Meanwhile, Conte also conceded that he has a difficult decision to
make over defender Gary Cahill, who returned to action against Qarabag, but isn't a guaranteed starter against Arsenal on Sunday.
Not exact matches
If his supporters felt disappointment
over Bryan's testimony — the play
makes much of the crowd's turning on him — it was not because he looked stupid as a
defender of crude fundamentalism, but because he wasn't a
defender of crude fundamentalism.
Yes he could be alot better at finishing, but let's see, maybe we got a new sturridge... What I am mad on Wenger about is not so much the lack of a proven striker to our ranks... No it's that we haven't bought a central
defender to cover, but most important, we haven't bought a defensive midfielder, that we need so much!!? Wenger
makes the same mistakes
over and
over, everybody else can see it, just not him... hmm: / but still lets respect him as a man and judge when we are atleast half way into the season... COYG!!!!
I don't care too much what he says publicly, what I hope he is saying behind closed doors to Gazidis et all is «I
made a big mistake this summer and we need to pay
over the odds for another central
defender now.»
Bellerin — obviously great pace, but regressed this past season as a crosser, dribbler and on the defensive end... likened him to a faster Alves type who didn't always run to the end - line and would cut back into the middle, beat
defenders and take some shots from outside the box (we desperately need better shooters from outside the box on this squad)... wouldn't give up on him because he has a lot of potential but if Barcelona came calling and offered anything
over $ 45 million and we are using a 3 - back going forward he would be gone so fast it would
make his head spin
Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Doug Baldwin
made this phenomenal catch
over two
defenders to extend the Seahawks lead
over the Minnesota Vikings before halftime to 24 - 13.
Manchester United
defender Daley Blind
made his 100th appearance for the club during their 4 - 0 win
over Feyenoord in the Europa League at Old Trafford on Thursday.
Doubts remain
over the future of Johnny Heitinga at Everton, prompting new boss Roberto Martinez to
make contingency plans in case the versatile Dutch
defender leaves Goodison Park.
United spent heavily on attacking players
over the summer, and while this list is not
made up entirely of
defenders, it is clear that van Gaal now feels he needs to switch his focus to that part of the pitch.
The
defender — who also featured for West Ham United, Leeds United and Queens Park Rangers —
made over 300 appearances for the Red Devils between 2002 and his exit in 2014.
His size lets him see
over any
defender, his tight handle lets him to shake his man, and his feel for the game allows him to
make the right read.
lets all thank arsene for finally doing the right thing only time will tell but have we finally signed the DM we need STRONG MINDED NO HOLD BAR MIDFIELDER WE HAVE ALL CRAVED, but lets take it back we all know it will take 2 or 3 more like minded players to
make us great again, he has tricked us all buy buying one superstar in the last 3 windows ALEXIS, OZIL and CHEC great players but can't do it all on their own, spending huge amount of money and saying we can buy the best players, on the surface this looks great we are buying top top players big prices but instead of spending his usual 50 mill on 2, 3, 4, 0r 5 players he has pulled the wool
over are eyes with 1 superstar thinking the fans are that dumb enough to believe it, infact he has never spent his budget only balanced on sales too purchases, i love arsenal but this summer i hope for more he needs to do that consistently through out the team spend the same amount on the team stop balancing the american owners, grow a pair say yes we will buy a top
defender and a world class striker, stan we love arsenal please be one of us do whats needed then you will fell proud as we are and we will adore you for it.
To
make it worse he picked it up when running through on goal and being barged
over by a Watford
defender.
Monreal
over Gibbs simply because he's been our best
defender this season and deserves to start until he
makes a mistake.
By attacking to the side a few feet
over, this forced Miami's third
defender (quite often LeBron James) to
make a decision between staying and physically tag the rolling big man — Tim Duncan — or jumping the gun and closing out to the corner / wing shooter — the red - hot Kawhi Leonard.
SEE MORE: Zlatan Ibrahimovic keeps Manchester United fans guessing after «big announcement» Leonardo Bonucci transfer: Manchester giants join Chelsea in pursuit of Juventus
defender Manchester United
make initial contact with Chelsea
over international signing
I watched him
making great runs and beating his
defender but crosses falling harmlessly to Fabianski or otherwise
over everyone's head.
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
Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Doug Baldwin
made this phenomenal catch
over two
defenders to extend the Seahawks lead
over the Minnesota...
i think now if in the box, just kick at the
defender 1 yard away, hits his arm or hand, PK... seen it
over and
over, Dean was not in a position to see it clearly, yet
makes the call.
The set of
defenders we have, even if Tony Pulis took
over Arsenal he would
make them better defensively atleast.
I am sure that Arsene Wenger and the Arsenal coaching staff and medical team will be working as hard as they possibly can
over the next week in an attempt to
make sure that our German international
defender Shkodran Mustafi is fit enough to face Stoke in Arsenal's second game of the new Premier League season, but I think we have to accept that the German may not be ready.
The Hornets have beaten Arsenal twice in their last three visits to the Emirates, but the veteran
defender Adrian Mariappa, who has played
over 250 games for Watford, thinks that will
make little difference tomorrow.
With the
defender understood to be unhappy at the club, and angling for a move away from the Spanish capital, it looks likely that he will
make the move to Old Trafford
over the coming months.
Taylor's running style
makes it hard to believe he still has so much time left — he's really patient, but he's thick enough to run
defenders over in the open field.
The Belgian starlet
made Spurs
defenders look like fools with some ridiculously quick feet as he managed to find the space to fire a shot away just inside the box — though his effort went
over the bar.
Stones is
over rated by the english media he's an awful
defender who's
made mistake after mistake this season, Everton concede lots of goals because of people like Stones!
SEE MORE: Ibrahimovic linked with player coach role Man United and Barcelona tussle
over defender Man United and Chelsea target
makes decision
It all seems to be on the attacking side of things, however, and even though the first signing
made by Arsenal this summer was the versatile
defender Sead Kolasinac, a lot of Gooners would like to see the defence bolstered with Mertesacker coming to the end and with concerns
over the fitness of Laurent Koscielny.
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...
Mustafi is a good buy because not only he has spent time here in the EPL to know what to expect from long and hard season which
makes him a good buy but also he is a great
defender over the coarse of a season,
Elsewhere, Michail Antonio is deployed at right - back in his system even though he played in a much more advanced role this weekend, and he's joined by Andrea Ranocchia and Lamine Kone of Hull City and Sunderland respectively after both
defenders impressed, particularly the former who
made his debut for the Tigers and helped them to a big win
over Liverpool.
The player Real want is Valencia
defender Shkodran Mustafi, and Los Blancos have already
made contact with the German stopper's agent
over a possible move.
Chambers was rated our best
defender on Sunday, although that is not saying much, but apparently Bellerin thinks he has been
made a scapegoat for Arsenal's rubbish recent form and is going to try and force a move away again this summer to rejoin his family
over in Barcelona.
That's why our
defenders are so easy to get at, they are usually the only ones between themselves and the GK, Also many times they are sucked out of defensive after some ball watching, rarely will we look around and
over our shoulder, or check to see if one of ours is already
making movements to get out there.
Last season the opening home GAME AGAINST LIVERPOOL WHICH ULTIMATELY COST US A TOP FOUR PLACE AND GAVE IT INSTEADTO LIVERPOOL, was caused entirely by Wenger
over resting key
defenders after the summer competitions and leaving us with a rookie CB pairing and thus we lost 3 - 4,
making a 6 pont turn round.
VIDEO: Tre'Quan Smith
makes circus catch while his
defender flips him
over https://t.co/R3v6YZLXL4 — Deadspin (@Deadspin) November 7, 2015
Elneny, Xhaka or not
making anything but defend and pass... Then you have all these
defenders on wings and all
over... You see that coach is playing team to not lose, defend not a team to win.
If the
defender had added himself to the long - term injury list, Wenger would have been ridiculed, and would have put himself in a very dangerous predicament, with no other senior
defenders fit within the squad, and just
over a week to try and
make amends in the transfer window.
He's a true see ball, get ball
defender in space and the best in this class at scraping
over the top to
make a play.
Former Arsenal
defender and MOTD2 pundit Martin Keown expands on his TV analysis of the Gunners» 5 - 0 win
over Aston Villa and explains how manager Arsene Wenger adjusted his existing system in January, instead of bringing in new faces, to
make his side more solid at the back.
Ronaldo waltzed between two Dortmund
defenders on the left and poked the ball across the face of goal where Isco helped it into the path of Mayoral, selected as one of five changes
made by Zinedine Zidane, who clipped his finish
over the advancing goalkeeper.
I noticed afterwards he was less than cavalier in tackling and often jumped
over defenders tackles or simply never quite
made it to intercept the ball, if there was a chance a
defender might challenge him for it.
It was a very close game until our stand in skipper, Jordan Henderson, charged down the Swansea
defenders clearance and the ball looped
over the goalkeeper, into the back of the net, to
make it 0 - 1 and that's how it finished!
Just outside his own area the
defender gave the ball straight to Anton Maglica and - from his cross from the right - Sardinero hit a close - range shot that Jordan Pickford
made a decent attempt to save but failed to prevent rolling
over the line, with the Spaniard following up to
make sure.
The
defender has
made over 90 appearances for Sporting, 16 of which came in the Champions League competitions.
The 2008/09 Bundesliga champions decided to
make a change after Ismael, a former
defender with the club, won six games in 17 matches in charge having taken
over from Dieter Hecking in October 2016.
The Benfica
defender had been constantly linked with the Red Devils during the winter transfer window after United officials
made contract with club president Luis Felipe Vieira
over a proposed transfer.
20 - year - old
defender Matt Miazga finally
made his Chelsea debut
over the weekend and put in a very impressive display at relegation - threatened Aston Villa in the Midlands.
After seven years in black and white, the
defender made the move to Milan after his relationship with the club fractured
over the course of the 2016 - 17 season.