you guys are preaching to the choir about the misgivings of moving rice back to 6, but I think it's inevitable. the dynamic will be different though. he will be surrounded by superior players to alleviate too much buildup responsibility. calafiori and timber will offer lots of dynamism, and merino often drops into the 6 zone to pick the ball up off the back four as well. rice at 6 has been a source of consternation for me, but I can see a path where it's not as big of an issue as it was previously.

Maybe I'm being naive but I think this whole 6 and 8 debate is a bit overblown. Think the way we set up is less about positional/responsibility rigidity as opposed to filling our midfield with the right kind of attributes.

Imagine Rice will interchange quite fluidly in-game as needed between roles.

    RocktheCasbah to be fair, it might just be that my brain has melted after having so much discussion about two single digit numbers this summer!

      After watching Rice play as high as he ever has this past weekend, I think getting him deeper and closer to the defense so he's more involved and can snuff out counter attacks and transition opportunities is where I want to see him this year. I agree with the belief that a lot of our struggles when Rice was playing deeper last year were mostly due to who we would then have to play in the 8. I may be wrong but I seem to remember Rice played deeper against Liverpool in the second league game, with Jorginho playing the left 8 role and we looked great in that game. Put Merino in the left 8 and I think we will look even better. When he is on form, Partey's progressive passing is great which we saw in the first half of the Villa game but he still has lapses where he misplaces simple passes and he is absolutely a statue defending transition opportunities these days. I'd be much more willing to bet on small improvements in Rice's progressive passing with Merino in the fold than I would bet on Partey regaining any athleticism that would help him defend large spaces in transition so that's what I would like to see us developing this year. I also think Rice has more potential to be a world class destroyer 6 than he does being an all action 8 and I'd rather us look for a real superstar in the 8 (Wirtz/Musiala/Vitinha/etc) in the next two summers as we replace Jorginho and Partey.

      When has Arteta allowed fluid in game role changes?

      We never saw Xhaka and Partey swap, so why are we now expecting that for Merino and Rice?

        MistaT watch the pre-season games. There was actually a lot of movement there. Across the front, within the midfield. From the fullbacks to midfield. You could see the team were comfortable in their basic structure and were allowed to jazz it up a bit more.

        The thing with freedom of movement in these systems though is it has an impact on defensive assignments should you lose the ball. If everyone is scattered, you will be easy to cut through. A lot of offensive positioning is driven by the ability to quickly recover possession should we lose it

          CPM yep, I watched this earlier too. Thought he came across really well, what he said and how he said it. Think we're gonna be an even tougher nut to crack once he gets settled in.

            MistaT true actually. there is some interchangeability further up the pitch, but the 6 and 8 take up specific positions and don't interchange much

              Yep Arteta confirmed he has injured his shoulder and is out for weeks...great.

              Arteta confirmed it then. Annoying but at least the injury coincides with an international break.

              Very disappointing but as long as the other mids are fit its not a big issue.

              Shoulder fracture means 2-3 months minimally. Hope to have him back before year end

              Can't make it up.

              • est likes this.

              Bloody annoying. I was pretty hyped to see him.