Sicario2 - Tier 1. We aren't weaker. We may not be stronger, but we aren't weaker personnel wise.
Midfield/attack is settling in and needs time, but plus Rice, plus Havertz minus Xhaka for me, is and will be a net positive.
I think we have lost a huge presence in the dressing room as well as on the pitch with Xhaka's departure, and that has left a vacuum that the team will have to fill in. I have no doubts that it will happen though. We can already see how vocal Rice is, and once he fully understands and begins to own his role, (and others in the team also begin to step up), I think we will also see a net positive result here.
We also have brought in someone to keep Ramsdale honest.
I really think there is a lot of overreaction going on, but I understand the angst. We don't have much room for error, yes. But a draw at home against a decent side, caused by a couple of blunders by Saka shouldn't cause us to hit the panic button just yet. Yes we have looked less fluid, but if we had won the Fulham game (as we should have) I reckon there'd be a lot less naysaying about our squad composition and the manager's attempts to try something different early in the season.
E: The one player who brings the most out of our attack is Jesus. Once he is back and fully fit we are going to look much better upfront, and consequently I believe our entire game will tighten up quite a bit.
We are stronger.
