My word, Gabriel Jesus seems like a proper decent chap!
I’ve seen him tell the media:
‘I’m not here to be a superstar’
… and then:
‘I’m looking forward to playing with a striker with his qualities’ (Eddie)
I don’t know about you but I’m still absorbing his performance from yesterday.
It’s still quite amazing that there has been quite a few people that have doubted whether adding a proper striker to our system would change our system.
Well, you saw in one game what quality adds to the way we play.
Lacazette was too slow to link play and attack the box.
Auba was too old to change his game.
Eddie showed the way with limited games.
Gabi Jesus has shown where the next level is.
He attacks the front post, he links play, he runs at players, he has a beautiful weight of pass, and he has an incredible work ethic.
We’re not just adding raw football to our forward line, we’re adding a really clever player that has been schooled at the University of Pep G.
There’s still work to do on the squad.
Keiran Tierney needs proper cover. Martinez would be great but we have to be prepared for him choosing Manchester United.
We haven’t addressed our midfield challenges. Mo Elneny is a very good player but we need more quality in midfield. Tielemans, Savic, whoever… we need more experience and players with different tools. I love Sambi Lokonga, but I’m just not sure you can put a season on his shoulders if Thomas Partey gets another long-term injury.
Then we need to look for goals in that frontline. There will be a natural uplift. Jesus will inspire people to take more chances. Experience should add calmness in front of goal. But we need a rocketeer adding to the tally. We need 70+ goals. If it’s not Raphinha, who is it?
The good news is that we’re out the woods regards to a starting 11, bar Thomas Partey who wasn’t in Germany. We have enough depth for the opening month. Going to Palace with two fullbacks and a striker will be good for us. I’d still like to see a full squad by game day one. Last year was so damn messy.
I’m also fascinated to see which young players stay and which go. Charlie Patino looked much more in control of his body when he played yesterday. He’s bulked up, he wasn’t shoved around, and he looked more assured and ambitious with his passing. Does he need a loan? Possibly.
I wonder who is staying on for Europa and who is going out on loan?
Right, short post today. See you in the comments.
well dissenter?
why were you praising xyzy? just a casual fan of Shanghai Shenhua are we?
Sterling is a very good player and Chelsea are getting their money’s worth , but like Lukaku and Werner before him its an attackers graveyard. I hope the goals dry up for him .
Aribo is not worth 5m he is below average. We in nigeria don’t rate him.
WengerEagle
I genuinely think Raphinha is a better player. Sterling is one of the most frustrating players I have ever seen. He has elite of the ball movements. But he is technically lacking. He has performed at decent level for Guardiola. But he misses so many chances through out a game, it is ridiculous.
Raphinha is a modern day forward. He presses, sprints, Harasses opponents. Beside that he is a creative player. And he scores goals. In a year’s time when Raphinha moves to Barcelona we will revisit this conversation.
Mystic leaves
I think Raphinha is more of what they need than sterling in my opinion. He would have been a devastating player for Tuchel. Sterling needs a good supporting cast behind him. Raphinha needs much less support.
I know sterling’s record is impeccable. But I am talking about the next few seasons. Raphinha is on the way up. Sterling is downgrading because he isn’t getting enough starts over technical footballers like Mahrez and Grealish.
Sterling is costing £125m over 5 years, Raphinha is about £95m, Raph is more likely to perform across the whole contract and will be worth more at the end of it/ more saleable during it.
It’s a mad contract for a 27 year old that relies on pace. Chelsea’s new owners are in full dick swinging mode tho.
sterling unlocks a deep block better than most. end of
The Kante ,5 years ago, 100%, not anymore
If Sterling was a clean striker of a ball he would be elite, however, for me he is a similar player and striker of a ball as Freddie Ljundberg in that he makes fantastic off the ball runs and either by luck or design manages to find the back of the net with quite often what looks like a scuffed shot. A player that makes such clever off the ball runs into the box is often a nightmare for defences and that is why for me Sterling is a more valuable asset , as he has always create problems for… Read more »
Two major stories starting to come to the fore this glorious Sunday morning 1) Barca do indeed want Raphinana . But they aren’t close to matching Chelsea’s offer . Barca’s offer relies heavily on add ones but and here’s the big but they don’t want to pay anything for 12 months and even then they want longer to pay the guaranteed sum t( which is said to be only about 2/3 of Chelsea’s bid ) The story goes on to suggest clubs and agents are now worried that Barca’s debts and fire sale of retail and TV rights will create… Read more »
What i will say is Sterling had De bruyne/Silva and Ljundberg had Bergkamp , the 2 greatest providers of the premiership era.
The question is , who will provide the ammunition for sterling when he makes those darting runs into the box.
Without a playmaker with the vision to thread the needle sterling may become a frustrated figure , similar to Alexis Sanchez when he left Arsenal, as he lost his provider ( Ozil) and consequently became a very frustrated footballer
The state of this old man tho. smfh
I am not saying Sterling is a shit player. He is a very good player that has had a very good career. The one thing that separates him is his elite off the ball movement. But he has never been in the top bracket of wingers for me. He is technically lacking. And he somehow screws up the fundamentals of being a very good winger. I think Guardiola made him look better than he is. There was this debate some time back on who was better between Mahrez and Sterling. I found that shocking. There are players who thrive on… Read more »
We now have Jesus , who is also capable of making those darting runs into the box, i really like his near post runs. What he will need is a player who can thread the needle. If Odegaard comes up short then fabio Vieira looks to have the killer ball in him. What normally happens and has happened at Arsenal over the last couple of seasons , is that the striker becomes frustrated and stops naking the runs because the ball never arrives. For a playmaker , the window of opportunity is only there for a fraction of a second,… Read more »
Barca will exist for 1000 years. Leeds are not serious, barca has a higher chance of surviving than them.
Dissenter
Rich is right
Chelsea have an obscene amount of youth talent right now.
Billy Gilmore is class. Loftus cheek, chalobah james Mount on top of all the new wave that rich mentioned. Plus they let plenty go. Tariq lamptey, Abraham
We have a similar crop coming through ourselves now combined with the elite young talent with brought in. I just hope the like of cuffy, patino, Azeez and Balogun can develop the way Chelsea’s young loanees have
Just get a midfielder in. It’s becoming frustrating now, like Matt was saying on the podcast. I hope there’s some master plan and it’s all under control, but there’s a lot of competition that can come in for these players, even Tielemans.
Pierre Sorry? What striker was making runs at arsenal? Neither Lacazette nor Aubameyang ran Auba waited for everyone else to pull defenders so he could steal in the box late and laca would drop deep to the edge of the box hoping to pick up anything that came loose That was their signature “run” Also that comes with the territory. The vast majority of strikers runs are wasted but they create space for their team mates and themselves I highly doubt Jesus will stop running The only thing that might hold this young array of stacking talent this year back… Read more »
https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/arteta-tielemans-arsenal-transfer-question-27437602.amp
Jesus was glowing in his praise for Eddie
Clearly enjoys playing with him and gabbi
I think you all will do well to realise that Chelsea needs a finisher, not a creative winger. For 2 seasons now they haven’t had someone that can consistently put the ball in the net.
Sterling is what they need and not Raphinha. Sterling is vastly better than Raphinha in every thing. And I haven’t checked the stats but I am sure that their dribbles and chance creation will be close too. And that’s where people give Raphinha the edge
Sterling is a top player, Chelsea should get a good 2-3 seasons out of him. I’d just worry about the second half of that contract if Arsenal were paying him north of £300k p/w We’ve seen ourselves with players who are reliant upon elite athleticism, that when they dip, the fall from grace can be rapid. There’s few players I’d want Arsenal to pay that type of money too, we’ve been burnt too many times in recent memory. I’m particularly suspicious of players in the wide positions, who are approaching 30, and have a lot of football in their legs,… Read more »
It looks like Eddie and our other young players will gain a lot from playing with Jesus who exhibits Alexi Sanchez type levels of energy and determination as well as great talent. Hopefully Eddie, Saka etc will be inspired to follow suit and overall raise our intensity over a whole game, not just patches. Although he has a lot of miles in his legs a 2 year deal for Kante could also be a big boost for the squad being exactly the sort of player to bring in for the last 30 mins due to his experience. It may well… Read more »
Foxy
I think the signing of Odegaard already has given the team a lift. No coincidence that ESR and Saka became more dangerous with him in the team. Vieira also will bring a level of excitement. That lift in technical quality in training will have everyone buzzing and raising their levels
Marquinhos looks a bull of a lad too.
Gabbi seems to love playing off Jesus. He was constantly looking for him when he got he ball
I expect a brother like bond between those two to develop.
Exciting times
Merse on savic
“If Arsenal get either of those two, they have had a major window. Now more than ever, Arsenal need a top-class midfielder to compete with the best. And I think Savic is a lovely player. A really top-drawer player. The way he played for Lazio last season I personally think he is the best midfield player in Italy.
I’d love to see the club go hard for savic over anyone else
Next level alongside partey
Rich I agree with the essentials of your last post As far as know, Sterling has not lived the public drunkenness lifestyle of Grealish. He comes across as a good professional. When you wrote that” I’d be particularly reluctant to put a player who’s already incredibly wealthy, and has achieved a lot, on big money, because once that hunger + desires gone, and they’re sitting on a healthy retirement fund, mentally you risk putting them on the beach with their legs up on the deckchair, sucking down a cold one.“ Is it possible that that paragraph can be extended towards… Read more »
Diss
Jesus is not the main man. That’s what’s driving him above anything else
He is the no9. The big guy. At city he was just a cog in a very successful machine. He wants to be the difference maker
Respect your opinion Habesha but I think you’re far off the mark on Sterling. You are making him out to be a better version of Theo Walcott almost by the sounds of it. You don’t produce 160+ PL G/A by age 27 by luck and just by being in the right place at the right time. He clearly is technically a very good footballer in his own right even if his ball striking ability isn’t clean like a Podolski. Our very own Saka isn’t exactly a great striker of the ball and his game is similar to Sterling’s for Liverpool… Read more »
Un it is the intensity that Jesus shows together with being a proven winner that I think most will rub off on the other players especially Eddie who at times last year looked a bit lacking in application. If we can get all our front line and attacking MF showing his levels of intensity we are going to scare a lot of defenses. The 5 sub rule can help here as we can plan for players like Martinelli to run like hell for 60 mins then bring on fresh legs.
Un I think this will be the season Martinelli kicks on, and posts some good end product numbers, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see Saka go stratospheric We’re clearly aiming for a more withdrawn left back who reads the game well, and can progress the ball from back to front. Then it looks like we want a more attacking left sided No8 Saka is often double or even triple + quadruple marked If we can find a way to regularly get 5 forwards onto the pitch, without leaving ourselves pressed + overloaded in deeper areas Then those 5 forwards… Read more »
I really don’t see huge upside with Raphinha. How many players can you really name that were good but not great up until 25 and then exploded into the elite stratosphere?
Un
Sterling wasn;t the ‘main man’ at city too. He was just one of their many weapons to hurt opposition teams
He’s that professional who’s looked after himself, no different from Jesus.
I don’t know either player personally, but they seem to have the same profile of the dedicated professional..
Sterling is 27 y/o inadequacy easily has 5 more seasons at the top of his game.
Aribo sounds like the lm jellied sweets I love.
Srerling has been doing it at the top level for quite a few years now.
Raphina may be techinally the better player but Sterling is more deadly at unlocking defences.
Gabi and Marti look to have some real chemistry already which is great to see.
Eddie looks stronger and faster, you can see he has put in a lot of grind in the off seasons to be more imposing, deserves real credit for that and I would like to see Vieira bend his ear for weight room advice.
Sterling has always been under appreciated.
Imagine rating a 25 year old with zero CL experience., with a playing career for Rennes and Leeds over him.
Nine calls for Brazil, none in a major competition
C’mon. This isn’t about Raphinha’s, it’s about underrating Sterling and the obvious denial of underrating him.
*Nine caps for Brazil.
Rich it looks then like left back is going to be more and more the critical position to get right for next season as all we have at the moment is a fragile Tierney assuming Tavares will be leaving at least on loan. I would like to see us bringing in a top defensive LB with good passing ability to play as our no 1 left back with Tierney being back up LB and also covering CB.
Dissenter
The English media have long hated Sterling, goes back to when he was laughably criticised for buying his mother a house.
He’s been a model pro and never gotten into any real trouble, comes across well in interviews too. Very strange.
He’s remembered for a few key misses like that one vs Lyon in the CL SF but you would have to be pretty daft to ignore his key contributions to the best PL side of all time over the past 5 years.
Wenger Eagle
Regarding Vierra,
How heavy were David Silver, Cazorla or James Madison though
His work will be to find space and make the right passes. He’s not going to be jostling with 6-3 defenders like Eddie.
Sterling and salah are the best wingers in the premier league. You can’t compare him to raphina his stat speaks for him
Dissenter
Santi was actually a little bulkier than the others there. Tiny in height (5″6 on a good day) but sturdy and strong, stocky legs.
Vieira looks like he would fall through a crack in the floor. It’s bold to assume because a generationally great player in David Silva can get away with having a very slight build at 5″7 that he can too.
Diss Sterling as their main man for 2 seasons. He was being used as their primary goal scorer and Jesus more the false 9 who pulled runners off for him to ghost into the box Sterling has his uses but he’s really bad on the ball and for that reason I’d not want him. You can get good wide forwards who nick goals and still don’t cock block your attacks when they go through him. I’d not want him Never been a huge fan Chelsea have very few ball players All seems t be of the ball runners Starting to… Read more »
Un
Sterling was their main man?
The city approach was not to have a main man. They didn’t even had a striker for two seasons.
Sterling was one of their best players, agreed. He wasn’t their “main man”
Using the retiring player angle to jab at Sterling is dubious, particularly when you’ re trying very hard to not extend the same to Jesus.
Sterling is a good professional, same as Jesus.
How is Sterling very bad on the ball? It’s a nonsense take Un and I agree with many of your football opinions. He is not a turnover machine like Sanchez, he can beat players 1 vs 1, he combines well with team mates, he scores and creates a shit load of goals for a wideman. He isn’t a brilliant striker of the ball but his general technique for passing and dribbling is very good. And he scores so many goals who cares if he isn’t an amazing striker of the ball, as I said before Saka doesn’t have great shooting… Read more »
WengerEagleJuly 10, 2022 09:53:04
I really don’t see huge upside with Raphinha. How many players can you really name that were good but not great up until 25 and then exploded into the elite stratosphere?
Eagle
Kanu
Overmars
Petit
Pires
Dennis
Robin van Persie
Drogba
All exploded at 25 and above
But I agree on raphinha
Truth be told
If we had CL qualification to offer, we would be spending £100-110 million to get bit Sterling and Jesus
We all would be buzzing like crazy
Diss There’s always risks buying players, buying from the domestic market usually carries less risk. The main difference for me with Jesus + Sterling is the 30 month age gap. Jesus will have just turned 30 at the end of his contract, and he’s said publicly he wanted to go somewhere and get more regular minutes, City apparently would have been happy to offer him a new contract. Sterling will be 32.5 at the end of his 5yr contract at Chelsea, I’d just be a little more concerned about the back end of that contract, if we were making that… Read more »
Pep wouldn’t tolerate a player who is very bad on the ball for 6 years, end of discussion.
He doesn’t even want to sell Sterling by all accounts.
Eagle
When I watch him, his touch is just so bad. He runs down blind alleys and misses good opportunities to slip a pass between the lines
He goes for the safe ball very often
Un
Kanu exploded at 25 y/o
Go wash those damn hands you used to type that statement
The man played in the 1995 CL final and won it too with Ajax
He was a household name before he came to Arsenal. We got him cheap because of his setback after his congenital heart defect lost finished his playing career.
Rich On martinelli and Saka Completely agree. This was one of the reasons I feel Pepe struggled. At the time he had no no10 inside him and bellerin was the full back. His best games on the right were with AMN deployed as he ran behind and staged a marker away Same with on the left when he had a good 3-4 game run there. He had Tierney overlapping and dragging markers Otherwise he was double or triple marked But yes If we can create a similar amount of danger on the left then that gives us variety and wth… Read more »
Un Kanu never exploded. Where and when? Dennis and Overmars already were superb for Ajax before the former’s dodgy Serie A spell (let’s not forget that he scored 25 goals in one of those seasons at Inter too). RVP was down to injuries hampering him. It was clear from 2004/05 where he scored breathtaking goals vs Blackburn in the Cup and had Thierry and Dennis in awe in training with some of the skills he was pulling off how great a player he would be injury-free. And Drogba was brilliant for Marseille pre-Chelsea. Not sure about Pires and Petit due… Read more »
Rich
It’s all good
We all know you tend to approach the 30-year old barrier like it’s premature menopause or something.
The modern player, who’s looked after himself and has not had a major knee injury will still perform at a high level at 32-33 years old.
Players like Grealish, whom the English media and public overrate are the type you should be worried about.
All that hard drinking will come back right at him at some point.
Rich and a few others here who have no foresight with players that are 30+ would have been one of those people who would have advocated binning Benzema as Real Madrid’s ST in his 30s in favour of the shiny new kid on the block Luka Jovic.
To presume that Sterling will fall off a cliff at 30 is hilarious. Based on what?
Diss
He played his best stuff for arsenal
Would you disagree?
Scored 1 goal in serie A
And 25 in Dutch league in 3 seasons
Yes he was already extremely talented but he blew up when he came to arsenal
Eagle
All were very good players but their best form, by far, came at 25 and after
He never blew up though Un.
Kanu was a cult favourite and a lovely back up ST to have but he was a reserve ST for us. Averaged 1 goal every 4-5 games over his time here. Hardly an explosion and his first 1.5 years (aged 22/23) were his best years, not 25+.
Diss
Merse and Tony Adams were still playing great stuff well into their 30s despite drinking heavily and doing coke in mersons case
The odd holiday for grealish ain’t going t hold him back
He will have a big year this year
Pepe likes to get played used to his system in the first year
Grealish has had to learn the tactical side of the game
I wouldn’t worry too much about him.
At any other team in the league he would be the standout no10
Eagle
Semantics
He became a much better and more consistent player once he joined arsenal. His best (personal) career moments came at arsenal. The boro back heel, the 15 min chelsea hat trick, the la coruna goal.
Pires was in the young team with Henry etc for France that won the World Cup before we bought him,he was already super talented at Metz and Marseille was part of that stacked claire Fontaine academy
Petit came from Monaco as a left back and wenger converted him to a cm then he became a beast and won the wc he was 26 when we bought him so UN is correct on him
Most players best days are 25+ Un but you are missing tbe point here I think. A player’s prime normally is anywhere from 26-31 (physical prime probably 25-28/29) although you are having more and more outliers now with modern players due to sport science and elite conditioning/recovery (Benzema, Lewandowski, Modric, KDB, Ibrahimovic, Ronaldo, etc). What I am saying though is that even before players hit their prime if they are on the trajectory to elite they generally show themselves to be on way to becoming elite before 25. Raphinha has put up 1 very good and 1 good-average season in… Read more »
Un
That was all years before he turned 25 though so what is your point?
Kanu was a bad example.
Raphina is a good player never gonna be an elite one, saka could be
Bergkamp, overmars drogba pires henry anelka you could tell they were gonna be elite way before 25
Eagle
Ok maybe Kanu wasn’t a great example
And yes all of these players were talented before 25 and had good careers at lesser clubs in lesser leagues.
My point is that raphinha could and likely will go up levels now in his career. Maybe he won’t. But there are numerous examples of players doing so and I have a a list of about 10 off the top of my head who did
WE Players in wide areas who are reliant upon pace over short + long distances, and making repeated intensive sprints, tend to struggle as they approach 30, and once they’ve lost those physical capabilities, they’re finished. Players in central areas of the pitch who have elite technical ability, and can read the game well, can play on much longer if they’ve got the hunger + desire to do so, The space on a football pitch is usually out wide, whereas central areas of the pitch are congested. Centre backs + central midfielders generally mature later, but their careers go on… Read more »
Have a list*
Gave gave gave fucking phone
WengerEagle I understand that Sterling has had a better career than Raphinha. But I am talking about the impact they will make over the next few years. I guess we will see. I would have been more worried if Chelsea had Raphinha instead of sterling. And honestly he is technically better and he has better movements, but I see him as a more rounded Theo Walcott. In the Premier league, Walcott has scored 78 goals and 54 assists in 377 apps. And he spent half his career in a banter Arenal team. Plus Everton and Southampton. Sterling has scored 109… Read more »
Un
He may very well get better but will he ever jump into that elite bracket with the Salah, Mane, Gnabry, Sane, Vinicius Jr, Mbappe, Neymar’s of this world?
No chance for me. All showed a hell of a lot more by age 25 than he has.
In general I agree with Rich and would be reluctant to recruit players approaching and in their 30s on three counts.
First because we have had poor experience with many of the 30 year olds who were on our
books and/or recruited. Aubameyang, Ozil, Mkhitaryan, Lacazette, Luiz and Willian were hardly a crashing success once they hit that mark.
Second they are seldom justifying their inflated wages.
Third most players who leave clubs after years of service are seldom performing at the same
level when they join a new club. That was evident with both Willian and Luiz.
Eagle You didn’t say showed promise to be truly elite I can only respond to your question which as this WengerEagleJuly 10, 2022 09:53:04 I really don’t see huge upside with Raphinha. How many players can you really name that were good but not great up until 25 and then exploded into the elite stratosphere? All the players i mentioned were good not great until about 25 Are you telling me any of them were superior at 21/22/23 over 26/27/28? Not claiming that they weren’t earmarked for big things. Anyway, I’d take raphinha over Sterling myself Never been a huge… Read more »
Rich Ok, we are getting somewhere now. I agree with that well-explained breakdown in fact. I disagree that Sterling will not be effective into his early 30s and this isn’t a FIFA playstation game where a player’s physical capabilities disappear after turning 30. Arjen Robben was still clocking up the fastest sprints throughout Europe into his early 30s and has openly credited working with Pep as extending his career and giving him a new lease of life into his esrly 30s. Who has Sterling been working with for 6 years now? Yep, you gussed it. Were you not against Milinkovic-Savic… Read more »
Had Salah showed more at 25?
He signed for Liverpool at 25, off the back of 1 good season at Roma
Mane arrived at Liverpool at 24 from Southampton with similar stats to Raphinha, and didn’t exactly light up the PL consistently in his first season
Gnabry didn’t sign for Bayern until he was 23, hardly to compatible comparing Gnabry playing for the dominant team in Germany, to Raphinha playing for a struggling Leeds team in the PL
Theo started 177 games for arsenal
Scored over 100 goals for us and around 50 odd assists by the time he was 28
Habesha Was Sterling not City’s top scorer outside of Aguero for multiple title-winning campaigns? 29 PL G/A in 2017/18 and 27 PL G/A in 2018/19. Come on, you’re being a bit ridiculous saying he was along for the ride. And he is levels above Wally as a footballer, I can painfully attest to that after years of watching Wally fuck up move after move with a crap touch or misplacing a 5 yard pass and being unable to dribble past a traffic cone. It sounds like you don’t like his game which is fine but he is a hell of… Read more »
WE
I’ve given no “Hot Take” on Milinkovic Savic, I don’t know the player.
I really hope we sign a top more attacking minded left sided No8 though
Salah put up two excellent seasons for Roma and had a brilliant half season loan spell before that at Fiorentina.
Mane by age 25 had x3 double digit PL goal campaigns behind him at Southampton x2 and Liverpool. No penalties to pad those stats either unlike Raphinha this season.
Gnabry was doing incredible things out on loan at Hoffenheim and Werder Bremen before signing for Bayern. Why do you think they were interested in him?
Walcott had otherwordly pace, guy was literally our fastest ever player barring Bellerin, a RB.
If it weren’t for that he would have been a midtable PL player at best. Everyone has seen what has happened to him once the pace has gone, no technique or on ball ability to fall back on.
Un
Well Kanu was for one.
Pires was a France international by 23 and their squad was stupidly stacked. Overmars was a CL winner at Ajax and how many Holland caps/goals did Dennis have by 25?
He has 37 caps and 22 goals for the Netherlands by 1994 (25). That 90s Netherlands squad that weren’t exactly scrubs, lol.
So Salah posting decent but not great numbers for a Romateam that finished 2nd + 3rd, is proven world class before 25
Mane having 2 double digit seasons at Southampton is proven world class
But Raphinha posting 14 + 15 goal contributions in 2 seasons at 23-25, in a piss poor Leeds team, while still producing some of the best creative + pressing numbers in the league
Is proof that he’ll never be a top class player in a much better team…..
At least according to WE at least…..
Pires getting a few appearance for France doesn’t indicate the world class player he would become eagle. I think you’re arguing for arguments sake here now All were far batter at 25 and beyond It’s not even a debate That’s the point being made Not that thy had no career or no upward trajectory at all before 25. Of course they all showed huge promise But they realised that potential at 25 and up. There’s no reason Raphinha can’t go up levels now just because he wasn’t considered the top of his class as youngster. Martinelli was an I know… Read more »
Rich thinking he is being clever there about Salah.
Mo Salah at Fiorentina:
6 goals, 3 assists in 10 apps in Serie A.
Mo Salah for Roma:
29 goals, 17 assists in x2 Serie A seasons. (0 penalties)
46 G/A without pens.
Raphinha at Leeds:
17 goals, 12 assists in x 2 PL seasons. (x4 penalties)
25 G/A without pens.
WE if you think Sterling has the technical quality of Modric, Benzema, David Silva, Bernardo Silva To adapt once he’s lost the ability to cover ground incredibly quickly, and make those repeated intensive sprints?…. Then you’re desperately mistaken, and misunderstand what Sterling’s game is all about. I agree with you he’s a top player, who I expect to improve Chelsea significantly over the next 2-3 seasons, but if you think after 11-12 seasons playing in the PL consistently, and as a regular international, He’s going to be the same player the other side of turning 30, I certainly wouldn’t be… Read more »
The positives of this window so far are the offensive side of things , the negatives are that we could struggle to beat teams who implememt an aggressive press. Offensively I think we look pretty good, adding a potentially bona fide playmaker who can play the killer ball in Fabio Vieira could be a wise move, although Vieira is unproven at present . One thing’s for sure , Jesus along with Eddie will improve our pressing game , Eddie created at least 3 goals for himself last season in his lomited time on the pitch with his intelligent closing down… Read more »
WE
Salah was playing in a weaker league, in a team that finished 2nd or third
Raphinha was playing in a stronger league, in a worse team that finished 17th + 9th
You then have to take i to account for playing with better players, getting into better positions
Strikers who can put away chances created, vs playing with inferior players…..
Mane had 34 PL goals and 14 assists in x3 seasons befire turning 25.
He also didn’t have any pens to pad up those numbers and only started 26 games in the Pool season and 24 games in the first Southampton one. So averaged 16 non-pen G/A numbers in the PL for x3 years before 25.
What was your other brilliant example Rich, Gnabry? Just the 26 G/A in 43 apps for Hoffenheim/Bremen before Bayern came knocking.
Rich
Same happened with overmans and Freddie once they lost their pace.
Not enough ability on the ball to cover them when their pace went
Rich The whole weak-strong team thing doesn’t wash. I have seen strikers like Defoe, Rickie Lambert and Grant Holt bang in 15 PL goals for hopeless PL outfits that do not create chances, by your logic if Defoe ever went to a better side he would exlode into a 30+ goal a season ST with the superior service. Except he didn’t, did he? Went to Spurs and scored at the same rate. What happened when Lambert went to Liverpool? Or how about Benteke? Banging them in for fun at a shit Villa team and hopeless for Liverpool. Raphinha scored 7… Read more »
How well Sterling does in the future depends on how well he has looked after himself physically.
Of course he has technique as a footballer but a lot of success he has achieved as a player and in many of his moves on the ball are very much physical rather than highly technical.
It was termed push and run. Sterling does a lot of that. He also has shown he can work in tight areas with technique to beat players but as said the push and run is a big part of Sterling’s game.
Some utter guff on here today.
Sterling playing for England in those Euros was very physical in his play.
And this can come from deep positions with him in instigating an attack.
Lots and lots of short burst fast running with him.
Sterling carries no weight but is as strong as an ox on the ball.
He won’t fall off a cliff physically when he reaches 30 that’s for sure.
When I was watching Sterling playing for England in those Euros there were enough moments when I was thinking slow down just a little bit in relation to Sterling. Give yourself a little time to think on the ball at times.
He was trying to do everything at 100mphs,
WE “player’s prime normally is anywhere from 26-31 (physical prime “probably 25-28/29) although you are having more and more outliers now with modern players due to sport science and elite conditioning/recovery ” Good comments. 26-30 is generally accepted..True, age is being extended due to sports science. There is a Parabolic arc. As the body matures and skills are acquired, there is a peak, but as ability and skills decline, the graph will move the other way.. Sports science including things like nutrition wil affect this. If you put toxic thinks like alcohol into the mix then it will have an… Read more »
Rating Raphinha over Sterling is quite shocking tbh. Raheem is a proven player, EPL winner, has carried Man City in one of the seasons like hardcore scoring winning goals (some belters from long range) in the added time of the games. Guy has been one of the most consistent players in the league and I’m pretty sure that if Pep/Man City didn’t break the bank to sign 100m Grealish they’d have kept Sterling because I’m sorry but Grealish’s first campaign was absolutely shocking. 3 goals and 3 assists in the best EPL team is an incredible stat. Sterling registered 13… Read more »
* Some of this taken rom the Athletic.
Forgot strikers. They peak around 27, but can perform 30s. Similarly to centre-backs, their feeling of the game increases over time & that reduces the impact of physical age. In other words experience makes up for the age imbalance.
It’s interesting but not precise.
I think mancity are making a mistake by selling some of their important stars in one transfer window (Jesus, sterling, fernandinho, maybe ake and zinchenko). Halaand may turn out to be another sancho, and i see liverpool winning the league this season.
Rap
Harry kane has won nothing
Clearly a better player than Sterling
Son has won nothing clearly a better player then Sterling
Sanchez won a couple of FA cups
Clearly a better player than Sterling
Or yes give raphinha a few years nd see what he can produce
Un
That is what I am saying. Sterling has improved a lot under Guardiola but he isn’t a unique player. He just happened to be in an elite team. He forsure contributed to City’s success but he wasn’t as integral like Aguero, Silva, Debruyne, Kompany and the like.
I will bet when Raphinha moves to Barcelona, people will start seeing what we are talking about. The dude will be elite. The price is steep but he runs like two people. That is why I think he will overtake a lot of wingers over the next year.