Summer 24: Page 56 - The Arsenal discussion community: One More in the Tolly

Summer 24

Gazza M

seen a few corroborating sources saying this as well. 35m barring any late shenanigans

Clrnc

He's incredibly similar in stats and style to Rice. But he's probably better at passing through the lines and aerially.

Having two duel monsters in midfield would be insanely good

Claudius

Clrnc i'm very excited for this player.

Mirth

Clrnc good vid - there’s a chance we shift to a 4231 at times for tactical flexibility. For the most part though that third midfield slot is for Partey and Jorginho to lose and Merino’s here to give Rice a chance to recover

Burnwinter

Clrnc The Edu's BBQ guy did a thorough and interesting dossier on him (it's long). He sounded somewhat different from Rice by those lights.

Clrnc

Mirth We really ought to release Odegaard from doing too much dirty work in .midfield with Merino here and just let him focus on the creative side of things

Don Pacifico

Clrnc this. 100x this.

The one truly, creatively brilliant player we have shouldn't be spending the majority of his time in the middle third of the pitch.

Fingers crossed Merino will enable this.

Claudius

Clrnc I disagree with this.
Our style of play demands that Odegaard sand others do this dirty work. This is why Arteta loves Odegaard, Rice, Havertz. Because these guys are constantly running for 90 minutes, pressing, tackling, outmuscling their opponents. And this is why guys like ESR, Vieira etc., won't survive in this structure long term, and a man like Merino is prioritised. Because we want high workrate off the ball to ensure that we do not lose our shape if we ever lose the ball, and are able to recover quickly and punish teams in their transition states.

When the work declines, you see it very clearly. So when Partey first started this summer in the USA, his lack of running stretched the team out and made it very hard to press. By the time we got back to England, he was fit, we were tighter and we pressed really well for the first halves of these games.

what I think we will see is the team showing different faces as the game progresses. So play Partey for an hour, and put on a fresh Merino. Play Harvertz and zinchenko, and then have a fresh Cala and Jesus to give opponents different questions.

goon

I reckon we'll see Rice and Merino playing together more often than we think. Reckon Partey will have a more rotational role this season.

Burnwinter

goon I reckon we'll see Rice and Merino playing together more often than we think.

Yeah, I think so too. Not sure if Rice will play the existing 6 role again, but I wouldn't be surprised if Arteta ran the experiment.

QuincyAbeyie

It's not about that, really. 'Dirty work' isn't done in a vacuum, it takes away from other things. So it depends on whether you want someone else (Merino) to do more dirty work in order for Ødegaard to do more of what he's even better at.

Ødegaard is good at the dirty work, but nothing special that you can't get a decent defensive midfielder to do. What he does in the attack, you can't get anyone else to do.

goon

I don't really think the way we (and City/Liverpool) set up allows someone to do the 'dirty work' of others.

Our team press for example relies on everyone to do their bit, and do it well. One player being slightly late to the press allows teams out. Merino can't press for both Ode and the left 8 role. Similarly with tracking back, they each have their zones and man to cover.

What guys like Rice and Merino can do however, is be so good at the 'dirty work' that it requires less of it from others by default. If we win the ball back quicker and earlier, it means Ode and co need to drop back less. And that's primarily why we're after duel monsters, so that we hog more of the ball and suffocate teams when they win it back.

QuincyAbeyie

goon What guys like Rice and Merino can do however, is be so good at the 'dirty work' that it requires less of it from others by default.

I can't speak for them, but I think that's what Clrnc and Don are saying.

goon

QuincyAbeyie

Yeah maybe. I just have visions of Rashford standing on the halfway line.

Mirth

Burnwinter thing is Rice is good at all the qualities of playing at the base of midfield except passing between the lines. You’d think the likes of Merino and Cala can help with that.

QuincyAbeyie

Doesn't really matter who's first choice, Merino will play with Rice by default when Partey is injured most of the season.

QuincyAbeyie

goon i was thinking more peak Messi.

Meatwad

we can say we don't have the money or something, but it's not hard to improve on havertz, jesus and nketiah.

MistaT

lorddulaarsenal — hard to imagine Eze moving as Olise already has, and Guehi seems close to Newcastle

samthegooner

jones Definitely valid for Salah. Saka has heavy minutes as a teenager but Rodri actually played more minutes than him as a 21 year old and has held at around 2,700 minutes or more since then (barring his first season at City where he played 2,486). Saka has certainly played more intense minutes due to his position and takes those contact knocks that I am hoping that refs can finally reduce a bit this year, and we don't know how that will add up down the line.

I do think that modern sports science and Saka's own conditioning far outpace anything that Rooney or Fabregas had available to them when they were playing. There were multiple times I remember Rooney and Fabregas coming back from the summer and not always looking like they were ready to go, while Saka always is in incredible shape. Here in the states, we have seen this with a lot of the high schoolers who went to the NBA in the early 2000s playing much longer than their predecessors due to advances in sports science that help recovery and longevity. I'm not saying I wouldn't mind Saka reducing his workload to around the 2,700 minute mark season to season but I don't think his workload is as alarming as it is portrayed here and elsewhere.

jones

samthegooner there's no way Rodri played more aged 21 than Saka, don't have to check the stats. Maybe you mean that one season they both turned 21 but overall it's not close, Saka got regular minutes under Emery already.

No one knows how his body will react in the future but I've seen plenty of signs I don't like even without the obvious limping.

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