Sentences with phrase «in central defensive roles»

We have even allowed ourselves to play both Nacho Monreal and Sead Kolasinac out of position in central defensive roles, but the crazy thing is we allowed Gabriel Paulista to leave during this time, and now look set to allow Shkodran Mustafi to leave also.

Phil Jones and Chris Smalling have both featured in the position in their early Manchester United careers; however, Louis van Gaal is eager to develop the pair's experience and partnership in central defence, and they were both deployed only in the central defensive role in the Dutchman's debut Old Trafford campaign.

Likewise, Azpilicueta has been Antonio Conte's goto man playing in the central defensive role primarily.

Not exact matches

Anfield boss Brendan Rodgers has improved his central midfield options over the summer with experienced England international James Milner offering Liverpool a versatile weapon whilst last summer's addition Emre Can has matured into a player who's best position is in a defensive enforcer role.

In turn, he has established himself as a highly important figure at the club, showing his versatility to adapt to a central defensive role to fill a gap that will most certainly need addressing in the upcoming transfer window next montIn turn, he has established himself as a highly important figure at the club, showing his versatility to adapt to a central defensive role to fill a gap that will most certainly need addressing in the upcoming transfer window next montin the upcoming transfer window next month.

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

I know that the Arsenal squad does still contain the France international right back Matthieu Debuchy, as the pictures on the Arsenal website of the players training before the Burnley match reminded us, while Rob Holding the young summer signing from Bolton Wanderers has played in the position as well as his more usual central defensive role.

Fabinho has largely played central midfield in a defensive role for Monaco this season, though he has also shown himself capable of playing in defence in the past.

Although a natural central midfielder, the Germany international can play in a more defensive role and even a winger.

If Iwobi can work on his defensive game, putting tackles in and having the right stamina, He should be ahead of Ramsey in that central midfield role.

Walcott has been clamouring to be a central striker for years and Wenger obviously now thinks he is mature enough to be the new Thierry Henry, while Jack Wilshere has been winning Man - Of - The - Match accolades in his defensive role for England.

Jeremy Toulalan, who has since been made into a central defender at club level, was not his best in a defensive midfield role.

Predominantly a right - back, Wenger wants reinforcement in that position as he plans to move Calum Chambers into a central defensive role on a more regular basis.

Paul Scholes, a man who knows all about that central midfield role, has been talking about Wilshere in The Independent and feels that he needs a defensive midfielder next to him, just as he and Frank Lampard had, to allow him to really flourish.

Imagine for instance you put ramsey and wilshere in central middfield role, it will prove the most defensive loophole...

Villalba was kept on the right, Nagbe stayed in the defensive midfield, and Julian Gressel was plugged in as that central attacker, Almirón's typical role.

With Bayer Leverkusen central defensive organiser, Omer Toprak likely to be out until the end of the year after rupturing tendons in his left - hamstring during a pre-season friendly, the Rhineland outfit are desperate to plug the hole and after trying and failing to bring in Bayern Munich's Brazilian stopper, Dante — who seems quite content with a second banana role at the Allianz - Arena — «Werkself» director of sport, Rudi Voller will have to look elsewhere for emergency cover, maybe in the direction of Wolfsburg back - up, Timm Klose or Tobias Strobl at Hoffenheim.

Skipper Michael Bradley marshalled the backline from his defensive midfield role, as he constantly retreated back to split the central defenders in order to dictate the play.

Many believe there could have been some additions to the central midfield role, in the form of a true defensive midfielder, however Rodgers has kept his trust with Henderson, Allen, Lucas and, club captain, Steven Gerrard.

Like a lot of the team, Monreal went through a tough spell in the first - half of the season as he was asked to fill - in in an unfamiliar central defensive role.

The 20 - year - old is primarily a defensive midfielder but is equally adept to playing as a central midfielder in a double pivot role.

His size also helped him barge players off the ball with minimal fuss despite playing in central defence as opposed to his original role as a defensive midfielder.

On a personal note, Milner was deployed in a central midfield role against Athletic, moving back into the position from the defensive berth he's mainly operated in over the last 12 months.