Having been made to adapt to new roles which see them take up
positions as holding midfielders off the ball, time will tell as to whether or not they satisfy Guardiola's criteria to secure their long - term futures.
Not exact matches
When Arsenal played with Arteta
as defensive
midfielder that situation never occurs he tends to control the flow and pace of Arsenal game with his passing and by
holding his
position, he also runs into space very well and always available for a pass.
giroud plays well
as a dm in his usual no9
position based on his «
hold up play»... but don't mistake that gibberish with playing in
midfield which requires more concentration and technique which the tall man does not possess at all... hed make a good defender though
Most misplaced passes in the Premier League this term: Y.Kaboul (35) A.Ramsey (26) D.Janmaat (25) G.Barry (24) C.Benteke (24) R.Brady (24)-- Squawka Football (@Squawka) August 19, 2015 Unless,
as the former Cardiff man was during the 13/14 campaign, he's
positioned alongside a
holding midfielder who can also carry the burden
as our deeper playmaker similar to what Arteta did, playing Ramsey alongside a destructive
midfielder like Coquelin just doesn't work.
Merson continued to plump for Spurs over Arsenal by naming Eric Dier
as his defensive
midfielder, a
position which Jack Wilshere, albeit an injury doubt for the tournament, has
held in recent times.
Some fans and pundits have also suggested that Chambers has what it takes to be a very good
holding midfielder as well, which is the
position he first played when coming up through the Saints» academy system.
Sorry for continually being ignorant and missing the point («your» point to be precise)-- but playing one - twos with Alexis in the opposition penalty area in the Copa and being deployed at the head of Juve's
midfield diamond is not convincing me that his coaches / managers see his best
position as a disciplined
holding midfield player.
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
He spent most of the match playing
as a deep - lying
midfield instead of making runs or
holding up the ball or even just staying in his own bloody
position.
Bring in Ospina for Cech; Gabriel for Koscielny (Kos is 31 and its time we start testing Gabriel and
Holding beside Mustafi to see what our long term first choice defensive partnership will look like); Gibbs for Monreal (Wenger needs to start rotating these 2 more frequently
as we need to ascertain if Gibbs can adequately produce the quality to
hold that
position from next season for a few years
as I'm thinking this might be Nacho's last or penultimate season with Arsenal, it will also give a hint
as to the type of Left - back to target in the summer — first teamer or backup and age
as well); I'll like to see an Elneny — Xhaka partnership in this fixture
as we might just never know, this might be our replica of the Kos Mustafa partnership in the centre of the park, Two disciplined (positionally, i mean) central
midfielders who can play box to box; Chamberlain for Iwobi, and Perez for Alexis should do the work.
I have passionately wanted Wenger out for a full decade and one idiot who thinks we should just shut up and support this long term loser manager who has no tactics; can't use subs properly; mis handles players; plays them constantly out of
position and who doesn't get the need for defence / attack balance (constantly sending two full backs upfield together and playing attacking
midfielders as holding players) is in cloud cuckoo land.
I actually rate Ramsey but being asked / played
as a
holding Mid is a tall order for him especially with his natural
position and instinct being Attacking Centre
Midfield.
Often referred
as a
holding or a defensive
midfielder, number six is arguably the most important
position in football.
I know that the new signings are showing their worth too, like André Gomes» contributions to
holding and shifting the
midfield, Samuel Umtiti's physicality and defensive awareness, and Lucas Digne's understanding of an attacking / defending fullback
position and his ability to challenge Jordi Alba
as Barcelona's left - back.
Coquelin does have an energetic style
as a
holding midfielder, and the nature of the
position means yellow cards are likely, but hopefully the game was a reminder to Coquelin that he has to be smart in the centre and has to choose the right moments to dive in or attempt an interception.
Expected to be frozen out of the side
as the center back
position was chocked full, he must have done something to give Pochettino the idea to play him at
holding midfield, and he is playing magnificently.
Carrick performs the role of guarding the back four,
holding his
position in front of the defense and marshalling the spaces between the center backs and the
midfield as well
as keeping the game ticking over.
Our defensive
midfielder needs to
hold his
position more
as well.
Perhaps he could be a decent substitution for Strootman in a more advanced
position, or maybe slot in for DDR
as a
holding midfielder, but there has to be other candidates with more vision, more creativity, someone like him, or him, or him.