So it would seem that the fight for top 7 in the Premier League has been made a little bit tougher with Wolves easily beating Palace at their place yesterday. Sheffield United were taken down by Everton, so at least 8th place is open, but overall, we’re going to have to pray that Chelsea shows up after a grueller against Liverpool, or Spurs take a beating from a very limp Palace side that is well and truly on their holidays.
I mean, that’s assuming we can see off a Villa that is fighting for their lives, and a Watford, that is in a slightly better but still precarious position.
Arteta gave the press 18 minutes of press conference before the game. The topics were mainly focused on the good vibes at the club between the players and the process he’s undertaking to get the club back to the top.
“Sometimes as a manager we look at ‘Oh no, if they do that, we’re not going to be able to control that’. That worry, that uncertainty, I think it’s always there. That’s why for me it’s so important that at least if you know that the people around you are going to be doing and you have zero doubts about how they can do that together, that gives you a lot of security going into the game.”
I can’t find the specific quote, but he alludes to it above, where he’s talking about knowing what the people around you are going to do. He’s trying to move the team towards a more cognitive approach to the game. Players are trained to understand triggers and patterns in play the signal a certain behaviour on the pitch. This is the sort of shit we’ve needed at Arsenal for years. It’s exciting.
He was also asked the same old questions on Ozil and Matteo, he gave a little more to the subject this time.
“That applies for any player, any member of staff that works under the organisation. If you show that your desire to do the best – not for yourself – but for the team and for the club, I think everybody will welcome you. It’s not just me that has to give the green light, everyone has to be supportive. You need to feel that support from everybody because if not it’s a very uncomfortable situation.”
I don’t know how many times he can rehash the same thing, but it’s clear, he has standards, they need to be met, if they are not, you don’t play. I don’t think we’re missing either of the players at the moment. Dropping Matteo because he wants to win so damn hard is a dead argument. Needing Mesut’s creativity would only be a relevant conversation if this were 2016. A novice coach has made a bold decision on personnel and he’s sticking with it. That is good leadership. Consistency, fairness, and forgiveness if the standards are met again.
Check out this podcast from a The Beautiful Game Podcast. These guys have pulled off a coup landing Joe Willock, so take a listen.
EXCLUSIVE: Come On You Arsenal‼️- with @Joewillock
🔹Living the dream at #AFC 🔴⚪️
🔹Mikel Arteta’s non-negotiables
🔹Aubameyang influence & impact✅
🔹Arsène Wenger legacy🔝Youtube – https://t.co/RXBjyEQaj3
Spotify – https://t.co/gkVx0psCwQ
Apple – https://t.co/37EoTAxvvS pic.twitter.com/wXWQhNXkco
— The Beautiful Game Podcast (@Podcast_TBG) July 20, 2020
Arsenal fans are all desperate for Santi to return to Arsenal. The little Spaniard escaped Villareal before Emery landed, and gifted them 15 goals and 8 assists in his final season. Quite the contribution for a man Arsenal thought wouldn’t walk again. Also, quite the contribution when you compare how little Aaron Ramsey has done at Juventus this season. Anyway, the coach was asked about him.
“My opinion of Santi cannot be any higher. Personally, first, with the type of person he is and what he brings to that dressing room, but then also as a player for what he did throughout his career.”
He was then asked if he’d speak to him about coaching, he said he hadn’t spoken to him ‘yet.’ Tantalising. Do I have the inside scoop on how smart he is? No. Do I want to desperately believe that a player that intelligent on the pitch can offer something to our attacking players? Absolutely. I suspect there will be a shake-up of the backroom team this summer to go with the squad. 6 months is plenty of time to assess who is good, where we are weak, and tap people up about moving to the club.
Interesting that The Telegraph say Arteta and Edu have submitted their plan for the future. Let’s hope it’s a good one and that it was formed only by the influence of internal reccos and data.
Villa have quite a few talented players we’re all talking about in the comments. Douglas Luiz, Jack Grealish, John McGinn, and Tyrone Mings to name a few. Dean Smith is a good coach, but he’s had a rough season. It hasn’t been pretty, they’re probably going down, but they are a team backed into a corner and we’re a team that can lose to Brighton. So who knows what is going to happen.
For the good of our season, we need to keep the momentum going. We need to keep turning heads, keep fighting, keep racking up points in case there’s a choke on the final game of the season. I suspect there will be a number of changes for the game, Saka will likely get a nod, we will probably see Eddie or Reiss get a game, and we’ll see a shakeup at the back with Mustafi suffering a bit of an injury.
Let’s hope we don’t undo the good of the last two games with a switch off. Every team can be deadly in this league, we need to be at the races today. COME ON ARSENAL.
UPDATE:
So @Danno1407 over at the excellent Villa site Heart Of The Holte has very kindly answered some questions for before the game. Feast your eyes!
Villa spent a lot of money this summer and backed the manager, what do you think has gone wrong this season?
We did spend a lot of money in the summer but more out of necessity than choice. We had an ageing squad, supplemented with good quality loans, so when they all departed we had to replace them. So it has taken quite a while for some to adapt to the Premier League, which has been a big problem. However, quality has also been a big issue. We signed a lot of players for around £10 million or under, where we could have signed a few less but higher quality players. For example, Said Benrahma was a player we could have potentially signed but instead we got Trezeguet and El Ghazi. I think little things like that have cost us. The biggest two issues we have faced though is our lack of pace and the lack of a goal-scoring striker. Because of this, we regularly don’t have the resources to trouble teams and that has been a major issue.
John Terry is a huge Tyrone Mings fan, how do you rate his ability and his performances this season?
I really like Tyrone Mings. He is quick, strong, good in the tackle and good in the air. He likes to get stuck in, enjoys a battle and plays with a smile on his face. He’s also a good leader and a clever man. However, his biggest issue is his concentration. Too many times this season he has had a lapse in concentration which has led to an opposition chance or goal. He also is too often lackadaisical on the ball, being a bit too careless and giving the ball away in dangerous areas. I really like Mings and he was colossal for us last season and at the start of this season but I think its these mistakes which would stop him playing for a top, top club.
McGinn has been linked with Arsenal this summer, tell us what makes his such a special player special?
McGinn is a real fan favourite at Villa and I imagine he would be a fan favourite at whichever club he played for. He just puts absolutely everything into every game, so even when he is not having his best game you can never accuse him of not trying. He has an immense left foot, which he has showcased on a number of occasions whilst at Villa, with some excellent long range efforts. He is also strong, with a low centre of gravity, which allows him to hold off and then turn players. I think McGinn’s biggest improvement needs to be with his final ball, as at times this could be of a higher quality. Hopefully though, he stays with us. However, if/when we go down, I don’t see this happening.
Douglas Luiz has looked very good since the restart. Do you think he has a future in the Premier League?
Luiz has without doubt been our best player since the restart. He has been great and has showed why Pep had such a high opinion of him. He has taken a while to adapt to the league and there was also a language barrier at the start of the season, with an inability for him to understand the strong Scottish and Irish accents of McGinn and Hourihane respectively. He is such a talent though and he will become a brilliant player for a top side. He definitely has a future in the Premier League and I wouldn’t be surprised if Pep doesn’t bring him back to Man City, utilising the buy-back clause in his contract and has shown why Pep had such a high opinion of him.
Is the Jack Grealish hype justified?
Without question – yes! Grealish is a special, special player and will go to the very top. He has single-handedly carried us at times this season and has some very good goal contribution stats this season. He hasn’t been amazing since the restart but he has been on a par with the rest of the team. He probably would have been hoping for more from himself though, since the restart, based on his previous standards. I imagine it’s quite frustrating for him too, playing with players who are nowhere near his level. Grealish will leave at the end of the season and I hope he goes to a top club because he deserves that chance. And good luck to him too.
What would you have done differently this season?
As I mentioned earlier, I would have signed less players and targeted a few higher quality acquisitions. I definitely would have gone for players with more pace and a goal-scorer. I think if we had a player who could score and at least one player with serious pace, then this whole season would have been different. I know we couldn’t have done anything differently with it but the injury to Tom Heaton against Burnley has massively affected us and I think with him available for the full season, things may also have been different
What have you enjoyed most about this season?
I have enjoyed being back in the Premier League and seeing Grealish flourish in a league in which he belongs. There have also been SOME good results and a good effort from the players. The thing which I have enjoyed most though has been the night games, under the lights, at a packed and vociferous Villa Park, particularly at the start of the season. The 2-0 win against Everton, back in August, was a particular highlight.
Which players are a bit special that Arsenal fans might not know about?
In all honesty, you have mentioned most of our dangerous or special players, such is the lack of quality within the squad. If Keinan Davis plays, he may cause the Arsenal defence some problems but he won’t be a goal-threat for you to worry about. The only player you might need to be wary of is Conor Hourihane. He won’t trouble your midfield in open play but don’t give Villa a free-kick anywhere around your 18-yard box, as his excellent set-piece skills may give you something to think about
How are you expecting Dean Smith to set Villa up against Arsenal, and what has to go right for you to get a win?
I’m expecting a pretty similar team to the last outing. My team would be: Reina; Elmohamady, Konsa, Mings, Targett; Luiz, McGinn, Hourihane; El Ghazi, Davis, Grealish. For us to get a win there has to be a lapse of concentration in the Arsenal defence, which I know is a possibility. I also think we will need to use our set-pieces wisely and try to convert a chance before half-time, making sure we score first. At the other end, in all honesty, we will need a lot of luck and we will need to be switched on at all times. We have to find a way to nullify the threat of Aubameyang and hope that the Arsenal side have the FA Cup final in the back of their minds. We are desperate for the points, so hopefully that shows with some fight and determination, rather than in us being rash and desperate. Fingers crossed it happens for us
LISTEN TO MY PODCAST AS WELL PLEASE x
Boom
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Trofee
Isn’t Santi off to Qatar??
Cazorla is joining whatever team Xavi is coaching in the Middle East I read!?
Yeah, Santi is off to Qatar, so he won’t be joining our coaching staff for a year at least. Pity, but maybe he’ll get some Xavi sauce to bring over when he finally retires from playing.
Doha in the summer though.. Ridiculous heat. It’s no fun being outside during the day let alone playing football.
The reddies must be sweet.
Big time rotation tonight – is Sok going to get a game? Saka and AMN should start, one at LB/LWB one in midfield (both capable in either position).
In MF both Ceballos and Xhaka could do with a rest. Willock and Torreira? Would also expect Laca to play, rest Auba and Pepe may also drop out too.
Good luck to anyone who can correctly select the starting XI tonight.
Arsenal
Nice Post Pedro.
Arsene’s Arsenal.
Arteta’s Arsenal.
there is some similarities.
He is growing on me this Arteta. Especially after sanctimonious Peps overnight outburst.
He really has got under Peps skin. He knows he has made a huge strategic error in letting Arteta go.
Very reminiscent of our Wenger with Fergie days gone past.
“””” Everyone thinks they have the prettiest wife at home, don’t they Pep!””””
Anyone else imagine what would happen here if Arteta and Edu’s plan for the future was composed of 75% Kia’s players?
Nice Post Pedro
RR
Is that the le grove alternative to “no comments”?
Pedro
There’s nothing to argue about in the post so I’ll say it’s bland.
Do we want the Europa League. Really? OK… It’s a whole lot of income. But do we need to spend? Do we need a Thursday.. Sunday grind? With Arteta.. and if we can hold this now getting on for excellent team together, then next season a Europa place will be a shoo – in , if not a top 4. Concentrate on bringing the new kids through.. we now have great coaching.. to match their potential. PLUS SANTI!? Too much..
Un, I expect Tierney to have a rest, so maybe AMN instead. Also at least one of Xhaka or Ceballos will get a break, so Torreira should get a game.
Do we risk Auba? I’d rather not.
Would rather see Villa stay in the PL than Watford too so if we’re going to take it easy for one game I’d rather it be this one.
I would play the following team tonight Martinez Cedric — Sokratis—Holding— AMN Torreira Nelson — Willock — Saka Auba — Lacazette Subs Macey Medley Nketiah Ceballos Xhaka Pepe Azeez Bellerin Matt Smith Hopefully after 60 minutes after we have a comfortable lead pull Lacazette and Auba to give them a rest and throw Nketiah on and see what he can do. He’ll be desperate to make amends for the red card and run his socks off. For Laca, shore up our defensive midfield by giving Azeez to impress alongside Torreira. Then in the final 15 minutes take Willock off and… Read more »
Browse twitter to see us linked to Porto’s Danilo, and chat about Real Madrid valuing Ceballos and putting a price of 50 mil Euros on his head.
Big no to both of those thanks.
Will Mesut play today??
😂
Azed
What happened to your manners man?
Nice means nice. He has written a good buildup for today’s match and summed up the events preceeding the match well enough. Nice.
Anyway what do you think about today’s match?
I think Un might be on to something with that lineup.
€50m for Ceballos? What are they smoking at Real?
There won’t be major changes and think un has nailed it.
Midfield will be the same, saka and Soares will come in at wingbacks and Eddie will get some minutes.
He won’t want to disrupt the momentum too much.
We’ve got 3 games left and he’ll be going strong in all of them
Pep, a man so full of himself. Every time somebody must apologize to him. First it was Yaya Toure for a ‘sin’ committed by his agent, then it came to UEFA for ‘wrongly’ accusing City of breaching FFP rules. Now it’s about Arsenal for tapping up Arteta while he was still his assistant. An arrogant sore loser.
Un
I think you’re right.
Frankly, I’ll go with whatever he comes up with. I didn’t think you could win a match with 2 from Luiz, Kolasinac and Mustafi and he did that against City. So, yeah, he can field our ladies side and he’ll get my backing. Your suggested lineup makes Arteta-sense so yeah I can see it happening.
Go go sauce
Un
That’s the problem with shit players, you get stuck with them.
If Kolasinac has to play I’d rather he played as the wing back with Tierney left of our back 3.
BTW Tierney should be made captain next season.
Un
This is where we disagree, I’d rather Kolasinac lcb than Sokratis. Sokratis is too panicky for me and resorts to giving away needless fouls. Whenever I see him I think wrestler.
Kolasinac is shit at lcb but decent as a wing back though his final ball could be much improved.
All this said I’ll pack my opinions away for Arteta’s. If he starts Kolasinac at lcb then he must be good at lcb. He’s got my blind support at the moment.
“Anyway what do you think about today’s match?”
The sauce is still our manager so it’s a sure win.
I’m officially an AKB.
I believe Arteta would want to keep the momentum going so there would not be a drastic change.
Cedric ,Eddie and Saka would get to start.
Anybody knows if Santi contract in Qatar include some player coach possibility the following season?
I would not be surprised if Santi wanted to learn coaching with Xavi at a less exposed place whole still being well paid before coming back to Europe.
Dani ceballos since the return
Most touches 504
Most key passes 10
Most dribbles completed 9
Most tackles 15
Most interceptions 17
Most ball recoveries 52
Most distance covered 78km
I really want us to win the europa next year. Yeah its the shit champions league but it would still mean something for me and its still European trophy.
Yeah there’s no doubt Ceballos has upped his game massively since the restart. Question going forward should be what is going to be Arteta’s preference for formation going forward and does he fit it? The 3-4-3 yes and I can see it getting better if say a Partey was partnering him in there. Really it depends on the what’s the plan going forward
Sorry Pedro but you’ve become very negative and willing to lower the bar of late. As things stand if Wolves lose to Chelsea and the Spud’s draw with Palace – both results not out of the realm of possibility and we get two very good results 6th is still achievable. If one of them drops points it means we could get 7th and guarantee EL football next season – something that financially is critical for us. Why do I feel that if Emery was still in charge you’d be demanding those two results just in case one or both of… Read more »
Marc the lowering of the bar is to be expected. I imagine Mikel doesn’t feel the same. Anyone thinking he’s leaving all his eggs in the cup final is deluded.
Marko
The last time we went into a Cup final against Chelsea having just fucked up the end of a season (missing out on a competition that we were chasing to be in the following season) we were spanked.
I’d rather not add any pressure to the Cup final.
BLOG UPDATE:
Heart of Holte answered some of my questions on Villa. It’s a good read.
So regarding tonight game, the big question for our leader is:
Option 1) do you go with momentum, keep the same but risk injuries.
Option 2) make personnel changes but risk disrupting the team.
CG What a way to misread the Pep/Arteta situation, or compare it to Wenger/ Fergie one. For starters Wenger disliked Fergie for what he instructed his players to do to Arsenal players on the pitch ( with PGMO help)when both clubs were taking turns ruling the league. Secondly, Pep would never throw roadblocks in anyone’s career advancement no matter how helpful they’ve been to his cause. Besides, by the time Arteta brings Arsenal to the lofty heights ( still a big if) City occupies in the PL there’s a good chance Pep won’t be around to worry about him as… Read more »
Marc, I’m not sure it’s negative to expect Spurs to beat an absolutely shite Palace, and for Wolves to likely be good enough for a draw against a Chelsea side that plays Liverpool today. I can’t demand bad results from other teams.
Negativity jibes from someone that had to go on a blog holiday when Arteta started doing well is a very rich.
Pedro
As I said if the Spud’s get a draw and Wolves lose 6th is potentially open.
We can’t control other results but how pissed off would you be if that happened and we’d not looked to take advantage of it ?
Valentin, same as last week, heavy rotation, but I think we have solid options to bring into the side.
Valentin
Whilst I understand your points and the fixture run in has been crammed together the players had 3 months off and have played 9 matches.
Momentum all day long with controlled rotation.
Marc, we have to make up a 5 goal deficit on Wolves and 6 on Spurs.
Palace are on their holidays, Wolves are in very good form.
Hopefully Chelsea get spanked tonight so they have something on that Wolves game, if not, I think it’ll be rested players at the weekend
Tom,
Pep may be a nice guy, but he is not a saint. There has been enough people who fell foul of him.
Tito Villanova had some choice words to say about Pep when he got cancer.
https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/european/barcelona-feud-tito-vilanova-says-pep-guardiola-wasnt-there-for-me-8711309.html?amp
Some of the qualities that make people great serial winner are not necessarily the ones that make them best friend or easiest to live on a daily basis. Single mindedness comes to mind in that context.
Somewhere on Arsenal Twitter in past couple of days, someone wrote that ManCity think we were driving force to get them investigated and there bad blood now.
Pedro
I’m just looking to cover all the bases. One of them cocks up and we finish 7th and we’re guaranteed EL football before the Cup final so no extra pressure.
Also we don’t have to make up a 5 goal deficit against Wolves – if they lose against Chelsea then it’s 4 or less.
You don’t think we can beat both Villa and Watford 2 nil?
Mate you accuse me of being negative – I’m still praying to the Football God’s for a Cup win and St Totteringham’s day!
Valentin
I never said Pep was a saint, he’s not.
You don’t ascend to his position in football by being people’s pleaser.
Fuck Man City who cares if they’re pissed at us they’re slimy as they come
Tom
“”””””CG .What a way to misread the Pep/Arteta situation, or compare it to Wenger/ Fergie one.””””””””
My interpretation of it.
Fergie underestimated Wenger when he first came from Japan.
And Pep has just done likewise with Arteta.
(hence the outbursts)
Outbursts and hissy fits like Pep threw overnight – only occur when managers are seriously concerned.
The only question being asked these days.
Can Pep cope without Arteta?
Because everyone knows Arteta is coping very nicely without The Sanctimonious One.
I guess Pep will need another £200 million circa to get back on track.
Marko
Personally my view is if we’re pissing off City we’re doing something right.
Marc, I’m less worried about us winning our games… I just think Palace have been shite and Wolves are very capable of shutting up shop.
If Liverpool dish out a spanking tonight, then I’ll be aboard.\
… but also, yes, this team is exactly the sort to beat City and Liverpool, then lose to Villa from a Mustafi own goal.
Incidentally, out of the three of Mourinho, Klopp, and Arteta only the Spaniard had not a single negative world to say about the City ruling so why would there be bad blood between him and Pep?
Surely not because Arsenal got the better of City in one game.
Pedro
Thanks mate really getting me up for tonight with that!
If we make the mistake of thinking the PL is over it’ll bite us in the arse.
Tom,
Sorry if the tone of my text sounded harsh. That was not my intention. It just that you wrote something not entirely correct.
“Pep would never throw roadblocks in anyone’s career advancement no matter how helpful they’ve been to his cause.”
I agree that I don’t think he is a vindictive man, but he can be very hard when that suit him. The Bayern medical team doctor can testify to that.
https://www.bavarianfootballworks.com/platform/amp/2018/3/13/17114008/bayern-munich-muller-wohlfahrt-pep-guardiola-manchester-city-bundesliga-champions-league
The G
“””””Pep may be a nice guy”””””
He aint a nice guy.
Jose, Fergie and our Wenger are genuine nice guys ( believe it or not)
He is an appalling hypocrite.
I used to play the odd game of soccer a while back.
If Pep came up to me like he did to The Saints player last season at the end of the match- I would have throttled him.
And then would have stuffed that yellow ribbon down his gob for good measure.
CG
Whether Fergie underestimated Wenger or not was irrelevant.
What created the edge of the knife personal rivalry between the two was Wenger’s Arsenal playing the best football in the PL , and most likely in the world for a period of 5 years or so, thus challenging Fergie’s United supremacy.
That’s it.
Wenger disliked Fergie as a direct rival as well, but more so for what he was allowed to do in the league. The guy had refs personal numbers for fucks sake.
He also hated Pulis and fat Sam for the same reason.
Pedro,
I also think that Arteta will go for the change of personnel option.
That will also keeping everybody motivated and focused.
Also the risk of injury is getting bigger with any games played within 3 days.
Marc, no doubt Arteta is aware of Emery taking his foot off the Premier League pedal last season.
One big thing going in our favour is player bonuses that are linked to the Europa League.
Val, maybe a younger team today with our senior players ready to come off the bench.
Pedro
I really don’t want a repeat of last season where we went into a Cup final needing to win beyond wanting to win a trophy – if that makes sense.
Valentin
No apologies necessary friend.
The Bayern situation was weird but there’s no comparison to Arteta’s taking on a head coaching job at a club he played for and still had huge sentimental attachment to.
Arteta should park the bus and counter for the Villa game as well. Villa have been quite naive this season in EPL and have tended to over commit in attack and the wrong times and their need to win is greater than Arsenal’s tonight. Perfect for Arteta’s recent tactic. Arsenal can say they need the win because of an outside chance of europe but get relegated from EPL and all that lost revenue is a bit of a bigger deal in the whole scheme of things. The onus will be on Villa to attack and win tonight and Arsenal can… Read more »
It has been a refreshing change to see Arsenal mug teams off lately.
All those later years of Arsenal under Wenger when far too many times the team would be mugged off themselves.
Another pickpocket in Birmingham will suffice.
First, win the dang game!
Second, manage injury risk or do we want a squad of injured Mustafi’s for the FA Cup final.
Not playing for 3 months should give Mikel pause to know his squad is redlining.
Play the 3 hungry youngsters up top, make some changes at the back, Luiz, and Tierney especially, and rotate Ceballos for goodness sake as he came back from a hamstring injury.
Mikel knows the squad, he will make the adjustments.
Park the bus against Villa, shithousing has taken hold!
Ceballos is certainly on serious form and asking major questions of our assertions that he’s not really good enough
Another loan with an option to buy next summer would be nice if the price is bearable. Would be nice to lock him down without needing to spend this summer considering we still desperately need another CM and I doubt we can spend big on two in one summer
If Arsenal make wholesale changes tonight and and play more open in comparison to recent matches then Villa have a chance.
If Arsenal play a strong enough team tonight and sit and counter there will only be one winner and it won’t be Villa.
“Park the bus against Villa, shithousing has taken hold!”
See what you’ve done Pedro?
China
“Ceballos is certainly on serious form and asking major questions of our assertions that he’s not really good enough”
For all his recent decent form think he is too similar to Xhaka in the aspect of wanting the ball deep and wanting time on the ball deep.
I would prefer Arsenal to look for a midfielder that gives a complete difference to Xhaka.
Ceballos has been caught on the ball in dangerous areas in these recent matches where he has rightly got praised for his overall play a few too many times.
“Play the 3 hungry youngsters up top”
Trying to think who the third is?
If spurs finish above us but we defacto knock them out of the EL by winning the cup then that is not only an alternative form of st totteringhams day but actually even better as we win a trophy for the privilege LOL. It’s like giving us a massive silver trophy for knocking spurs out of a competition we didn’t even play them in Absolutely incredible. Even more so because they can’t even buy a tin can with all their supposed quality in recent years. Not half as good as people like to make out in reality outside of a… Read more »
Ishola
What would you prefer?
Xhaka plus new player
Ceballos plus new player
China
You see that’s what I’m thinking – positivity Pedro positivity.
Ishola Ceballos is a much more rounded player than xhaka and the stats also back that up with him basically dominating most of the relevant midfield stats
If it’s a choice between Ceballos or xhaka, Dani wins all day every day for me.
Marc
“What would you prefer?Xhaka plus new player. Ceballos plus new player”
Well Ceballos will be found out defensively himself as Xhaka has been the last four seasons if he plays as the deepest midfielder.
Ceballos could do a job as link from central to attacking midfield but he seems to like to come very deep to receive the ball as Xhaka also tends to do.
If Ceballos can resist the temptation to come deep all the time and plays more centrally than of course it’s see ya! Xhaka.
I would still have doubts though regarding Ceballos regardless of him wanting to come deep.
The doubts would be that he could sustain a consistent level of performance for a whole season.
Dani all day for me too if it’s a question of one but if we’re serious about the midfield being addressed then it’s got to be two starters for me.
We will have a BIG say in who goes down between Villa and Watford.
Arteta has to play his best starting 11 today. He has to keep the momentum going till the cup final.
Auba may not start because he was run to the ground on Saturday.
For all Ramsey’s injuries/lack of appearances he still Juve’s most prolific midfielder with four goals.
Stick that in your pipe and smoke it you absolute clueless tool Radio Raheem.
Before the lockdown, he finally played in his favoured deeper role and started four games in a row(Bentancur replacing Pjanic centrally), scoring in the last two games (winner against Inter). Lockdown came at the worst time and he’s predictably had injury issues again when restarting his high-performance engine.
“Stick that in your pipe and smoke it you absolute clueless tool Radio Raheem.
I warned Radio Raheem he was stirring up trouble with Paulinho
Ishola
Part of that with Ceballos has been how we’ve set up in the last 2 matches – nothing wrong certainly with a tactical master plan against City – with a more mobile CM next to him next season I think Ceballos is a good acquisition.
Good to see you Paulinho. Irrespective though any talk of rebuilding our midfield to a good enough standard it shouldn’t include mention of returning players like Ramsey.
Mustafi ha splayed his last game of the season. Seems he damaged his hammies. No way he recovers fast enough for the finals in 11 days time
Good day Marko. You’ve spent more time in the isolation cell than Andy in Shawshank Redemption.
Hopefully you ‘behave’ and last a bit longer this time.
“Ceballos is a much more rounded player than xhaka and the stats also back that up with him basically dominating most of the relevant midfield stats“
You’ve been here before with your overstatements…
Marc “Part of that with Ceballos has been how we’ve set up in the last 2 matches – nothing wrong certainly with a tactical master plan against City – with a more mobile CM next to him next season I think Ceballos is a good acquisition.” No not just those last two matches although it was more pronounced. He does like to come deep and get his foot on the ball. Wolves for instance he was caught deep on the ball twice that led to Wolves chances on goal and other recent matches apart from the last two he has… Read more »
For me coming seventh is a reminder of how low the Club has fallen. Others may sing praises of the Europa League, or value the extra revenue. I see the Europa as a needless distraction from what really matters, a gobbler-up of energy and effort better used elsewhere. Getting rid of Mesut will save more money than winning the Europa will earn. Does anyone rate the EL? Do any players rush to to sign for a club because it’s in the EL. Do fans relish travelling to far-off venues in towns they’ve never heard of? Coming seventh gets what it… Read more »
Paulinho best not to engage with a certain someone when it comes to super agents that differing opinion can land you in trouble. I still stand by what I said if the likes of Jorge Mendes and Mino Raoila want to facilitate us with some signings this summer I’m all for it we need the help. The funny thing about the recent hatred towards super agents and Kia stems from our signing of Luiz but that seems to have been forgiven the last couple days for some reason.
eb
And how much will it cost to get rid of Ozil?
According to Pedro we earn’t £40 odd million out of the EL last season – with us in a position where we don’t know how much of a knock we’re going to take on match day income next season literally every penny will count.
You’ll be one of the first whinging if we don’t buy anyone this summer.
Arsenal are playing deep as a whole anyway.
One thing noted in that Chelsea – Man United game the other night was how higher up the pitch Jorginho plays for Chelsea in comparison to Xhaka.
England
We made 42m from the EL last year when we got to the final and lost so if you don’t have a billionaire buyer with no clue about football lined up for Ozil you’d be wrong about that.
EL is more of an attraction than no EL, 40m is better than 0m, 7th place is better than 8th.
We also have a lot of youngsters coming through that needs game time so the Europa group is perfect for giving players like Azeez and John-Jules minutes. Balogun as well if he stays, maybe a couple of others.
Luiz can be a good penalty box defender.
He was a storming penalty box defender against Man City.
Get rid of xhaka and ozil, ceballos stays, and we buy one top notch midfielder that would complement the Spaniard.
Or should I say penalty area defender.
Penalty box is a bit too cruel.
You won’t be able to keep Auba out, he’s on the hunt for the golden boot.
Bojangles
“You won’t be able to keep Auba out, he’s on the hunt for the golden boot.”
Well if he doesn’t play tonight that is a big negative straight off the bat.
EB
Another reason why you want EL footie is to give the youngsters and fringe players more opportunities to get games.
We are not a European giant, we have not done enough to have out noses in the air regarding the Europa league.
…and yes, some players won’t join a club not in Europe more so when next year i the European championship. National team selection is at stake.
EL is a competition you don’t want in the context of the CL.
But EL vs nothing is really not a hard decision imo, financially and in terms of prestige/opportunity to get back into the big time.
The EL is a more prestigious tournament that the FA cup. It offers more money making potential and the sponsorship boost is better.
If we are going to withdraw from any tournament, the Carabao and FA cup should come off before the EL.