So we are 3 points up on equivalent games from last year. Good start to the season

While I think he will definitely improve once he gets some confidence, Martinelli was definitely an issue yesterday. His inability to cut inside onto his strong foot and continue those penetrating runs into the box is very puzzling. Add that to when he goes to the outside (much more frequently), his final ball on his left foot is usually poor and results in either a floated over hit ball to the back post that Saka has to track back for or he over hits his touch to set it up and it runs out for a goal kick. I don’t think it helps him when Rice is at the 8 either. I was very frustrated with Rice in this game - he was so far forward and largely a passenger in the game for large stretches. I may be in the minority but personally I feel like Rice at the 8 when Jorginho isn’t at the 6 does not work. He was way too far away from Partey and his combinations with Martinelli fairly nonexistent. There were too many times when the distance between our defense and Partey and then Rice/Martinelli was far too great and they were effectively on an island. I want to see Rice at the 6, Merino at the 8 and Calafiori at LB (not inverting as much) to really see the left sided dynamics with Martinelli- that’s a scenario I feel like he will thrive in. Outside of those conditions, I do think it’s important to bring in another winger who has 1v1 ability and decisiveness. We saw how effective Trossard was immediately with his decisive actions and having another option like that (Jesus would have also been huge if healthy) would make us extremely tough to defend.

Mirth Havertz is fine. The issue now is that Jesus is either injured or recovering or generally out of form and not nearly decisive enough. We need someone to replace Jesus and provide another real option at CF.

flobaba Agree that it was a tight game, but that's where you want the front 3 to be as efficient as possible. Not that Saka was the most efficient yesterday, but he was a fraction away from scoring in the first half (when Martinez saved) and had both assists in some fashion. I didn't really see Havertz hold the ball up yesterday - if anything, he didn't really get in the game much. He had the fewest touches and fewest passes of any outfielder yesterday bar Martinelli. I also didn't see him in the box looking for crosses / cutbacks / trying to hold off defenders. In fact, on both goals, I thought he should have been looking for the chance - he was on his heels when Saka made the cutback and just about got to the ball in time to put off the defender and let it run to Trossard and didn't even make the attempt when Trossard crossed across the box in the lead up to the second. The only thing of note I saw from him was the run to drag the defender away for the chance that fell to Odegaard late in the game. I am sure there are a few things I don't remember but felt like it was a bad game for Havertz overall, which is ok (everyone has those), but I think in such games, he contributes nothing whatsoever and it's like playing with 10 men, which is why I called him an active liability. Hope that clarifies.

Mirth

I love this guy so much!

Feels a bit weird having so many "favourite" players in the squad. Especially after the banter years.

if martinelli could just cut in and curl one he would be so much more effective.

Meatwad not like he didn't use to. He mixed his game up just like Saka does now.

And that's my point on what he's doing now being the result of a combination of the change in the way we play on the left side coupled with his being out of form and in his head. The latter will be rectified with a few goals and positive contributions that have a clearly tangible effects on the result. But the only way to change the former is if Arteta sets us up slightly differently on the left hand side with Merino and Cala/Timber being in the team.

goon So it’s instructions but this instruction only applies to Martinelli and no one else?

Lol, don't be obtuse , you know exactly what I mean. You can't ask a player who is so fundamentally different to another to play in the same way. We saw that experiement when Arteta was trying to do that with Tierney. And even with Kiwior at the start. In the end he tweaked the team so that Kiwior for the most part stayed away from those central areas and from trying to by Zinchenko lite and instead focussed on his strengths. But you are right, Martinelli is out of form and things aren't coming off for him at the moment. I'd be worried if he was just hiding but he seems to be trying too hard to force things. As long as he isn't shying away from the challenge, he'll get back there.

I'm curious to see how we play with on the left with that Timber(Cala)/Rice(Partey)/Merino/Martinelli(Tross) axis. White/Odegaard/Saka is currently our strongest partnership apart from Saliba/Gabriel, but it did take a solid year to really kick in and for them to gain a telepathic understanding with one another while playing week in, week out next to each other. Once our left side settles and has regulars who play week in, week out next to one another, these innate combinations and movements will really start producing results.

These are all very good/great players, and whoever starts at LB, LCM or LW is good enough for a title challenging team. The challenge is getting the right set of players together that give you the best overall combination of defensive strength and offensive firepower and playing that group until their training ground routines are second nature.

Big Willie I think Trossard's almost certainly given different instructions based on everything I've heard about how Arteta coaches.

The approach is pretty detailed, there are player quotes indicating it goes down to specific proportions of the time specific wingers should cut in versus go on the outside, how often to cut the ball back versus crossing behind the lines, and all that.

There are also matching "automatisms" about the runs players like Ødegaard and Saka are supposed to make when Martinelli's on the ball and has made one of these decisions … one of Øde or Rice is supposed to head to the top of the penalty area for the cutback for example. Pretty obvious stuff I guess.

But @Clrnc is being fair when he says there's a "pictures" issue with Martinelli's game on top of the instructions. There are runs Trossard that is able to see and make (like his run for the goal versus Villa) that are moves Martinelli probably isn't barred from making, but just doesn't have the vision to actually make for now.

Gabi is going to need to step up in one area or another: either improve his decision-making (and vision), or his execution of passes and shots, or his one-on-one guile. If he doesn't then he'll be dropped again, and eventually he'll be upgraded. Seems pretty obvious he'll have a lot of better days than the one we just saw however.