Sentences with phrase «long over the midfield»

I managed against Mourinho when he was at Chelsea and he's not afraid to hit long over the midfield.

Not exact matches

• Jack is off.No doubts now.Error ridden display.Get him off the wage bill and replace with someone who can make a difference • Ramsey is still an enigma for me.Much as I think we could do better I also feel with a better balanced midfield he is capable of producing for us.Would keep him over Jack all day long.

Should the former Saint - Etienne man make midfield his long - term position, Mourinho would require a youthful centre - back to one day take over from Terry.

Jurgen Klopp is a long - term admirer of Oxlade - Chamberlain, and a move to Anfield to link up with the German tactician could be an ideal solution for the midfielder as it would undoubtedly help with his development over the next few years.

It always looked like a coup when West Ham secured the season long loan signing of former Arsenal midfielder Alex Song from Barcelona — and so it has proved, with the Cameroonian putting in a stunning display during the recent win over Manchester City at Upton Park.

In the midfield, (including RWB & LWB) we have a whole bunch of tweeners... none offer the full package, none make sense in our manager's current favourite formation, except for Sead on the left and Ox on the right, and all of them have never shown any consistency for more than a heartbeat... Sead, who I'm including in this category because of our present formation, looks like a positive addition, minus his occasional brain farts, but I would rather see what he could do in a back 4 before making my mind up... Ox, who has never played better, which isn't saying much considering his largely underwhelming play in previous seasons, seems to have found a home in this new formation; unfortunately, can we really expect this oft - injured player to handle the taxing duties that come with said position over the long haul, not to mention, it looks like he has no intention of staying... Ramsey has relied on the empathy that stems from his gruesome injury years ago and the excitement that was generated a few years back when he finally seemed to put in altogether, but on the whole he has been a big disappointment (neither he nor the Ox have scored enough to warrant a regular spot)... Wiltshire should be put on a weekly contract then played until he suffers his first injury, if and when that occurs he should be shipped - out and no one should very be allowed to say his name on club grounds ever again... Elnehy & Coq are average players who couldn't make any of the top 7 teams currently in the EPL... both have showed some great energy on the pitch, but neither are top quality and no good team can afford to have that many average players on their bench playing the same position, especially with Coq's injury history / discipline concerns and Elheny's headless chicken tendencies... as for Xhaka, his tenure here so far has been incredibly underwhelming... we know he has some skills to provide the long ball but his defensive work is piss poor and he gives the ball away too cheaply and far too often... finally, the enigma himself, Ozil, so much skill with his left foot but his presence has been more frustrating than uplifting... in many respects his failure has been directly related to the failure of this club to provide him with the necessary players up front, minus Sanchez of course, and unless something drastic happens very soon his legacy will be largely a negative one (much like Wenger's)

SEE ALSO: Arsenal & Atletico Madrid set for possible midfielder transfer in shock January deal Ex-Arsenal striker casts doubts over Jack Wilshere's long - term fitness following latest injury setback Arsenal star faces up to one month on the sidelines after sustaining injury in Champions League opener

SEE ALSO: Highly - rated Spanish defender Hector Bellerin signs new long - term deal with Arsenal [Video] Arsenal midfielder Mathieu Flamini set to hold talks with Galatasaray over potential transfer [Video] Five BIG transfers that look set to go through in the next 48 hours: Liverpool DOUBLE deal & another Man Utd buy

So let down, not over welbeck but for the fact no defence midfielder, top 4 best we can hope for no chance of the title, going to be a long season and a short champions league run

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

Everton have taken a deserved lead against Lille in their Europa League tie at Goodison Park, with long - serving midfielder Leon Osman striking home a fine effort at the far post — but did Lille have a point with their furious protestations over a potential handball by Osman?

No proper winger at all, — I do not count Walcott, since he is thankfully out of the eighteen and long may he stay out — just a succession of average central midfielders or strikers over the years played wide and out of position for many years past.

Manchester City could be without midfielder Ilkay Gundogan for a long time after he damaged his knee ligaments during his side's 2 - 0 victory over Watford this evening, report Manchester Evening News.

Victory prolongs careers, rightly and wrongly, and so Spain went into the tournament with a goalkeeper who is no longer first - choice for his club, and without having needed to identify a workable alternative to the Xavi - Xabi midfield, both of whom have been getting noticeably leggy over the last two seasons.

Time for some brutal honesty... this team, as it stands, is in no better position to compete next season than they were 12 months ago, minus the fact that some fans have been easily snowed by the acquisition of Lacazette, the free transfer LB and the release of Sanogo... if you look at the facts carefully you will see a team that still has far more questions than answers... to better show what I mean by this statement I will briefly discuss the current state of affairs on a position - by - position basis... in goal we have 4 potential candidates, but in reality we have only 1 option with any real future and somehow he's the only one we have actively tried to get rid of for years because he and his father were a little too involved on social media and he got caught smoking (funny how people still defend Wiltshire under the same and far worse circumstances)... you would think we would want to keep any goaltender that Juventus had interest in, as they seem to have a pretty good history when it comes to that position... as far as the defenders on our current roster there are only a few individuals whom have the skill and / or youth worthy of our time and / or investment, as such we should get rid of anyone who doesn't meet those simple requirements, which means we should get rid of DeBouchy, Gibbs, Gabriel, Mertz and loan out Chambers to see if last seasons foray with Middlesborough was an anomaly or a prediction of things to come... some fans have lamented wildly about the return of Mertz to the starting lineup due to his FA Cup performance but these sort of pie in the sky meanderings are indicative of what's wrong with this club and it's wishy - washy fan - base... in addition to these moves the club should aggressively pursue the acquisition of dominant and mobile CB to stabilize an all too fragile defensive group that has self - destructed on numerous occasions over the past 5 seasons... moving forward and building on our need to re-establish our once dominant presence throughout the middle of the park we need to target a CDM then do whatever it takes to get that player into the fold without any of the usual nickel and diming we have become famous for (this kind of ruthless haggling has cost us numerous special players and certainly can't help make the player in question feel good about the way their future potential employer feels about them)... in order for us to become dominant again we need to be strong up the middle again from Goalkeeper to CB to DM to ACM to striker, like we did in our most glorious years before and during Wenger's reign... with this in mind, if we want Ozil to be that dominant attacking midfielder we can't keep leaving him exposed to constant ridicule about his lack of defensive prowess and provide him with the proper players in the final third... he was never a good defensive player in Real or with the German National squad and they certainly didn't suffer as a result of his presence on the pitch... as for the rest of the midfield the blame falls squarely in the hands of Wenger and Gazidis, the fact that Ramsey, Ox, Sanchez and even Ozil were allowed to regularly start when none of the aforementioned had more than a year left under contract is criminal for a club of this size and financial might... the fact that we could find money for Walcott and Xhaka, who weren't even guaranteed starters, means that our whole business model needs a complete overhaul... for me it's time to get rid of some serious deadweight, even if it means selling them below what you believe their market value is just to simply right this ship and change the stagnant culture that currently exists... this means saying goodbye to Wiltshire, Elneny, Carzola, Walcott and Ramsey... everyone, minus Elneny, have spent just as much time on the training table as on the field of play, which would be manageable if they weren't so inconsistent from a performance standpoint (excluding Carzola, who is like the recent version of Rosicky — too bad, both will be deeply missed)... in their places we need to bring in some proven performers with no history of injuries... up front, although I do like the possibilities that a player like Lacazette presents, the fact that we had to wait so many years to acquire some true quality at the striker position falls once again squarely at the feet of Wenger... this issue highlights the ultimate scam being perpetrated by this club since the arrival of Kroenke: pretend your a small market club when it comes to making purchases but milk your fans like a big market club when it comes to ticket prices and merchandising... I believe the reason why Wenger hasn't pursued someone of Henry's quality, minus a fairly inexpensive RVP, was that he knew that they would demand players of a similar ilk to be brought on board and that wasn't possible when the business model was that of a «selling» club... does it really make sense that we could only make a cheeky bid for Suarez, or that we couldn't get Higuain over the line when he was being offered up for half the price he eventually went to Juve for, or that we've only paid any interest to strikers who were clearly not going to press their current teams to let them go to Arsenal like Benzema or Cavani... just part of the facade that finally came crashing down when Sanchez finally called their bluff... the fact remains that no one wants to win more than Sanchez, including Wenger, and although I don't agree with everything that he has done off the field, I would much rather have Alexis front and center than a manager who has clearly bought into the Kroenke model in large part due to the fact that his enormous ego suggests that only he could accomplish great things without breaking the bank... unfortunately that isn't possible anymore as the game has changed quite dramatically in the last 15 years, which has left a largely complacent and complicit Wenger on the outside looking in... so don't blame those players who demanded more and were left wanting... don't blame those fans who have tried desperately to raise awareness for several years when cracks began to appear... place the blame at the feet of those who were well aware all along of the potential pitfalls of just such a plan but continued to follow it even when it was no longer a financial necessity, like it ever really was...

Xhaka, who I like, or at least I like the Xhaka who plays for the Swiss national squad, has shown to be in way over his head in the premiership... of course he showed late in the year that he can stretch the field with the long ball but our squad isn't really set - up for that style of play... most of his long passes are in the air not on the ground and our squad without Giroud, which should have been sold the minute the transfer window officially opened, is one of the smallest in England... we need someone who can pick out the runs of our forwards in the lanes and who is fast enough to come forward into space without conceding his defensive responsibilities... we rarely see him shoot or even be in a position on the field to do so, we rarely, if ever, see him used for set pieces and it appears that the only person at the club who has ever coached him up when it comes to tackling is Coq, which explains his atrocious disciplinary record... maybe it's me but didn't you see him coming in and contributing more from an offensive perspective, with his killer left foot, than a deep - lying midfielder... if that wasn't the case we are the stupidest team alive for taking him over Kante

He never bosses the midfield but has moments of brilliance which either culminates in a fantastic long range goal or a shot way over the bar!

The future of Germany international midfielder Mesut Ozil has long been up for discussion, and further speculation throughout 2017 has seen more doubt cast over his club career at Arsenal beyond this term.

Wilshere has been injury prone but has been injury free for a good while now... Missing a friendly against holland is hardly a sign of medical catastrophe so this is a massive overreaction... Wilshere is by a very long way the best of the British stable at arsenal and on his day he is a top flight creative midfield play maker... Don't take my word for it ask xavi arguably the best ever in that role... Since his return he has shown signs of his best but not over 90 mins... But wenger has played him all over the place does not no how to combine him with ozil and miki and surrounded him with utterly hapless players like Ramsey and xhaka... He needs a new manager to bring best out of him I hope at arsenal but if the fossil stays he should go...

11th — free kick from 35 metres blocked by GK Irwin, cleared momentarily, ball falls to Bradley who shoots high 14th — Takes pass from Findley, eludes a player and runs the length of the field from the midfield stripe, hits right foot shot from top of box, deflects off defender and ball goes through the hands of Irwin and in (18th goal) 18th — Cheyrou plays ball through middle, Osorio backheels to onrushing Giovinco, takes touch then bends right foot shot past Irwin and in (19th) 36th — takes pass from Bradley, floats a cross to back post where Altidore heads just wide 37th — takes long pass from Cheyrou, beats defender, charges in but shot is deflected out for corner 38th — takes corner to near post — Perquis heads in to score (14th assist) 60th — starts run from defensive half, left side of field, cuts into middle, tripped by Pittinari who earns yellow card — resulting free kick from 30 yards is just over bar 76th — takes breakout punch from corner from Konopka, is fouled by Cronin, who earns yellow card 82nd — steals ball from Ramirez, sprints past Burling, attempts cross but hits own foot and rolls behind end line

Am reading all over the net and hear as well that people are blaming the players fabianski for not getting his angles right, he had an ok game but a top class keeper would not be beaten at his near post, song who out of nowhere has become an attacking midfielder, chamaka for missing two easy headers, diaby for taking too long on the ball, Squillaci, Koscielny i know they new but they are making some mistakes that school boys would not basic mistakes rosciky for blasting a penalty over the bar when a cool head was needed, deneilson your team leading 1 nill late in a game and you shoot rather than take or pass the ball to the corner i can go on almunia whose technique is horrible and you say this team has improved.

Elsewhere in the division, Harrison Reed's Norwich consolidated their position in mid-table with a 1 - 0 success over Middlesbrough at Carrow Road; German midfielder Tom Trybull secured the points with a long - range drive on the stroke of half time.

IVERPOOL: Doubts over the long term Everton futures of Premier League leading scorer Romelu Lukaku and midfielder Ross Barkley could ease if they beat West Ham on Saturday to all but guarantee a place in next season's Europa League.

The Italian newspaper claim that after Leicester, Everton and Southampton over the summer, José Mourinho's side are poised to renew a very long interest in the Portuguese midfielder in January.

The France international is thought to be a long - term target of Arsene Wenger's with the Gunners boss having reportedly tracked the attacking midfielder over the past two years.

Away victories in the Champions League group stages against Benfica and Basel, an impressive 1 - 0 away victory against Krasnodar and the season - long form of 21 - year - old Aleksandr Golovin, who over the last 12 to 18 months has become the star man in CSKA's midfield.

As time went on Gagliardini returned to the dominant midfielder we know and love and in the 36th minute he dropped a perfect long ball over the top to Candreva who held off Mattia De Sciglio to power the ball across Gianluigi Donnarumma and into the back of the net.

Regarded by many as the» spider», because of his long legs and quick movement across the pitch, Matic has established himself as probably the best defensive midfielder over the past few seasons.

The midfielder stole the show in his team's 4 - 0 Capital One Cup win over Louis Van Gaal's Manchester United, and according to claims in Spain, he has dealt the Red Devils another blow by agreeing a long - term deal with fierce rivals Liverpool.

Just like with the wingers, there's been a select number of central midfield targets linked with a potential move to Juventus over the last few months, if not longer than that.

The combative ball - winning midfielder joined in March 1999, and immediately took over the captaincy from the long - serving Jamie Bates.

German midfielder Daniel Adlung, who scored one of his trademark long distance stunners in the final round 3 - 2 away win over Western Sydney on Sunday, has also quickly absorbed the significance of the rivalry.

He enjoyed a streak of seven goals in eight games, he scored both the goals in a 2 - 0 win over Fulham and scored his 77th goal for Chelsea from a long range strike in a 3 - 2 win over Everton on 17 December, overtaking Dennis Wise as Chelsea's highest scoring midfielder [11].

Schalke 04 midfielder Leon Goreztka has ended the long - standing speculation over his future by agreeing to join Bayern Munich at...

The next big thing coming out of Dortmund, Passlack is an 18 - year - old midfielder who is already being talked about as having the potential to become first - choice at right - back for Thomas Tuchel over the long - serving Lukasz Piszczek due to his work rate, but he can play far higher up to the pitch.

Arsenal have suffered for a long time without the physical presence of a player such as Vieira in midfield and yet again, Arsène failed to strengthen that area over the summer.