Arsenal beat Bournemouth 2-1 last night and before I get into the particulars of the match I want to give credit to the away fans. They were the ones filling the stadium with noise, singing songs, and figuratively making the game into a home match for the Arsenal. But more than the dedication required to sing for 90 minutes they had to even be at the match in the first place.
Monday games are an annoyance for me. I have to use vacation time to watch the games. And even then I usually sit it my office with the door shut, hoping that I don’t get a phone call or text from a colleague who wants something. And other times, like yesterday, I’m so swamped that I actually have to work while watching the game which means that I’m not watching the match as closely as I would like.
But as annoying as a mid-day Monday game is for me it can be a right arsehole for fans who live in England and need to travel to the game. Not just to the match but also back. Public transit in England is decent but it’s not really designed or scheduled to support several thousand folks leaving Bournemouth at 10pm. Not to mention the expense of paying for train fare. And getting home from these matches at what hour? 1am? On a Monday.
This isn’t a human hardship for god’s sake but what’s the point of having the match on a Monday? Why? It just makes everything more difficult for both sets of fans but especially for the away fans. So, huge respect to all the traveling supporters last night. Just for showing up for one thing and for being brilliant the whole way through. Plus you had to deal with those wankers singing “same old Arsenal” every time their players kicked one of ours.
That was quite the enjoyable game. At least it was up until the referee Atkinson decided to make it more spicy.
Arsenal dominated them in the first half. Six shots to three. A Saka blast for the first goal and an Nketiah tap in for the second – both created by Saka I might add.
We controlled possession expertly (mostly) with the fullbacks pinching in to help in the center of the park and overlapping to create overloads and width high up.
Even the brain-dead Xhaka mistakes didn’t hurt as bad as they normally might. He has this weird thing where he likes to make a cross-field pass tantalizingly close to the opposition. I think he does it on purpose*, when he’s bored, to give the defense something to do.
It wasn’t perfect. There were times when Willock frustrated with some lackadaisical play. More than once the defense tried a long pass to him which caught him unawares and his man ghosted past him to intercept. He has to be there for those passes if he wants to play in that role. Arteta thinks that Willock is going to be a future #10** and I defer to him in that.
Pepe also had an off night, nothing he tried seems to produce results. Guendouzi had a mixed night, sometimes brilliant, sometimes static. He’s a weird player in that he does seem to run around a lot and yet also sometimes not run around.
But overall you can see that the team are still growing in confidence and that’s what I really like to see. Saka is growing leaps and bounds as a left back and has earned praise from Arteta for both his commitment on the pitch and in training, learning the principles of defending. Saka and Nketiah spoke after the game and their interview is interesting because they talk about how they are working together to generate goals. It’s hard to link directly to the interview but it’s here in this weird pile.
I think Saka might have a long-term future as a fullback. I know that traditionally fullback is kind of an afterthought of a position but the modern interpretation is much more of an attacking position. Liverpool’s best player (I’m being intentionally controversial) is Trent Alexander-Arnold. He makes their entire attack click. With Saka’s attacking prowess and his excellent crossing ability, he could make that position his own. I know that he probably won’t and that we have a first choice left back already but still.. what if?
One final note – I really hope Mustafi is ok. I feel like we are going to need him this season. We can’t seem to get in a center back and while he does make mistakes he’s also got some very good qualities such as heading the ball and making those line breaking passes up the pitch to guys like Willock.
Next up in the FA Cup is a trip even FURTHER down the south coast, to Pompey.
*I sure hope you can tell this is a joke
**People get REALLY bogged down in discussions about position. What is a 10? Is it a second striker? Just behind the striker? Tip of the diamond? Sure. I just like to think of it as a line breaker. Someone who plays in the space between the opposition’s midfield and defense. That’s where I see Ozil being most effective and where I think I saw Willock playing last night.
Portsmouth’s ground is Fratton Park. A complete dump in the rough end of what is basically a navy town. Not recommended. Used to be a pretty hostile venue when Pompey were in the premier. I don’t expect they get much of a crowd now. Not anyone’s idea of an away day, by the seaside.
Very impressed with how Arsenal started last night. The first 30 minutes were as good as we’ve seen this season. Howe reckoned it was the worst they’d played, but that was more than partly due to what we were doing to them. Playing at high tempo. The Emery days when we took 50 sideways passes at walking pace to get over the half way line, seem to have gone.
Needless to say, we couldn’t keep up that level of intensity for 90 minutes. Our fitness and concentration levels won’t allow it, but it’s a start. We’ve looked very vulnerable in the last 10 minutes of a lot of matches this season. Fitness again?
I didn’t think Willock had a bad game. He hasn’t got Ozil’s touch obviously, but what he has got is athleticism and a change of pace. Likewise Nketiah. Both Mesut and Laca are incredibly one paced. Refreshing to see movement up front at speed. At the end of the day, they’re kids. It’s great that we’ve got such a young team coming through.
Like you say Saka looks like he’s been playing left back for years. We’re going to have a pretty strong left hand side for years to come with any luck.
From a Portsmouth fan…
“Oh yeah.. when Fratton rocks it really does rock still.
I’m not sure what the atmosphere will be for the cup match -promotion is a priority but midweek under lights is usually special
If anything, the fans and atmosphere is more hard core than back in 2004.
We have been through so much from dodgy owners etc . We were on the brink and we saved out club by buying it as a Supporter Trust.
The atmosphere after that just ratchetted up a few notches
When we got promotion from league 2 before we sold the club. The last couple of months of that season cant put it into words. Up there with anything in 40 plus years.
And the ground is stil lovely old school. Bit of fixing here and there but the crowd are stil close up and personal
And Portsmouth is still a working class city -not too much tarting up.
Trust me.”
“Next up in the FA Cup is a trip even FURTHER down the south coast, to Pompey. ”
Bournemouth: 1 degree 54 minutes W
Portsmouth: 1 degree, 7 minutes W
Origin: Greenwich Meridian
(Source: Phillips School Atlas 1967, “borrowed” from Quintin School Library, March 1969)
None of which detracts from your point regarding the dedication of our travelling supporters.
DAMNIT!
I was thinking Portsmouth was where Plymouth is. That’s what I get for thinkin’
Tim said “South”, not “West”, but technically that is also incorrect.
Well, to be accurate, Tim said “…FURTHER down the south coast…”; the south coast covers a much greater east-west distance than north-south. The spatial difference between Portsmouth and Bournemouth north/south is 4 minutes of latitude (about 5 miles); east/west it’s 37 minutes of longitude (about 27 miles at 51lat.). Regardless, the away support will definitely not be travelling quite so far in the next round. Which should put them home by 12:30am, easy.
Yeah, almost a derby game.
Wonder if Pompey still has that scary dreadlocked drum carrying supporter.
The big derby game for Portsmouth is Southampton, of course. Not much love lost between the two of them. Pompey fans refer to them as “scummers”. I think it goes back to the fact that Southampton is a merchant navy town, whereas Portsmouth is Royal Navy.
I couldn’t see any of the game yesterday. The report sounds encouraging. However, Mustafi hurt seriously… bad news, especially in light of the news that Pablo Mari went back to Brazil. If we can’t afford him, no way are we bringing in the Ukrainian kid. I suppose we run with Xhaka as a back up CB.
Apparently Mustafi injury not as bad as first feared. It’s a sprained ankle which shouldn’t keep him out for too long.
mustafi is okay and we are in for another centre back Mykola Matviienko
Mykola Matviyenko – Wikipedia
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mykola_Matviyenko
a bit injury prone so should fit in great.
Are we though? If we can’t afford 7.5m for Pablo Mari, how are we affording 30m for Matviyenko?
Incidentally, all of the highlight clips for Matviyenko are tackles – where’s the winning of aerial duels, where’s the sure-footed clearances? I’ve said before – if my CB is making tackles, something wrong has happened in midfield.
Don’t know Jack Action. perhaps it’s on extended credit.
I always wonder why centre backs are tall and slow yet modern stikers are small, quick and agile.
Seems the only use of being tall is to stop opposing centre backs on corners.
Brazilian newspapers take Pablo Mari’s transfer to Arsenal for granted, he should return to London today 29. Flamengo already signed Léo Perreira, he will replace Pablo Mari
The Mari deal is back on. Flamengo have agreed a loan with an option to buy and he’s on his way back to London.
Facebook says we’ve signed him, so it’s true…
thw no 10 role in a 442 is second striker like Ray Kennedy or Alan Alan Sunderland In a modern system 433 traditionaly wingers take the 11 and 7 shirts so the 10 becomes the playmaker that used to be the 8 God aka DB10 was a little bit of both especially when TH14 moved out of his no9 role and moved into the 11 posution Pires 7 who played in the 11 position moved inside to the shirt 8 place . Freddie who should have had the no7 shirt but wore the 8 moved into the no 9 slot to tap ut in
Don’t know Jack Action. perhaps it’s on extended credit.
I always wonder why centre backs are tall and slow yet modern stikers are small, quick and agile.
Seems the only use of being tall is to stop opposing centre backs on corners.
Senderos is still having nightmares of Drogba bullying him around the pitch. CB’s should be tall, strong, composed and frightening. The best in the world – Chiellini, Bonucci, Thiago Silva, Virgil van Dyck, et al – to a man, 6’+ and intimidating.
I like Pablo Mari more – Tim Vickery has given him glowing praise and says he’s the reason Flamengo were able to play with a high line last season and stroll to the Brazilian title. 6’3″ and left footed. I say forget the Ukrainian and pony up for Pablo if we really need a CB.
To me it’s more about being smart and fearless rather than just size; players like like Cannavaro, Mascherano, Kolo Toure, and the immortal Franco Baresi are a few examples off the top of my head of CB’s who didn’t need size to be great. On the other hand if you have mental qualities like they have AND you have size, well then that makes for an incredible player, say, Tony Adams or Sol Campbell.
Mane, Salah, Jesus or Sterling v Senderos that would be fun.
i’d rather have little “Kozzer”
I absolutely despise that “Same old Arsenal…” chant. So much so that I’ve started hurling back “Same old [whomever]; full of bullsh*t”, even when it’s just me, alone, yelling at the telly.
For a bit of balance, I don’t think it’s exclusive to Arsenal, but I agree it can be despicable.
I like your idea JV. Let’s see if we can get that going around the stadium 👍
I’ve thought for a long time we should claim the ‘same old Arsenal’ chant as our own. Opposition fans only sing it when they are upset and their tears taste delicious.
I also heard it dates back from a very long time ago when we adopted playing 4-4-2 and using tactics rather than everyone else’s 4-2-4 and just running around system, which looked like cheating? Probably not true but I’m going to accept it.
Its funny how the #10 role has caused so much confusion and I think its a conversation that needs to be had in football. There has been so much discussion about the role no longer existing in modern day football and how athleticism might be replacing or just plainly better for such a role.
I will say that, for most people the legendary version of a #10 has been the player playing behind between the midfield and the attack, in order to connect the two. If a team does not have someone in that position in their starting formation, then such a role is seen as having been expunged. I see this differently. I think of the #10 , not as a position, but rather the job that the player in question has been given. I prefer the term playmaker over any other term, especially for our own #10.
In Pep’s 433, he has set his team up in such a way that David Silva is the player taking up the average positions of a #10. Most will say play-making for Pep is done by DeBruyne, but the exploitation of space is a very underrated but very important part of play-making. David Silva’s movement, touch, ability to roam the pitch and exploit gaps in the opposition structures, and his runs in behind is what makes him the teams true #10. The “trequartista”.
Liverpool have suffered from a lack of such a player in their 433, and they have used their fullbacks to take on the biggest burden of creating for the side. Firmino though, is a natural playmaker and he hasn’t changed his way of playing. His starting position in the formation is as a striker, but he is far from a false nine, he is playmaker in game.
What we have in Mesut is a very rare kind of playmaker. I laugh a lot when I hear that his type of player does not fit into modern day football or how they are not versatile enough, because all they are is versatility. A free role needs a player to be comfortable in the most pressed area on the pitch, zone 14, and move across the pitch to exploit space. There really aren’t many other players like Ozil, his type is rare. Even the conservative Jose Mourinho has said that there isn’t any player like Ozil, not even a bad version.
The role that we have Mesut playing is one of the most important roles on the pitch. We saw, under Emery, how a team that doesn’t utilize that space or role plays, and the shortcomings are really huge and still being felt right now.
I think Mesut is a special player. Do I think he is irreplaceable? No. To play in that role and take on the responsibility of facilitating the teams attack in the final third, I need to see far more from Willock that I don’t think he has in his locker. I feel like he is a box-to-box player in the Ramsey mould, but play-making? I don’t see it.
Ah, Dev. Again you nail the subtleties of Ozil’s play. Very good explainer. And have you noticed that for such a “soft” player, he rarely loses or turns over the ball? That dropping into the pockets of space is a special skill, one of which is shielding and protecting the ball — offloading with perfect timing, moving stealthily to receive in order to alleviate pressure elsewhere on an overload.
He has gaps in his game. For example, though Arteta has everyone working hard off the ball, including Ozil, he is a notably poor tackler. However, he does win the ball off opponents some. He’s playing and dropping deeper, and is therefore less involved at the business end, which is a shame. He and the rest of the non-Auba team need to be scoring more goals.
Some folks were bigging up Smith Rowe when Freddie started him, but I said that he was ready… he had the energy but not the tactical intelligence. I’m seeing Arsenal twitter calling for Willock in the Ozil role, on account of a good performance against a desperately poor Bournemouth; but Willock is box to box…a different player in the Ramsey mould.
The best of our “kids” are Saka and Martinelli. The others — including Eddie — are somewhere off being able to consistently displace the senior players from their places. Youre right — Ozil isn’t irreplacable; no one is. But he’s a darned important player for us.
I mostly agree with this. I only want to add that I really hope Mesut is replaceable because he is, like, 80 years old.
Devlin
Interesting analysis. Unfortunately I think its become quite clear that Mesut Ozil is no longer the playmaker he once which is one of the reasons we have struggled so badly to create chances during the Emery/Ljundberg and so far with Arteta. When Emery took over the team I think he envisioned Ozil and Mkhitaryan giving us a wealth of playmaking ability and early in his tenure he used both players in his lineups. Unfortunately he over estimated how much gas they had in the tank and it did not work
I think the Arsene Wenger era with Fabregas and then Cazorla/Ozil has lead us to believe that a team must have a central midfielder who is a great #10 and he is the playmaker in chief. However, there are a lot of different ways to be successful playing football. I don’t think our invincible 03/04 team had a true #10. Dennis Bergkamps was fading and he only started about 1/2 the games that season. That team got its creativity from all over the park and I think Thierry Henry was the leading assist creator and he was clearly not the player who linked attack to defense. Fergies teams did not really have a designated playmaker after Paul Scholes faded and they out scored Arsene’s team every season after 2005. I remember him having a starting midfield with players like Fletcher and Park. The current of Liverpool team does not have a playmaker in chief.
Bill
I have issues with how you put the judgement on Ozil and the justification for such judgement.
For me, the team must come first when analyzing players. What they do well, how it fits into the team’s style of play, how it offsets their teammates weaknesses and how their teammates offset that particular player’s weaknesses. That’s not to say that players can not be improved upon, but the qualities that each individual brings to the table should not be ignored. I hear a lot of what Ozil does not bring, but a replacement does not have to be a player that will fix one problem and create two new problems. Look into what Ozil is good at, look closely into what he consistently brings to the team and find a solution that can offer us the good that he brings, without the weaknesses that he has. In short, improve on the player instead of replacing them.
This will mean most people will have to start looking for the good in players they dislike, but a coach’s job is to find the most possible utility from what he has and what Ozil brings on a regular basis is vital to whatever good the team does. It might not be flashy or register with most, but that does not mean it isn’t important.
It is why I find the inconsistency thing funny. We have had Ozil here for almost 7 years and consistency is still seen as an issue, why? because people’s expectations were never adjusted to the reality of the player they had. People are still looking at him as a messiah type in the same way that Walcott was still looked at as the replacement for Thierry. No person can be inconsistent for 7 years, people are just not paying attention at what he does in every game and looking at what they have been expecting Ozil to do since he arrived in 2013.
So for me, I looked into what Ozil has done at Arsenal during his time here and I know what to look for in each game that Ozil plays in order to judge him. I knew he couldn’t tackle well years ago, so why fuss about that for 7 years. I know most of his assists are from crosses out wide rather than passing through the middle, so I will judge his crossing a lot more than the final through balls, unless its on the counter. I know he helps us bypass the opposition midfield by finding pockets of space behind them, so receiving the ball, shielding it, protecting it and connecting that pass through the lines to the attack is something I always look for from him. I know that Ozil likes to move into the half spaces to create overloads with the winger and fullback, in order to generate crossing opportunities from combinations. I know that Ozil is a very good decision maker on the counter in terms of movement to take advantage of space, his vision on the ball and the timing of his runs and passes. I know that if the team is failing to transition well from defence to attack, Ozil will drop deeper to help or make himself available for balls in behind the fullbacks if the opposition push up without pressing. I go into every game with that checklist in mind, and taking everything that has happened around the team and its overall setup, he hasn’t disappointed me that much.
I don’t expect an assist, its too dependent on teammates to finish off chances. I don’t rely on chances created, it relies on the quality of movement of teammates. I don’t rely on dominating possession against anyone, it relies on the quality of the side and the coaching. I don’t expect goals, he has always been a shy shooter like Lacazette, and Ozil plays further away from goal than him. So consistency wise he has not been great, but he has been good for a long time now.
For anyone expecting that the removal of such a key player will not have an impact in how we play, you are fooling yourself. Arsene had his weaknesses like Ozil, but what Emery showed was that what Arsene did good was underrated. During the final years of Arsene’s tenure, people would say “Arsenal’s problems are the defence, we know they will always score goals”. The scoring goals part was so common that people forgot the attack was coached regularly by Wenger. When we replaced him, we noticed that we were not only finding a solution to the weaknesses of the previous coach, we had to then face the weaknesses of his replacement, and if not analyzed well enough, you end up worse.
So the subtle things that you might think are a given in this team with or without Ozil, might just come back to bite us if Ozil isn’t replaced appropriately. I mean, who ever thought that Arsenal’s style of play and attack would be something to fix after two years of Arsene leaving?
Devlin
I understand and fully accept there are subtle things happening on a football pitch that a lot of average fans do not really see when they watch a game. However, this Arsenal squad is in desperate need of a player who can break down the defense in the final 1/3 and help to create high percentage scoring chances. We need someone who can give us production in terms of goals and assists. The sort of production we need used to be what Ozil was really good and its the biggest reason he gained the reputation as one of the worlds greatest #10’s. However in the last 5 years his goals + assists have been 25, 17, 12, 7 and so far this season 1. This season Ozil came back to the regular starting line up about 14 games ago and I have not seen any real subjective evidence to suggest that we are a much better attacking team because of him and objectively we certainly have not been scoring more goals. The bottom line is what we really need is something closer to the Mesut Ozil who gave us 25 goals and assists but that is probably not going to happen no matter who is the manager or which tactical set up we use.
Bill
I like what you said there and completely agree with you. What we need is the Ozil who gave us those numbers and also gave us the rest of his game as well. My point is that, we only got that once in 7 odd years, it should be clear by now that that number is amazing coming from a player playing for the 4th best team in England, while slowly becoming worse every season during that period.
There is also no player in the squad that can give us what he currently does and playing someone else in his position might fix certain issues, but it will definitely create additional issues.
On his numbers, I have observed so many changes and bad spells for the club on the pitch which has affected everyone. There really hasn’t been any stand out players who have been “team players” or “playmakers” for Arsenal since Santi’s injury. No player, who is so involved in making the team play, is immune from the kind of down slide we have seen from this club. Ozil’s trajectory is the same as everyone’s, other than Aubameyang. His standing and the current unrealistic expectations, like him having to make a significant change to Emery’s plainly horrible attack, is what is being used to bash him.
Hector and Holding, who were hailed as Emery’s saving grace would have endured the same fate because they wouldn’t have made a significant change with their abilities, to bad instructions. The quality of play, system and confidence has uplifted a team that people thought were untalented. I am waiting to see if Mesut adapts or falters. this is the first time in a while where I can say, he has the best platform to fully express himself since 13/14 and the start of 16/17.
So can we ask for more from Ozil? of course, but I think we should be realistic in what we consistently want from our players and also apply context as much as possible. I mean any criticism of Ozil or any of our attacking players under Emery is redundant to me.
We really need a central midfielder who is adept at turning defense into attack quickly and effectively and another midfielder who is good at creating in the final 1/3 and can score an occasional goal but we don’t have either of those right now.
A central midfielder who can turn defense into attack quickly would be Joe Willock or Mesut Ozil, as both can carry the ball and Mesut can split a defense wide open. Arguably the player who turns defense into attack most quickly would be David Luiz and his pinpoint long range passing, or Xhaka on his day, or Mustafi if his little mini Reneissance continues.
Arsenal games are fun again!
I’m so impressed with the reclamation of a series of “damaged goods” Arsenal players who were seen as having little to no value just a month ago now stepping forward and delivering confident displays.
Granit Xhaka: Seemed destined to leave for Hertha on a cut-price deal amidst acrimony, now he’s part of a stable and functional midfield unit and looking like he wants to be here. With the injury crisis at LB, he is being sensibly used as a LCB/LM hybrid role playing behind a very advanced attacking LWB in Saka, and that platform has helped the youngster shine in the advanced positions he prefers. Xhaka for his part seems to embrace the role. Brilliant management.
Lucas Torreira: On the fringes of the first team with Emery or deployed in an unfamiliar advanced pressing role, there was buzz about him leaving the club. Under Arteta, he has simply been restored to his best position at the base of midfield and asked to do what he does best. He has responded with a string of man of the match performances, stabilizing an Arsenal defense that was bereft of all confidence. Simple, effective man management.
Mesut Ozil: Understandably bearing the brunt of fan frustration for poor offensive showings in recent months and years, the playmaker too has been put back into the advanced central but more importantly, free range role where he is best. He has responded by consistently putting in top levels of effort off the ball, something I admit I never thought he could or would do again. The stuff on the ball, like the assists and goals, will come as he continues to mesh with the team around him . His skill remains undiminished.
Shkodran Mustafi: I admit I thought this was a lost cause and it may still be. No matter how good a player is for 89:59 of a football match if he consistently has one second of madness that costs his team a goal. When I saw the Arsenal.com love-in for him, I knew it meant he was back in the fold and I can see why Arteta would want to reclaim him if possible. He can pass! I think that’s a big reason he was signed in the first place. Compared to a static defender such as Sokratis or Holding, it’s easy to see the benefit of a passing CB like him when we have the ball. Unfortunately the Chelsea game showed the calamity is not far underneath the surface. Still, after just a few games he’s gone from “scrapheap” to “maybe?” and that’s a big step forward.
Arteta is freaking brilliant.
Excellent analysis, Doctor.
Mustafi’s fundamentals as a defender are very sound. He’s good in the air — at both ends — and he is a good passer. My knock against him is that he does not seem particularly physically robust. he never quite seems up for the fight. I’ve seen him limp off so many times.
But yes, he’s living a second life under Arteta.
My knock besides the one big error per game, of course.
Dr Gooner
If Willock, Ozil, Luiz and Mustafi can all quickly and effectively turn defense into attack then why haven’t they been doing it? If Ozil can still split the defense wide open then why doesn’t he do it once in a while? In the case of Xhaka, Mustafi and Ozil we have 3-4 years of evidence under Wenger, Emery and Ljundberg that is contrary to what you believe but I admire your optimism.
I am kinda with you on this one Bill .
Its not to say that these players cant or never could turn defense into attack, but I don’t think they currently are or have been that quick in doing so. The speed of transitioning depends on the availability of different passing options and for a while, our squad composition (Wenger) and tactics (Emery) have not given these players enough of a platform to perform to their best. But under Arteta, there are no reasons for these players to not produce.
The splitting defences open part though, doesn’t happen that often with anyone playing at the highest level, unless you are referring to the pass between the centreback and the fullback. This pass also depends on the runs in behind and the initial build up to pull opposition defenders out of position. So to give sole responsibility to any player to make a team move work is just down right unfair, whether it the player building up play, making the pass or the run in behind, or just moving defenders away by making decoy runs.
Creativity, just like defending is a team thing. There are amazing individual defenders like VVD and Koulibaly, but they do not keep the opposition at bay by themselves. Likewise with creators, they do not make magical passes to players who do not move or shoot and expect assists.
In good teams, great players thrive and in great teams, great players become legendary. I think we can all see that we are more a team now than we have been in many years right?
Dunno Bill, I’ve seen ample evidence of all of those guys to know they can pass accurately from the deep positions. Like Devlin says, whether that translates to a meaningful attack depends on a whole team dynamic. There’s a big difference between stating what a player can be capable of and how his team actually performs.
Sorry guys but I disagree.
The clean slate notwithstanding Mustafi’s fundamentals as a defender are not sound. Whether this is a function of his loss of confidence or not is up for debate but his on the pitch positioning is often poor, his one v one defending is more than suspect , and his decision making flawed.
I don’t know his passing % but my guess would be they aren’t great either, especially the middle to long range balls.
I think given an opportunity to unload him come Summer for anything close to what might be considered a face saving deal (10m+) , Arsenal would pull the trigger.
I wish him well and he seems like a nice enough guy but I don’t see him in Arteta’s next season roster…….not by choice anyway.
I’m with you on this Tom, I think if we can recoup some sort of sale value we can and should move on from him gladly.
Our team defense has certainly improved in the last several games and Torriera has looked much better then he did before Arteta. The energy, focus and effort of the squad are visibly better. It doesn’t take great talent to play solid team defense, it takes commitment which has been lacking in the last couple seasons under wenger and during the Emery/Ljungberg era. We have had short lived false dawns under both Wenger and Emery but hopefully this new dynamic will last.
Just watched the Mari YouTube compilation. Not necessarily a reliable gauge of a players worth, but he looked pretty useful to me. Strong in the air, which we lack. I can see him coming up for corners and creating problems. It looks like one of his stock balls out of defence is a left footed diagonal ball out to the right wing. Theoretically that should bring Pepe into play a lot more often. I never think he gets the ball early enough.
I love how much better we could become on the ball with him in our side. Can you imagine David Luiz on the other side with his ability to hit the long diagonal to the left wing. We have enough pace to scare any team with runs in behind. If Mari is good enough, we will pose some very interesting problems for our opposition.
1. If you press us high with a high line, we have the structure and players good enough to quickly exploit the space behind you. Long range passing from the back, pace and dribbling up front.
2. If you press but keep your defence deeper, then you create space for us to pass around you if your midfield doesn’t follow the press, or find Ozil in space if your midfield pushes up to help and leaves the defence deeper.
3. If you decide to sit deep, then we start our play from further up the pitch and in your danger areas. Balls in behind can now be played at different angles to both sides of the opposition area, making man marking a priority when playing against our highly mobile strikers. it also allows our most creative players to cross the ball a lot, like City.
I hope Mari is good enough and helps us in transitioning, because defensively, I don’t see how we will not be formidable next season. Arteta has us defending as a team, from front to back. With time, we will play to the quality that is present in our ranks, which is very high.
Devlin
My definition of splitting a defense is helping to create a high percentage chance. It does not have to be thru ball or any specific type of move or pass.
I accept that the whole team has not been great during the last few years. However, Auba came in January 2 years ago which roughly the same time when Mesut Ozil signed the big contract. During those 2 years Auba won the golden boot is one of the 10 best strikers in the world and he has one of the best finishing percentages in the world during that time. During that same 2 year time period since signing the contract Ozil has created a total of 4 assists. If he had made just 1 pass to Auba in a reasonably dangerous position every 2-3 games he probably would have at least 10 and more likely low teens in assists during that time. Passes to players in dangerous areas were the thing that made Mesut special and that’s the number 1 thing we are paying him to do. Unfortunately Father Time has caused that 6th sense to see those openings and the ability to execute the passes to fade away. That is what happens to every great creative player in history when they hit the downside of their career arc. If we want to become a team that is capable of challenging for the top of the table using the strategy I suspect Arteta wants we probably need to buy a central midfielder who can of create assists and score a few goals.
Pablo Mari and now Cedric. Good business as far as I’m concerned. I know nothing of PM apart from Stillman’s article, but he fits the age profile, and that he’s left footed is a big plus. As long as he’s defensively sound (Stillman likens him to Per) good passing from the CBs is very valuable and with Luiz, plus Xhaka in midfield we could once again be a long ball threat. Auba, Pepe and Martinelli would trouble any defense they break on.
We probably still need a box to box midfielder like a certain Welshman, who can play with Mesut between the lines and also be a goal threat. But that’s for next season.
Cedric seemed a very good player a couple of seasons ago. I’m not sure what happened. But he fills a need. Is versatile, can play either side. Maybe this also frees up AMN to play in the middle. I know Tim doesn’t see him as a midfielder, but Wenger did. AMN was the one portrayed as the poster boy for Emery’s ‘detailed files’. So the club saw potential in him. I’m not convinced he’s the answer, but I’d like to see what Arteta thinks.