Calafiorication: Page 7 - The Arsenal discussion community: One More in the Tolly

Calafiorication

QuincyAbeyie

daredevil White and Timber being our best fullbacks doesn't necessarily mean that the best option is to start both (unless you think Timber is equally good on both sides).

Burnwinter

I think that rather than watching a suspect defender we're watching a good defender adapt to unfamiliar and challenging instructions. Arteta appears to have asked this kid to go a long way forward and do a lot on the ball.

We know from the analysts when we signed him that his foot speed isn't his strength, but I reckon we'll see more balanced and aware positioning as he settles in. Maybe only after he gets punished a couple of times but then, if he doesn't get punished, who cares?

goon

White and Timber appear to be our best options defensively. But in a team that's very very good defensively and have Gabriel and Saliba at the back, you can probably sacrifice 2% defensive security for 10% more going forward.

No one was saying Liverpool and City needed to get rid of Trent and Cancelo while they were racking up 90-100 points consistently, they were instead recognised as the two best fullbacks around.

Burnwinter

I don't see any sign of him being more of a defensive liability than Zinchenko but he's been more dynamic and aggressive going forward due to his physicality and ball-carrying, and he's strong in duels. Martinelli has also had an uptick in productivity. Looks more like a plan working than an experiment failing so far.

USArsenal

Burnwinter

More than that, he is 22 years old, and has played 5 games for us. (maybe 4?) He is already a defensive upgrade on Zinchenko, who is 27. He has plenty of time to improve, and I think he will. He is still a little bit raw, but all the tools are there and he has already shown a lot in a small amount of time.

Qwiss

daredevil fortunately Zinchenko has been more or less phased out of the team. I told you during the summer he was the new Cedric.

Clrnc

He rushes into challenges and sometimes get beaten but it's entirely normal. He is still very solid in defence.

People are talking as if he's Zinchenko.

Calafiori has no problems at all.

mdgoonah41

i think once he fully adapts to the pace of the league he will be the best leftback we've had since cashley. has all the physical tools and hes got a proactive mindset on the pitch

lorddulaarsenal

This guy is brilliant. Adds urgency to our play when in possession and is also very comfortable on the ball

Don’t think he’s fully fit yet either

samthegooner

He's definitely figuring out how to pick his spots in terms of being aggressive and containing. The beauty of it is that he has a lot of ability you can't teach in terms of his confidence, aggression and ability to win balls he shouldn't. He's also in a defensive room that features plenty of guys who he can learn from in terms of harnessing that aggression just a little bit. I always forget how young he is - only 22. It speaks volumes that he can change to RB, a position I don't think he has ever played before and still play it to an adequate level against a top side in a pressure packed match. The lack of pace is a little worry but as long as we have Gabriel and Saliba backing him up, I don't think it will become a big issue other than isolated instances here and there. Seeing him essentially as the #10 on one of our counter attacks and not looking out of place at all was very amusing and I'm glad that Arteta isn't trying to rein in his wild card nature since it adds some unpredictability to our well drilled setup. I am already a huge fan and I think he's going to be a star in this league, but it might take a few speed bumps along the way.

flobaba

Okay, so I'm going to focus on the negatives. He is noticeably slow, and worse, quite error prone.

The errors he might be able to iron out of his game as he matures. But the pace? Can't do much about that. This doesn't bode well for him at the highest level, and especially in the premier league where speed kills.

Claudius

flobaba I’ll counter that by saying we dominate possession and territory in our games, except against city and a few other opponents. In those games we emphasise ball circulation, beating the press, breaking the lines and physical superiority on set pieces. He does all of that really well.
There are very few unicorns. Make the most of the positives.

Gazza M

flobaba one other thing I notice about him is his instinct is to drive with the ball, have a bit of a think, then release. like 90% of the time. even if there's an easier quick pass on. I realise we've bought him for his ability to carry the ball and create transitions, but hopefully he learns how to judge when a pass is the more effective option

flobaba

Claudius

I like the concept of him so far. Want to see how he settles in eventually. As you say, we can compensate for his pace tactically, so he shouldn’t be exposed too badly.

lorddulaarsenal

He’s slow?

flobaba

He is slow…

I think it might be because of that knee injury he suffered while still a yute

Claudius

He’s not a gazelle. It’s why Bologna moved him from left back to centre back. They liked his qualities but worried about his speed. So flobaba is not imagining things. I just think we have different dynamics that mask that

Seeing him and Timber is the first time I’ve felt like we can move past Zinchenko

Clrnc

He's not a speedster but I wouldn't say he's slow.

Just average speed. He's faster than someone like Trossard anyway.

Let's not forget more than held his own at Ettihad

lorddulaarsenal

He has quick reactions and a galloping style. Think maybe he appears slower than he is because he’s a big bloke

flobaba

Claudius Seeing him and Timber is the first time I’ve felt like we can move past Zinchenko

Ha, but you're a Zinchenko Stan. His number has been up for some time now. Soon as his defensive limitations started getting exposed and exploited regularly a year or two ago, I knew he was done here and said as much. Tomi, as injury prone as he is, was a clear improvement defensively, and Arteta would always rather you defend first, invert / contributions to attack is secondary. In Afro American parlance, we've been moved past him.

Gazza M

tbh, defensively he looks like white when he first arrived. in his first season white was also getting caught out a fair bit against tricky wingers, and had some sus moments under the high ball. calafiori has the tools and support to polish that side of his game like blanco did.

flobaba

Gazza M there are some parallels. I was never worried about whites pace though. Just his initial shaky one v one defending (which he tightened up considerably to his credit), and the way better opponents were often able to disrupt our possession when they pressed on the right side vs on our left as his passing out of defence is good, but not exceptional, and he lacks the ability to consistently dribble out of danger (and is mid at inverting).

Burnwinter

flobaba Arteta would always rather you defend first, invert / contributions to attack is secondary.

Arteta invented "the Zinchenko role" at City so I reckon he's got a few more ideas than that.

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