Originally Posted by Master Splinter
Suits me, though - I’m quite happy for the rest of the world to keep making assumptions about us and not really pay close attention to what we’re doing.
Suits me, though - I’m quite happy for the rest of the world to keep making assumptions about us and not really pay close attention to what we’re doing.
I agree with all of this. I think one of the biggest improvements in the team since January has been Central Midfield, Partey especially is now showing the form that we all knew he was brought in for, he is dominating the middle of the park every single week now, he was outstanding again yesterday. For all his faults, Xhaka has really stepped up too, both him and Partey are controlling games now. Having Odegaard further forward completes the trio, it looks like we have a perfect blend of experience as well as physicality and technical skills.
Right. I’m loving how much they want it right now.
This is a team who are ready to fight for each other and the fans.
That’s what I expect from a team. We might yet miss out due to inexperience or injuries, or the lack of a really top striker. But there’s definite progress and I’m enjoying watching us play more, it does seem more direct than the sideways nonsense towards the end of Wenger’s time with us.
If this team had a world class striker and a bit more maturity up front I don’t think they’d be too far off achieving something big. If we can nail the signings in the summer I’m very optimistic about what we could do next season. I do worry about not scoring enough goals to kill games dead, you never want to leave the door open for a fluke, dodgy refereeing etc, but we’re doing enough right now it seems.
Defensively we’re quite sound and the shape of the team is helping squeeze out these wins. No doubt if we get 4th it will be down to the the work put in there. It’s weird watching an Arsenal team in complete control of performances, none of that hap hazard stuff we’ve seen so often in the past.
Every game has that cup final feel now. Confidence is growing but that run in April will decide our fate, we have to go into those games in the driving seat.
Last edited by Marc Overmars; 20-03-2022 at 08:39 AM.
I love that we can play both fast, beautiful football for sustained periods and also completely shut games down when we need to, and have developed the wisdom to know when it’s the right time for each. Again, it just feels way beyond their years and current experience.
The more I see it in action the more I appreciate what we’ve done with our recruitment strategy. The modern game is no longer about putting together a team of specialists who each do one particular job to a 9/10 standard - it’s about putting together an entire team of players who can do two or three jobs to a 7/10 standard so you’re creating constant overloads and doubling-up everywhere: 4 attacking players suddenly become 6; 5 defensive players suddenly become 8 or 9. No matter how good you are, there’s not much you can do against overwhelming numbers.
Lol @ Ashley Young
Must have reminded him of when rhe celebrations Manure used to do when they got a 98th minute penalty
It’s always players who used to laugh and sneer whilst kicking us off the pitch who cry the loudest - they come into these games thinking it’s going to be more of the same and then we spoil their fun by not rising to it and easily handling them. And they don’t like it. Because that’s all they have.Must have reminded him of when rhe celebrations Manure used to do when they got a 98th minute penalty
I think Odegaard is the perfect manifestation of this. He can play like Ozil or Fabregas when we're attacking. But he can also do the pressing and defending to a really high level, like Bernardo or De Bruyne. It took him a while to gain the consistency, but just like Arteta's methods as a whole, it's now all coming together.
As you say, there's no room for one-dimensional players at top teams anymore. Our recent signings all prove this too. Both full-backs are two-footed and can play on the left or right or even centre-back in the case of Tomiyasu. White can play across the back line and in midfield. Sambi and Odegaard are comfortable deeper or higher up the pitch. And summed up by the Ramsdale upgrade, they're all excellent technically and progressive passers.
It feels like the early Wenger years where the profile of the player and how he could be moulded into the team was more important than just signing names (see Manchester United).
They can't have their two minutes of social media post-match attention by calling Arsenal "boys" or "soft" or "easy" so this is all they have left in their cliche folder.
The fact that it comes from a veteran player who's played at different levels of the game and not just an ex-Championship gobshite makes it even more pathetic.
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