Both of em were pulled because I pulled anyone who already moved this year just to help narrow down the list. I’ll have to go back and check (don’t have it in front of me), but if I remember correctly, Caicedo was really high and Lavia did fairly well too, though not in the advanced stuff

Think everything you raised here is fair/reasonable concern

It’s not in front of me but I remember Adams being pretty low. His passing never fares well in stuff like this

It’s not in front of me but I remember Adams being pretty low. His passing never fares well in stuff like this

This profile is an 8/6, so somebody who could cover for Rice in addition to playing with him (as we’re pretty flush with attacking mids, especially in the future). If we go straight AM, Paqueta is very high

This profile is an 8/6, so somebody who could cover for Rice in addition to playing with him (as we’re pretty flush with attacking mids, especially in the future). If we go straight AM, Paqueta is very high

Not at my computer but I think he was in the 30s-40s as I don’t consider him too flexible, just a straight 8. If we go that route he’s high on the list, you’ll see a little blurb there

Not at my computer but I think he was in the 30s-40s as I don’t consider him too flexible, just a straight 8. If we go that route he’s high on the list, you’ll see a little blurb there

I don’t know off-hand (not top 22 because he’s not hybrid) but I included him in my list of more attacking options

Hello, my dears:

Here’s a massive one on potential options for the midfield, including:

• What profile should Arsenal target?
• Who are the 22 best fits?
• Longer looks at Luiz and Fofana
• Top prospects, bad ideas, and more

Along the way, we create PWR (or “Pair With Rice”), a bullshit metric for ranking potential targets. We are looking for the players with MAX PWRRRR

There’s a lot of nuance in there, including whether Arsenal should even go for a midfielder in the first place, and if so, when.

https://billycarpenter.substack.com/p/introducing-pwr

I solemnly hope you enjoy!

-Billy

Haha. Was wondering why they’d use this template, but just saw the original post (it’s from a Chelsea fan): “There is a bunch of reasons why this is sort of unfair, but that doesn’t make it less funny.”

Just for reference, everybody: last year, Xhaka managed 0.18 throughballs per 90, and 0.18 switches per 90. Xhaka is obviously a lot more skilled at that kind of thing, but mostly, that stuff is just the role + deeper blocks.

Think this one shows a clearer picture.

What would you be curious to investigate for this week’s BBQ?

If you’re so inclined, I wrote a huge thing for Scouted about why we get young players wrong — which, among other things, looks at Henry’s time at Juventus. From there, found some hand-written scouting reports about Ronaldo and the like, and dove into some of the psychology of why we misuse or misunderstand players as they come up, and how to do better. There’s a trial thing if you’re not a subscriber.

I would have already published a BBQ this morning as well but have been a target for projectile vomit from various children (all mine). I don’t think I’ve missed a week in a year and a half, so I’m fighting to get it done! We’ll see.

Be good.