Quote Originally Posted by Penguin View Post
Oh, I do agree that getting a striker is a priority. Although technically we do have Podolski and Bendtner who can play as a CF too. As for our wide options you could say we can play Cazorla, Ozil, Rosicky, Ramsey, and Wilshere there but that's just playing players out of position, and they don't play there particularly well. It's like saying we can play Flamini at left back - we all know he can play there but we only want him there as cover in an emergency and not as a regular role over a season which our CAMs have been doing. Theo are Podolski are fine there but as I said before I don't think they are top level forwards and there is a lot of scope for improvement.

Cazorla's best position for us is right behind the striker regardless of where he has played before. Even when he's playing well on the wing he plays far too deep and central. He gets freedom to move around but usually comes infield to play a bit of tippy tappy triangles in front of the opponent's box which only helps us keep possession and doesn't normally contribute to breaking them down. It also means that when Ozil gets the ball on the counter there's usually only two players in front of him - Giroud and Theo - because Cazorla's in line with him or drifting somewhere else when he receives the ball. That's a waste of Ozil's best talent with his vision, especially since Giroud is slow and always runs towards the ball. So basically by playing Santi there we are restricting our two best playmakers rather than getting the best out of them.



Reus isn't a speed freak like Henry was but he does have a very good turn of pace and acceleration. He's also got great balance and is hard to shake off the ball like a lot of 'small' European attackers nowadays. Physically he's certainly no worse than Suarez or RvP so I can't see that being an issue. It's hard how well he'd do without actually seeing him play there so I personally wouldn't sign him specifically as a CF. But as a wide forward he's lightyears ahead of anyone we've got so it's a no-brainer if we've got enough cash.
Agree with that. I don't think Cazorla has played so badly this season, he's just been ineffective on the flanks. There is no point in playing a tippy tappy player on the wing. It's problematic. Whenever Rosicky is played wide, he abandons that position completely and moves to the centre. We've seen Jack really struggle there and Cazorla hasn't struggled as badly but he's had no influence. We need direct wingers for that position. Someone that will take on his man and drive into the box, not drift in to play one twos.

Ozil is a mystery to me. He drifts all over the field and only manages to rack up 40/50 passes a game. That's not enough for a central player and he's not having the sort of influence I expected. Seems to me he needs a player like Rosicky or Cazorla next to him in the middle to find him but I really hate having to say that about a £40m world class talent. He needs to make things happen and in due time maybe he'll grow in confidence but I'm beginning to think he's not essential for the middle but moving him out wide will properly result in the same problem we have with Cazorla and what we've had with players like Hleb, Nasri and Arshavin.

We'll see how the next few weeks pan out but once again it looks like we have the square pegs in round holes problem. We have so many talented central players but not enough positions for them.