This review will look at every facet of the Arsenal squad from the goalkeepers, defence,
midfield and attack right up to the performance of the man in charge, Arsene Wenger.
Not exact matches
Like I always say, there are certain players that can fit into Wenger's philosophy but he fails to get those kinda players IMHO Players that have excellent technicality ala Cazorla both in defence,
midfield and attack especially
midfield so the failure is in identifying
and getting the
right players for the system
The theory is that Wenger is planning to use the Turk on the
right side of an
attacking midfield three
and when you see the Arsenal XI that this would provide it does look pretty tasty.
«A
midfielder is a player who defends well,
attacks well
and keeps his priorities
right,» Wenger told reporters (via Arsenal Player).
If I was Bellerin, I would seek assurances from Arsene about the direction
and ambition of Arsenal,
and if it doesn't not include mounting a serious challenge for silverware (which should include the purchase of a world class striker,
attacking right wing
midfielder,
and central defender), then I would be speaking with my family
and agent about moving to another club that matches my ambitions..
We are so undisciplined in our play, we just
attack with no thought about being countered, the Left backs,
Right backs ans wingers all
attack at the same time, the
attacking midfielders all push up at the same time
and don't seem to have any sensing of opposition danger..
I thought when he was coming through he looked like he could nail down a
right midfield position,
and looked a bit like Parlour with a bit more cleverness to his
attacking play, but I don't think he's ever fully adjusted to playing CM in the 4 -3-3 formation.
But because of how quiet Douglas Costa was on the
right,
and the abject failure of Rodrigo Betancur to give Juventus any
attacking element from central
midfield — that Pjanic suspension really hurt them here — Juve couldn't do anything to take advantage of
Sissoko would slot
right in as Arsenals BEST
midfielder, he's been tormenting Chelsea all day long BUT i guess Le Fraud has a natural aversion toward dynamic, physical footballers that are capable of
attacking and bossing the opposition.
He is not a 10 as he does nt have the agility
and decision making to let go of the ball at the
right moment when he is in the
attacking midfield position.
Our 3 back is just so wrong.We don't have natural wingbacks even in this formation.It also seems to me that lots of people here believe if you're good at
right or left fullback then automatically you're good at RWB / LWB which quite frankly is untrue.That's why Oxlade Chamberlain can be considered at RWB but not
right back.At RWB or LWB you're asking too much in terms of
attack from Bellerin
and Kolasinac.A proper wing back can be viewed as a more defensive winger which quite frankly none of them are
and they don't possess the flexibility too to play that way.Our
midfielders are also not disciplined enough because in 3 back there's a huge gap in the centre of the field that must be covered by our CM's so indiscipline only means disaster.We also have Ozil who looks like he's playing at RW in 3 back.In that we're limiting his impact because Ozil takes on his man because he wants to not because he likes to.You can't play such players at the wing.He's a proper No. 10 who likes to be given freedom.That's why Ozil plays likes he's lazy on the ball
and stuff.It's because he wants to be free
and for that you need to put him at No. 10.
The Wingers will provide support to the three - man
midfield of Elneny or Xhaka (I would go with Elneny
right now) in the defensive
midfield role; Ramsey in the Vieira role — Yes, our Vieira, if well motivated, is Ramsey —
and Ozil in the
attacking midfield role.
Ramsey / Moura —
Right leaning
Attacking Midfielder, Mkhitaryan (Centrally placed Attacking Midfielder), Ozil (Left Leaning if Ramsey remains but if Moura is brought in and Ramsey is let to go, then he operates from the more familiar - Right leaning attacking mi
Attacking Midfielder, Mkhitaryan (Centrally placed Attacking Midfielder), Ozil (Left Leaning if Ramsey remains but if Moura is brought in and Ramsey is let to go, then he operates from the more familiar - Right leaning attacking m
Midfielder, Mkhitaryan (Centrally placed
Attacking Midfielder), Ozil (Left Leaning if Ramsey remains but if Moura is brought in and Ramsey is let to go, then he operates from the more familiar - Right leaning attacking mi
Attacking Midfielder), Ozil (Left Leaning if Ramsey remains but if Moura is brought in and Ramsey is let to go, then he operates from the more familiar - Right leaning attacking m
Midfielder), Ozil (Left Leaning if Ramsey remains but if Moura is brought in
and Ramsey is let to go, then he operates from the more familiar -
Right leaning
attacking mi
attacking midfieldermidfielder)
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
During his career, Pastore has shown that he is capable of playing in a number of positions, with the player being primarily deployed as an
attacking midfielder,
right winger, left winger
and central
midfielder during his time as a player.
Wenger said, «A
midfielder is a player who defends well,
attacks well
and keeps his priorities
right.
Also Arsenal play as a TEAM which means the
right and left
attacking midfielders should be chipping in with about ~ 20 a season with B2B players getting into double figures.
We may have been raped in the SF, You all forget what was, said since last season, everyone agreed the
midfield was poor,
and the summer didn't help
and we braced our selves for the worst, now we have made history perhaps with poor football but the problems never left, some people say «we lost to fucking Roma» I doubt you all understand what it means to have the players you need
and want, eusebio di Francesco has what is needed to play HIS football, lucho signed poor
midfielders BUT they were required for his FOOTBALL not in any way the Barca way (he played
attacking and entertaining but it's sad to see no one wanted to acknowledge that those signings weren't
right, He got figured out
and left like a man with BALLS Valverde restored positional play
and brought emphasis to the
midfield but he lacks the MF to do it.
He is returning to form in France,
and is apparently on Wenger's wanted list, because what we really need
right now is more players who can play between
midfield and attack...
He is expected to offer huge assistance to Chambers
and where situation demands he turns up as the
attacking midfielder with a bias to the
right wing.
The Englishman has also seemingly played almost every position on the pitch, having been utilised on the wing, as an
attacking midfielder, central
midfielder and even a
right back at times.
Predominately Mkhitaryan plays in the centre
attacking midfield position
and whilst I can not see Ozil being displaced, there is a chance the Dortmund player could be effective out wide on the Arsenal
right flank.
Playing on the
right and in
midfield gives him a sense of awareness on how we like to
attack and how teams like to counter against us.
Our weak point in our team
right now is our
right wing (nothing agaisnt campell, just that recently we have created nothing there unless is bellerin doing runs)
and our box to box, yesterday ramsey was no near to existence in the
midfield, he was more concerned to score than to do what he should f * qin do that is connect the
midfield with the
attack, heck alexis did a better job doing that... Elneny did it alright vs burnley but I want to see him againsta PL side,
and i reckon he can do a better job that ramsey has done in the last few matches
Defensive
Midfield: Xhaka, Seri
Attacking Midfield: Isco, Goretzka
and Nelson Center forward: Aguero
and Giroud Left wing forward: Lemar
and Welbeck
Right wing forward: Lacazette
and Ramsey
Three of their players will miss the game through suspension; the
attacking midfielder Valentin Eysseric, centre - back Souleymane Diawara,
and right - back Gregoire Puel - both of whom were sent off in the tempestuous defeat to southern rivals SC Bastia last weekend.
He is at Birmingham City
right now
and as an
attacking midfielder he may be useful to us.
Actually this has nothing to do with the media playing on our emotions, but has everything to do with the fact that an overwhelming number of fans,
and critics have recognised that Arsenal are in need of a world class striker
and defender (
attacking right - wing
midfielder not as much).
At CF Giroud
and Walcott are both showing their ability with completely different playing styles, whilst the
right of the
attacking 3
midfielders sees Ramsey
and chamberlain currently competing, but when welbeck
and wilshire return you will see 4 players all with different playing styles competing for that position.
According to WhoScored.com, the South American has played ten games as a central
attacking midfielder, six on the
right flank,
and one game on the left - hand side; that's 17 games in total, the same amount as he has been used as an «MC», the role he would presumably be asked to fill for Arsene Wenger's side, given their need for players in that area rather than further forward, where they have the likes of Mesut Ozil, Tomas Rosicky
and Aaron Ramsey to choose from already.
And I took the Ox from the right wing back to play left wing back while I brought in Bellerin to play right wing back to give potency to Arsenal midfield attacking prowess and confuse Spurs markings in the game as the Ox is switched to L
And I took the Ox from the
right wing back to play left wing back while I brought in Bellerin to play
right wing back to give potency to Arsenal
midfield attacking prowess
and confuse Spurs markings in the game as the Ox is switched to L
and confuse Spurs markings in the game as the Ox is switched to LWB.
wenger really wanted to win the match, I was impressed the first 25 minutes of play, but at the end we still need a defensive
midfielder... if I was wenger I would try bellerin in
right back
and chambers in defensive
midfield... our
attack is just fine but we really need a dm.
When Santi returns the transition from
midfield means we he good
attacking and ball control on both the
right and leftfinal 1/3 too.
With Willian only managing four goals
and four assists all season long, an underwhelming return for an
attack - minded
midfielder, it may be that Chelsea will try again to address that issue on the
right flank by bringing in Costa from Shakhtar.
I don't even know why he started Welbeck ahead of Walcott in the first place, Welbeck was giving away the ball too often on the
right and wasn't helping Bellerin in defence.Bellerin too can't be blameless for being caught out of position many times, he didn't even know who he was marking.The reason why we lost the
midfield battle wasn't because Coquelin didn't do much, the problem was with Ramsey
and Cazorla, they were loosing possesion too often in our own half giving more room for counter
attack Coquelin alone couldn't contain opponent's pressure for the full 90minutes he needed help too defencively from Ramsey who didn't give him any, Ramsey now sees himself as an AM who could go forward at anytime
and ignore his defensive responsibility.Koscielny didn't do much to prevent the second goal.
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...
That's according to data from WhoScored, who have him down as playing twice as central
midfielder, a
right wing - back
and left - sided forward,
and one game each as a left wing - back, a central
attacking midfielder and a
right - sided forward.
Admin yes your
right but we are always short somewhere every season
and lets not forget we have bought a few defenders but all not up to scratch (Mustafi, Chambers, Holding, Gabriel, Debuchy, Mertesacker ect...) but at least after RVP left we never had such good strikers as we have now late but its a good thing, i believe we have great creative
attacking midfield but we have never replaced Viera, Adams, Campbell or Seaman, i wanted arsenal to buy VVD when he was at Celtic why i can see that
and our top professionals at the club can not?
Right back Jones has joined defensive colleague Wes Brown on the sidelines
and their
midfield is looking a bit thin as well, with Rodwell, Gomez
and Alvarez out of action so you would expect them top struggle against our fluent
and dangerous
attack.
Thierry Henry was
right, Sanchez is perfect in central forward /
attacking midfielder role, due to his ball control, vision
and playing style.
We play with
Attacking Right and Attacking Left
midfielders.
In a squad full of «galaticos» at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu this
attacking midfielder looks
right at home
and was keeping Gareth Bale out of the starting XI earlier in the season.
However for the
midfield and attack rotation is key, it also paramount to exploit other teams weaknesses by using the
right players for the
right opposition.
We need to sell him
and the whippet
and either Campbell or ox to whoever is willing to take
and fund a quality
right attacking option
and a decent centre back if wenger can't trust chambers...
Midfield covered now..
so its all about finding better
attacking options do nt understand why he does nt put in big bids for reus or griezman... with sanchez
and some combo of giroud walcott or ox that could offer all kind of options to creative
midfield... or at least bring in drexler
and push him further forward he has the
right physique
and skill set to be a dangerous
attacking force... as it is is another 3rd or 4th place looks likeliest outcome
The most glaring example of this
right now is Mesut Ozil
and the central
attacking midfield position.
probably our best team
right now...
and the gaps are pretty obvious... but there is pace with ox
and sanchez
and the
attacking midfield if it clicks will create chances the worry is behind this if flamini picks up a yellow early on i would take him off as he will be red carded..
If Dembele plays as a central
attacking midfielder that pushes Christian Eriksen wide to the left
and Nacer Chadli to the
right.
Age: 17 Nationality: English Position:
Attacking Midfield Right / Left Current ability: 109 Potential ability: -8 Leko hit the headlines in 2015/16 when he became the first player born in 1999 to feature in the Premier League
and the winger immediately impressed with his mazy dribbling ability
and confidence on the ball.
Before going on to do the objectively
right thing
and look at why Phil Neville was wrong about the now seemingly exiled
attacking midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan at Manchester United, it is vital to evaluate how the 27 - year old has fared so far at Old Trafford in 2017/18.