Rohit wrote:
I am sure StatDNA or any other such entity/ agency we use aren't only about unearthing players. I remember StatDNA's influence on our recruitment was strongly spoken of in the summer we got both Xhaka and Mustafi and neither were unknown quantities. Whatever the StatDNA analyst saw in them and their numbers before making a strong recommendation was extremely wrong.
No love from StatDNA but this is also wrong imo. Not every player is bad per se because he doesn't work out somewhere else, there are innumerable factors who play a role many of which can't be predicted ahead of time. Xhaka looked great under Favre, his weaknesses weren't nearly as accentuated as they are now and five years after signing him he looks like a shell of the promising and sometimes raw kid he used to be. Mustafi looked like a monster in the making in 2014, genuinely couldn't think of too many defenders I would have wishlisted ahead of him he dominated the best forwards in La Liga regularly. One big injury and some poor coaching under Wenger later and his confidence is in a vicious cycle down up to the point that he's looked like one of the worst players in the worst team in Germany possibly ever.
Point being you can use statDNA or whatever other software to identify players, but more important is the eye of a good head scout who can tell whether the transition for the new kid will work. Weather, squad makeup, personalities of the coach and the player, personal circumstance etc all play a role and even then there's still dumb luck playing a major part.
