- cross-posted to:
- gunners@lemmy.world
- cross-posted to:
- gunners@lemmy.world
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Absolute midfield gluttony. I love it.
Moreover, the new additions haven’t just made up for the loss of Xhaka. They’ve increased the team’s overall physicality. Competitors have noticed.
The hybrid 6/8 along with Rice is something I think we will see sooner rather than later. It makes too much sense considering the impact Rice has had on this team. I don’t mind Douglas Luiz or Fofana for the role but I would ideally like another World class( or near World class) player for that role. And there are some other high quality French players , if the situation is right, can be that player.
That’s also the one notable limitation of a fit Thomas Partey: that he’s not quite good enough going forward to really rotate with the 8s, even if one of the 8s is (like Rice) a hybrid 6 who can cover for him. This is one of the senses in which I’ve always said he was the start rather than the end of our midfield rebuild.
With two hybrid 6/8s, as Billy outlines and we agree, we not only have ideal 6 depth but the possibility of some really evil tactical flexibility.
Nice skimmed through quickly and was pretty happy to see some names I liked all did pretty well.
I think we should push hard for Fofana ASAP.
Any player name Curry? Would make your job so much easier.
Fofana looks like a really intriguing option. And more realistic than Luiz.
Bro imagine cama in our midfield
I wish they gave him the Ø treatment and had others playing in front of him and he wasn’t getting time but alas he plays in every game
Onana is amazing. So athletic and dominant. I’d love him besides Rice.
How would Zinny fair on this scale?
Billy thanks youre a real one
Fantastic read, as always! Thanks.
Why are you not a scout bro?
Issac Babadi looks like a unreal talent I saw him play in a u18s tournament but he never seems to get any game time for PSV yet
With lower defensive looks — Arsenal face the lowest average height of defensive actions in the league — and improving work further back, Arteta has successfully proven a major point.
I can’t help but feel like Arsenal are the architect of their own demise with respect to this stat. This is entirely driven by the way we play.
Exactly so.
The question, then, is why Arteta is doing this.
To my mind, it’s because he has a very different definition of ‘control’ than most of our fans, who seem to view ‘control’ as synonymous with ‘ball security’: risking nothing, being safe, hanging onto possession at any cost, or, in other words, passive control.
What Arteta wants is active control. He wants to use possession to push the opposition into a corner (so to speak) and keep them there, then go to work on them.
One of the clearer points in this respects is the issue of take-ons and our 6 role. Both Rodri for Pep and Thomas for Arteta are slightly below average in take-on volume for midfielders, but way above average in success rate: Thomas is one of the best in Europe. Both managers want a player in that 6 role who can threaten to beat defenders that way, precisely because it backs them off, pushing them deeper and deeper. Their line-breaking passing threat is the same: it doesn’t have to be high-volume to to have the desired effect. As long as the threat is there, it works.
For Rice’s part, while his passing isn’t quite to Thomas’ level, and he isn’t as nimble in receiving and turning with the ball, he is even better at carrying it.
What is your opinion on Villa’s Kamara?
Top bins as usual Billy. These are my favourite pieces (like the DUELS in the summer).
Fofana for me doesn’t pass the eye test. He very much comes off as a bull in a china shop where… idk, his touch always seems to be a little loose but he finds a way to make it work in the last millisecond. I imagine in the Premier League that would translate very heavily to more turnovers, injuries and maybe even more red cards. Weird comparison probably, but his dribble reminds me of Wilshere’s where he’d just let the ball hang until the very very last second to draw tackles. I think the catch is that it’s all about if he’s able to implement that sort of transition to the Prem (and this doesn’t come from someone who think the Ligue 1 is as bad as many people make it out to be).
Think everything you raised here is fair/reasonable concern
I wish we could get FdJ, he and Rice would be a generational midfield.
Not gonna happen though. Out of everyone here, the highest on that list that is more attainable would be Luiz, who is surprisingly high. And even then Villa won’t part with him for a silly fee. Could’ve got him for relatively cheap in the summer as well smh.
Haha I said we should look at Koopmeiners jokingly some time ago, glad he’s made the list. Pretty surprised to see Kimmich that low, thought he’d be very close to Frenkie in this rating.