Joe, didn't «the whole myriad
of attacking midfielders at the club» get injured (almost all of them) at some point???
Not exact matches
We need
at least five quality players a defender, goalkeeper, a defensive
midfielder, a
attacking midfielder and a striker Though winning the f.a cup did take a bit
of pressure
of him only time will tell There got to be a new structure
at the club, and get rid
of the also rans like Lucas Perez, Jenkinson, debuchy and sagono for starters
Our rotated defence will have the extra protection
of tweo holding
midfielders in the absence
of Coquelin
at least, with Wenger going for Arteta and Flamini as a double pivot and it looks like Aaron Ramsey will be our number 10, with the Ox and Joel Campbell on either side
of Olivier Giroud in
attack.
The 31 - year - old has been one
of the top
attacking midfield players in Europe in his eight seasons
at City, and would be a major loss if he were to move on, particularly to a Premier League rival.
The best formation Arsenal could have in defence and
attack would be three
at the back, three man
midfield of a world class defensive mid, Xhaka and Ramsey just in front with Sanchez and buy a world class striker (maybe Costa from Chelsea).
Where I hope Wenger won't be «Wenger» will be to start playing him
at Wing back, HE IS A DAMN GOOD
ATTACKING MIDFIELDER AND HE IS NOT VERSATILE (in Yesterdays» game he scored 2 great goes the moment he moved to the AM position from the WB position — that tells you where home is for this talented young man) He will fit well across the front 3, end
of story.
I did suggest earlier this week that this season was one about which to be optimistic — there were a few Doubting Micky Thomases judging from the posts that followed such thoughts, but after a display
of stunning
attack, biting
midfield (well, kind
of,
at least the two stayed out
of Mike Dean's book) and innovative defending, surely we are now favourites for the title?
Maybe he could go for an
attacking midfielder at the end
of the window if a quality player is available to snatch up.
If you want to avoid those kinds
of issues, then taking a look
at the free - agent market for
attacking midfielders before your season starts would be the best route to take.
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..
wenger is a legend in his own mind so other peoples opinions... fans, ex players, journalists, etc... have no bearing on his greatness or the righteousness
of his own decisions... from end
of last season it was clear we needed two quality
attacking options to put up a serious challenge (getting rid
of walcott and campbell or ox and bringing in a serious upgrade over giroud) instead he brought in another
midfield option (having done the same in the winter window) which only makes sense in his own delusional world rather than the reality
of facing up to serious and strengthening competitors and which defines the job
at hand....
Gonzalo Huigine or Lacazetteg Wingers or
Attacking midfielders we don not need
at all as we have some
of the best in these two postions Do not forget we have Gnarby also along with with OX and Theo, Welbeck also can play in wings May be solid CB
We are looking very thin carzola wont be back elneny is out until
at least the end
of February we need to bluster our
midfield our
attacking midfield yes we can shuffle around with elexis and ozil and iwobi but is it the long term answer no I do nt think so as the
attacking midfield is the place where most injuries occur along the side
of the defense so if any one else gets injured we will very short and in deep trouble maybe after all we should call upon fabergas if no one else is available on a personal preference I would prefer veratie
This looks an ideal buy for Arsenal in the
attacking midfield department, with both Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil set to be out
of contract
at the end
of the season.
Still, the eleven that started in Portugal is still enough to rival anyone in the world, with Manuel Neuer, Rafinha, Jerome Boateng, Dante and Juan Bernat
at the back, Philipp Lahm, Xabi Alonso and Thiago Alcantara in
midfield, and Mario Gotze, Thomas Muller and Robert Lewandowski in
attack — world class quality in almost every position, and yet, no sign
of being able to work a way around their tactically smart opponents.
He's vulnerability a lack
of Height during set pieces (I.e Giroud being the only realistic target because
of his height and the fact he is a striker) has meant our CB «s are playing a bit more up top than they should be and because our
midfield is mostly
attacking defusing the situation / stopping opposition
attacks in the first half
of the season wasn't happening, the second half we had coquelin but if he gets injured, without any cover
at CDM we end up in the same situation.
I will assure all the Ozil is never in the wrong brigade, the days
of an
attacking midfielder that is one dimensional are long gone, just assisting and contributing nothing else to the team is in the past, all players now have to do more than just waiting for others to fight for them, as that's why Mata struggled
at Chelsea under Moanrinho and he is struggling
at Man United too.
What we have is three
attacking midfielders which depending on who is playing have slightly different instructions, who interchange constantly, the «wingers» have a job to come inside
at nearly every opportunity and one
of the three, Sanchez more often than not recently, has extra licence to act more as a secondary striker.
Iwobi is the best
attacking midfielder we have, he is the only player that can play him self out
of trouble from tight corners, in fact he is the only player in arsenal right now that I have confidence in that can dribble well
at the same time pass well.
I will assure all the «Ozil is never in the wrong brigade», those days
of an
attacking midfielder who is one dimensional are long gone, just assisting and contributing nothing else to the team is in the past, all players now have to do more than just waiting for others to fight for them, that's why Mata struggled
at Chelsea under Moanrinho and he is struggling
at Man United too.
But, by the time January comes along, the Frenchman has a decision to make, a tough one
at that, as to how he juggles around with the plethora
of wingers and
attacking midfielders his squad possesses.
Until we find the complete
midfielder like matic who can initiate
attacks and defend
at the same time, or a quicker ball playing cb instead
of per, we need two
midfielders shielding the back four which gives our fb's more freedom to operate further down the pitch
Although he favours an
attacking midfield position, over the years, Cazorla has proven himself equally adept
at playing from a deep - lying position and, despite his stature, he is more than willing to contribute to the defensive side
of the game.
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.
wenger needs to build a golden idol in the shape
of ozil @ no10 statue and make everyone in the squad bow down before it to make ozil feel special again and he will be rocking and rolling again wengers first commandment will be play ozil @ no10 only no where else, command no 2 build the whole arsenal
attack around ozil only
at no 10, ozil is the future
of our
attacking play along with wilshere and ramsey controlling
midfield in box 2 box roles along with a worldy d / m in front
of back 4.
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.
And the Gunners have been strongly linked with a transfer move for the 27 - year old, but with Arsene Wenger seemingly happy with his
attacking options,
at least for now, and the squad desperately needing cover in the areas
of central
midfield and defence, it was widely believed that any move from us for Cavani would not happen until the end
of the season.
The Independent claimed the Red Devils were confident
of snapping Ozil up on a free when his contract expires
at the end
of the season, which would leave Arsenal with a gaping hole in the
attacking midfield department.
He is also our only
midfielder who has mastered the art
of turning defence into
attack at the drop
of a hat..
The bottom line this summer in Arsenal signings is Le Prof MUST sign a top quality holding /
attacking midfielder of Goretzka's caliber to fully complement his entire starting XI team next season and just limits himself to the signings
of Kolasinac and Lacazette alone which if he does without signing a top quality holding /
attacking midfielder, his starting XI team next season could be understrength
at midfield as Santi Cazorla won't be available in the first half
of the season and Elneny can't be relied on to deliver high performances for Arsenal on consistent basis.
If Mata and di Maria can click van Gaal could have one
of the most formidable
attacking midfields in world football on his hands, although the Spaniard is still yet to prove himself
at the club.
He does have his flaws though like sometimes playing as a right
midfielder allowing him no chance
of reacting to a counter
attack which is why
at times our middle looks so open.
However, another accusation labelled
at our long serving manager is that he is always too focused on the creative and
attacking side
of the squad and does not do enough to make the Gunners hard to beat
at the other end and in the centre
of midfield.
This injury curse scares me, no matter how much depth we have, this injuries just seem to
attack one area
of specialty
at a time, for instance, some time last season we had a period where almost all
of our
midfielders were injured (santi, coq, arteta, wilshere, ramsey, rosicky) all
at the same time.
wenger needs to broaden his thinking and horizon... and think beyond sanchez, so many players can replace him, carrasaco, even baruwa (
of lipstik) whom we just saw in the emirates cup, dembele etc... i just watched liverpool trash bayern... liverpool have always has a sharp
attack, now their defence seems solid... wenger is just a straight jacket, i do nt care what others are doing, i know it all coach and it will really hurt come begining
of season, unless he prunes his pride and look over the wall
at what his competitors are doing that is strengthing the weakness and planning ahead... our
midfield was weak and indeed still is... we glad about lacazzete, but unless our defence gives 110 all games, and we look
at life beyond sanchez... we will have our fellings hurt this season
England now have a two goal cushion in their Euro 2016 qualifier against Slovenia
at Wembley, with Danny Welbeck getting his second goal
of the game after a wonderful one two with young
attacking midfielder Raheem Sterling.
With Arsenal going into the crunch Champions League game against Barcelona
at the Emirates, the Gunners will need exactly that kind
of performance from the combative
midfielder in order to contain the Catalan
attack.
So wait a minute.Are Arsenal looking for a defensive
midfielder or a box to box player.I'm really disappointed in Xhaka's defending.He's very good with his long passing but I don't think he's the best option when it comes to box to box.In Arsenal he's normally used as the defensive
midfielder particular deep lying playmaker and this actually means that we need someone who is fantastic
at attacking and can also do very well defensively so as to compliment for Xhaka's defensive short comings.Ludo Goretzka is very good defensively from the little I've seen but I don't really know much about his
attacking qualities.But I also hope Arsenal does not forget about Mario Lemina.He's a complete
midfielder and to me has the capabilities to be one
of Europe's best if given the chance.He can defend very well and
attack very well.He's a player Juventus would regret selling.As for Goretzka I know he's very good defensively but have» t seen much
of him in terms
of attack.If he's as good as in
attack I'd sign him.
Ulises Davila Age: 23 Position:
attacking midfielder Loaned to: Tenerife Loan duration: unknown Chance
of becoming first - team regular
at Chelsea: 1/10
The Guardian put forward a predicted line - up with the Frenchman involved, sitting on the left
of a
midfield three where he is arguably
at his best and free to play a more influential role in the
attacking third, with Marouane Fellaini already tipped to start.
If the
midfield chooses not to pass then it is a wasted run but the attackers can make runs and
attack space irrespective
of whether the
midfield is slow or good
at passing
Bale is now being linked with a move back to the Premier League after two years in Spain, meaning there may be room for a new
attacking midfielder at the Bernabeu, while it is Chelsea who are believed to be one
of the clubs chasing the Welshman — an ideal replacement?
He was concerned about the amount
of football our
attacking midfielder had been playing and with no winter break in England was clearly trying to protect a player that could be key to their success next summer
at Euro 2016.
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
Two
of Real Madrid's
attacking midfielders in James Rodriguez and Alarcan Isco are also possibilities to become available in the close - season, with the pair having fallen down the pecking order
at the Bernabeu.
our problem is not the defense we cant just score goals with so many attempts we shoudl have scored 4 - 5 goals and win it by 5 - 2 without a creative
midfielder like Cazorla or Ramsey (when he plays well) our
attacking play is very predictable maybe playing Iwobi instead
of Elneny or Coq is
at least better But Wenger's biggest mistake was to play Chambers instead
of Bellerin Bellerin with his pace opens up the opponents.
PSG could do with a replacement in
attacking midfield for Ezequiel Lavezzi, who is being tipped to leave the Parc des Princes
at the end
of this season, according to Fichajes.net.
Despite the long & short term injuries suffered by Santi Cazorla and Francis Coquelin and with the absent
of Mohammed Elneny to Afcon all the trio
at the
midfield base
of Arsenal, I am
of the opinion Le Prof should use this winter transfer window opportunity to strengthen his
midfield base with a top
attacking / defensive
midfielder who can perform the two tasks
at the same time if he can find one
at the transfer market.
I'd go with a four three three, it would look like five
midfielders at times or six defenders, when
attacking allow one
of them to join
attack so long as he sprints back.
The main problem for me is our tactics; central
midfielders occupying wing positions with wingers on the bench, no runners ever in behind the opposition defence, passing football with no end product, nobody driving forward
at pace with the ball, instead opting for a sideways or backwards pass and an overall lack
of counter
attacking, penetrating play.