ANALYTICS BLOG: IS JAMES MADDISON THE ONE?

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Number cruncher sent by the footballing gods, Adam Rae Voge (@AdamVoge), has dropped in with ANOTHER brilliant piece. Today, he’s focused on the potential signing of James Maddison. 

For all the talk of potential midfield, centre-back, and right-back additions at Arsenal this summer, there really hasn’t been talk about the incoming attacking midfielder. Why? It’s always been Martin Odegaard.

Until now.

With Odegaard being pretty consistently linked with a return to Spain, Arsenal fans got their first glimpse of a new creator this week, as reports linked the club to Leicester City creator extraordinaire James Maddison.

Opinions about the potential 70-million-Euro man abound, but just how good is he? Would he be an upgrade over Odegaard? I turned to the data to compare Maddison to some of the world’s greatest creators. Here’s what I found.

Editorial note: I know several of these names are not true Number 10s. But all percentile ranks are compared to all attacking midfielders, not just those playing centrally. I’m trying to compare all creators here, so I’ve included some of the best 8s, as well as some notable attacking midfielders who play both centrally and on the wing.

Ball pressure

One thing I always heard about Martin Odegaard was how good he was at marshaling the Arsenal press. That’s something a good attacking midfielder should do, so I compared some of the biggest names in terms of pressures in the attacking third, successful pressures and ball recoveries. Surprisingly, Odegaard ranked last among the options detailed here.

Dani Olmo, Roberto Firmino, Kevin De Bruyne and Thomas Muller were among the best at pressuring and recovering the ball. Maddison? He was closer to the back of the pack than the front this past season, with largely average percentile ranks in each statistic. He did prove to be an above-average attacker at recovering the ball, ranking in the 66th percentile. Odegaard, for the record, ranked in the 32nd percentile in that category last year.

Maddison’s average rank in those 4 ball pressure statistics was 55th, putting him in the middle of all attacking midfielders. For reference, De Bruyne averaged a rank in the 84th percentile. Mason Mount was in the 80th.

Possession

Another quality of a top creator is the ability to carry the ball forward into the attack without turning it over. This is where someone like Leo Messi excels – last season he was literally in the 99th percentile in carries, progressive carries and carries into the final third, while ranking in the 95th percentile in miscontrols. That’s what an elite carrier and ball controller looks like.

So what of Maddison? As with his ball pressure, he struggled in this area. Last season, Maddison ranked in the 81st percentile among attackers in carries, but was otherwise average or worse in five other ball security statistics. One particular area of weakness: he carried the ball into the penalty area only rarely, ranking in the 31st percentile.

Maddison’s ranks in these seven statistics averaged out to the 51st percentile, again putting him in dead-average territory as a ball carrier. For reference, Bukayo Saka would have been in the 54th percentile, Emile Smith Rowe the 45th percentile, and Martin Odegaard was in the 61st. Phil Foden ranked in the 76th percentile, with Jack Grealish in the 74th.

That’s less than inspiring for an attack that struggles at time to get up the pitch.

Passing and creation

And of course, the skill that matters most – passing and chance creation. This is thankfully one area where Maddison continued to flash his skill in 2020-2021, ranking in the 95th percentile in both progressive passing and shot-creating actions. Maddison’s stats as a passer placed him in the 81st percentile across nine passing and creation statistics this past season, just below Bruno Fernandes and Mason Mount, who were both in the 83rd percentile, and a little further behind Jack Grealish, in the 85th. Passing and creation are a particular strength of Odegaard’s, and this past year he placed in the 80th percentile, ahead of names like Phil Foden and Thomas Muller.

The big picture

So what does this all say about James Maddison? I’ll say this: According to the data, Maddison was above average among attacking midfielders this past season. When you combine all the statistics mentioned here, Maddison’s average rank was in the 63rd percentile. That’s nowhere near Leo Messi, (81st percentile), of course, but it would be an improvement over Odegaard, right?

Well, no. Martin Odegaard was just ahead of Maddison this past season, in the 64th percentile. But that doesn’t fit the narrative of a 70-million-Euro midfielder, does it? Something just doesn’t feel right here.

The twist

I won’t blame you if you don’t know the ins and outs of Leicester City’s injury history. I certainly don’t. But toward the end of this past season, Maddison the better part of a month with a hip injury. Leicester won three in that stretch without Maddison, lost two (including to Arsenal), and drew against Burnley. The creator returned as a substitute in an April 3 loss to Man City, didn’t see the pitch in a loss to West Ham, and finally made his return to the lineup in an April 22 thrashing of West Brom. Maddison played well against West Brom, but struggled for the rest of the season, frequently getting subbed off, and finishing only the April 30 match with Southampton, a 1-1 draw. Leicester finished the season winning only five of ten with Maddison playing, with four losses.

Is it possible that hip injury impaired Maddison’s form? He had scored in the February 21 win over Aston Villa, the same game in which he was injured. Prior to that, he had a goal and three assists in five games, and just before that scored six goals during a torrid eight-game run in December and January.

Just to be safe, I decided to see where the James Maddison of 2019-2020 would rank in these categories. Here’s what I found:

Ball Pressure

Maddison was quite a lot better at pressuring the ball in 19-20. His successful pressures would have put him in the 79th percentile this year, and recoveries would have been in the 74th. His aggregate rank was 11 spots better, in the 66th percentile.

Possession

Another area where Maddison really fell off this season. Maddison’s carries from the 2019-20 season would have put him in the 92nd percentile this year. His control over the ball was much better, too: He would have ranked in the 75th percentile in miscontrols and 65th in dispossessions, instead of 51st and 53rd, respectively. His aggregate rank would have bumped up into the 66th percentile, just ahead of Martin Odegaard.

Maddison was outstanding as a creator and passer in both 2019-20 and 2020-21, and that’s one are where he actually improved a bit year-over-year.

The big picture, take two

Taking the entire picture into consideration, the James Maddison of 2019-2020 is on a similar level to Bruno Fernandes or Bernardo Silva. That’s certainly less underwhelming, and maybe even reason to get excited about a potential transfer.

So why did Maddison’s numbers dip this season, and which version of the player will show up this year? Mikel Arteta and Edu seem ready to put their money where on the elite version of the Leicester playmaker – I hope they’re right.

Give @AdamVoge a follow and tell him you loved his piece.

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andy1886

Probably not. There you go.

andy1886

Maddison is a good player, and would improve us. Is he a £50m+ player? I don’t think so.

Which means we can either keep overpaying transfer fees and wages or try to develop lesser players be they our young guns or up and coming youngsters from elsewhere.

Either way spending £200m in our current financial state makes no sense, there are no short cuts when you’re run this badly.

Scorpion

Trophy

Sid

Tr4phy

Scorpion

Trophy Surely

Kam Kashmiri

Great read! One thing not mentioned here is player discipline. Didn’t he have a falling out with Rogers?? I thought something happened and he got dropped from the squad. Understand you cannot really stat something like that but must be taken into consideration.

Sid

I stang your behind

CG

Maddison and White= over £100 000 000.( courtesy of a bank loan- shades of Leeds United under Risdale)

x 2 above average players that lack the vital ingredient (PACE) that the top players possess and what top clubs look for when spending multi millions on players.

Arsenal would be much better , spending this amount of money on the gettable Lukaku which would make a difference to the team dynamic.

these x 2 aint moving the needle, in fact if the needle does move- its more likely heading backwards.

Hopefully all speculation anyhow.

Scorpion

@Sid
I commented instantly but browser held it saying you comment again that quickly…

Emiratesstroller

At the moment there is an awful lot of “noise” about potential transfers that we are supposed to be interested in. Most of these are moonshine and not going to happen. Personally I am more inclined to look at the offloads that the club is planning, because these have more validity. We know already that there are around 10 players that the club would like to shift. Arsenal will have a decent transfer budget this summer. I maintain that it will be around £125-135 million. That is probably sufficient to buy 4 good players. I hope sincerely that rumours about… Read more »

Gbat

I don’t get why you’d stack all this data. It should be in scatter charts. Messi is clearly going to have more touches than say Pereira. And things like nutmegs are a bit pointless.

Ethiopian Gooner

50 mill?! I mean i do like Maddison but not that much, damn. It’s just rumours anyway but what is it with English players and their over inflated prices though really? I mean really??! I genuinely couldn’t understand the reasoning behind it

Rich

Maddison is almost 2 years older than Odegaard, 6-12 months can see big development in players, particularly between the ages of 22-25 Look at the development in Mount from last season to this season Grealish from the age of 23-25 Maddison from his first season at Leicester, to his second Bruno Fernandes’s end product jump at Sporting from 23-25 I like Maddison, but there’s concerns around discipline this season, and that he has other interests outside football The last thing we need is another disinterested mercenary who costs a fortune in fees + wages, but is more interested in playing… Read more »

Habesha Gooner

Yep just what we can see. He is a good player and would clearly improve us. But he isn’t a 60 mil player at all. We would find more value in a player like Matheus Pereira than we would in him. I would also be happy if we could get Odegaard for under 45 mil too. With Maddison it is like signing best of the rest for huge money. He isn’t top tier yet and the money they are asking for is for a player of the highest quality.

andy1886

Rich, can’t say that I’m as excited about Odegaard as you are but ultimately we’ll see if he develops the way you suggest. The point is moot anyway as it seems clear that he’s not interested in joining Arsenal and we need players that are desperate to join, not reluctant ones.

AFC Forever

Andy “Which means we can either keep overpaying transfer fees and wages or try to develop lesser players be they our young guns or up and coming youngsters from elsewhere”. Morning mate. I think this is a false narrative. For years we have been screaming “spend some fkg money” but now you don’t want us to?. Look, if it means we have to overpay to improve the team to the level where we are competitive, who cares? This is what we want KSE to do, invest in the team because that is the only way we will improve. And in… Read more »

AFC Forever

*owe Abramovic £1.2bn – God they would be bust!!

Bee

Emile Buendia would have been a better and cheaper option to Maddison. We need lots of football people behind the scene. Edu and Arteta experiment is good but they need to do more. We’ve not handled lots of issues well (Saliba, Willian, Nelson, guendouzi, torreira etc). We’ve reduced the value of these players. The season before Torreira came to arsenal, his stats were better than every all the midfielders we are being linked to. We need a creative midfielder Maddison will be a good addition but he is too expensive. We have the likes of ESR coming we can get… Read more »

gambon

I like Maddison, although im not sure I believe we will spend £60+m on him.

However, this kind of statistical analysis can be a bit misleading.

Leicester & Arsenal dont play the same system, dont have the same players.

Would Arsenals 2021-22 system get the ball into Maddison in dangerous spots more often than Leicester?

Also worth mentioning that Maddison is 18 months younger than Jack Grealish, and 5 years younger than the best AM in the world, KDB. He could be coming into his prime.

CG

“””””I hope sincerely that rumours about Ramsdale are not true. He is a mediocre goalkeeper and
worth a lot less than Sheffield Utd paid. He is not in the same class a Leno or Martinez.””””

Well said ES

If the Dopes value the twice relegated Ramsdale , the same as Martinez we will have more and real concrete evidence that they truly incompetent.

( not that we really need any more of it)

AFC Forever

Rich

Yes Odegaard is everything you describe. He certainly impacted our season and was a contributory factor to the huge turnaround in our post-Christmas form when he joined. Not the only reason but a key one. People forget his actions without the ball including his intelligent pressing, something Arteta himself eulogised about. I certainly want us to sign him, if he can do what he did in just 6 months at a new club imagine what he could do with proper integration.

Danny S

I know they are young, but this just shows how average our Att midfield is compared to the best.

Neither Maddison or Ode are worth 60m to us. Surely there must be untapped players around Europe we can look at making the next breakout name.

100m on White and Maddison, in 2 positions we arnt desperate in would be an ultimate Wenger move. Strengthen his fetish positions while we have have glaring issues in other areas.

CM > GK (if Leno goes) > RB > LB (decent back up) > AM (decent comp for ESR)

gambon

“100m on White and Maddison, in 2 positions we arnt desperate in”

Erm….you dont think we are desperate for a CAM?

Our biggest weakness, by far, in recent seasons has been creating chances.

And as for CB, we are having to play Calum Chambers at RB, who tucks in to offer protection to our CBs, because they arent capable of playing as a 2.

Tom

Madison will get you goals in the right system just not sure he would thrive in Arteta’s. 60mil is a lot and as it’s been mentioned he’s not exactly fleet footed and his professional conduct might be an issue too. Getting busted for a Covid breach during a house party is one thing, but then ignoring Rodgers’ orders to break it up and call it a night isn’t a particularly good look for him. That’s why he and two others were dropped for the WH hame which Leicester lost. Barnes was also reprimanded but was already injured. A big call… Read more »

Emiratesstroller

AFC Forever

We were told by the Kroenke family that when they took over “ownership” of the club the
focus would BE promoting talented players from the Academy AND buying players who were a significant upgrade on what we have got.

Sofar the only players promoted from Academy who are genuine first team material are Saka and Smith-Rowe.

Our recruitment in the transfer market has been mediocre at best.

Pierre

It is no coincidence that Shef utd went from being a competitive premier league side without Ramsdale in goal , to relegation fodder with Ramsdale in goal.

Henderson in goal for the 2019/20 season was for me the main reason why Sheffield United had such a good season.

I find it difficult to believe that Ramsdale is an Arsenal target.

Danny S

Gambon

we have no europe next season, so no we dont need a 60m alternative to ESR who can probably manage to play most games.

As for defence, you keep banging on about ‘tucking in’ etc ill take your word for it, however with a recent RB bombing forward and getting back to defend you would relieve pressure on the CB’s straight away.

Not to mention the fact chambers did that it probably due more to his lack of mobility as a full back, so it protected him just as much.

raptora

Pierre,
True. Dean Henderson had a fantastic season in 2019/20. Ramsdale is pony.

Danny S

decent not recent.

Gonsterous

Have we run out of sauce yet? No, he’s still here?

What’s the objective for next season? Where are we supposed to finish? Top 8? Top 6? Top 5?
What’s the goal?

Danny S

pierre

what do you find hard to believe? This could be advice from the same GK coach that brought us the magnificent runnar!

CG

Pierre

Bournemouth didnt look like a relegation side until he got in the team.

Ramsdale is nearly Runarsson levels.

gambon

Smith-Rowe is nowhere near good enough yet to get us into the top 4. He plays CAM and averages less than one shot per game. He has a lot of growing to do.

This also completely ignores the fact that our system has 2 CAMs.

Maddison wouldnt come in to replace ESR, but play next to him.

Habesha Gooner

AFC I wouldn’t give a crap about what we pay if it didn’t have some other agenda behind it. Chris Wheatley, a reliable Arsenal Correspondent, was asked how we are spending this much. And he tweeted Arsenal recently took out a loan and they are funding it through that plus player sales. If the Kroenkes are owners like City’s owners, no one would give a toss. They spent 40 mil on Nathan Ake, a backup CB. But we aren’t them. Are some point these owners will make us pay for their investments. And I wouldn’t want Arsenal to mortgage the… Read more »

Tom

Madison to Arsenal makes perfect sense if you are Arteta.
A proven goal and assist getter who could hit the ground running
It’s weird that some posters are still asking for a cheaper option perhaps from outside the PL with maybe a higher ceiling.

Arteta doesn’t have two seasons to prove himself so he’s not interested in developing some young talent for the future.

Rich

AFC Forever If we tied down Odegaard, Smith-Rowe, Saka, Tierney, all to 5 year deals this summer Then add them to Balogun who we just renewed, and Martinelli who apparently signed for 5years last summer Then we’ll be securing our medium term future These players aren’t the finished articles, but they’re all extremely talented, young hungry players, who we can build a team around I’m not sure about Ben White, but he’s another who potentially at 23, could form an important part of our team for the next 8-9 seasons Spending £200 million on 5 players aged 22-24 is a… Read more »

Gonsterous

Who is paying this loan back to the bank? Definitely not through player sales nor is kroenke paying it, so I guess that leaves the fans. Yup it’s them that have to cough it up

Gonsterous

Tom

And that’s the problem, at the end of the day, everything we are doing is to improve artetas CV and not the club
Arteta won’t care if arsenal are in the championship in 5 years, he only cares about getting one or two fa cups before he moves on to the next club.

Danny S

Gambon

ESR when played with Saka right and Pepe left was a very dangerous combo.

we played a few games like that i think just before Ode came in and the chemistry was very exciting.

you obv read a lot more into the tactics, which Arteta manages to massively over complicate. ESR doesnt look as dangerous on the left (or left AM as you think it is.) with ode.

Elmo

Just imagine if our summer business ends up being Maddison, White, and Ramsdale for £150m. Would make the 2016 window of Xhaka, Mustafi, Perez for £100m look like top business.

There is nothing ‘Dortmund model’ about spending £150m on those three.

Pierre

Gambon “Our biggest weakness, by far, in recent seasons has been creating chances.” True In season 2019/20 Only Nicolas Pepe (46) created more chances for Arsenal in the Premier League than Mesut Ozil (39). Ozil last started a game in the league for Arsenal on March 7th 2020 and only played in 19 games that season. Always important to remember that without chances being created there will be a goal drought , as was obvious last season up until Christmas, and yet Le Groaners celebrated Ozil being omitted from the squads and then were stupid enough to complain about our… Read more »

Danny S

Regarding the loan, i saw something mentioning that.

it was said it was the 120m loan we took out earlier in the year, which im sure was short term and needs paying back, or has been paid back.

raptora

If we could get Ramsey back on a reasonable 150k pw salary and 15m transfer fee on a 3 year contract, I’d do it. Gives ESR someone to learn from, someone with leadership qualities and massive experience who loves the club. And saves us a fortune from buying Odegaard, Maddison.

Danny S

pierre

i bet your little heart jumped then when someone teed you up for an Ozil drop.

bet its like a shot of heroine to you.

Danny S

Raptora

Ramsey is a crock.

Luiz, Willian, Lichtensteiner

Havnt we had enough of old players that we sign to ‘help the kids out’.

raptora

Maddison, White and Ramsdale would be banter Summer. It sounds more like a West Ham transfer business than Arsenal.

Habesha Gooner

Pierre 😂😂😂. Nice move.

Guns of Hackney

Are we seeing project Britain 3.0?

Maddison is a few years older than the Norwegian idiot. He’ll cost more and his injuries aren’t great…buts that’s right up our street.

For me, I have no idea why we aren’t moving on Willian and Auba. Willian is a cunt and Auba is finished as a top footballer…not that he ever was a top player.

Arteta out.

raptora

Danny,
I know a lot of people will be against it. Ramsey missing some games will be ideal for ESR to go in and play.
The players you listed are not the closest thing to an Arsenal legend in the last 15 years.

Emiratesstroller

Arteta has probably 10 games to prove himself at Arsenal. If we are going to spend serious money in this summer’s transfer window let us hope that it is spent “wisely”.

If Arteta fails to deliver and money is squandered then I suspect that the Kroenke family will
review seriously their investment in the club.

gambon

Danny

If you gave every manager in world football the choice between ESR and Maddison next season, every single one would take Maddison.

Expecting ESR, a player who barely shoots and barely ever takes players on, to carry the creative burden for a team that desperately need to get back into the CL, is ridiculous.

However, as I say, they will both play.

Arteta isnt going to change his system because some fans dont like it.

Its the same system City play, which suggests its a pretty good system.

Guns of Hackney

Sorry, Ramsay back at Arsenal?

FFS you can almost hear the knee jerking.

I’ll say again: apart from one stellar season, Ramsay was a 6/10 player. Period.

raptora

I ask again – if we are to spend 60m on Maddison, why not spend it not Bernardo Silva. By far the better player in absolutely everything.

Gbat

I agree with Gambon regarding the centre backs and CAM. A CB that is capable of defending the spaces will allow the RB to push on and we can defend higher up the pitch. Add to that and athletic CM who can protect against the counter

I think Maddison would compliment ESR who I see moving to the left. He offers things that ESR doesn’t and vice versa.

Valentin

Ramsdale rumour just prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that the crazies have taken over the asylum.
I suspect that Arsenal is finding very difficult to attract decent goalkeeper to play second fiddle to an established youngish keeper (be Leno or if the rumour is right Onana).

With Okonkwo not announcing his next step, it look we may not even be able to rely on academy prospect either.

Habesha Gooner

Danny
The short term loan was payed back. It was 120 mil I think. But now there is a mention of an undisclosed loan.
https://mobile.twitter.com/ChrisWheatley_/status/1405298362153373698

Pierre

Arteta predominantly plays a 4-2-3-1 system….only one CAM needed for that system .

gambon

Yes, if we signed Maddison, ESR would play wide left, and drift into the left AM space.

However, longer term, as the team evolves, I think you would see him playing in a CM role of a 4-3-3

Maddison and ESR could do what KDB and Silva did at City.

raptora

Has Arsenal played with 2 AM this last season or gambon is talking nonsense?
Everytime Ode and ESR started, ESR was on the left flank instead of Pepe/Willian/Saka.
And we always played with 2 of Partey, Xhaka, Ceballos and Elneny. All of them CMs.

Danny S

Gambon

It attempts to mimic it maybe yes.

gambon

“Arteta predominantly plays a 4-2-3-1 system….only one CAM needed for that system .”

Not remotely true.

In possession we play 3-2-5, with one CAM in each half space.

Last year that was ESR and Odegaard.

This year….who knows.

raptora

As much as I like ESR I don’t think he gives us the goal threat Pepe gives us. He’s always looked better in AM than on the flank imo.

gambon

raptora

The way we play in attack is really simple. Stop thinking of 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3, as thats irrelvant.

When attacking we have 2 CAMs, one playing in each half space. Their role is to create. We have 2 wide players who hold the width to keep the opposition defence stretched out. And then a CF.

Its a 5 man front line.

ESR and Odegaard were the CAMs, Tierney and Saka/Pepe were the wide players.

Its exactly the same as what City have done under Pep, just swap the players.

Danny S

Pierre

You dont just look at the starting formation.

if you are a true football intellectual like Gambon you look at the formation during certain phases of play.

then you can really stand out as a true football tactician.

Pierre

To follow on from Gambon highlighting our biggest weakness, in season 2019/20 Ozil created over 2 chances per game , which of course was the best of any Arsenal player that season, and yet he was dropped from the side for “footballing reasons” …

Valentin

Gbat, The presentation of data is extremely poor. Bar are a poor choice to present data across multiple axis for multiple entities, stacked bars just make it completely illisible. I would have recommended radar chart with with a different colour for each players. That way it is much easier to spot an outlier or somebody exceptional in one category. Also in order to avoid having too many axis, I would split chart per type of activity: attack, defense. Any I have also two massive problems with the data itself: + There is no description/definition of the segmentation. Anybody was is… Read more »

Danny S

ESR when starting as a CAM got 2 goals and 4 assists in 17 apps

not bad all considered.

raptora

The stats above show what a beast Mason Mount already is. Shaping up as a super player. Foden is also almost there. Question marks over Malinovskyi as he became a monster in the last rounds of Serie A and before that he wasn’t special which at the age of 28 it’s a bit too late to bloom. Probably just a purple patch. Calhanoglu is going to be without a club in 2 weeks time and his showing at Euro 2020 has been abysmal. He’s supposed to give his everything and he’s looking as a shadow of himself. Lorenzo Pellegrini is… Read more »

gambon

“not bad” is fine if we want to finish 7th or 8th.

Pierre

Danny
CAM = Central attacking midfielder……Smith Rowe is rarely seen centrally when playing in a 4-2-3-1 .

City can play with 2 CAMs because they play with one holding midfielder, Arsenal /Arteta play with 2 holding midfielders, hence the need for 2 wider offensive players.

2 holding midfielders and 2 CAMs is difficult to work into a system as Arteta plays with one striker.

AFC Forever

Our system changes in and out of possession. In order for the system to function well, it has to have the best players suitable to playing within the system, with and without the ball. Without the ball, ESR and Odegaard filled the spaces it wasn’t just about their creativity. You have to be fluid and able to play equally well with and without the ball. This is why you buy what you need for the system and not based on some irrelevant statistic or imaginary transfer budget swirling around inside your head. It’s the square peck analogy and we’ve been… Read more »

Valentin

Gambon, Only in a few games have we actually attacked in a 3-2-5 formation. The fact that Xhaka was supposed to play as left back and that he never ventured forward put paid to that idea. The main thing is that quite often the team was lopsided, but then the front man (Lacazette) was then tasked to drop deep to act as a link man, leaving space for one of the wide men to run into. Initially it was the left wide men, but toward the end Arteta switched and it was the right. That explained Pepe sudden purple patch,… Read more »

Pierre

Correction …should read …Smith Rowe is rarely seen centrally when playing in a 4-2-3-1 .with Odegaard in the side .

raptora

I wouldn’t be totally against Coutinho. Just turned 29 a week ago. Probably has 3 years of good fitness. I know Willian failed. If Coutinho is available at the right price, and he comes with good desire, he is a great player. Just look at James Rodriguez’ impact when he was healthy for Everton.

Gbat

Gambon

I’d like to see us move to a system where the full backs provide the width and ESR, Saka/Pepe play in the half space. Would need another CM like a Bissouma/Soumare that can cover the spaces quickly and prevent the counter.

Danny S

Gambon

Maddison – 2105 mins 8 goals 5 ass

ESR – 1448 mins 2 goals 4 ass

worth 60m? Na

Champagne Charlie

Think many people get sucked into last seasons data as the sum of any one player. It’s a guidance, nothing more. Maddison was in the 95th percentile for goal creating actions last season, his passing and creation is top notch. But then you consider the context which is he didn’t have a standout campaign on a personal level, he struggled beginning and end of the season with niggling injuries, and fell out with Brenda. Maddison was much, much better in other departments last season, as well as maintaining elite creative numbers. If Arsenal are serious about buying him then it… Read more »

gambon

Gbat

Im not a huge fan of systems where the full backs provide the width, unless you have absolutely world class AMs & Strikers.

The problem is full backs in general dont score or create enough, which means the team doesnt score enough goals.

Sterling & Mahrez for example will always provide more goals than any 2 full backs.

It worked well for Liverpool, because Trent and Robertson are the 2 most creative in the PL, and also they have Sane & Salah who guarantee goals.

Danny S

Trouble with Maddison is he carries the english premium.

his fee is inflated by 40% and as will his wages be, just because hes English.

Can we afford that? Should we?

gambon

Danny S

Smith-Rowe = 0.32 non penalty xG and xA per game

Maddison = 0.49

If Maddison isnt worth £60m then what is ESR worth?

Maybe we shouldve taken Aston Villas offer?

Champagne Charlie

Pedro

You’ll be interested to learn of Gattuso’s departure at Fiorentina. Have a nosey into that.

raptora

All I know is that if we are going to rely on our full backs to cross the ball in, we need bodies in the penalty area. So often in last season we would have 1 or 2 players in the whole penalty area which is just not enough.

And if we are going to start with ESR and Ode/Maddison, it’s 2 players that don’t like to go there. Maybe ESR could develop that in time, but who will score the goals for us? Auba and Saka to pop off with 20+ goals each? Please.

andy1886

AFCF Just to come back to you on the ‘spend some fkin money’ thing you certain will not find that in my posts. I’ve spent the last few years pointing out that we have the third highest net spend behind the two Manc clubs. What we need to do is stop spending money so badly which includes over paying transfer fees (*cough* Pepe) and paying stupid wages (too many examples to mention). IMO £50m+ and potential wages of over £200k pw for Maddison would qualify as over paying. Better to pick up the Maddisons before they make it in the… Read more »

Marc

” For years we have been screaming “spend some fkg money” but now you don’t want us to?” That is incorrect – it may have been true for a long period under Wenger but the purse strings were loosened some years ago and our net spending has been in the top 4 or 5 clubs in the PL. We’ve also managed to piss away a fortune through poor squad management – Ramsey and Sanchez. Out problem has not been a lack of spending it’s been spending poorly. We are now in a perilous financial situation and need to get the… Read more »

Sid

So we are playing exactly as man c with Leno(awful with ball at his feet), Auba & Laca(awful and average link up play),
The less said about Xhakalson and Holding( ball playing), the better.

Valentin

By the way Mancity 3-2-5 attack formation is quite different from ours. It is more akin to a 3-2-2-3. They starts from a 4-2-3-1 position, but + Both CB split + One of the central midfielders drops deep and become the pre-sweeper third CB + The central midfielder attacker drops into midfield to act as a second backup. + both fullbacks attack and are ahead of the two central midfielders they provide the width on both side when for Arteta one stay wide and the other goes inside. + Both wide men stay wide when the ball is centrally or… Read more »

Champagne Charlie

“James Maddison has created 230 chances in the PL since making his debut in 2018-19, 148 more than any player for #Arsenal (Özil, 82), while only KDB has created more in the division during this period (252). 11 goals from outside the box (most) & 5 DFK goals (2nd to James W-P, 8)”

andy1886

Expecting to make all our chances from the flanks makes us too one dimensional, not only that but our forwards aren’t the best at converting crosses either. As has been mentioned I’d be happier with two eights and a CM/DM than relying on a single #10.

Dissenter

I really want to know who Leicester want to sign to replace Maddison

Then I would sign that player ahead of them.

We have become directionless, just lurching from one new fad to the other.
Maddison has obvious injury concerns and disciplinary problems so Leicester are getting rid off, and Arsenal are jumping in.

We have been hijacked by a clueless owner, an inexperienced management team and a manager who cares only about his career

God help us because there’s nobody looking out for Arsenal.

Dissenter

If we sign Maddison on another £200k wages, how many high wage players would we have?

raptora

That’s with no Bruno Fernandes (still not bought), Jack Grealish (Championship), Mason Mount (Championship) and a bunch of other names.

raptora

Give the stats for the last 2 seasons.

gambon

“James Maddison has created 230 chances in the PL since making his debut in 2018-19, 148 more than any player for #Arsenal (Özil, 82), while only KDB has created more in the division during this period (252). 11 goals from outside the box (most) & 5 DFK goals (2nd to James W-P, 8)” Im not sure how you can read this and possibly have an issue with the signing. Certainly I dont see how you can read this and want us not to sign him, because it might mean ESR doesnt play quite mas much. I’ll say again, I dont… Read more »

Elmo

AFCF “This is why you buy what you need for the system and not based on some irrelevant statistic or imaginary transfer budget swirling around inside your head.” Have we settled on a house style for the club then, or are we just all-in on Arteta’s City-lite style? If Arteta has a bad start to the season he’s out, and then the next manager wants players for his own system. So the question is: does Edu have any power, does he have security of tenure that extends well beyond this manager, and has he decided this is the house style… Read more »

Gbat

Gambon

I believe we need to get Saka/Pepe nearer to goal where they are best. I think we’re looking for a right back that can push on and play inverted. Will help make us less predictable.

Rich

Marc No arguing with that I think we’ll spend, but there’s the very real possibility we could invest £200 million, and actually decrease the quality of our squad, rather than increase it £45 million for Ben White seems bonkers, he’s got a decent level of experience, he’s not a novice, and he’s at an age where he should still considerably improve and mature If he sign, I’m happy to give the player the benefit of the doubt, and see how he does We wouldn’t be signing the finished article, but at £45 million in this market, he’d still need to… Read more »

Terraloon

Habesha Not sure their is any undisclosed loan based on what I can make of it Arsenal Holdings have taken out a loan through Barclays Bank. I think it’s safe to assume that this was the source of the £120 million needed to repay the loan taken from HM Government but the unknown is what was the total of the money advanced by Barclays. This details of the charge is in the public domain and accessible on the Companies House website this details the security the bank have taken and not just the assets but also future distribution of funds… Read more »

David.D

No thanks to Maddison and Ramsdale.
60 million is a waste of money for Maddison. If we are willing to go that high then why not have just made sure we got Buendia for 40 m.
Maddison is a good player but not great.
Grealish all day long but we can get a better player and cheaper than Maddison would be.
Proper scouting would get us someone.
As for Ramsdale.
Is that some sort of joke??
He is average at best.
Why the hell haven’t we snapped up Onana??

raptora

Elmo,
So agreed.
What happens when we sack Arteta and he bought us a £150+m of players that suit his (garbage) football? Us going from Buendia to Odegaard, who are vastly different players, proves they don’t know what they are doing.

David.D

This is where Arteta pisses me off.
Onkwonko seems a talent.
Why not give him a go as no 2.
I’d rather give him a go than Aaron fucking Ramsdale.

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