Clrnc yeah, I know that we didn't have any of our traditional midfielders on the bench but I expected Arteta to try something else out to give them a rest.

    Claudius

    Remember a few of us saying how we’re struggling to get into the season, it’s amazing what some great football does for you. I’m back listening to podcasts again!

    Our right side and Gabriel unstoppable right now.

      Was on a plane last night but I've just gotten through the replay. Delightful stuff albeit a touch slower after the half! Timber was spectacular once again.

      At our best we are the best team in the league.

      I can see us going on a really good run of form now that we have Timber, Odegaard and Calafiori fit

      daredevil White has not been at full capacity for pretty much all of 2024. Hopefully, we can see the best of him.

      On Timber, the way Arteta spoke about him being a big miss last season makes sense now. He is sensational

        Well, that was nuts. Poor game, in many ways. Saka and Odegaard are everything.

        Jesus, Kiwior, and Sterling...🤢

          RocktheCasbah if both are at their best Timber triumph easily. He is way better in tight spaces and technical ability to be more effective for us as a FB.

              Clrnc if both are at their best Timber triumph easily. He is way better in tight spaces and technical ability to be more effective for us as a FB.

              I'm happy to admit my early concerns following his return to the team at the end of last season about Timber's tendency to charge forward ahead of the ball too much and leaving us exposed were unfounded.

              At the time he seemed way to eager to push up into AM positions ahead of the ball in our last game of the season which did worry me at the time that he may be another Zinchenko type who is a defender by position but wants to be an attacker. After his games this season though he has shown he is solid defensively and picks his moments to attack, and doesn't just go all gung ho like first indications seemed to me.

              Like @RocktheCasbah , I love White, but Timber is quality. I can't say for certain he's better but what I will say in his favoir is we don't feel White's absence as much when Timber starts, and that's saying something given the chemistry White has with Saka and Odegaard. Also maybe shows just how good Odegaard and Saka are that they continue to play well and make their RB look good despite whoever steps in.

                  daredevil what was he at full capacity? Nothing really special. His greatest attribute is his robustness and minimum 6/10 level of performance. But he'd hardly throw 8s or 9s out there the way Timber has been till it becomes the standard. What we expect from the role has changed. White is close to being as outdated as Tierney now.

                  Sticks tongue out, runs away.

                      Big Willie I can't say for certain he's better

                      You can. Yes, you really can. 😂 It's okay. I grant you permission. Rise. Appreciate the kid. He's a baller. The truth is he's not really a full back. He's the sort that is simply good enough to play absolutely anywhere on the field to decent effect. Swapping out between right back and left back from one week to the next, and looking equally comfy. Jumping into the ode Saka formerly Blanco axis and making it HIS.

                      My biggest doubt about him was his defending, and he's shown those fears largely unfounded. I expect him to have bad days every now and then, but we've absolutely raised our level with this cat at right back.

                        Big Willie White has his strengths, like long balls and vision. But Timber easily triumph on many other things as a fullbacks. Also he is very solid 1v1, probably our best defensively for that.

                        All of them will rotate plenty no issues. But Timber should be first choice.

                        I do think when facing inverted wingers Arteta will put Timber out left for certain matches though

                          Claudius West Ham were a mess. We were rampant, but also oddly sloppy in that first half. Second half was just poor, and the subs were shit.

                              Coombs not sure why but London Stadium is such a good place for us. We also have the 5 0 win where Alexis scored a superb hattrick.

                              Which is why people said we bottled it when we let a 2 goal lead slip in a crucial title race match. Definitely nerves

                                Coombs I don’t know if we were sloppy as a whole. The one guy who still has a lot to learn about going from a free role at Bologna to a very structured defense at Arsenal is Calafiori. He was out of position CJ or the AWB goal. He gave up the ball for their offside goal, and just generally has suspect positioning/recovery when we are defending.
                                He actually reminds me a lot of the worst of Zinchenko when he’s on defense. Not a train smash when we are humming offensively, but needs to be ready later in the season for opponents like Salah and Lamine

                                  Don't feel the same about Calafiori. He can be complacent but he's mostly on it and can defend really well. In tougher matches he was asked not to bomb too much and be disciplined defensively and he more than held his own.

                                  Zinchenko is really a different story.... braindead defender. But he isn't even a defender in the first place so I can forgive him.

                                    Clrnc go back and watch the game and others. Calafiori is often out of position for defense.
                                    But I’m happy to make the trade off based on how he changes our offense

                                      As expected, on MOTD they didn't mention that Rice won the ball. They didn't even talk about how good we were other than Saka being a top player. They chose to focus on how shit WHU are.