goon wrote:

Yeah Auba was decent. His general link up play was good today.

I don't think Laca was bad either, certainly better than he has been. Did a decent job holding up the ball.

Willian was again a bit of a let down, though he linked fairly well with Hector.

I think so as well. Laca was decent, fought hard, kept the ball well, it's just his first touch got very bad...I don't get it, I mean it was never amazing, but right now it's just horrible. Also a few funny moments every game with him, jumps for a header, and then he just looks around, no ideea where ball is .
And Willian, I don't like him at all, wish he would not start for us anymore.

Qwiss! wrote:

GooneriC wrote:

Holding gets a lot of flak and maybe its deserved for some flaky performances but he was good today. If he can keep fit and get a good run of games he still would be a decent option.

People were way to quick to write him off when he returned for a massive injury.

I remember him being our best CB when he tore his ACL too. 

goon wrote:

Is it just me or does Elneny look fitter and sharper? He used to look painfully slow whenever he used to play for us but he was very sharp today.

I couldn't believe his fitness at the end of that match. He's usually such a stroller, hopefully Arteta can keep him playing like he did today.

Qwiss! wrote:

goon wrote:

Is it just me or does Elneny look fitter and sharper? He used to look painfully slow whenever he used to play for us but he was very sharp today.

I couldn't believe his fitness at the end of that match. He's usually such a stroller, hopefully Arteta can keep him playing like he did today.

I seem to remember that Basel were in the Champions League the season we signed him and that he led the stat of kilometers run per game in the group stage.

Elneny was distance runner, wasn't he? Natural stamina. Add some bite to it and you've got a solid midfielder, appreciated some of his progressive passing today as well. Not sure of his ceiling as a footballer, this is probably his peak, but glad somebody seems to be peaking.

Qwiss! wrote:

GooneriC wrote:

Holding gets a lot of flak and maybe its deserved for some flaky performances but he was good today. If he can keep fit and get a good run of games he still would be a decent option.

People were way to quick to write him off when he returned for a massive injury.

I think he got a little too overhyped the first time he broke into the team too, and then during his injury absence it went out of control to the point where some felt he should be made captain, and when he came back and didn't actually resemble Sol Campbell people turned on him a bit. Really good player though who gives us an additional physical and aggressive dimension. If Gabriel is the outstanding individual in the defence right now then Holding is the glue that keeps it together. I hope he's not out again.

Coombs wrote:

Elneny was distance runner, wasn't he? Natural stamina. Add some bite to it and you've got a solid midfielder, appreciated some of his progressive passing today as well. Not sure of his ceiling as a footballer, this is probably his peak, but glad somebody seems to be peaking.

Yeah a touch more aggression and he'd be great as our deepest mid. I'm still highly sceptical about him overall but he's certainly exceeded my expectations so far this season.

Elneny always had great stamina. The problem with him previously is that he used to run a lot to no avail. Now his pressing is more focused and effective.

goon wrote:

Not seeing much love for Hector on here. Aside from winning the penalty he put in 3 really good balls into the box, linked up really well and defended very well all night too. Really smart, technical player.

Big game player.

I’ve noticed he plays well with Holding in big moments too.

goon wrote:

Not seeing much love for Hector on here. Aside from winning the penalty he put in 3 really good balls into the box, linked up really well and defended very well all night too. Really smart, technical player.

Hector's been very, very good.

Hector and Rob were really decent. Elneny and Partey needs to be our midfield until further notice.

goon wrote:

Not seeing much love for Hector on here. Aside from winning the penalty he put in 3 really good balls into the box, linked up really well and defended very well all night too. Really smart, technical player.

Hector is excellent and really underrated in those two aspects of his game. I think some fans just don't fancy him anymore because his pace has regressed after his injuries. 

goon wrote:

Not seeing much love for Hector on here. Aside from winning the penalty he put in 3 really good balls into the box, linked up really well and defended very well all night too. Really smart, technical player.

He's been at that level for us pretty much all season too. Back to his best.

Thing is with Bellerin is that he’s too rigid. If we want to become one of the best sides in Europe we need agile players throughout the eleven.

Looks as though Xhaka’s lack of agility is seeing him phased out btw

Elneny played the full 90 on Thursday too. Forgot about that

Clrnc wrote:

Elneny always had great stamina. The problem with him previously is that he used to run a lot to no avail. Now his pressing is more focused and effective.

The problem with Elneny is that for every good match, he has four really bad matches. 

Really solid first half. If we actually had a semi-competent front three we would have won by 3-4 goals. Auba doesn't look like himself, Willian drifts in and out of matches, and Lacazette looks finished as a player. Second half was not as good, and Gabriel was lucky not to get sent off. Nice three points though. Saka, Partey, Bellerin, Gabriel and Tierney is a solid base to build on.