Not exact matches
When Arsenal played with Arteta as
defensive midfielder that situation never occurs he tends to control the flow and pace
of Arsenal game with his passing and by
holding his position, he also runs into space very well and always available for a pass.
But his age is making me to panic
of his manning the Gunners
defensive holding midfield role against the speedy Barca's pouncers in Feb Ucl clash at the Ems in Feb next year.
Arsenal do not possess much in the way
of effective
defensive or
holding midfielders, with the number
of creative talents far outweighing those who can get «stuck - in» and offer protection.
If its Cavalho, then Chambers becomes Vermaleen's replacement and Hector is coming
of age as our second Right Back for the season (Jenkinson is still on our books though not available to us this season) and if its Sokratis, Chambers will become our
holding /
defensive midfielder.
Busquets would be a fine addition to Guardiola's Man City team, as the
defensive midfielder is regarded as one
of the best
holding midfielders of all time by some.
Laurent Blanc responded to the loss
of his most
defensive midfielder in somewhat surprising fashion, throwing on a much more attacking player in Lucas Moura and abandoning the 3 -5-2 that PSG had struggled with in favor
of a 4 -3-3, bringing Marquinhos off the back line to serve as his
holding midfielder.
Sort out the 2 central defenders and a world class keeper and a proven
defensive holding midfielder and that side is capable
of winning league title.
Mourinho has a host
of defensive and
holding midfield options at present, with Serbian Nemanja Matic now the regular in the Chelsea starting line - up.
If Arsenal stick with three centre backs then Mustafi must be considered a far better choice for the third birth alongside Kos and
Holding rather then Monreal.Kolasinac has to come back in at left eing - back and Bellerin revert to the right.
Midfield is a very different matter.Arsenal still desperately need a proper
defensive central player.Ozil in this current side can not be considered anything more than a luxury.All
of Bournemouth's creativity will come down the flanks so it's necessary to put players on to the pitch who are prepared to fulfill their
defensive duties.This also means that unless Ramsey can work out that he's playing in
midfield not as a number 10 he has no place on the team either.
I maintain Ramsey s more
of a curse than a blessing... no10 role is nt jes fr him.He shud stick more to keeping d
midfield together n his
defensive input... Walcott still nt convincing enough... jes need som1 exciting up front for once... not jes speed
of even
hold up play... itz gotten us this far, need sth diff yet again... And som1 pls tap Ox, the game s started!
If Gabriel Paulista does leave Arsenal this summer due to his likely becoming surplus to requirements at Arsenal which himself might have sensed, apart
of the 4 specialist defenders
of: Koscielny, Monreal, Mustafi and
holding who have been regularly manning the Arsenal back three line
of recent, other centre backs like Mertersacker & Chambers, and
defensive wingbacks
of Bellerin, Kolasinac, and the
defensive midfielders of Elneny & Niles, can all also play as centrebacks in a back three or back four denfese - line whenever the need arised.
The only plan i see in this line - up is camping outside the box, thinking
of how we're playing playmakers (Ramsey + Wilshere) instead
of the winger in Walcott and
holding defensive midfielder in Coq.
Podolski will play the
defensive holding midfielder in place
of Ramsey and covers the overlapping Gibbs.
Despite man city spending over 200m pounds in d summer, just two injuries, they r playing a
midfielder as a lwb and mangala is their
defensive cover u guys should just stop moaning,, i think arsenal still have cover this season, a striking trio
of welbeck, giroud and walcot can
hold their own, a
midfield duo
of Wilshire and elneny can
hold their own, we might be light in defence buh not as terrible as u guys r exaggerating it, trsnsfer window is over let's support d guys
Are you serious??? That's not even mentioning the clear lack
of defensive depth and no quality
holding midfielder.
Flamini cant do anything with the ball, old school type
of defensive midfielder... have said it time without number, that Ozil is not a complete attacking
midfielder, all he can do is just to pass, he cant
hold the ball, he cant dribble through tight spaces something which Iniesta, yaya, silva, santi, coutinho all do with ease... he almost cost us a goal if not for Cech heroics........
This is an incredibly difficult question to answer for a variety
of reasons, most importantly because over the years our once vaunted «beautiful» style
of play has become a shadow
of it's former self, only to be replaced by a less than stellar «plug and play» mentality where players play out
of position and adjustments / substitutions are rarely forthcoming before the 75th minute... if you look at our current players, very few would make sense in the traditional Wengerian system... at present, we don't have the personnel to move the ball quickly from deep - lying position, efficient one touch
midfielders that can make the necessary through balls or the disciplined and pacey forwards to stretch defences into wide positions, without the aid
of the backs coming up into the final 3rd, so that we can attack the
defensive lanes in the same clinical fashion we did years ago... on this current squad, we have only 1 central defender on staf, Mustafi, who seems to have any prowess in the offensive zone or who can even pass two zones through so that we can advance play quickly out
of our own end (I have seen some inklings that suggest
Holding might have some offensive qualities but too early to tell)... unfortunately Mustafi has a tendency to get himself in trouble when he gets overly aggressive on the ball... from our backs out wide, we've seen pace from the likes
of Bellerin and Gibbs and the spirited albeit offensively stunted play
of Monreal, but none
of these players possess the skill - set required in the offensive zone for the new Wenger scheme which requires deft touches, timely runs to the baseline and consistent crossing, especially when Giroud was playing and his ratio
of scored goals per clear chances was relatively low (better last year though)... obviously I like Bellerin's future prospects, as you can't teach pace, but I do worry that he regressed last season, which was obvious to Wenger because there was no way he would have used Ox as the right side wing - back so often knowing that Barcelona could come calling in the off - season, if he thought otherwise... as for our
midfielders, not a single one, minus the more confident Xhaka I watched played for the Swiss national team a couple years ago, who truly makes sense under the traditional Wenger model... Ramsey
holds onto the ball too long, gives the ball away cheaply far too often and abandons his
defensive responsibilities on a regular basis (doesn't score enough recently to justify): that being said, I've always thought he does possess a little something special, unfortunately he thinks so too... Xhaka is a little too slow to ever boss the
midfield and he tends to telegraph his one true strength, his long ball play: although I must admit he did get a bit better during some points in the latter part
of last season... it always made me wonder why whenever he played with Coq Wenger always seemed to play Francis in a more advanced role on the pitch... as for Coq, he is way too reckless at the wrong times and has exhibited little offensive prowess yet finds himself in and around the box far too often... let's face it Wenger was ready to throw him in the trash heap when injuries forced him to use Francis and then he had the nerve to act like this was all part
of a bigger Wenger constructed plan... he like Ramsey, Xhaka and Elneny don't offer the skills necessary to satisfy the quick transitory nature
of our old offensive scheme or the stout
defensive mindset needed to protect the
defensive zone so that our offensive players can remain aggressive in the final third... on the front end, we have Ozil, a player
of immense skill but stunted by his physical demeanor that tends to offend, the fact that he's been played out
of position far too many times since arriving and that the players in front
of him, minus Sanchez, make little to no sense considering what he has to offer (especially Giroud); just think about the quick counter-attack offence in Real or the space and protection he receives in the German National team's
midfield, where teams couldn't afford to focus too heavily on one individual... this player was a passing «specialist» long before he arrived in North London, so only an arrogant or ignorant individual would try to reinvent the wheel and / or not surround such a talent with the necessary components... in regards to Ox, Walcott and Welbeck, although they all possess serious talents I see them in large part as headless chickens who are on the injury table too much, lack the necessary first - touch and / or lack the finishing flair to warrant their inclusion in a regular starting eleven; I would say that,
of the 3, Ox showed the most upside once we went to a back 3, but even he became a bit too consumed by his pending contract talks before the season ended and that concerned me a bit... if I had to choose one
of those 3 players to stay on it would be Ox due to his potential as a plausible alternative to Bellerin in that wing - back position should we continue to use that formation... in Sanchez, we get one
of the most committed skill players we've seen on this squad for some years but that could all change soon, if it hasn't already
of course... strangely enough, even he doesn't make sense given the constructs
of the original Wenger offensive model because he
holds onto the ball too long and he will give the ball up a little too often in the offensive zone... a fact that is largely forgotten due to his infectious energy and the fact that the numbers he has achieved seem to justify the means... finally, and in many ways most crucially, Giroud, there is nothing about this team or the offensive system that Wenger has traditionally employed that would even suggest such a player would make sense as a starter... too slow, too inefficient and way too easily dispossessed... once again, I think he has some special skills and, at times, has showed some world - class qualities but he's lack
of mobility is an albatross around the necks
of our offence... so when you ask who would be our best starting 11, I don't have a clue because
of the 5 or 6 players that truly deserve a place in this side, 1 just arrived, 3 aren't under contract beyond 2018 and the other was just sold to Juve... man, this is theraputic because following this team is like an addiction to heroin without the benefits
As much as I respect Arteta and Flamini, there are plenty
of younger and better
holding /
defensive midfielders out there.
THis is the first time we will see Xhaka and Cazorla starting in
midfield and the way they play could decide the outcome
of the match, as could the new
defensive pairing
of Holding and Koscielny.
he is not a
defensive midfielder, and his not that offensive player but i love the guy he is a good passer
of the ball, we need
holding midfielder, arsenal are too expose in the middle
of the park.....
Bring in Ospina for Cech; Gabriel for Koscielny (Kos is 31 and its time we start testing Gabriel and
Holding beside Mustafi to see what our long term first choice
defensive partnership will look like); Gibbs for Monreal (Wenger needs to start rotating these 2 more frequently as we need to ascertain if Gibbs can adequately produce the quality to
hold that position from next season for a few years as I'm thinking this might be Nacho's last or penultimate season with Arsenal, it will also give a hint as to the type
of Left - back to target in the summer — first teamer or backup and age as well); I'll like to see an Elneny — Xhaka partnership in this fixture as we might just never know, this might be our replica
of the Kos Mustafa partnership in the centre
of the park, Two disciplined (positionally, i mean) central
midfielders who can play box to box; Chamberlain for Iwobi, and Perez for Alexis should do the work.
It was a long list
of names associated with 2 key positions — a
holding /
defensive midfielder and a striker.
What about Lampards discipline for England when he didn't have the benefit
of playing ahead
of two
holding midfielders, did Lampard juggle his attacking and
defensive instincts with aplomb..
Yeah I'm bang on with you Grandad.Chambers again looked fairly solid and certainly did not let the side down like Mustafi AGAIN.
Holding came on and did what was required from him in the centre as Chambers moved to RB.COULD Chambers and
Holding really perform together as CB's in a back four?NO and nor could anyone else without the TOP QUALITY CENTRAL
DEFENSIVE MIDFIELDER we have been crying out for since the departure
of Gilberto.
The reason why this happens is because the
defensive midfielder is not
holding his position and does not control the flow
of the game.
Keeping Giroud on this squad with the promise
of substantial playing time... the offensive tactics
of this squad is way too indirect and is much more reflective
of a
hold up play / cross in the box scheme that suits Giroud's skill - sets but can't continue if Wenger really wants Lacazette to be successful... without Sanchez on the pitch this offence is a little bit like a headless chicken, passing sideways, providing relatively poor service to undersized players and sub-par finishing... this isn't to suggest that Arsenal can't perform without Alexis but this offensive scheme is antiquated and ill - advised, especially considering our personnel (poor man's Barca)... if Arsenal doesn't want to pay the price to get topnotch players so we can press high and play all out attack, we would be better served by adopting a counterattack approach... unfortunately that would mean developing a far less skittish
defensive group that could withstand the pressure and we all know that Wenger hasn't opted for that approach considering our
defensive pickups in recent years and the lack
of a «boss» in the
midfield
There were lots
of sweets moments in that match; Sanchez perfect ball to Ozil,
Holding's ball playing and aerial dominance, Xhaka's tantalizing forward passes and
defensive awareness, Cazorla's technical excellence and nerve settling penalty goal, Ozil's run from
midfield to create an option for Sanchez, Walcott was busy throughout, and Cech's outstanding saves....
Do you believe that Mourinho wouldn't have wanted a more
defensive unit and plenty
of the worlds best
holding midfielders.
I know that the new signings are showing their worth too, like André Gomes» contributions to
holding and shifting the
midfield, Samuel Umtiti's physicality and
defensive awareness, and Lucas Digne's understanding
of an attacking / defending fullback position and his ability to challenge Jordi Alba as Barcelona's left - back.
The suggestion that Dier is the third best
defensive midfielder at Spurs doesn't necessarily
hold up when you consider that he played 36 out
of a possible 38 league games last season.
An additional
defensive /
holding midfielder would be another at the top
of my priority list.
Since the departure
of Javier Mascherano to Barcelona in 2010, Liverpool have never had a rock solid central
holding midfield star to protect the
defensive line.
The idea was presumably to stop Napoli from playing out from the back, but since Wolfsburg's
defensive line didn't push up behind their
holding midfielders, perhaps worried about Gonzalo Higuain looking to run in behind, it only succeeded in leaving Marek Hamsik in acres
of space.
He's strong on the ball, capable
of holding up the ball with his back to goal and brushing off
defensive pressure, but frequently lays it off quickly to his teammates — either back to the
midfielders behind him or to the sides, before moving into space to receive it back again.
Powell's average position on the night was higher than any player in Portland's
defensive line, and even that
of holding midfielder Diego Chara.
is song our
defensive midfielder, how far does he push up, does arteta
hold or release, and should ramsey push as far forward as he does at the risk
of losing the ball and exposing song to cheap fouls nd costly yellows..
The attack is better with the edition
of Barco and Nagbe, but Yamil Asad (RIP) did a remarkable amount
of defending and a Nagbe - Carmona
holding midfield isn't going to match the
defensive output
of the Larry - Carmona pairing last season.