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It’s thinking about the options available to us. If the budget is limited (which is very likely to be the case) we can’t expect much to change aside from hopeful punts working out. There’s no perfect approach, but as a club we’re up against it if we want to make any real changes to our progression.
A bit of good coaching and scouting is all we can hope for at this stage really. Qualifying for the CL would be hugely significant so lets pray for that too.
Bit of a sad state of affairs overall though, being "self-sustaining" means nothing when you're in a bubble that is never going to burst.
The Ozil chapter is dead and buried please lets put it to bed there is no resurrecting him. No at this club anyways. He played against Cardiff and had no influence, what does he need to step up? Seeing Barca or RM at the other end, this is the same player who bottled a pen against Bayern with the eyes of the world upon him. I was aligned with NQ back in the day in defending Ozil as not being the root cause of all our problems. (That was Wenger btw Letters). Now people are making out the Ozil is the root of our road back to success. Forget about him, the problem with Ozil is Ozil. He wants a team that plays around his deficiencies. If he loses the ball, he wants other team mates to get it back and it recycle to him, to play the killer pass to the lethal striker (Ronaldo). That is okay if you have 2 tireless midfielders who will battle all day like Modric and Khedira. We don't have that, everyone has to put in a shift as we Arsenal can neither rely on a strong midfield or a watertight defence. When Ozil decides to come out of retirement, we will have a place for him, especially since we cant get rid of him. I see him now as peripheral, like El Neney. We should all do the same, its only his eye watering salary that makes us thing he should be essential.
As far as Cazorla is concerned, that ship too has already sailed. A 33ye old diminutive veteran who almost had his leg amputated on the back of an infection that nearly ate all his tendon. He did his best for us but would not solve any of our issues now. Yes we need a playmaker but one that can also battle and not be dispossessed of the ball so easily. I recall a game against Spurs at the Emirates a few seasons back, Spurs midfield were all over him. They had a plan , As soon as Cazorla had the ball they would put 2 on him and take the ball, killing our game stone dead. It was one of the few occasions that Wenger made a half time substitution, He took Cazorla off, claimed he was injured but I somehow doubt it. Like it or loathe it the EPL is a tough league. Even technical maestros like David Silva can do the scroting as good as any other. Its not an option. I think the Suarez deal is with a view to next season. Ramsey is off and Ozil has been erased by Thanos. Emery hopes he can bed him this next 3 months and if he comes good will be our new no 10 next season, otherwise the search goes on as we definitely need a playmaker in this team.
However Emery is losing me too if i'm honest. I would have played jenks instead of Litch and Ramsey instead of Iwobi who Im no a fan of even less so after yesterdays calamity show. His ineptitude knows no lower limits and offers next to nothing in the AM position. Kos and Mustafi were a horror show yesterday. that pairing all season could see us drifting to mid table Koscielny actually fell over Leno, impeding him from getting to the ball that just crossed the line. Its ok for a CB to score occasional goals, but whats the point if they are useless at defending. Leno stopped it being a 6-1 game yesterday. His tactics are poor, 2 elite strikers who spend all game helping out the defence, Therefore the entire game is played in our half with the opposition CBs inside our half too. Either Laca or better Auba should stay on the centre line keeping the City defenders guessing while we defend their 9 players with our 9 and look for the pass for Auba to run on to. That's the only kind of goal he scores and what made him at Dortmund. Here at Arsenal we defend with all 10 players and attack with all 10 players. Its crazy . We call it attack but its really 6 or 7 players of ours playing the ball ceaselessly across the opposition box until inevitably a pass goes astray and we all collectively panic without a single shot having been taken. Video analysis: Instead of Emery spending hours watching videos of the opposition he should take 1 hour to study his own team.
yes it drives me crazy seeing everyone retreat, especially when we face a corner / FK, as then there's no outlet when we clear it - and very annoying seeing Auba and Laca missing from goal-poaching positions at crucial timesQuote:
Originally Posted by Globalgunner
My two biggest issues with Arsenal when Wenger was manager:
- Playing boring sideways slow football
- Players looking like they couldnt be arsed about the club
I believe under Emery the players always look like they give a fuck. They are just not good enough.
And now the part about playing boring football. Despite our first 2 losses in the opening two games of the season, I felt like the team was always pushing forward and playing some great attacking football. Quite a bit of this was very evident in our games against Fulham, Leicester and Spurs. I dont know what happened in the last couple of months however. We have regressed in our attacking play.. Guendozi cant stop passing the ball sideways and backwards, Torreira has gone off the boil, Iwobi has become a proper donkey and no one seems to have a clue!! All the more baffling that we are benching Ozil in the premier league.. does not make sense. Add to this, the lack of opportunity Emery is giving to youngsters like Willock and Saka who look very promising. Give these guys a shot.. they cant be worse than players like Iwobi and Lichsteiner.
I think Emery's lost his nerve a bit, that was evident over Christmas with those 5-man defences, even in some home games
Agree with the younger players, we can at least hope that Nelson will come back and have an impact
i would add Iwobi to those we could sell, a West Ham or Everton type club probably part with £35m for him.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mac76
But gives the youngsters a go, disappointed that we brought Saurez in to let Emille Rowe go out on loan.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mac76
I don't think we can sell Lacazette realistically, in a more creative team he'd score even more and he offers a lot. I think Aubameyang is a top goalscorer but in a way it was a mistake signing him, he cost a lot and at 29 his value was only going to plummet and he'd need replacing in the fairly near future.
For me we need to sell the likes of Xhaka, Iwobi, Elneny, Mustafi, Lichsteiner, Kolasinac, Jenkinson, Mhiki and Ozil
Then incorporate Nelson, Smith-Rowe and spend the money we have on a winger, a CB, a left back and a backup right back and try and pick up Rabiot on a free and if we can stretch another creative player in midfield.
If we manage to sell all those this should be achievable.
Kolasinac I would keep. I think he's been one of our better performers and without any natural wide players we need to at least keep some width in the team. He's a good age as well with his peak years ahead of him.
I'd agree with you but he's a full back and he can't defend, decent going forward but no good in defence, would rather get a proper winger to do that job as they'll no doubt be better than him at it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Marc Overmars
We need full backs who can defend primarily, being good at attacking is secondary to that IMO, a winning team is built from the back forward.
We need to get a winger anyway so that should negate the need for him and his attacking ability.