Jerseys looked even worse than I thought they would

    What position did Havertz play?

    • goon replied to this.

      Mirth

      Left 8 for most of it. Decent enough, very secure on the ball and took up good positions. Main criticism is that he was a bit languid, needs to up the tempo a bit.

      Timber impressed when he came on.

          goon

          Havertz is going to be Ozil lite for us isn’t he?

          He’s prob going to divide the fan base the most this season.

              Sicario2 - Tier 1 I think he'll surprise a lot of people, reckon in big games in particular he'll be a key player.

              Squad looks so much better now, with upcoming cup competitions we can still put out very competitive teams and be able to rotate many positions without a massive drop in quality.

                  Sicario2 - Tier 1

                  I mean aside from them as players the big difference is Ozil was expected to carry the side, whereas Havertz just has to fit into an already very good attacking side and bring more to the table than Xhaka.

                    The attack is now looking like the weakest area in the team in terms of depth and personnel. Vieira, Nelson, Balogun and Nketiah are too close to the first team and need to be sold with sell on clauses or loaned out. Another wide forward and striker, and I'd say we are in tip top shape to be the best ever Arsenal team in terms of wins and points on the board. Perhaps, not trophies as Man City are just a cheat code.

                    Daz

                    Saka shouldn't be playing football and needs to be protected at all costs. He's our bubble boy.

                      JazzG I can definitely see him becoming the unpredictable x factor in big games. his nose for space causes problems for any team. i think its going to become a question of whether his contribution over 90 minutes warrants a regular starting berth.

                        Gazza M

                        He's so good. Plays with so much authority and confidence now. Saw a lot of interchange between him and Havertz too, feels like they have the potential to really develop an understanding with the latter picking up good positions.

                          Just catching up with the highlights (the full match replay doesn't seem to work on Apple TV. Might be a UK rights thing?).

                          Some cracking goals! It looked an enjoyable watch all round. And I actually didn't think the kit looked too bad either.

                          Liked the look of the new boys in these touch comps too:

                          Balogun looked decent. I prefer his touch and fluid movement to Nketiah's but he still looks way short of where he needs to be in terms of his ability to compete in duels. Both from a strength pov and also in his level of aggression. Especially when there's an aerial ball to compete for. I'm not basing it on these few munutes, it was a concern I had before last season, and I was hoping his loan might have brought that part of his game on, but the early signs aren't good.

                          Saka in the first half and Odegaard in the second were head and shoulders above the rest and showed why they are our two best players. Aside from those two, Trossard, Jesus (open header aside) and Martinelli were good in attack, Jorginho was pretty good, Saliba, White and Gabriel weren't troubled (in fact all our CBs were u troubled throughout).

                          Vieira was pretty anonymous, Nketiah seemed a bit isolated on the left wing but still won us a number of free kicks, Balogun showed some decent footwork here and there but was dropping too deep. Marquinos tried but he has a bit of the Joel Cambell about him.

                          For the new signings Timber had good flashes here and there and is showing why I originally thought he had some Parteyness about him in the way he feignts and turns. Rice kept is simple enough although was overshadowed by Timber and Jorginho in how to show for the ball while we are in the the first and middle thirds (it's something he'll have to really work on here). Havertz was secure on the ball, scored a really good goal but I guess I kind of expected a bit more intensity in his off the ball pressing though it was a preseason friendly and in what looked to be really hot conditions so it's possible the players weren't exerting themselves fully.

                          Only player I was disappointed with was Kiwior. He reminds me a lot of Xhaka. Despite having a wand of a left foot, playing some great long diagonals, and being good in the tackle and positional in defence, he has the same nervousness on the ball especially whilst under pressure and has a tendency to lose the ball in those kinds of situations, and this only gets magnified when he comes inside. Worried he'll really cost us if he plays any significant role for us in that inverted LB role. As a CB or more traditional LB I don't think I'd be as worried, similar to Tierney as a traditional LB.

                          Kiwior makes me so nervous. He's Mustafi reincarnated at the moment. He makes stupid mistakes and poor decisions quite often.

                          Vieira isn't impressive either. I forgot he was playing about 30 minutes in

                            I am expecting Martinelli will explode this season