A win is requisite, obviously. But it would great if Mikel took the handbrake off from the beginning. He does like to make about 40 passes to suss out any defensive wrinkles-- but some early aggressiveness would be welcome.
"What is the one quality of your teammates you'd like to have?"
A lot of our players want Martinelli's speed. I wish we used his skills better. He's a vastly superior defensively Theo but we don't release him quickly on the counter and we have him hugging the sideline instead of moving him closer to the goal.
Partey has done well sofar, but his legs are gone, this is a problem for us, in big games, Rice should be the holding midfielder and Merino in the difficult left side midfield.
Your opinion obviously but Partey is experienced and his positioning has always been top.
I'm not sure about the "his legs are gone" argument. In the last few games he was covering the pitch real fast. Against Bournemouth, in the 1st half before Saliba was sent off, for 30 minutes he was the best player on the pitch literally flying from defence to offence like I've rarely ever seen him.
He's had other great performances like against arguably the best LW in the league - Luis Diaz, where he completely dominated him. Against PSG, also against Villa, against Spuds both away games.
Against Bournemouth, our international performers let us down - Saliba, Trossard and Raya. All three came after the break unfocused and it felt they invested too much in their NT games they were absolutely gone when their club needed them.
In contrast, Partey was the best player on the pitch, fully focused on giving Arsenal his best possible performance. Obviously he's playing for a contract and that's a blessing for us. I fully expect him to shine today. I hope Arteta doesn't get too big brain. Play our best eleven, don't get red carded and we'll get the 3 points.
Good article Pedro, I agree with all what you said. We should have from now on great results, I can not imagine any more bad luck, however that is still possible, the ball is round and doest know the direction and sport is sport, there is NO rationality or justice, not to speak of the most biased, uneducated incompetent premiership referees and their corrupt organization.
Apparently Rice still hasn't shaken off the injury he had at Chelsea yet according to Twitter rumors.
This game will be much more difficult without him. Forrest are a transition team. And I hope Partey is up to the task. He has played well since the PSG game. And we need him to play very well to handle their runners.
And with White out now, Zinchenko will probably start assuming Calafiori isn't ready. Those are the two key positions we need to watch out for.
I am not in to these phases thing anymore. If we are to stand any chance of winning the league, we have to win every game. And Liverpool and City will need to drop points before we do so that the psychological advantage belongs to us.
Ben White being out is a huge blow. Tomiyasu is a quality defender but as soon as he is fit, he needs to be sold. I hoped he would turn it around but it is time now.
Our right side of defense is a huge issue now. Saliba and Timber are the only naturally right sided defenders. Partey will have to fill in at RB once in a while. Kiwior will have to play RCB a few times too.
The good thing is we have flexibility. Zinchenko and MLS are available at LB and now Calafiori too. So we just have to shift players around to cover that side of the defense.
It’s been a tough start, no doubt. I managed to get a ticket for today, really looking forward to it. Hoping for a fast start and an early goal. Squad usage needs to be spot-on from now on, as you’ve stated Pedro, a lot depends on the next few games. I wonder if Arteta will go with Zinchenko or Calafiori at left back? Or keep Timber there and play Partey at right back? Both their wingers have pace.
It feels like Arteta planned this season thinking of the squad without Partey. He probably expected the Ghanaian to be injured most of the season.
Thing is, Partey has been our best midfielder and a top 3 player with Saka and Raya. Now he's facing the issue of playing Partey and playing Rice and playing Merino.
For me, our best lineup is with Partey at 6 and Rice at 8 but Rice hasn't been playing as well at 8 as last season. I still think the two start in midfield in our best eleven.
Timber at RB and Calafiori on the left are also part of our best eleven imo.
Merino is a good player but right now I would play our settled team + Calafiori (if healthy) who's shown a lot of good qualities.
We might get to see our best starting lineup after a couple of weeks of break. I'm excited.
Finally football is back! Feel like we need a convincing win, not a scruffy 1-0, but a dominant display, 3-0 would be perfect to get us underway.. That’s my heart, my head says a last minute 1-0 win.
A win is requisite, obviously. But it would great if Mikel took the handbrake off from the beginning. He does like to make about 40 passes to suss out any defensive wrinkles-- but some early aggressiveness would be welcome.
https://x.com/Arsenal/status/1859613837361627615
"What is the one quality of your teammates you'd like to have?"
A lot of our players want Martinelli's speed. I wish we used his skills better. He's a vastly superior defensively Theo but we don't release him quickly on the counter and we have him hugging the sideline instead of moving him closer to the goal.
Partey has done well sofar, but his legs are gone, this is a problem for us, in big games, Rice should be the holding midfielder and Merino in the difficult left side midfield.
Your opinion obviously but Partey is experienced and his positioning has always been top.
I'm not sure about the "his legs are gone" argument. In the last few games he was covering the pitch real fast. Against Bournemouth, in the 1st half before Saliba was sent off, for 30 minutes he was the best player on the pitch literally flying from defence to offence like I've rarely ever seen him.
He's had other great performances like against arguably the best LW in the league - Luis Diaz, where he completely dominated him. Against PSG, also against Villa, against Spuds both away games.
Against Bournemouth, our international performers let us down - Saliba, Trossard and Raya. All three came after the break unfocused and it felt they invested too much in their NT games they were absolutely gone when their club needed them.
In contrast, Partey was the best player on the pitch, fully focused on giving Arsenal his best possible performance. Obviously he's playing for a contract and that's a blessing for us. I fully expect him to shine today. I hope Arteta doesn't get too big brain. Play our best eleven, don't get red carded and we'll get the 3 points.
Good article Pedro, I agree with all what you said. We should have from now on great results, I can not imagine any more bad luck, however that is still possible, the ball is round and doest know the direction and sport is sport, there is NO rationality or justice, not to speak of the most biased, uneducated incompetent premiership referees and their corrupt organization.
Apparently Rice still hasn't shaken off the injury he had at Chelsea yet according to Twitter rumors.
This game will be much more difficult without him. Forrest are a transition team. And I hope Partey is up to the task. He has played well since the PSG game. And we need him to play very well to handle their runners.
And with White out now, Zinchenko will probably start assuming Calafiori isn't ready. Those are the two key positions we need to watch out for.
I am not in to these phases thing anymore. If we are to stand any chance of winning the league, we have to win every game. And Liverpool and City will need to drop points before we do so that the psychological advantage belongs to us.
Ben White being out is a huge blow. Tomiyasu is a quality defender but as soon as he is fit, he needs to be sold. I hoped he would turn it around but it is time now.
Our right side of defense is a huge issue now. Saliba and Timber are the only naturally right sided defenders. Partey will have to fill in at RB once in a while. Kiwior will have to play RCB a few times too.
The good thing is we have flexibility. Zinchenko and MLS are available at LB and now Calafiori too. So we just have to shift players around to cover that side of the defense.
It’s been a tough start, no doubt. I managed to get a ticket for today, really looking forward to it. Hoping for a fast start and an early goal. Squad usage needs to be spot-on from now on, as you’ve stated Pedro, a lot depends on the next few games. I wonder if Arteta will go with Zinchenko or Calafiori at left back? Or keep Timber there and play Partey at right back? Both their wingers have pace.
It feels like Arteta planned this season thinking of the squad without Partey. He probably expected the Ghanaian to be injured most of the season.
Thing is, Partey has been our best midfielder and a top 3 player with Saka and Raya. Now he's facing the issue of playing Partey and playing Rice and playing Merino.
For me, our best lineup is with Partey at 6 and Rice at 8 but Rice hasn't been playing as well at 8 as last season. I still think the two start in midfield in our best eleven.
Timber at RB and Calafiori on the left are also part of our best eleven imo.
Merino is a good player but right now I would play our settled team + Calafiori (if healthy) who's shown a lot of good qualities.
We might get to see our best starting lineup after a couple of weeks of break. I'm excited.
Hopefully full strength team, I feel a good result today
I like the opening Pedro hope that wasn't a dawg at me 😂. Have a blessed day
Finally football is back! Feel like we need a convincing win, not a scruffy 1-0, but a dominant display, 3-0 would be perfect to get us underway.. That’s my heart, my head says a last minute 1-0 win.
Arsenal 3-0 Forest
1st