• The Arsenal

  • Official: Mikel Arteta is the new Arsenal manager.

It's 2025, every winger tracks up and down the flank. Newcastle just beat us playing a 5-5-0 where they had every player tracking back and behind the ball.

Not that I disagree with the notion we should be able to allow our forwards to relinquish defensive duties from time-to-time but Martinelli's inability to finish isn't because of tracking back. For one thing, Saka can finish fine and for another thing, we've seen Martinelli finish fine in previous seasons. So I don't think it's workload that's the problem, it's more a confidence issue I think.

    • Qwiss

    • Post #3852

    Don Pacifico tbf Martinelli and Saka have scored the same number of league goals.

    Martinelli is outscoring his xg. Saka isn't. Both on 5 league goals.

        Qwiss fair do. Either way, I'm not convinced tracking back is the main reason we're all a bit fed up with Marti.

          He’s 2nd in league. 3rd in champions league. We’ve been here before. This isn’t terminal.
          But the squad is beat up and we seem to have picked up 2 more injuries, and we still have six more games this January. So the solution is clear. We need to to force the issue in transfer market. Or risk serious cascading effects with Martinelli, Odegaard, Timber etc

            Claudius So the solution is clear. We need to to force the issue in transfer market. Or risk serious cascading effects with Martinelli, Odegaard, Timber etc

            Imagine all we end up with is bringing in another defender to cover the departure of Tierney and/or Zinchenko?

            Edit:

            HomeSteak Claudius 3 injuries. Timber is injured as well. Or at least thats what they are saying online

            Didn't realise this when I made the post. Arteta probably thinking "All hands on deck then Josh, we got a priority signing to make."

                HomeSteak you can’t be serious man. Don’t open your mouth if you don’t have nice things to say

                    • Qwiss

                    • Post #3861

                    Wenger used to be great at changing things up and getting new combos to work when we were in spells like this. I fear Arteta is too rigid to pivot like that.

                      Qwiss Wenger the master of 4 forwards when the chips are down.

                          Wenger also went to 3 at the back towards the end of the diabolical 16/17 season and it helped us get a few crucial results.

                          By the way if we don't get a top scoring CF then we absolutely need to get a reliable goalscorer from the left because Saka isn't enough. Also until we do that we need somehow find an attacking player to play in the 8 because Rice is not going to cut it supporting Havertz/Jesus and Martinelli/Trossard otherwise we are just camped outside the box and going from side to side. Unfortunately we sold the only other attacking midfielder we had in the summer without replacing him.

                          Qwiss

                          He pivoted just last season.

                          I can't see where that pivot will come this season, though.

                            Such a good manager - just do yourself a favour and get a striker and winger with the required ability. We won’t progress otherwise