deardevil wrote:
As it stands;
Pepe has been worse than Mkhitaryan.
Ceballos has been worse than Ramsey.
Nelson has been worse than Iwobi.
Lulz has been worse than Koscielny.
We have regressed all over the pitch. The best part of our team last season was Lacazette-Aubameyang and Ramsey whenever he was fit. One has left and the other half of that duo has spent most of the season injured.
Of course, we are dysfunctional. We have lost three attacking midfielders who could transition the ball from defence to attack. The only man remaining has been rightly or wrongly frozen out. We have a massive hole in that part of the squad. It's frankly shit recruitment.
However there are mitigating circumstances.
We were already dysfunctional before those previous players departed, and for much of the time they played.
We've been crap for longer than from when we dropped out of top4/CL or changed managers.
It's unrealistic to expect players who are new to club and league to be able to rectify long standing issues in the team whilst the are still adapting. As such it's far too early to say the recruitment is wrong after only 7 PL games.
Pepe is leading the players for dribbles and key passes per game - I'm not sure if either TH or Pires were doing so at the same time in teams that were far more settled and with better overall quality.
Comparing Ceballos to Rambo is apples & oranges - Ceballos has better close control and ball retention and has shown more defensive discipline, whilst Rambo wanted to join the attack & get into the area. If anything I think Willock is more likely the Rambo replacement at CAM than Ceballos, and other than goals/assists he is making a good fist of it to be given further opportunities.
Whilst Nelson has struggled/been slow to get going thus far, the decision to sell Iwobi has been vindicated by the progress seen from Saka, let alone that he has been better than Iwobi or at least better suited to the position and role.
Kos' departure was not part of the initial plans for this season and the timing of his departure made it difficult to replace him. Further to that he'd been out for an extended period with injury and was not going to be offered a new deal when his contract expired. Further to this it has been confirmed we made bids on at least 1 other CB before we signed Luiz, who is a short term cover much as was Lichtensteiner last season.
Had we directly replaced Rambo and/or Iwobi we'd not have had the opportunity to play Saka or Willock, and we'd likely be adding them to the list with the likes of Gnabry & other players who have left too soon or to get playing time.
Yes we have currently regressed compared to last season, and it was always likely to be the case with having so much work to be done in the team and squad = short term pain to long term gain. Additionally IMO it is the lack of any consistency in terms of shape, selections and roles that is also having an unsettling effect - even more so if there are communication/comprehension issues regarding those roles and tactics.
