Well here we are people, it’s the end of the year and we are 6 points off top 2. Isn’t that mad? Brendan Rodgers Arsenal fan Club was partying in the streets last night after he pulled off a shock win against a Liverpool side he largely limited. That means we’re 6 points off Chelsea and we’re 6 points off Liverpool. WILD. We were bottom after three games.
Some people are grumbling about it, I don’t really understand them. We’re 19 games in, exactly halfway into the season. There are no tricks this season, the table is the table, and we are where we are. We had the worst start in the league. We had an amazing run, crashed twice, then picked up the run again. We’re where we are because we deserve it. This isn’t some Unai Emery or Antonio Conte lucky run… this is Arsenal slowly growing with the season.
What was the biggest lesson from the Leicester game? Don’t fear Liverpool. They are a great side, but like the Yellow Man in Sin City, they feed off the screams of the weak. If you don’t show them respect, you might have a chance. Arsenal don’t have the fear against Chelsea, we’ve been great against them, but we do have it when it comes to City and Liverpool, and we have to play our way out of that. It’s a mindset, not a technical issue.
Another big point from that game last night: Leicester dropping big wins like that means nothing because they are still 9th. Our path to success this season isn’t in the mega games, it’s in the little one’s when no one is watching. Put it this way, if we’d beaten Palace, Everton and Brighton we’d be ahead of Liverpool and Chelsea right now. Consistency against the lesser teams is where we fell down last season and it’s where we’ll fall down this season if it goes wrong.
Top 4 is still a big stretch goal this season, it always has been. This is a transition year. The fear was we’d have another year like last year and sit in 7th at the end of it. So far, it seems like we’ve managed the process of onboarding really, really well. We are in the mix for 4th proper now. We’re all hyping it up like it is a given, but the reality is it’ll be tough even with all the other teams still in a bit of a mess. We have the 5th best squad in the league at the moment, that is the truth. It’s also the least experienced, and that could come with a price.
I do think the Spurs mirage is going to correct at some point. Antonio Conte is the luckiest manager in the league this season. He’s had a swath of games cancelled, loads of time to train his squad, he’s had 3 red cards go for him in the last three games, Harry Kane hasn’t been suspended, he’s had mostly home games… and they’ve been mostly poor. They couldn’t break down a 10 man Southampton yesterday. I can’t believe so many of the kids cried out to have his elite management back in the league and all he’s serving up is overlap football or LOB IT TO THE BIG MAN. Arteta has the chance to make him look dated in a few weeks, I really, really, hope he has our boys fired up for that one. A win at their place would be HUGE for the agenda.
It’s also interesting to look at the mega problems United have on their hands. They have their very own Auba problem, except OGS was too weak to address it early. Ralf Rangnick has come in and failed to address it so far. You cannot play gegenpressing football if your talisman doesn’t fancy it. You cannot progress a side with big names staring down the kids and general bitchy behaviour on the pitch. Arteta binned Auba and the squad has been rejuvenated… if United don’t take similar action, they won’t push on. The coach they have is a legend of the game, but remember, his legend has always been built on players that are 17-23. He makes stars, he doesn’t deal with them when they have £400k a week deals. This is a different job he has without the authority of a 5 year deal. Arsenal backed the manager every time the players tried to down him, now the players know he’s not going anywhere, so they behave differently. Ralf doesn’t have that.
I’m kind of hoping they have to keep playing CR7 so they piss off those young players. Mason Greenwood would be a spectacular summer signing for Arsenal this summer, it’s a long shot, but I’d be surprised if he wasn’t casting an envious eye over at his English mates getting development time under future-facing coach.
I’ve spent many years writing about having a clear vision and philosophy because it is so very, very important. Arsenal has it all at the moment, a young exciting coach (that will attract attention if he carries along this path), young exciting players (that will attract bids if we arent’ smart about their deals), a style of football that is future proof… we know where we’re going, finally. We should have started this approach a year prior, but that’s for another day. If United want Rangnick ball, they have to have a painful transition year (or two). Their kids have egos, their superstars think they know it all, and they don’t have a full-time first-team coach. Spurs have the most short term manager in football, if he doesn’t succeed this season, he’ll burn the place down to get millions THAT DO NOT EXIST. If he succeeds, he’ll piss and moan until he gets what he needs, then burn the place down (like he did at Chelsea). He took Chelsea from 1st to 5th because they didn’t hit his expectations for players. He quit Inter Milan after they massively overspent for him, then hit pandemic realities, and he couldn’t handle losing players. What are you looking at with Daniel Levey that makes you think this is a match that won’t end in Conte burning the club to the ground?
There is nothing sustainable about the way Spurs or United are operating.
Dusan Vlahovic leaking to Di Marzio that his client thinks Spurs is the right project? Get out of my face with that nonsense. The idea that a 21-year-old sees that Spurs squad as better for him than what is going on at Arsenal is farcical. Let me tell you, if he’s saying those things about Arsenal, it’s more likely that we’ve told his agent we’re not interested. There is no other reason you’d pass on literally the only club that can afford him without a painful sale.
Spurs has no money. I repeat, no money.
Arsenal don’t have a lot of money this January. I think we’re on a sell to buy. Or buy at a very low price. I’m hearing rumblings that one of our prime targets is Mattias Svanberg, the central midfielder from Bologna. Now, I don’t get transfer information direct, so don’t shoot me if it’s wrong. But it’s an interesting suggestion that lives in the world we’re playing in.
- You’ve got primary intel from Tomiyasu who used to play with him. The club will know character, how he trains, what the view is of the boy.
- Arsenal seems to be trying to create a bit of fight for AMN. Svanberg looks like the player Arsenal would like Ains to be. Transfermarkt value Svanberg at about £15m, so a like for like.
- The player has interesting attributes. He’s 6ft1, he made his name as a winger for Malmo, now he’s a central midfielder. That means you have someone in the middle of the park that is used to hugging touchlines, has an eye for goal and a killer pass, and the knowledge of what it is to be an attacker. It’s an interesting signing if we’re bolstering the ranks.
- This boy is a one touch line-breaker. If there’s one pattern you can see in all our transfers, it’s that everyone can play vertically.
Arsenal are light in central midfield. Unvertical Mo Elneny is next in line if we get an injury in January and that’s really not good news. This is the sort of move that fits perfectly with the sort of business we have been doing, so let’s see where we go with it.
The story no one wants to acknowledge is that there are people at the club that like Coutinho. Barcelona is skint, they need to make moves on that wage bill, and Coutinho is apparently in London. I suspect he’d be more likely to join Spurs, who have a contacts friendly Technical Director… but you never know. If Barca is desperate, they will release Coutinho for nothing, to free those wages. Coutinho being available is a big test of the Project Youth strategy. Now we can taste top 4 in the air, will we abandon it, or is there someone internally that can hold the club accountable?
Every young manager in the world wants experienced players because it’s easier. Always remember, Julian Nagelsmann lost in the semi of Champions League and his moan was, ‘this team needs a different type of player, someone older, but the boss says no (Rangnick).’
Ok, get yourself some Arsenal Opinion food in your system. We had our BIGGEST month for listeners and let me tell you it was NOT porn SEO that drove the traffic. Thank you for tuning in with your eyes and ears. I know I say it all the time, but podcasting is HARD and it requires a different level of effort and it’s been a totally new skill to learn (I have given you some duff formats over the years). So I appreciate all of you that gave me another chance this year with a refreshed crew. We’re loving the interaction and support… truly, you are amazing.
Also, shout out to the Grovers in the comments section. You’ve dropped about 160,000 of them this season. Quite amazing in the age of video that we’re on a basic blog chatting all things Arsenal 24/7. Thank you for being there, you’re an awesome bunch of crazies that help shape my opinion on The Arsenal every day. BIG love to you all. x
P.S. EOY podcast will get recorded today or tomorrow! We MIGHT have a special guest from another podcast we admire.
Rich
I’m not so confident you can get what you want in January. Also, where we finish is likely to determine the pond we fish in. If we somehow get 4th, it’s a whole new ball game. My worry is the naivety of our young team hence why I wouldn’t be against a top professional coming in for a few months.
I’d be careful with Roma and Niles as well, they gave us the runaround last summer with Xhaka
Hopefully their interest drags others into the negotiations, and we can push up the price
At the reported £10-£15 million, I’m surprised there’s not plenty of teams lining up, he’s the best 1 v 1 defender at the club, he’s a good age and level of experience, he’s homegrown
He’d be a good signing for plenty of PL teams, £10-£15 mill is really good value IMO
So Pep has recalled naughty boys Foden & Grealish? He has left out Mahrez, Gundogen & Sterling so they should be starting Saturday.. Let’s hope Brentford make it a physical game.
Sorry AFC – not convinced at all. I’d sooner we focused on the new strategy even if it did mean taking longer o get to where we want to be (although i don’t believe it will mean that). Coutinho would be a retrograde step.
We don’t have unlimited resources and we need to learn our lesson from these so called great deals of seasoned professionals. Thats why we got in the mess with Willian and why Man U are in the mess with Ronaldo.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwvVSNDRvEY
Really interesting interview, the sports scientists at Arsenal definitely have a better idea of when to throw young players into the professional game
Throwing young players in before they’re ready causes more harm than good, and can cause lasting damage from a physical + mental perspective
Nortbanker, that’s cool we can agree to disagree. He was always one of my favourite non-Arsenal players, top quality in possession. I wouldn’t advocate. a permanent deal, I agree with that 100%. Willian should have been a lot better than he was, he was terrible! . A 6 month loan deal with a player hungry to make a point, with the ability he has, makes sense to me.
RaulishussDecember 29, 2021 15:56:28
Sid you were here all last summer saying saul was the glue that held partey and was the one we should’ve moved for. Talk about rewritting history eh?
Well said, I remember Sid banging on about it too. Expert in everything it would seem, including a COVID specialist, diet guru and single parenting analyst. The guy’s completely full of shit.
AFC Forever
What is more likely is that the Club will find some pretext to keep Partey – not difficult in a covid-ridden situation. Algeria must be nervous about incomers from UK, given the prevalence of Omicron here. It may even be that the tournament will be postponed.
There is also a bonus to take into account, none of our key players are out injured. That has not generally been the case at this time of the year. On balance (for reasons given) I think we can and should get by without a short-term fix.
Maupay has blood on his face but Lukaku’s goal stands? PGMOL in action! As corrupted as my left nut.
Rich Good link, I’ve been on a number of courses along the way but the most interesting was Sports Psychology. Wenger used to talk about the importance of confidence & that’s one of the reasons clubs have so many psychologists employed. However, the one thing no amount of training can do is teach you experience. You can minimise the affect naivety can have but you can’t stop it. It’s why when you have a young team you get games like the Everton one. Under lights, hostile environment we looked nervous. Hence why I think it’s important to have an experienced… Read more »
Englandsbest
Absolute no no to Coutinho. Not saying he isn’t a top player,
Well I think it’s safe to say he is not anywhere a top player. 78 appearances, 17 league goals, 9 assists, in four seasons
EB
A couple of months ago I would have agreed. However, the way Arteta has developed this team is quite something. My initial expectations have been revised and we now have the potential of a top 4 shoot out. That is why I would bust a gut for a short term loan deal for a top quality proven game changer. Every additional point gained would be worth it. It’s an opinion that divides but none of us have crystal balls. Let’s hope teams around us keep dropping points because we will need a sprinkling of help along the way.
AFC Forever Interesting that he said Wilshere might have been thrown in before he had the right base. Smith Rowe had a lot of injuries, needed to be treated with kid gloves at Huddersfield, if he was ready earlier he’d have been playing, throwing him in before he was ready could have caused another Wilshere situation There was a really interesting interview with Mertesacker recently, talking about the key metrics young players need to meet before being considered ready for the first team, and how Saka met those metrics at a young age, talking about how strong he was mentally… Read more »
Rich Yes exactly. The reality is other clubs have more resources. Therefore you need an alternative plan, which means developing talent. You have to have good sports science and coaching to capitalise on it. ESR & Martinelli have spoken about how they have improved both physically, mentally & in decision making which coaching has corrected. Cramps were a problem for ESR & Martinelli was struggling after 60 minutes, that has also been addressed through sports science & education. It’s something Arsenal are really good at. Inconsistency will be a factor with so many young lads layers but the key to… Read more »
Rich
Ps: it’s why loans are a good idea.
https://fbref.com/en/players/82518f62/scout/365_euro/Bruno-Guimaraes-Scouting-Report
https://www.whoscored.com/Players/338780/Show/Bruno-Guimar%C3%A3es
I am convinced Bruno Guimaraes is the CM we should go for. He has everything we are looking for. The stats he is putting up are ridiculous. He is playing at the level of top CMs around. He passes the eye test as well. We need to get him and our midfield would be superb for a few years.
Unfortunaely Chelski look about a million times better with Lukaku starting again. Will be hard to catch. Unless injuries pile up … Reece James went out. They are deep though besides The number 9 position.
Guess Ill watch City to see how they look. Maybe they will have a few players drop. They do look vulnerable on set pieces. Although they are ahead now.. they are so dangerous on the counter attack.
The minute Pedro went OTT for his man crush Arteta, he tested positive ..the guy is a jinx i tell ya!
Midwest
Brighton really unlucky to be behind, Mike Dean & Chelsea getting away with it. Maiupay just missed by inches.
I agree, Lukaku looks so strong.
Potter with better players would do a lot of damage.
Basically, Pedro telling us, if things gone wrong don’t be nasty to Arteta.
Sure, we’ll blame Edu.
We’ve learned Good=Arteta. Bad=Edu.
Brighton are missing chance after chance. Should be at least two up.
Brighton are thoroughly outplaying Chelsea and if it wasn’t for PGMOL neglecting a double elbow from Lukaku to the face of Maupay which led to blood on his face, 2 seconds before the Belgian scored, Chelsea would not be ahead. They’ve been the second best team for most of the time.
I love watching Brighton play. The way they move the ball so fast is pure entertainment.
This is Artetas second bout of covid, I assume he is vaccinated,
He needs to adjust his behaviour, andstay away from players on the pitch after matches
We also learned that a multi title winner Conte is a bum, because Arsenal fans wanted him instead of Arteta, while the 1 time German FA Cup Rangnick winner is a legend of the game.
We shouldn’t go near Coutunho. We’ve two younger players in his position as number 10 or left attacker. That will be going backwards.
We should be looking young CM to replace/share with Xhaka. Like Sambi covering Partey, in this window. And, young ball plying striker like Isac for the summer.
Welbz coming on
Brighton should score, Chelsea run out of gas.
If only they’ve signed Nketiah!.
I don’t like Coutinho. Never have. Long shot merchant and not much else.
Raptor,
Never try to reason with a man in love.
Love can kill, just as much as hate.
Mount and Bissouma trading favorite dining spots for after the game .. I’m assuming.
Kante turned the game around. What a player.
One of the biggest indictments of Wenger’s incompetence is his decision to go for Xhaka over Kante and refer to Xhaka as a box to box midfielder.
Welbzz has done it again!!!!!!
Danny Boy!
Welbz what a guy!
Welbz
WELBZ!!!
Secret agent Danny Welbs! hahaha
Insane strike!
Bro, Welbeck lol
Agent Welbeck
Welbz 90th min equaliser, lol.
Looks like Citeh are going to win the title at a canter.
It was coming. Anyone that understand football like Pierre and I, can tell 😂
Potter going to be great manager, so brave and love attacking football. Reminds me of young Arsene before going senile.
Chelski probably regretting all that time wasting now..
7 points from 3rd with a game in hand…..
City should not celebrate early, still 0/1 up with 30 mins to go.
Chelsea looking to invite us to get closer to them. 😂😂😂
And to top it off it’s Welbz.
Brighton and Wolves are both very decent sides just have no cutting edge at all.
If either had a 15-20 goal ST they would be challenging for European spots.
Time up
Potter is going places for sure. Every season his Brighton team are improving. But they don’t have the quality to finish chances. He has outplayed us, liverpool and now Chelsea. It is ridiculous. The performances they put in week in week out is unbelievable. He will be a top coach someday.
We’ve a chance to beat City now. Arteta will be on he’s sick bed.
AFCF has changed my mind on Philip. what he could potentially bring to the table would be worth the risk, as it’s a small one. The Smith looks at his best on the left, sharing mins with Martinelli is perfect. Martin is pulling the strings in the 10, running none stop. A Philipe to share those mins keeps them all giving 100% consistently, with added guile the rest of the league will have to work out. Could be what gets us top 4. Svanberg? get it done. Xhaka’ replacement. like a Swedish Madisson with more bite. Schick looks like a… Read more »
Gilberto wasnt truly rated until he left and people realised his absense left a gaping hole
I believe the same thing is going on with thomas. He does sniff out a lot of dangers and balances the team very well even if he hasnt been at his best since the injuries.
HG,
I agree, the only strange decision made me question The Potter was, why not insisting on including Nketiah into the White deal for 10 mil or so.
Nketiah was made for a side like Brighton. Not as a starter, just to come one when dominating, to nick a goal or two.
I just hope no team in the top 6 gets him, and he goes to Everton or Villa.
MidwestGun @ 17:15
Thanks for the updates regarding the old lot! All the best.
Time up
To be honest he had two strikers. Maupay and Welbz. And they only need one to play at a time. So that may be why he didn’t need Eddie.
I dont think the Brentford fans undertsand the Ole… thing… when they are doing it. …down 1-0 and 20% possession… hahaha I guess you have to do it when you can… I suppose.
No Problem Samir.. like everyone I miss some of the old timers. Romford Pele was my favorite poster of all times.
Yeah it is a shame that a lot of my favourite posters to read stopped posting some time ago.
N5, Romford, CA, Paulinho, Carts, London Gunner (Walcott obsession and muscular cunt aside was an interesting poster).
Heard on the street that Champagne Charlie has retired too now, that true?
MidwestGun / WengerEagle
Yes, I remember them all too (N5, Romford, CA, Paulinho, Carts, London Gunner). Those were the good old days of structured and interesting posts. Hope you’re all doing well.
I think N5 will come back someday.. He will miss us… eventually.
I am trying to be impressed by Ivan Toney since so many rated him … on here highly.. But just not seeing it. Maybe he is just having a bad game.. Fernandinho is basically owning him though and he is 36 yrs old. Maybe Ill Le Grove curse him to score now.. 😀
Tuchel following in Mourinhos shoes moaning about everything. They have a huge squad and it’s ridiculous to complain about the Christmas fixtures, same for everyone. As for the 5 substitutes, that’s great for the financially dope sides but what about the lesser teams? We have to maintain the integrity of the game not create other benefits for the Chelsea’s of this World.
Not sure about CC if he did say that… I must have missed it. He has said before he likes to take breaks.
Kwik fit was the funniest
Tuchel was a whiner at PSG too.. with bascially the best side that money can buy. Kind of his thing..
Haha yep Kwikfit..drinking too much and posting late night metal band music videos was pretty funny.
Where’s Gambon ?
We are going to have our hands full if Foden plays like he did today.. and KDB. Hopefully we have a plan for that..
A little sprinkle of Bissouma in our middle and we are cooking,the way those Brighton players dominated Chelsea was a joy to watch
Kudos to all the old time posters here, really missed them N5 especially who called himself troll magnet back then
Hope someday they will be back here
Does anyone feel sorry for Tuchel?
Th man has players like Saul languishing on the bench. Chelsea have the deepest squad in the premier league.
Welp, we have some extra rest against city.
Pedro keeps Gambon in a dark basement and releases him when he needs clicks.. hahaha
Just kidding.. not sure.. he usually pops up when things look the bleakest.
For me, Pierre the weirdest and most important poster is still here.
Dissenter
Yes their squad depth is why Tuchel is making himself appear stupid. On one hand he says he hasn’t got enough players for the Christmas period, the next he wants 5 substitutes.
Let Tuchel keep complaining,the more points he lost the closer to the exit door he gets,you can’t be having that squad and be complaining
I really don’t pity them
Midwest, Foden was as good as I’ve ever seen him play.
I’m gonna call it now, the league is done with as far as the title is concerned.
City lose Mahrez to AFCON while all others 3-4 players, and Pep can even afford to bench players for bad attitude and sell Tores to Barca.
N5 vs trolls was also comedy gold.
Ben Affleck remains the funniest slur I have seen thrown out on here ever.
Tom
I read that bookmakers have stopped taking bets for who wins the premier league; It’s city’s to lose.
It’s still possible that city will struggle in the head-to-head games against Liverpool and Chelsea.
Gambon’s last appearance here he was listing all Arteta’s “fuck ups” and telling fans to take a season off and come back next year when Arsenal might actually be worth watching again.
You too Samir, take care mate.
Tom
Yep, City are easily the best side in the league. So many options, the competition for places ensures high performance levels. So many top quality, players . De Bruyne is something else, his vision and ball striking is unbelievable.
Agree Tom, gap isn’t massive but Citeh are just playing so much better than everyone else right now and look near unstoppable.
Chavs and Liverpool if they even lose 1-2 key players drop off and slide whereas at Citeh they just have a conveyor belt of world class talent to pump into the side in the event of an injury/absence.
Pool are way too reliant on Salah too. He is bound to run into a rough patch of form, not sure his level he had been at is sustainable for a full season.
Tom- probably true.. unfortunately, and then in the summer they will buy the best striker that money can buy. But their Club is soulless so fuck them. The way I see it. They are the Evil Empire.. nobody likes them but there isn’t much you can do about it. Unless you want to match them dollar for dollar. Hopefully this generation of players we have all stick together and mature at the same time and something clicks in gear and we take them down in the near future But it’s a long shot .when we are coming from a place… Read more »
WengerEagle
Difference between City and every other team is the quality of their squad. They have so much competition in almost every position. We saw what happens to Liverpool when they lose a couple of players, same Chelsea. Mahrez, Sterling & Gundegan on the bench.
Wenger eagle
Who are these “conveyor belt of world class talent” that you’re referring to?
City have 11-14 top class players, same as Liverpool and Chelsea. They don’t even have a world class number nine to match Liverpool and Chelsea.
They have players like Nathan Ake and Oleks Zinchenko playing lots of games this season.
City have the best players to play their desired system. Their squad is at parity with with their rivals in my opinion.
The latest “ load of bollocks”…. Liverpool fanboy journos reporting Saka interested in joining liverpool.lol! Where do they get this shit from? Coincidentally just starts getting spouted out before league cup semis.Desperate scumbags.
De Bruyne, Grealish, Foden, Bernardo Odegaard, Smith Rowe, Patino, + Pepe replacement Mahrez, Jesus, Sterling – Saka, Martinelli + new striker Ederson – Ramsdale Cancelo – Tomiyasu Zinchenko, Mendy – Tierney, Tavares Laporte – Gabriel Dias, Stones – White, Saliba City have better depth, more experience, and they’re a team that’s largely been together much longer But we’re gradually closing the gap, if we keep the Crown Jewels and add well, we can close that gap over the next couple of seasons We’re a team on the way up, we’re still a long way behind City, but there’s a clear… Read more »
Tom
Man C certs for the title? Favourites, yes, certs, no. A string of injuries could halt them. And Liverpool or Chelsea could overtake them. They are beatable not invincible – as I hope we prove next week.
Midwest
Soulless. Evil empire. I love that…!! Unfortunately we live in a football era where trophies are being bought & traded by the oil powers. Players like Grealish and Mahrez hoovered up for a squad place in return for pieces of silver. We’ve seen Barca & Madrid pay the price for trying to keep up and along with Chelsea & Man City caught with more fiddles than a violin concerto. Now we’ have. another oil state, famous for assassinating a journalist, buying a PL club, as Tuchel bitches about too many fixtures & not enough players.
You can’t buy class.
Pierre, We don’t even disagree that much, and my comparison of Partey to Xhaka was clearly based on recent form… I kept saying it…. Xhaka has been better for a few games now. Is it so painful for you to admit that little thing. You’re contorting yourself like IAT-Bamford to try and avoid that simple little fact. It’s only temporary anyway, I am aware. I would also choose Partey over Granit for talent and ability, just like you. But to deny that Partey has given the ball away a lot and looking sluggish- is just silly.. we all watched it… Read more »
Pep’s ability to set them up to play even without a top striker is what set the difference between City Liverpool and Chelsea
Without Lukaku today, Chelsea may never have score today as they were bullied around easily, without Salah same might be said about Liverpool but with City not really sure any player stands out like that KDB but even without him, City always does well
The players they have plays in their system effortlessly
Rich
Zinchenko is being mentioned in connection to Newcastle and Mendy is in jail
Xhaka was the best midfielder last season, not just since he came back from injury.
Svanberg,Bissouma,kessie,Sanchez,Guimares,Adams,de jong? Whose it gonna be?my heads spinning with the rumours.Happy with any of them( two.over the moon).Coutinho a no no.but then again…….
Rich
Which club has more squad depth, city or Chelsea?
Ustinov
You nailed it. It’s a point a lot of people don’t understand. In the City system of fluid interchange you need less specialists. Instead you can load the squad with technical players who can play a range of positions. That’s why they have the best squad. If you take key players out of the Liverpool and Chelsea teams we can see what happens. Pep could drop Sterling, Mahrez & Gundogan today, last couple of games he omitted Foden & Grealish from the squad.
AFC-
Yep.. . For me City are the most plastic Club ever. Chelski at least made some attempt at building a culture even though it was done by hoovering up literally every youth player ever and then selling them off. But that at least builds up connections with the Club. City didn’t even bother.
M