Arsenal 1-1 Citeh (4-1 Penalties) player ratings and match reaction

[Mac76]

Vieira looks a good stand in for Saka judging by the Monaco game, friendly or not, he had a better performance in that match than i've seen ESR put in for a very long time

[21_GOONER_SALUTE]

Have you? Kudus? I thought he was a winger. Also isn’t he going to Brighton

Yeah Kudus, or his type.

And yeah he can play on the wing or behind the attackers centrally.

I mean like I've said before I'd like something very different from Odegaard and all the other slow technical players we have; I want someone a bit selfish who has the power and ability to create something all on his own. A bit like an Alexis kind of player; or what Pepe was originally bought to do for us.

The thing is, there is a huge gap behind our attackers to exploit
for goals and we're wasting it if you ask me.

[HCZ_Reborn]

I think the issue personally is more linking defence and attack, and a no8 is required for that. For me the ideal player was Youri Tielemans but he’s now at Aston Villa.

Can Smith Rowe drop deeper and play that role? Not from what I’ve seen but I’ve only ever seen him try to play that role once

[21_GOONER_SALUTE]

I think the issue personally is more linking defence and attack, and a no8 is required for that. For me the ideal player was Youri Tielemans but he’s now at Aston Villa.

Can Smith Rowe drop deeper and play that role? Not from what I’ve seen but I’ve only ever seen him try to play that role once

Then we differ.

Our plan B shouldn't be someone looking to find the perfect pass for heavily marked attackers, I'd prefer a player confident in making the difference himself from the middle i.e. able to exploit space and score from there, a bit like what Stevie G and Lampard did for their clubs but in a different way.

Our last few games show we can create and eventually get that final pass through the eye of the needle, but our attackers are not potent... so typically we need 3-4 shots on goal to score.

Of all the players we have currently that Arteta likes, ( and I'm excluding Odegaard who obviously prefers passing the buck than going for it himself), only Smith Rowe comes close to looking like that kind of player, but he's clearly short on confidence which it seems will take quite a while to build back up.

[HCZ_Reborn]

I think the problem is more getting the ball to the front four in a timely fashion. As much as I don’t like Xhaka, it was clear that him playing the no 8 role along with playing Zinchenko as the extra man in midfield allowed more space for the front four to operate in as we were able to get at the opposition who might not have had time to get back and effect a deep block or would not be tactically in the right shape.

Of course the downside to this is defensive vulnerability and thus why we scored a hell of a lot of goals at home (53 in 19) but only kept four clean sheets at home all season, so really what we want is to get the defensive-attacking balance right and that starts and ends (in my view) in central midfield.

In all honesty I don’t even disagree with you about adding variety to our attack but I see it as a separate issue entirely, the one thing we benefit from with a player with Jesus is a player who is good at taking on the deep block because his runs tend to suck players in to him and then he is able to play in someone in space and where he dropped off last season after coming back from injury was that he was not looking so much to do this, and we were far more reliant on Odegaard breaking teams down.

So again I’m not against your view that we need someone quicker and more direct, but I also think that will be less effective if the opposition players can get back before we transition defence into attack.

[Mac76]

( and I'm excluding Odegaard who obviously prefers passing the buck than going for it himself)

Oh absolutely, after all it's not he was our joint top scorer last season or anything is it

[21_GOONER_SALUTE]

Oh absolutely, after all it's not he was our joint top scorer last season or anything is it

Are you saying this negates the observation that when Captain Marvel has an opportunity to either shoot/finish or pass, he goes for the latter?

[Mac76]

Are you saying this negates the observation that when Captain Marvel has an opportunity to either shoot/finish or pass, he goes for the latter?

Er, yes...?

Otherwise how does he score 15 PL goals?

Earlier on when he joined us he did pass the buck a bit, but last season he started taking responsibility and going for goal

EDIT: oh and ignore this next bit, i thought i was talking to HCZ...

You were obviously too busy watching and rewatching 'All or Nothing' in forensic detail to keep up with Arsenal matches - that would explain your ludicrously low player ratings at least

[HCZ_Reborn]

Good….Good. Let the Hate flow through you

[Mac76]

Good….Good. Let the Hate flow through you

I see you've caved and are trying the 'well of course i'm just trying to wind you up' routine