lorddulaarsenal
Was actually thinking about this recently for some reason... I know u don't rate him, but ESR is a Wenger wet dream kind of player. Swap him for Trossard.
Doc yeah can see that
I remember we pretty much lined up like that away at Leicester the season before they won the league.
4-1-4-1 with creative mid overload.
lorddulaarsenal says a lot that after playing such incredible football, he is willing to risk that by selling Xhaka and Partey who were both fantastic before the World Cup. But the e focus is on building a team that can dominate for years, not opportunism. So far removed from the age of Gazidis.
Claudius get the feeling he's going to adapt tactically again too. Last season looked nothing like the horseshoe of misery years before it.
Not sure what to expect honestly...especially with the new Dutch defender coming in at that crazy 40M+ price. I just hope we are not sacrificing the defensive stability that underpinned last year's performances (looks like it with incomings like Timber, Havertz). Time will tell.
Bernard Woolley I worry too but the reality is City scored more and conceded less than we did this season. We need to improve at both ends. I suspect Arteta thinks keeping the ball is key to that.
Bernard Woolley 40m+ is crazy price? I would say its very reasonable. A talent like him normally costs 50m+ or more as evident from similar defenders past few years. White in a non-inflation window already costs 55m.
It's perfect timing that he had a bad season and we are getting him on a cheaper deal.
If Havertz perform well 65m would be a good deal too.
Qwiss not keeping the ball. Recovery in transition. We had no problems with ball possession for the most part. It was when we had to defend and we didn't have numbers back, or players who excel in one v one defensive situations that we struggled.
Raicedo is my wet dream.
Clrnc good deal is a relative term these days. I think it's insane the prices that are seen as acceptable. Figo was a world record at 62million Euros 20 years ago, and he was top 5 players in world football at the time. That gets you a Madison, a Pepe or some other half scrub these days. I think we are going to see a 200million player transfer in the next decade. When will this craziness stop? It's unsustainable.
flobaba Other than the Saliba injury, what hurt us most down the stretch was simply running out of gas, which showed up in our press. So yes, our defending and not our attack was the issue - simple numbers show this - but defense from the front as much as in the rear.
flobaba As long as more money keeps flowing into the game, as much from global TV rights as from owners not concerned with manking money, both transfer fees and player wages will continue to go up.
RowJimmy Other than the Saliba injury, what hurt us most down the stretch was simply running out of gas, which showed up in our press. So yes, our defending and not our attack was the issue - simple numbers show this - but defense from the front as much as in the rear.
Simple solve here is to fill out the top of the squad with new additions while not losing too many players. Being unable to sustain a City level of performance beyond the top dozen or so players is what destroyed us. We need to deepen by 2 or so more quality players at least.
By the way, our collapse was completely predictable. But hard to criticise Edu / Arteta.
Some of it may also have been due to teams figuring out our play style more
Losing Partey would be a huge blow to the team. His composure on the ball and awareness of the ball was invaluable to us last season. He was able to keep possession under pressure (for example away to Liverpool), and he was always covering for our full backs. Among the 3-4 best DMs in the world.
Kel Varnsen Partey is amongst the best in the world and was playing like the worlds best DM before World Cup.
But selling him now for a reasonable fee would actually be good squad hygiene. We can rebuild midfield and position ourselves for the next 5+ years. Given his injury record (never more than 22 starts in 3 seasons), and from decline last season, a sale is a good consideration. We cannot depend on players who cannot be relied on to be present or at their peak. That’s how we died with RVP, Wilshere, Ramsey etc., back in the day
True. But I think we've seen the best of him in an Arsenal shirt already. Plus injury is always a concern with him. It's an AFCON year. In January. How many physios should we send with him this time?
As mentioned in the Rice thread, we still need a WC striker.
Claudius Partey is amongst the best in the world and was playing like the worlds best DM before World Cup.
Yup. But I don't think selling him would put us in a better position that keeping him. Even if it were a case of a rebuild of midfield it'd be better to have him there with the replacement slowly taking over from him rather than being thrown in at the deep end and having a dysfunctional midfield balance again.
Claudius Given his injury record (never more than 22 starts in 3 seasons
He started all but a handful of our PL games last season as far as I can remember.
Thanks for correction. It was 24, 24, and 33. Still not great. Xhaka is 37, 27, 31. And Rice is 37, 36, 32. They’re just much more available.
Availability x ability x Fit. Those are the 3 ways I assess a player. And Partey is short on one
