DAVID LUIZ OUT – ARTETA & EDU PASS FIRST ‘RUTHLESS’ TEST

by .

Happy Friday to you ALL.

David Luiz is out at Arsenal.

A good leader at times.

An inspiration to a generation of Arsenal kids who saw him as a mentor and a legend.

The absolute correct decision for Arsenal FC as we head into a big summer rebuild.

I don’t want to bag on the player, but the reality is for all his big game skill, he was mistake-prone, unfocused, and problematic if he wasn’t getting exactly what he wanted.

Moving him on is a big move for Edu and Arteta. It’s the first break on the grip that Kia has had on the two of them. It opens up a space for someone like Saliba. It allows us to start addressing the ‘unforced error’ table he’s had a massive had in over the past two years.

This move was also correct from an injury perspective. Arsenal lost Luiz at the most important part of the season, we got him back, then lost him right after. Big players need to be fit. Luiz is on the back 9 of his career, he’s not getting fitter or faster.

I am very, very happy. This sets the tone for the summer providing we don’t walk right back into another hellish deal for some other older player looking for a retirement deal.

There are lots of rumours bubbling around. I think we’ll move on Bertrand as cover for Tierney, we’ll sign a right-back, we’ll look at a good central midfielder or two, and I suspect we’ll find competition for ESR for that #10 spot.

We need to move on the players that have baggage with Arsenal.

We need to age down the squad.

We need to find players with big personalities that want to grow with one of the most exciting young crops of players in Europe.

This summer could be exciting, we just have to trust our novice leadership team actually learned the lessons of the last 18 months.

Big, big if… but this is a great start.

In other news, how awesome is the new Arsenal kit? Literally the best part of the season is the new shirt.

Right, a quick one today, see you in the comments.

 

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Hoksilato

Luiz out, Laca in ? Hope not

GoonerInNY

Luiz out trophy?

GoonerInNY

Too early.

GoonerInNY

This time?

Sean M

Good start! But he needs to be replaced properly. He’s been out best CB this season by far.

Anyone know how long Edu’s contract is?

Jim

New kit is nice, but find it a touch galling how the club is trying to rewrite history by putting the cartoon cannon on all the old references?! Am I just being pinickety & splitting hairs??

Sid

David luiz out
Fans are tired hearing Diet pep shout
Like a loud mouth in the dugout
Willian too should watch out

bacaryisgod

From Ornstein:

David Luiz leaving Arsenal at end of season. 34yo told club today + they agreed. #AFC had not offered new deal & even if they did the Brazil int’l defender wouldn’t have signed as decision had been made to go

That doesn’t sound particularly ruthless. Pretty passive and weak from the club actually. Ruthless would have been informing Luiz we were letting him go instead of waiting for him to inform us because we had yet to offer him a new deal.

NJ Gooner

No. 8 and a 1/2

bacaryisgod

Besides, is this really the first ‘ruthless’ test? Did the last 18 months of mostly poor transfer and personnel decisions not actually count?

CG

Bertram In.
Luiz Out.

Is that not just rubbish In, rubbish Out?

Arsenal should know by now, buying Saints full backs ( Soares and Chambers ) never works out too well.

I am sure Edu and his laptop , can find us a robust left back from the lower leagues to deputise for Tierney.

NJ Gooner

Who is in the lottery for the next announcement on their departure? Bets please.

Favourite? Bellerin?
Second?
Also ran? Laca or Auba?

And what about Kola? Isn’t he supposed to return after his loan spell?

Marc

AFC From previous post. Sorry but you’re wrong – not every one is in the same boat. Prior to this season we’d run up losses of about £120 million over 4 seasons, we’re looking at a loss of matchday revenue this season of £100 odd million with next season losing EL money TV / prize money and ST revenue down 15% (my guess). We can’t keep showing massive losses and carry on the same. If for no other reason than we’d be banned from Europe because of FFP – the irony of that is unbelievable. I’m not negative because I… Read more »

Champagne Charlie

*updated

GK: (2)
Leno, Runarsson

Defence: (11)
Tierney, Kolasinac, Gabriel, Holding, Mari, Mustafi, Chambers, Saliba, Mavropanos, Cedric, Bellerin

Midfield: (7)
Partey, Xhaka, Elneny, AMN, Willock, Guendouzi, Torreira

Forwards: (9)
Auba, Laca, Pepe, Willian, Saka, ESR, Eddie, Martinelli, Nelson.

Those midfield options are so short of technical ability it’s scary, and the drop off in goal contributions past Auba and Laca is a huge concern.

Could purge 7 and not even notice:
Kola, Mustafi, Bellerin, AMN, Guen, Torreira, Eddie

What’s that in pounds? 70-80mil?

Marc

Pedro

Being ruthless is only half of it – not extending Luiz is a good move but an easy one.

The real question is how do we move players on for decent fees and / or not having to pay them off?

Kolas and Torriera being 2 shining examples.

Marc

Oh yeah Laca!

Probably the biggest test this summer.

TR7

If we are being ruthless then everyone in our midfield except Partey and Elneny should be sold – Xhaka, Ceballos, Willock, Torreira, Guendouzi. I like Guen but resigned to the fact he would be sold. Arteta might just revive himself if he goes for a real cull in our midfield. Our defense and attack is decent.

DigitalBob

Mustafi is still under contract? Is that correct? We get rid of one liability to bring back a super liability?

Marc

CC

I thought we paid Mustafi off?

AFC Forever

Bacary “That doesn’t sound particularly ruthless. Pretty passive and weak from the club actually. Ruthless would have been informing Luiz we were letting him go instead of waiting for him to inform us because we had yet to offer him a new deal.” How is it weak? That’s just your interpretation of the news so it fits your “let’s blame the club for everything” narrative. Arteta didn’t sign Luiz. The fact Arsenal had NOT offered him an extension probably tells the real story. It’s quite likely they had spoken, these sort of things don’t happen overnight. It’s a sensible situation… Read more »

Champagne Charlie

Marc

Not sure tbh, he’s at Schalke until the summer isn’t he? Or was that a ‘loan and done’ scenario?

Certainly not earmarking the likes of him and Kolasinac as gaining us anything this summer. They’re either getting bought out or given away.

TR7

Charlie don’t give me nightmares, Mustafi is already a Shalke player.

Champagne Charlie

Was Mustafi a permanent departure in Jan? Well there’s one less headache, just around 10 more to go.

Marc

CC

Kolas is definitely still under contract (he says!) I thought Mustafi was bought out so to speak.

Not sure if anyone else knows the exact situation.

TR7

Kola is on loan, Mustafi was released by the club on free to let him join Schalke.

AFC Forever

Mustafis contract was terminated. There will have been an agreement between him and whoever but ultimately forget about him. Move on.

Champagne Charlie

Marc

Just checked and it was a permanent, ignore him then. But we could lose the other 6 names and literally not notice in terms of on-pitch contributions.

That ain’t a great place to be, need to cull them.

Almuniasaynomore

Dream, Then the world has become that little bit scarier. Charlie, Yes. He is worth it. All speculation I know but like you said if you got a Buendia and a good right back for the same money it’s hard to justify. Was talking to Rich about this last night and I still think Rice would be my main target. Pricey also,but virtually no risk with him and a decade at the top ahead of him. Reminds me of when utd and Blackburn had the tug of war over Keane. Just imagine how things may have been if that had… Read more »

Danny S

Remember when Arteta tried to rehabilitate mustafi? What a time to be an arsenal fan.

Marc

My sources tell me Arteta wants another right footed CB and plans to spend £35 million on some German bloke called Mustafi.

Anyone know anything about him?

bacaryisgod

Pedro Assuming Ornstein is correct then the Luiz situation was that we didn’t offer a contract to a player that was going to reject it anyway. Not ruthless. Just a mutually agreed departure for an aging, currently injured player. We all know what ruthless will look like. Finding a way to get Willian and Kola out of the club. Getting a good price for Bellerin and Nketiah. Removing the captaincy from Aubameyang even if he stays at the club. If he sulks then move him out too. That would be ruthless. If the rumours about Laca are correct and we… Read more »

Black Snake

Sounds like Luiz was ruthless with us 😆

Danny S

We were literally only an injury away from having mustafi on fir another 4 years.

AFC Forever

Charlie

“Not sure tbh, he’s at Schalke until the summer isn’t he? Or was that a ‘loan and done’ scenario?”

He’s gone. Contract terminated mate. Fertig. Finito. Terminado.

bacaryisgod

Ruthless would also be sacking the goalkeeping coach as you correctly suggested previously.

Champagne Charlie

Almunia

I don’t love Declan Rice I’ve got to be honest, think he’s very functional without being impressive. I certainly wouldn’t be keen to flog 50 mil at West Ham for him, but maybe I’m doing him a disservice.

I think the preferred profile of player we need at CM is more Paul Pogba than Declan Rice. Technical ability over physical ability.

Marc

CC

The squad management has been a shambles, between going through 3 managers in 4 odd years, changes in the management team – Mislintat, Sanllehi, Edu, Gazidis etc you can sort of understand why it’s happened but that just demonstrates why we need to get our shit together.

Danny S

I’m preparing myself for an entirely underwhelming TW currently.

I pray I’m proven wrong, as we are stuck with Arteta whatever, I’d love him to succeed because I want arsenal to at least haul themselves back above Spurs. But my gut tells me not to get too excited.

bacaryisgod

AFC Forever

Did you receive to read Ornstein’s comments? It looks like you are ignoring the facts to suit your narrative.

bacaryisgod

AFC Forever

Also, you contradicted yourself. You wrote ‘It’s a sensible situation for both parties’ regarding Luiz leaving this summer. I actually agree with that statement, but then how is that ruthless?

Tom

Terminating player’s contract even if it’s costing you money is ruthless.

Not offering a new contract to a 34 year old injury and mistake prone CB your top four rival deemed not good enough two seasons ago, is about as ruthless as putting down a 20 year old family pet. Unless of course that pet happens to be a turtle and not a dog, that is.

Valentin

David Luiz leaving is good news, but The way the Athletic is reporting it, it looks like David Luiz informed the club that he did not want to renew.
So because we start celebrating Arsenal new ruthlessness, let’s wait to see if the same thing will happen to the rest of underperforming senior players.

Rich

If we’re going to educate Saliba, we need to ensure we’re the ones who see the benefit from that education, we need to tie him down to a 5yr contract this summer You don’t always get an instant return on investment, it’s good that we already have an internal replacement for Luiz in place Same with Nketiah + Lacazette, they can be replaced internally with Martinelli + Balogun, with Aubameyang who we’re likely stuck with, moved centrally We can numerically lose Bellerin, Torreira, Guendouzi, Nelson, Nketiah, Lacazette, that leaves Leno, Runarsson Soares, Chambers Tierney, Kolasinac Saliba, Holding Gabriel, Mari Xhaka,… Read more »

Champagne Charlie

Marc You can sit for hours picking your teeth about what that squad is supposed to be in the image of. It’s utterly incoherent, there’s no dominant profile of player, no continuity, and the talent is disproportionate per area of the pitch. That’s why it’s such a vital window for the futures of Edu and Arteta, it’s very much a case of get it right or both be gone in 12 months imo. Last summer was a bit messy so it can be argued that didn’t help, Jan was pretty encouraging in terms of outgoings and convincing a highly rated… Read more »

azed

Pedro

Luiz leaving is a good thing but Pedro don’t make it look like Arteta or Edu had anything to do with it please.

Champagne Charlie

*consolidation

Valentin

Why would Declan Rice leave WestHam that are likely to get Europa League football and may pinch Champion’s League football to join us?
More importantly why would WestHam sell him at a reasonable price to us when they rebuffed Chelsea advance last summer?
I can see what he would bring to Arsenal, but we already have bought Partey last summer to cover for CM.

Luteo Guenreira

Can’t wait to sign Bertrand to a 3yr deal and then watch him be left on the bench in favour of LB Xhaka for the 15-20 games that Tierney will inevitably miss.

ATLGunnerClev

The color is wrong, the canon is facing the wrong way, but I LOVE THE NEW SHIRT

Tom

“Luiz leaving is a good thing but Pedro don’t make it look like Arteta or Edu had anything to do with it please.“

Even if they did, that decision is as ‘meh ‘ as they come.

Terminate Willian’s contract and you’ll get my attention.

Valentin

Personally I would keep Nkethia and offer him an extension and send Balogun on loan for a year at a club that would guarantee a starter berth.
I can’t see the benefit of keeping Balogun to play 5 minutes at the end of every 4 games. He is at a stage where he needs to play week in week out.

bacaryisgod

By the way, assuming the club is retaining Arteta, I would be delighted if we had a ruthless summer transfer window followed by strong results early next season.

Marc

CC

The only thing I’d disagree with in your last post is if Arteta and Edu don’t get it right I don’t think you’re looking at 12 months before they’re gone it’ll be around Christmas.

Dream10

Spurs are also interested in Joachim Andersen

So the CB collection in 21-22 will be.
RCB New guy, Holding, Saliba
LCB Gabriel, Mari

Aarons seems to be an option at RB. A bit small without any top class attributes. Guess he’s a target because of ability to come into midfield

WengerEagle

Charlie Who do you like for CM? I really do think that Anguissa or Bissouma would be nice pick ups next to Partey with a creative CAM ahead of them like a de Paul/Grealish type to alternate with ESR. If looking outside of England, Milinkovic-Savic continues to shine in Italy and Lazio are going to miss out on CL. Would be more expensive but he is a serious talent. Pelligrini for Roma is quality too and they are also missing out on CL although they have got Mourinho in which may seem them being ambitious in the market. Tchouameni is… Read more »

Tom

Marc
Why would the club fire Arteta before Xmas when it’s after when he does his best work.
You’re making no sense.

Valentin

The decision to extend Lacazette for a year is not necessarily a bad one.
However the objective should be to use that one year extension to either loan his successor (Balogun, John Jules, …) To get some experience or to slowly introduce another striker (Nkethia …).

If it is just to extend the contract without any long term view of squad building it is just kicking the can in the long grass. Come next season we will be at exactly the same point.

DivineSherlock

Dont wanna rein in your parade Pedro but todays post looks like what we shouldve done last year ( We didnt) . I mean its remarkably similar to what happened then , apart from all the ruthless BS.

Almuniasaynomore

Charlie, I can understand that take,but I really believe he is going to move to a top club and be a class performer for a long time,would love it to be Arsenal (we are a top club!). Time will tell I guess. You love your technical midfielders, so do I, but I’m inclined to believe the traditional ball winner with a technician alongside is the way to go, players with both combined are v rare. Vieira and Keane were both world class but technically average,santi, rosicky the reverse. Maybe I’m missing something but I don’t see many players out there… Read more »

WengerEagle

Can add Locatelli to that list.

Arsnil

Rich,
You missed Mavropanos there methinks??

Valentin

Marc,

I agree, if the recruit is bad and Arsenal has a poor start of the season the native will get restless. Once the Emirates start to resonate of “Arteta Out” call, broadcasted worldwide, then the Kroenke will sack him.

Like you I don’t think that he will be in charge come January.

WengerEagle

Almuniasaynomore

Vieira ‘technically average’, what???

Mate…

CG

Is this ‘ being ruthless ‘ PR ,basically Trust the Process 2 ?

As BIG states, surely if the club have real intentions in being ruthless , the goalkeeping coach who has witnessed :

Martinez leave.
Lenos form nosedive and wanting to exit ( as per PedRo’s exclusive)
and seen his old player/ chum Runarsson get a 5 year contract.

get the chop before anyone?

Marc

Tom

Because I’m going to send Kroenke a copy of the PL table but upside down. When he thinks that performance is post Christmas Arteta will be done.

Arsnil

Dream10 – same there. You have no mention of Mavropanos in your list of possible centre halves. Do we keep him or let him go. I would certainly be giving him a chance. Like the cut of him from what I have seen of him in the German games.

Tom

Btw, the Xhaka to Germany or Switzerland ( as per his wife wishes ) rumors are bs,
My sources tell me it’s Albania she wants to go back to.
What are wages for a game changing LB in that league like ?

DivineSherlock

Marc The only thing I’d disagree with in your last post is if Arteta and Edu don’t get it right I don’t think you’re looking at 12 months before they’re gone it’ll be around Christmas. Then again rinse repeat ad nauseum . Why are we in a position that if a manager fucks up , we have to go through a squad overhaul again because the new manager dont wanna play with the old one. Oh thats right because we dont have a philosophy of how we want to play , that can be dictated by a Technical Director who… Read more »

englandsbest

The way the gripers gripe on about ‘ruthless’, they expect Arteta to line up Kola & Co against a wall and shoot them.

DivineSherlock

Hey Valentin , I maybe wrong but the natives who would start to fill the stadiums soon are gonna shout Kroenke Out at the top of their lungs ( atleast I hope so) . If not we will forever be in purgatory . Sad.

CG

“””The way the gripers gripe on about ‘ruthless’, they expect Arteta to line up Kola & Co against a wall and shoot them.”””

this mob would miss.

Matt

Given Tierneys injury record, anyone else expecting Bertrand to play at least 50% of the games next season!?

Jamie

“Why would the club fire Arteta before Xmas when it’s after when he does his best work.”

Honestly this is top bins.

Rich

Almunia We need technicians, but I agree we need the right type of characters as well Rice seems like a really big character in the dressing room and on the pitch, whilst I’d certainly much rather we focused on acquiring some X Factor in the final third It’s the big characters like Vieira + Keane + Kompany, Adams ect, that drag a team along the path to winning titles Not sure what Rice would cost? Or that he should be a priority, but he’s a PL proven player, who could hit the ground running, and who has his best days… Read more »

Luteo Guenreira

Still coming off a global pandemic, the buying teams might be a little more active than the last two transfer windows but can’t see anyone trying to pay real money for our fringe players. No one wanted to pay for Torreira or Guendouzi before, not sure anything will have changed. Curious to see what kind of offer Bellerin brings. Aside from him Willock and/or AMN (who absolutely should have been sold last year) might be the best chance at receiving any kind of decent return. Still need a backup GK as well, maybe even a new No1 if Leno goes.… Read more »

Champagne Charlie

Weagle I’m pretty hesitant of Serie A incomings tbh, they don’t strike me as having the best history of adaptation. Might be anecdotal, I just see France and Spain being consistently good leagues for transferable talent, and the Bundesliga hit or miss. Of the names I’ve seen mentioned I like Bissouma, both because he’s a good profile and he’s well-adjusted. I think someone like comeback kid Renato Sanches would be a wise investment from left-field too if the price is right, but I’m also intrigued by that Joan Jordan lad who has been linked a while. Been a minute since… Read more »

Valentin

Marc, The athletic has a good article about the vagaries of trying to get rid the club of dead wood. https://theathletic.com/2578200/2021/05/11/your-club-wants-a-clear-out-but-can-anyone-really-afford-the-deadwood?source=user-shared-article It is pretty much in line with what you and I have been saying. It is not as easy as playing Football Manager. If a player is on high wage and nobody is willing or able to afford him, then the club is stuck with an unwanted player. If that happen to Liverpool, it is going to happen to pretty much every Premiership club. In a normal market, on normal wage there would have been a market for Sokratis,… Read more »

Champagne Charlie

Almunia

I see Partey as an elegant destroyer which is why I’m more inclined to see some creative culture alongside him vs another defensive wizard.

Thiago would’ve been an incredible signing for us last summer, can’t help but feel we’d have suited him far better than that Liverpool side.

Dream10

Arsnil

Good spot. I don’t think the club see Mavropanos as an option. Loan with option to buy to Sven’s Stuttgart. I would keep him. For me, he will be better than Gabriel. I can definitely see him going from Stuttgart to Dortmund in a year’s time.

How do you feel about the players we are linked to?

Marc

Sherlock

If you’ve read any of my comments over the last couple of days you’d have seen I’ve said we need to replace Edu and let a new DOF select a manager.

Dela Mere

To go into next season with this botched experiment is scandalous and fans should be ashamed.

G

There’s no way we could afford Rice.. manu or Chelsea I reckon

Valentin

Divine Sherlock, We can complain about Kroenke all we want, but none of them are responsible for the appealing football we play. Arteta is. Complaining about Kroenke is more about philosophy of the club. Complaining about the results and the quality of the football is what most fans do. If even Stoke and WestBrom supporters got fed up of Tony Pulis back to the wall type of football, I fully expect Arsenal supporters who have mostly been raised on Wenger style of football to be up in arm at planned daylight robbery with 30% possession. Also because of the Euro,… Read more »

Almuniasaynomore

Wenger Eagle
Too harsh? I was just comparing the great technical players too the physical giants in the prem over the last few decades. Vieira’s physical presence and power were far more important than his technique, not to say he didnt have good technique, just he was no Santi. Perhaps average did him an injustice but when I think of him and wish he was with us now,his technique is down the list of reasons.

WengerEagle

Charlie

Yeah Serie A hasn’t got the best track record for players brought in but that’s more Italian players than players just from the league itself.

Alexis Sanchez, Pogba, Cancelo, Allison Becker, Salah, Bruno Fernandes were all either bought directly from Serie A or played a decent chunk of their time/made their name there.

I wouldn’t just avoid it. Maybe Italian players though which would rule out Locatelli and Pelligrini.

Almuniasaynomore

G/Valentin/Rich
Pretty sure you’re all right,we can’t hope to get Rice if the current top 4,city,utd, chelski,pool(apologies to Leicester fans) want him. And yes even if they don’t we would struggle to afford him. Not sure val about the argument he wouldn’t come,he’s very ambitious ,unlikely to believe that under current owners west ham are likely to regularly challenge for honours and while Arsenal don’t currently meet that criteria we would still be a step up. I don’t accept we are now some mid table team ,the giants are still giants,even if we’re having a snooze !

WengerEagle

;I see Partey as an elegant destroyer which is why I’m more inclined to see some creative culture alongside him vs another defensive wizard.’ Bissouma and Anguissa are not your men then. I personally don’t think that it’s absolutely necessary to have a technician deep, Liverpool managed just fine without one until this season and as brilliant as Thiago is, he isn’t a great fit in their system. Retaining possession and progressing the ball from deep/through the middle and playing it to your more creative players higher up the pitch is most important imo for deeper lying midfielders as well… Read more »

WengerEagle

Almuniasaynomore I was half playing with you but I do think that Vieira was underrated on the ball and was technically miles ahead of Keane even if he was no Fabregas. You’re right in what you are saying though, Vieira was more reliant on his physical gifts than his technical ones. Always remember a great bit on RTE back in the days of the Panel dream team [Eamo, John, Liam, Billo] and I think Didi Hamann was the one to say it that the difference for him as a player vs Keane and Vieira was that Vieira had much more… Read more »

Guns of SF

WE

Yes. I think of Anguissa and Partey with a creative mid in front. sort of like a triangle
We need as much creativity and dribbling as we can get… and Anguissa has that more than Bissouma. A classic DM, would help, but if we are running 4-3-3 then Anguissa seems to fit better

Ishola70

Easy decision to make over Luiz.

That it is rumoured that his next destination could be playing in the USA that tells you how difficult a decision it was.

Much harder decisions for Arteta to make comig up.

Bertie Mee

If ever you want a downer just come on Le Grove Luiz is a popular character in the dressing room and chucking him out publicly might have created dressing room ripples . Dressing room harmony is VERY important. This way nobody loses face but some of the macho characters think we need to humiliate him to prove how tough we are . Secondly we need to look at homegrown players because we need to have the right mix . If the rumours are true that Leno, Xhaka, Willian and Bellerin want to go that is good news because none of… Read more »

bacaryisgod

Bertie

We have a usually reliable source of information in Ornstein. Not sure why you need to add an unproven theory to the information that’s been reported. This has nothing to do with humiliating Luiz but acting in the best interests of the club. I actually think you humiliate a player more by just remaining quiet and waiting for him to make the decision. A player of Luiz’s stature and experience probably deserved to be told a few weeks ago what the club’s decision was rather than be left in the dark..

Guns of SF

whatever, just bring back Saliba from exile

Almuniasaynomore

Wenger Eagle
The dream team panel. Have you seen the state of it now? If anything captured the decline in football’s popularity it’s that. It’s ironic but Hamann’s comment reminds me that my favourite Keane moment was not when he was in an irish shirt but when he slapped Phil Neville for being….Phil Neville. Football was just brilliant in those days compared to now,yet back then I was bemoaning the loss of the magic in the 80’s. Where the hell are we headed?

bacaryisgod

Bertie

I like Luiz. I think he’ll go down as a ‘mixed results’ signing for us. But let’s not go comparing him to Thiago. I doubt Germany would have had a 7-1 score if Thiago had played and Luiz had been injured. Thiago is just that good as a positional, technical organizer at the back.

Rich

Guns Ornstein saying a right sided centre back is a priority Which begs the question, why did we renew Holding, why are we reportedly trying to renew Chambers, and what’s the point in bringing back Saliba? Holding + Saliba, with the option of Chambers covering from right back, is surely enough, particularly with no European football Why would we need potentially 4 players, to fill one position? Saliba doesn’t seem like the type of character who’ll be happy warming the bench all season, he might accept a gradual progression in taking Holding’s place, but I doubt he’ll be happy to… Read more »

Ishola70

Weagle

“Liverpool managed just fine without one until this season and as brilliant as Thiago is, he isn’t a great fit in their system.”

Very extravagant signing from Liverpool and a mistake imo.

Thiago is a pass pass and pass again machine.

Liverpool midfielders have never been about that previously. More about their work rate off the ball and runs into the opposition penalty area.

Not pass. pass, pass.

bacaryisgod

Rich

If Ornstein is correct, I think that’s a smart decision to look for a RCB that’s comfortable on the ball. We can all see it was a weakness that opponents tried to exploit. If anything, it might signal that we’re open to offers for Holding.

WengerEagle

Guns SF It’s been hard to work out if Partey is better as a more sitting type CM or an adventurous box to box type because we have had nobody decent to pair him with. He has it in him to beat a player on the press and slip through a pass along with Anguissa, he also is capable of being a bit more conservative and sitting deeper and offering more protection to the defence, not too dissimilar to Bissouma. Think he would work well with either really. May be a lack of goals from them is the only thing,… Read more »

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