Arsenal vs Chelsea Player Ratings and Match Reaction

[Niall_Quinn]

If our leader could switch on his thinking bulb, he could easily give Saka a rest by playing Trossard there.... he did it in a particular game and the world did not cave in.

However as much as his form has dropped, I'd rather put Jesus on the bench, play Trossard through the middle and give Saka 45 mins to do his thing. Nelson coming in as a sub for him in the next half is ok. Or even brining in Jesus as an impact sub (Trossard would then move to the Saka position).

He broke Saka mentally and physically by playing him 90 mins over and over again, even when jt was clear he was struggling with the unrelenting limelight and pressure.

Even Messi was managed properly in his early days, hardly playing 90 mins every single match.

Youngsters of nowadays are weaker, few are mentally and physically as tough as Ronaldo was at that age.

It has been interesting watching the odd game with large (sometimes months long) gaps in between. I have been able to see the marked difference in individuals as well as the team as a whole from a different perspective to fans that watch week in week out. I didn't watch that farcical world cup either so wasn't caught up in the Saka lovefest.

From what I've seen Saka hasn't really improved that much, if at all. But it's hard to say because he was in such a shitty team last season so he stood out. Now the team has improved (in some key areas) maybe Saka has faded a bit in terms of prominence. I don't know if you were actually comparing him to Ronaldo, but that would not be valid at all. It's night and day. Ronaldo was a freak, Saka isn't on the same planet. But he's a decent enough young prospect that needs to do his time, develop his game and gain the experience necessary to influence games on a consistent basis. He doesn't do that yet. Unfortunately he'll probably do the opposite, buy into the hype, focus on the money and soon enough fuck off to some mega club where he'll become a bit part like so many others. Hope not, but we'll see.

I don't accept excuses about the mental challenges though. He should be up to that already. It's the PL after all, and he's being paid a fortune at a time when many are struggling to eat. If you can't get your shit together with that sort of advantage then it's a fundamental weakness that ought to worry people. I don't think that's the problem anyway. Arsenal isn't the finished article and he needs better players around him. He needs teammates that don't shit their nickers when City pitch up on the schedule.

Martinelli is the player who has stood out for me. Such a big difference between last season and this. And he's had to cope with the same limitations as Saka, but it hasn't hampered him as much, by what I can see from snapshots over time.

Still, these are two players that form the basis of a decent team and eventually squad, if the dealings in the transfer market are managed with at least a degree of competence. Big if.

Shame about ESR. Can't think of what possibly happened there because he looked the best of the three.