⚽ Aston Villa vs Arsenal, Saturday 24th, 5.30pm

Pepe LeFrits

Motivation shouldn't be a problem for this but Partey in midfield worries me. He seems to have lost a lot of agility and struggles to receive the ball. Hopefully he'll be good for at least a half and then we can sub in Merino or Jorginho early in the second half.

I reckon Timber will start at LB to counter Leon Bailey cutting inside; his appearance yesterday rather than Cala was indicative. Don't see Arteta throwing Calafiori or Merino (if we have him by then) in.

Claudius

Pepe LeFrits his main issue is fitness. He was fine first half and then went to shit second half. The other problem with his fitness is it affects our pressing. It opens up our spaces and makes it’s easier for teams to play through. We can’t complete the Merino signing quickly enough to improve our athleticism. We might even see Havertz and Jesus combo while we wait for Merino to settle in.

Coombs

Claudius his main issue is fitness.

His main issue is actually how bad he is on the ball in dangerous moments. I think he's done. Progressive passing is becoming an obsession - there are more ways to skin a cat.

Same goes for Zinchenko.

Sicario2 - Tier 1

We have to beat these cunts.

Put it frankly, they cost us the title.

Now time to fuck them, Martinez and Emery!

Dom

A lot less worried about Partey than Zinchenko. In last season's home match against Villa he was a disgrace. Surely he can't start?

I'm reasonably confident about getting a win out of this. Last year both Saka and Odegaard started the season slow but looking at their performances yesterday they look fired up.

Sicario2 - Tier 1

Dom

What’s last season got to with anything? If he’s played well pre-season, played well yesterday and our other LB’s are short on fitness, then he plays.

Don Pacifico

Sure Partey's fitness is a problem but folk seem to forget how sloppy he is in possession. Big problem given when he's in our third.

Sicario2 - Tier 1

Don Pacifico

He has always been sloppy with possession. This is not something new. At least we got Rice now who can clean up for him.

Qwiss

Don Pacifico he had the 3rd highest pass competition in the team. Only out done by Saka and Rice who somehow managed 100% pass competition which an astounding stat.

Dom

Sicario2 - Tier 1

That match is still relevant because it was a few months ago and Bailey - who'll likely be starting on Saturday - ran through Zinchenko as soon as he came on. Zinchenko was sloppy as usual against Wolves so we can't carry a defensive liability in what's going to be one of the most physical matches we'll have this season.

flobaba

In general, I thought Rice looked pretty ineffective in the 8 position. Hopefully he only is in that role for a few games until Merino arrives and settles in. The plan has to be minimal reliance on Partey for the first team this season.

Burnwinter

flobaba Perceptions. Rice was better than Xhaka there after Dubai last season, going by the numbers. Not that Xhaka was all that great.

If we do go to Rice at 6, I don't reckon it'll last. He'll be going to waste there in a lot of our matches and hindered from doing his best work in both directions.

If we end up fielding Merino, Rice and Ødegaard I think we might see some more mobile midfield setups.

banduan

Rice looked poor vs Wolves but was great in that position for most of last season. He clearly isn't fit yet, but aside from that maybe he needs to work on his shooting. He does some great long range efforts but when he's actually shooting from a good position he often skews or skies it. A few goals in and people won't think twice about Rice at 8 - a natural progressor of the ball just from his runs upfield.

Qwiss

banduan his stats from last season were as good for goal involvement as Xhakas hyped up final seasons. The reality is he's an upgrade on Xhaka in that position but because of his price tag people want much more from him.

HomeSteak

Qwiss he gave the ball away in a very dangerous position at least twice. Other teams would have scored from there. He is very sloppy in possession

Qwiss

HomeSteak stats are stats. He made more passes than the other mids, he'd less loose passes than any of the back 4. He did make a couple of bad passes, one that was particularly dangerous but Saliba and Gabriel were doing that too. I'm not getting too worried about them or Partey yet. The main issue is Arteta should have subbed him earlier. We could do with getting Jorginho on at around the hour mark until Parteys fitness improves.

Meatwad

that 2nd goal came about because of partey's quick thinking as well.

goon

I don't think we'll see any changes unless Arteta want's to get Timber in there. This stage of the season is usually about building fitness and loading the mins.

Partey was poor in the second half but I think first game of the season a drop off can be excused. He's more likely to be sharper than Jorginho at this stage who has barely played.

Claudius

I really enjoyed Timber's cameo. From the subs, he and Jesus appear most able to contribute from the start. My inclination would be to keep the same team, but to sub earlier.
I was actually frustrated that Arteta went so long before subs, but then it made sense later - he's building their stamina.

Qwiss

Arteta has done a great job of winding the players up when they face teams who've hurt us the season before so hopefully he'll do the same again here. Villa are very good side though and getting a win at Villa Park is not going to be easy. We have so many tough fixtures coming up though it feels like we need to go there and win. It'd lay down a serious marker.

goon

Coombs Same goes for Zinchenko

Clive from Arsenal Vision made a great point about it. He's good at ball progression from higher up the pitch, but not from deep areas when we're on the back foot. That's when he dallies, fails to launch counters and often gives the ball away directly or indirectly. We need someone in there more rounded.

I don't think Partey falls in the same criteria though. His issue is mental rather than ability, he seems to just completely fall apart as soon as he has a bad moment.