Quote Originally Posted by Mac76 View Post
fair point, maybe I'm settling for mediocrity now...

Pepe's a good player who's never been given a proper exptended run in the team adn Arteta should use him more as a sub and also to reotate him with Saka - instead of running Saka into the ground like he is at the moment
This. I am not saying that Pepe is worth his price tag but he is the best finisher we have (and I include Aubameyang in this), and his style of play introduces unpredictability in our build up. I know he can infuriate, but when he was playing regularly his tracking back had much improved, and he has always performed when given a run in the team. My concern is that Arteta's rigid style is excluding him, while leaving us vulnerable to the high press and making us too predictable. He should find a place for Pepe.

As for Partey and Odegard, I think its way to soon to pass judgment. Odergard sucked last weekend - but this was in a large part because our long balls were going over his head and picked up every time by the giants in Brighton's defence. He is a playmaker not an old fashioned centre forward. he is also young and will have off games. Partey wasn't great either and has never hit the heights that we had hoped...yet. I think however that its no coicidence that his best games have been with Xhaka alongside him, and he has not enjoyed any kind of settled MF partnership without Xhaka. ATM I think that the only legitimate criticism of Partey is that he is not changing games like Saturday's on his own - but it is very difficult when we are prevented from playing out from the back by the other team, and revert to long ball football that only contiunually concedes possession to them.