progress that Arteta has made has been in solidifying the team. We don’t leak chances like we used to and the idea of defending being a collective endeavour is now mainstream in the squad. I really want to see us continue defending well, but coming up with some new ideas to be more positive going forward. We’re very much reliant on Ozil being in form, the rest of our players struggle to break the lines, so we need a bit more boldness tomorrow.
I’m unsure who is going to start tomorrow, but Eddie might find himself some game time.
“It would depend on the circumstances, the players we have available, his performance, the way he trains the impact he makes every time he plays. He’s a young player but I have to try and treat him exactly the same as the other ones. (If) I put him in the pitch because I think he deserves it. The way he trains, the way he shows every day how much he wants it and it will depend on him.”
Alex on the podcast below said the home fans went nuts for his appearance, here’s hoping he can deliver on the expectation. Some fans felt he didn’t quite put the shift in they were looking for, but let’s see what he can do if he’s given time in a huge game. He should be looking at Tammy Abrahams and Mason Mount and wanting a bit of what they’re getting this season. He has the talent, he’s cool in front of goal, it’s just a matter of making it count when he gets the chance… something he was struggling with before his loan move.
This is a huge game, I can’t wait, let me know what you think in the comments!
P.S. I recorded a podcast with Alex below. It’s good. Listen in and an give it 5* on iTunes.
Dissenter
Kurzawa’s agent is Kia Joorabchian.
Kia has his fingers in the pie at Arsenal.
Kia is on the first page of Raul’s contacts book.
Ishola
Yea, Arsenal shouldn’t do business with the agents chosen by the players we want to sign.
Yes… the Arsenal executives shouldn’t have the best player-agent on speed dial.
This contacts book attack os so damn boring
Kurzawa first came to Arsenal’s attention because Emery recommended him having coached him at PSG. All this talks of bad attitude is bonkers because the manager whop saw him day in day out didn’t think so. I imagine Kurzawa came to our attention because we’re apparently broke and desperate which never leads to smart decisions let’s be honest. The rest of what you said is pure fantasy. Scouts look at more than numbers. Well our former French scout recently said it’s a bad idea. Funny enough, I am more excited about Kurzawa than all the enthusiasm you threw about when… Read more »
I should have written ‘pre-assist”.
My bad…don’t shoot.
Pre assists aren’t a thing. You were corrected twice and still said a falsehood
“Well our former French scout recently said it’s a bad idea.“
Former french scout..
What’s his record like out of interest?
“Well our former French scout recently said it’s a bad idea.”
Our current scouts may not think so.
You were excited about a guy who was hailed as the second coming of Robertson …and yet you’re totally preoccupied about the guy who will be back-up to him [if he really was that good]?
Doesn’t make sense.
How many defenders with a dozen internationals caps for a country as good as France are available on free transfers in the summer?
Our current scouts may not think so.
You believe we scouted Kurzawa? That’s cute. Probably specifically scouted on the off chance that Bernat got injured.
Valentin’s musings about Kurzawa have been good.
He didn’t big him up [like Marko bigged up Tierney] and didn’t trash him [like Marko is doing to the player]
I remember the indifference of Liverpool supporters about the signing of Joel Matip on a free transfer. It was a squad cheap transfer to get them to a better place.
Freddie Ljungberg I was never Ramsey’s biggest fan but he, along with the rest were better under Wenger. Torriera was class at first and then Unai got to grips with him. Even if Ozil isn’t racking up the numbers, I like that he always does the simple things in the game right. Now some might say that every player should be doing that, but most can’t. Look at Willock for example, yes he’s young, but when things are going against him, he struggles to play the simple pass. Same with Pepe, even Lacazette at the moment. So I think that’s… Read more »
Mikel Arteta: “We cannot waste these four months just thinking about next season, because the hurry of a big football club is now, not in the summer.”
Love it Mick
“You believe we scouted Kurzawa?”
You think we buy players we never scouted?
Damn…you really think anyone would commit to spending millions in annual salary for an employee they haven’t scouted and done a background research on?
These players have certain employee benefits including insurance. The club has to show due diligence before committing money to people.
Overmars you’re way too lenient
‘Not the best stat’
Be serious mate it’s absolutely dismal over 2 years and at 350k a week.
That equates to almost £7m per assist we’ve been paying him. How many assists does iwobi have over the same time period? And we all said he wasn’t good enough (he wasn’t).
Overmars
I don’t care about Emery, or Wenger for that matter, these players were not good enough consistently then and isn’t now, that’s the point.
Sure, Ozil doesn’t get brushed off the ball like he’s an overgrown baby on the regular.
We lack creativity and goals from midfield and our Cam has the worst output of not only the big clubs but pretty much all of them but at least he’s tidy, smh.
1) The Krankies will not ‘walk away’ from Arsenal anytime soon 2) The squad as it stands is mid table in any language 3) The Krankies will not invest a cent of their own money in the club 4) The Krankies will continue to take advise from a dysfunctional executive 5) No manager in the world would make this club functional at the present time 6) Fuck xg stats and all – we don’t have the depth or quality of squad to compete 7) Non of the above is going to change anytime soon. 8) I would personally welcome Dangote… Read more »
Considering ozil is supposed to be the assist king, doesn’t 7m per league assist over a 2 year period make you want to die? This is a disgustingly poor stat If he was churning out assists but not much else at least there would be a case for carrying him, but he doesn’t assist or score so what is the actual point of him? If we want a n10 who doesn’t assist or score but puts in a shift we can find one for 40k a week quite easily. The whole point of ozil being expensive is that he’s supposed… Read more »
3 good games under arteta*
It’s all about fitness. That maybe the reason teams power down towards the end of the game. Very few teams can keep up the tempo. That’s why great teams score early. In Arsenal case, under Emery they were running and sprinting much less. Now with Arteta on board , he is pushing hard on the team’s fitness and it will take a season or two to come to fruition. Take a look at Kloop,s Liverpool, in the first two years they were conceding a lot too.
I would gladly swap iwobi back for ozil right now
We’d save a fortune on wages, probably have better output and we’d have more pace and industry at AM.
Now that tells you something because iwobi is some way short of the answer to our problems
Joel Matip on a free transfer. It was a squad cheap transfer to get them to a better place.
Difference being Joel Matip was 24 a consistent starter for Schalke and he’s apparently on 70,000 a week. If you can’t see the difference between that and a soon to be 28 year old bit part player on 115,000 then I dunno. Anyway
marko Nope, it’s not that different. Joel Matip was player most Liverpool fans didn’t know about before they signed him on unfree. Joel Matip’s transfer didn’t provoke a whimper of protest because they didn’t care about what was just a squad movement of players. By the way. Matip increased his wages from 70 k Euros weekly at Shalke to £100k weekly at Liverpool. The rumor mill has Kurzawa reducing his wages to come to Arsenal. Kurzawa is no the first player to lose his way at PSG by the way. Lucas Moura too lost his way there and regained it… Read more »
China, I think that says more about your taste in #10 players. There’s not a coach in the world that’d take Iwobi over Ozil.
China1 By you claiming that you would rather Iwobi than Ozil tells me all I need to know about your football knowledge. I’m glad you’re not in control of transfers at the club. Saying that, it wouldn’t surprise me if we sold Ozil end of the season. But the question is, who do we get to replace him? It’s all well and good saying he needs to be sold, but being realistic, if we finish mid-table and fail to qualify for the Champions League, we won’t attract anyone half as good. Even then we would have to pay a player… Read more »
Iwobi had 3 goals and 7 assists last season in less than 2000 minutes
Ozil has 5 goals and 3 assists since the start of last season in 2700 minutes.
That’s not saying Iwobi is good, it just means Ozil is really fucking bad.
No coach in the world would pick Ozil over anyone.
Does everyone’s eyes gloss over when presented with the facts of how horrendously poor Ozil has been for more than 2 years?
Who could we get to replace him? Has to be a trick question, half as good? 250k a week? He contributes nothing ffs, replace him with an u12 player and we’d have the same result.
Did Pierres subliminal terror attacks actually work on some people so they’re incapable of facing the truth of Ozils demise as a serious football player?
Jokers
wish we were sinking like barca.
We need points pronto or it will be back to usual Arsenal false dawn.
Freddie Ljungberg
“No coach in the world would pick Ozil over anyone.”
Arteta seems to pick him every week mate, so he must be doing something right?
You say we should replace him with an under 12s player… if he is as bad as you say, than surely Willock and Ceballos must be terrible, as they both couldn’t keep their place in the first team and Ozil has crept back in ahead of them both.
Overmars it’s more an indictment on our squad than it is Ozil doing anything right. Arteta seems to want to go with experience to get us back to winning ways, not exactly working out that way is it? Ceballos has been injured and hasn’t really adapted to the league, Willock is a kid, also isn’t really a Cam. 5 goals and 3 assists since last season. There is no excuses for that, none, certainly not on 350k a week. Give the u12 player 2 lollipops a week as salary, he can sit in the stands and we’ll get the same… Read more »
Freddie Ljungberg
It does make laugh that as soon as Arsenal draw a couple of games – Ozil’s fault. Get beat – Ozil’s fault. Poor defending – Ozil’s fault. Dodgy hot dog at the Emirates – Ozil’s fault.
Personally, I just enjoy watching him play football. Stats can argue he’s been useless over the last couple of years but I prefer to watch the game with my own eyes and in my opinion, I still reckon playing well, but not as good as his high standards suggest he should be.
Overmars “It does make laugh that as soon as Arsenal draw a couple of games – Ozil’s fault. Get beat – Ozil’s fault. Poor defending – Ozil’s fault. Dodgy hot dog at the Emirates – Ozil’s fault.” Not everything is Ozils fault, us not scoring or creating enough is though, that’s what he is be=ng paid to do and he’s not doing it. This isn’t just my opinion btw, it’s absolute facts. Hey, if you enjoy watching someone float around doing a couple of flicks now and then and shirk all responsibility in the middle then that’s up to you,… Read more »
Ozil is a disaster of the highest order. Was kicked out of the German squad and is enjoying 350k per week at Arsenal for doing absolutely nothing.
Arteta is clearly not as ruthless as some people thought.
A Defender who earns 50% less than Ozil still has more goal contributions.
https://www.givemesport.com/1539750-virgil-van-dijk-has-more-goal-contributions-than-mesut-ozil-in-the-premier-league-since-january-31-2018
Don’t fret. Ozil is going nowhere – remember – he likes it here and, being the loyal servant that he is, will honour his contract to the end!
“China, I think that says more about your taste in #10 players. There’s not a coach in the world that’d take Iwobi over Ozil.”
Can you show us the results of the polled managers you conducted Pedro.
Pedro it’s funny you should say that because I didn’t see too many offers coming in for ozil in the summer yet we sold iwobi for 30 odd million Also which part of what I said is not true? Which player provides industry, pace, workrate, positive attitude, willingness to press and doesn’t regularly fake illness? That would be iwobi Which player provides greater goal and assists threat? I’m not even sure because ozil numbers spanning two years are so basement that he probably isn’t even winning on that front either Then there’s the wages being saved. If you’d rather pay… Read more »
Also lol at your flip flopping Pedro
Just because arteta rates ozil he’s back in your good books. If arteta comes out tomorrow and says ozil is a lazy shit who couldn’t assist his grandma to cross the road you’d be writing posts calling for his immediate sale
Where are all the offers for our mercurial n10? Why aren’t teams beating down the door to take this legendary playmaker assist king off our books? Is it something to do with him being hideously expensive, having absolutely basement numbers for two solid years, his crap attitude, his political baggage, his fake illnesses? Surely not. Everyone wants ozil, right? Meanwhile actual decent money for iwobi was an actual thing that happened. I don’t even rate iwobi. He was a squad player. But even our squad players are evidently motivating opposition managers more than the incredible German A player who has… Read more »
I can tell you right now if ozil was getting 25 assists a season then some elite teams like juve, psg etc would absolutely be willing to consider his joke wages
But he doesn’t. Because he can’t. Because he’s nowhere near as good as he and a lot of people like to believe
When a club like arsenal has actual elite talent we go through a war every transfer window to keep them
With Vieira, Henry, fabregas, RVP etc, every summer was a horrible slog of teams desperately tapping them up
Where are those constant leaks to the press from other teams about how much they hope to play with ozil some day? It’s not a coincidence. Put a 29 year old TH14 in this team right now on ozil’s wages and you’d have a whole host of clubs still circling
100% with Marco on Kurzawa, feels like we’re repeating old mistakes. So we sell Kola for £20m to turn a profit? Whats Kurzawa’s singing on fee? Were going to end up with £10m and another player happy to sit around for a salary. On Ozil, he’s finished as a football entity and lets be honest age, will prevent him turning it round. What worries me, if this season is about building for next season then Arteta’s faith in both Ozil and Xhaka suggest they will be key players next year too. I’ll judge in the summer transfer window but if… Read more »
Fyi iwobi got 8 assists last season (in the same terrible emery setup that apparently excuses ozil for getting so few)
I don’t know how many were in the league. I know He scored 3 in the league last season tho (combined 14 goals and assists in all comps last year)
So please tell me more about what ozil has brought to the table over iwobi in the last two years
He stopped performing under wenger…
This didn’t begin with emery
If Ozil was a couple of lbs bulkier and a yard or 2 faster he would probably suit the prem but as he never has been or will be, he’s always going to struggle.
Being able to shoot would be a massive benefit too.
He’s just never going to live up to expectations or his contract and will always be a burden to us.
Ozil was garbage in the world cup as well due to which he was kicked out of the German national team. Will Ozil sympathizers blame Emery for Ozil’s pathetic performances in the world cup too?
Also why did emery drop him?
Because he wasn’t contributing much
If he’d been racking up assists he would’ve played
Perfectly reasoned and executed argument, China – Pedro won’t beat the count on that one.
However Pedro also wins with his flip flopping to drive up the posts. Some here are just suckers to fighting meaningless arguments with baseless points.
Fred “Iwobi had 3 goals and 7 assists last season in less than 2000 minutesOzil has 5 goals and 3 assists since the start of last season in 2700 minutes.” I see the Ozil obsessives are on the march again … My recollection of when Ozil was making record assists and creating the most chances in Europe is that the obsessives on Le Grove regarded these stats as meaningless . That seems to have changed now , double standards I think they call it. Playing under a clueless manager (Emery) for the past 18 months has taken its toll on… Read more »
Un,
“Look at salah at Chelsea. Different ball game at Liverpool. Why?”
I take your point but you have to accept that Salah has all the attributes to be a success in the prem.
As with Ozil he’s got the required skill for his role but hes also physically suited to the pace and demands of the league and has the mentality of a winner.
Ozil is not a bad footballer, he’s just not physically or mentally blessed in a way his role requires.
Lol Pierre how is it double standards? If we comment on his performances from what we see, it’s negative, lazy, anonymous half the time It used to be that his stats were his sole haven for those like you who swear by him but even those stats have vanished There’s nothing left. He’s completely done as a top end player and I’d bet practically anyrhing that outside of a good game here or there (every player has those) his form is going to vanish into mediocrity for the majority of the second half of this season That will be 3… Read more »
Actually 4 managers because he did bigger all for Freddie as well.
Right when arteta could really do with a couple more results to drag the team on, ozil has been poor against both palace and Sheffield utd – both games he could’ve been a difference maker but was one of the poorer players in the team
And in both games we again dropped points. Is that emery’s Fault too? Or can we blame Freddie who likes to play him? Must be someone’s fault but it can’t be mesut’s
“I see the Ozil obsessives are on the march again …” Its a relevant discussion Pierre. Team is struggling to create so we look to our ‘most creative player’ for answers. He’s got to be questioned when he doesn’t provide his one key skill, assists. I’m not obsessed with Ozil, just recognise the situation we are in with him. He’s been given the freedom to be the player he wants to be, a manager that believes in him, reconnected with the fans and his effort has clearly gone up a notch yet the output remains similar. It’s probably time to… Read more »
Don “Ozil was at his best when he had sanchez and cazorla to olay off That’s what gets the best from him. He needs other skilled technical players to play off.” He needs his bath water at exactly 37.5 degrees, he needs exactly 52 red m&ms in his dressing room, he needs jupiter to be in retrograde, he needs a humidity of exactly 73%. Always with the excuses for Ozil. He doesn’t warrant any building around him, he’s 31 years old and has had an almighty drop in the last 2 years, his attitude was already bad before his new… Read more »
https://africa.espn.com/football/arsenal/story/4036869/alexandre-lacazette-doing-everything-but-score-for-arsenal-at-the-moment-but-dont-worry?src=com
Lacazette’s all round contributions
Unai “Its a relevant discussion Pierre. Team is struggling to create so we look to our ‘most creative player’ for answers. He’s got to be questioned when he doesn’t provide his one key skill, assists.” I can’t say for certain , but if I was to make an educated guess , I would say that under Arteta, Ozil has created more chances than any other Arsenal player. Arteta would recognise this ,he also understands that Ozil is doing what is asked of him…creating chances. …it is not his fault if those chances are not turned into goals Plus , if… Read more »
China “It used to be that his stats were his sole haven for those like you who swear by him but even those stats have vanished” I thought you would be happy, he now has the best running stats …you cant have it all ways . Personally , I believe offensive/creative players need to keep energy in reserve for when they actually need it. I don’t particularly want to see our 3 most creative players ( ozil, Aubameyang, Lacazette) running further than the others . This being the case, they wont be able to perform at their maximum on the… Read more »
Un
Is it wise to try and talk tactics with Fred.
Pierre
“Is it wise to try and talk tactics with Fred.”
Stones and glass houses comes to mind
Links to Jerome Boateng popping up again.
I think it’s one deal that will happen in the next ten days. Believe the club did reduce the wage bill in the summer. With cash for transfers set to be limited with the possibility of no CL/EL, expect this type of deal to be done once or twice this window and in the summer as well.
Charlie
Guess we’re not going to agree on Kurzawa, can’t see any upside to it to be honest but let’s see how it all plays out, if he comes in and has a better then good for the club, if he doesn’t we’re stuck with a player no one would want for whatever length of contract he’s got….
Shame though that a club our size is consistently complaining of funds, such poor decision making for years added to a completely disinterested owner, very sad.
Pierre Why is it only at Arsenal that our creative/foward players shouldn’t really do a lot of running? It’s team sport, you attack as a unit and defend as a unit if I’m not mistaken? Why the need to always not want attacking players do any work? You watch city and sometimes Aguero is behind Sterling and Mahrez in a counter because he’s just been back in his own box defending and yet somehow that doesn’t affect his input, same with De Bruyne… The game has sadly gone past non-athletic players, traditional CAM barely exist anymore because everyone’s got to… Read more »
Batistuta ” It’s team sport, you attack as a unit and defend as a unit if I’m not mistaken” Correct. Which is something we are not doing at the moment. Too much emphasis is on the offensive players to press . The whole team need to press on the front foot otherwise our offensive players will be chasing shadows , which is often the case. Very rarely are the city players you mentioned in their own box. City condense the play in the opposition half , hence these players have to do less running and consequently expend less energy. Arsenal… Read more »
Don “He only drops back sometimes to fill in IF he needs to. Most of the time he forms a midfield 3 with Torreira and AMN” Not true. He is shunting to the left a lot in matches and the tactic is not about “filling in” in Xhaka’s case because we see Xhaka now shunting out to the left to start moves in first transition when Arsenal are on the ball. The tactic in Xhaka’s case as others have said is to give him more time on the ball when Arsenal have it in possession. So the tactic is to… Read more »
Don
Why do only Arsenal left backs need cover like that?
As Marc said the other day Xhaka is shunting out to the left a lot not just when rookie Saka is LB but also experienced older player Kolasinac is there at LB.
If it was only a case that Xhaka is only filling in for the marauding LB going forward then we would not see Xhaka shunting out left to start moves from deep when Arsenal are on the ball.
Think about it.
tbh it’s a decent tactic from Arteta in Xhaka’s case but as said it won’t stop him still being a hindrance off the ball.
It helps him on the ball.
Un
“The tactic is to provide cover for he marauding full back while giving the team the option of its best passer from deep more time
It’s not just charity for xakha
It’s to help the team.”
Spot on .
Is it wise to talk tactics with ishola..
And let’s not go there if teams start to really target Xhaka in his filling in role in the LB position.
He is not a good defender at all so the notion that he is providing strong cover there is laughable. He is a body there that is all.
We have already had a taster of Xhaka getting exposed in the LB position with his awful attempted challenge on the left side when he was booked late on against Sheffield United.
If teams really target that area with this tactic in place it will get messy in the long run.
Let’s see what our squad is like in August. If Ozil and Xhaka are still in it, I will be concerned. That being said, posters who are critical of Arteta for playing them both at the moment are possibly being naive. Arteta is being a pragmatist. Some might argue that we should be selling Xhaka for whatever we can get right now but those people should ask themselves whether we would be better off selling in the summer window, a time when most clubs want to do business. By the summer Ozil will only have one year left of his… Read more »
Chelsea are looking to complete the #PL double over Arsenal for the fifth time
Only Liverpool (5) and Man Utd (5) have done this against the Gunners
Don
The tactic is in it’s infancy.
Xhaka has already made a fool of himself against Sheffield United trying to defend as a LB and failing miserably with the booking he got.
He was on thin ice against Leeds several times.
If this tactic is for the long term teams will latch on that Xhaka is not a good defensive cover in the LB position.
You have seen him play. You know how poor he can be off the ball so to suggest that Xhaka will be seeing off marauding opposition wingers long term is fanciful to say the least.
Ok Don.
But the warning signs have already been seen.
Warning signs don’t always result in goals against.
But funnily enough the first time the tactic was used Bournemouth scored their goal from the right wing and Xhaka was doing his filling in stylee there.
There would be no need for these convoluted tactics if only Arsenal had a CM who could handle himself better in the middle of the pitch.
Ishola
“If teams really target that area with this tactic in place it will get messy in the long run.”
Wait for it …
I’m sure the opposition will score a goal due to this tactic sometime in the future and ishola and fred will be waiting to pounce, because in their sad , negative little world , that’s what they do.
Pierre “I’m sure the opposition will score a goal due to this tactic sometime in the future” They already have. Bournemouth. And we know of course that there will be other goals scored by the opposition originating from their right wing down the line. It happens. Let me ask you why Arsenal are the only team in the EPL using this certain tactic? Is it because it is so cute and clever? Or is it because the tactic is about indulging and aiding one certain individual player? The filling in at LB is a misnomer in this instance. The main… Read more »
Don You should know not to shout from the roof tops about a tactic or formation being tops after such a short period. Remember Wenger’s three at the back at the tail end of the season a few years ago? The team were actually showing duck eggs. No goals conceded for consecutive games. The team were going to conquer on the back of this new found defensive fortress. Didn’t happen in the long run. I don’t want to see convoluted tactics because a player can’t handle himself in central midfield. I want to see a CM brought in that can… Read more »
Bloody hell…does ozil really have 9 goal involvements in 43 matches?Shocking stat that one….if we reach 10games with Arteta and still only have one win out of 10 then it will start to look pretty bad….we have to conjure up a result from somewhere…..tonight might be a start.
Pedro am sorry but how is Barca a sinking ship?Yes they were playing averagely but they still were on top of laliga and their defence was really solid
Iwobi I would take over ozil…well at least he can dribble in tight spaces and can actually run…yes his passing isn’t as good as ozil’s but what use is passing if 80% of our passes are sideways and we attack with fullbacks most of the time anyway(something which legrove seems to be against)…am full on the john fleck propaganda.Also Emiliano buendia has 7 assists in a shit Norwich team and he’s got a good pass in him,can dribble and good work rate….this may sound mad but I actually think he is a better footballer than James maddison.
I’m not saying I haven’t seen discernible progress under Arteta but immediately I saw the lineup I decided I wasn’t watching. We’re underutilizing the squad it’s not funny. What has Ceballos done wrong not deserve a spot ahead of or in place of Ozil or Xhaka? Mustafi is forced and that’s understandable. But sticking to the same failing players, the death of Emery, will likely be his downfall too if he continues down this foolish path.