Bournemouth - Arsenal. Tomorrow, Sat: 17:30 UK Time. : Page 21 - The Arsenal discussion community: One More in the Tolly

Bournemouth - Arsenal. Tomorrow, Sat: 17:30 UK Time.

Panda

Mirth Rice has offered nothing offensively this season. We had hardly any left footers in the team actually - only Cala, Gabi + Merino. Would have been better off getting Trossard to take the inswinging corners with his left.

Mirth

Agree. I'm probably being pessimistic following a defeat and therefore everyone's in the firing line but Rice needs to do more in Odegaard's absence. He's one of those that bolsters our defence and attack as part of the supporting cast but doesn't seem to lead it.

HomeSteak

Mirth I was thinking about Rice during the game. He needs to be a leader on the pitch. We were doing nothing with the ball, I expected him to go on and push with one of his runs and create something. But really, he has been meh at best this season. Needs to pick it up

Don Pacifico

Qwiss there's part of me that thinks it's perhaps the number of changes we made to the team that was the biggest issue. Would like to see us go back to having Trossard and Havertz rotating positions in-game as that's worked well for us since Ode has been out.

Claudius

Don Pacifico anyway you cut it, you end up with changes. If you do what you describe, you end up with Jesus and Sterling on the wing. So two fresh wingers.

Qwiss

Don Pacifico I have to assume he moved Trossard out of the centre because Saka was our and Martinelli wasn't 100%. Otherwise it wouldn't make much sense to break a formula that had been working ok.

HomeSteak he's had a pretty mediocre start to the season. We need a bit more when we are missing our leaders.

Lukazan

Expecting him to make some forward surges with the ball and something happening because of that is fair but if you're expecting Rice to create something any other way, you're gonna be disappointed. He's just not that. He has no finesse or, I dunno, "cuteness" to his game at all. Because of Odegaard's absence we've seen Rice on the ball alot, in and around the opposition third and he sticks out like a sore thumb to me. He cannot create.

Gurgen

Rice is also better as a 6. Stop this nonsense of playing DMs in dynamic roles.

Clrnc

Gurgen It's painful watching Merino and Rice running channels.

If you want to play 3 DMs, you jolly well make sure Sterling and Trossard is positioned up front and don't need to come back to defend

JazzG

Qwiss we shouldn't be relying on one chance for the game. That's the real issue.

I agree but we will have games throughout the season where we aren't on form and possibly play poorly, in those games we might have only have one chance to win it. That Martinelli miss was that one chance, he scores that and we go on to win the game imo.

Claudius

JazzG it’s a 25% chance. @Qwiss is right. If we have 1 or 2 more chances of that quality that he misses, then he deserves harsh criticism. But one chance 5 minutes after coming on to game where we have no possession…

Qwiss

JazzG we should be more critical of the forwards who played all or most of the game and didn't score. Blaming the guys getting the chances is really illogical. The reality is Martinelli has a 2.37xg this season and has scored 2 goals. He's not wasteful. He's also got 2 assists. His productivity is fine and we all think he has another gear.

The big issue is that people overrate chances when their importance is heightened. The idea that Trossard scores that is a fantasy because he's not going to be in the same place as Martinelli. Especially given that Trossard cost us the match in a much more real and tangible way then Martinelli. The 2 players have played similar minutes and both have 2 goals, as does Saka who's played about 50% more than them. The difference is Saka has 7 assists and Martinelli has 2, Trossard has none.

Anyway we should have started that game with Trossard and Martinelli. The Rice, Partey and Merino midfield has fuck all goal threat or creativity.

Big Willie

Claudius But one chance 5 minutes after coming on to game where we have no possession…

That's the key thing. Dude literally just came on. It's hard enough finishing that chance with a defender closing in quickly after you've had time to settle in the game but with pretty much one of your first touches, it's harsh. Plus the chance wasn't all that easy. The keeper made up for his mistake by coming far the box and making himself big to make the save.

awooga83

I agree that the bigger problem in a game is if you only create the one chance your going to be hyper critical if that miss. The one thing for me with martinelli is on recent evidence his finishing hasn't been great he tends to go for the safer just try to hit the ball on target and doesn't have that quality in being able to clinically take his chances.

flobaba

At this level, with the margins we are working with, you finish that chance.

If I'm a striker, regardless of game state, I want that one back. Put Trossard in that position for example and a different outcome is all but assured.

Claudius

flobaba you probably wanted to bury Henry after the final in Paris

Bring Back Kerrea Gilbert

flobaba it's harsh and pretty rudimentary I know, but what are these guys earning millions of pounds a year for? Martinelli isn't doing his primary job anywhere near frequently enough, it's that simple.

Seriously, put me on the left wing and I will defend and help out Calafiori. I'm quick and probably fit enough to do that for 20 minutes 😆

Burnwinter

At this level, with the margins we work at, you'd expect us to score our so-called xG, or "expected goals" in goals, an interesting statistical abstraction which despite its flaws has been devised for this very purpose.

Consider that tweet @Sicario2 - Tier 1 linked the other day about how scandalous it is we've only converted 9 of 29 "big chances". The Cannon Stats bloke later pointed out it is in fact 9 goals from a modelled 8.8 xG for those "big chances".

Claudius

Burnwinter kind of people who tout big chances typically hate xG and call it fake leftist news. When it just does a better job of explaining chance creation

Tam

Claudius I still do!

Mirth

Since Calafiori's been in the team, Martinelli's been in good form

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