Arsenal 0-1 West Ham Match Reaction

[HCZ_Reborn]

I think you're being a bit simplistic about that

Sure, the night before a game you don't suddenly say - 'we're going to change everything' - but a good manager surely coaches his team to play in different ways against different types of sides and has a Plan B and even a Plan C if Plan A isn't working

Tierney is a very good example - Arteta should value Tierney because he can come on and play differently to an MLS, in that he will be more of an orthodox LB going up and down that side and putting in crosses etc, which in certain game states could unlock teams or at least present something different - instead he rejects him because he can’t do the inverted LB thing to which Arteta is so rigidly wedded

A lot of players are more adaptable than you're giving credit for and I think there's enough signs that actually we do have players who could, if encouraged by the coach and the system, transition far more quickly than they do




This is blatantly untrue – look at Everton, a load of turgid shite under Dyche and then Moyes comes in and transforms them into a team which is far more positive in its approach, scoring goals and winning games – all without their nominally preferred striker in DCL

If you’re talking about the left back position. Tierney’s best attribute to my mind is that he’s the best crosser of the ball at the club. Great, probably should have played him more earlier on in the season when he could have tried to have found Havertz.

Calafiori is being played at left back rather than MLS as a tactical tweek. If Arteta was prioritising defence he’d play MLS, instead he’s prioritising the player who is better on the ball and can add a bit of uncertainty, such as turning his man in the box and almost scoring but for the post. The risk factor is that he’s slower than MLS and lacks positional discipline so like with West Ham on Saturday, he’s getting cooked for pace. But when it’s said as is often said that he’s overcautious, I’d say right there that’s a counter example to that.

We live in an era where players are coached to death, any variance in routine is likely a result of hours if not days of adaptation at the training ground, it’s all about instilling muscle memory.

It is entirely possible tactical tweaks will happen but they will take time. I think also people seem to think I’m insulting our players when I say they can’t do x or y. They do loads of different things better than most other players in the league do and that’s why we are second. But you can’t put petrol in a diesel engine and look anything but silly when you get exasperated when the car breaks down half way up the road

Arteta has encountered this problem when trying to shoehorn Partey in at right back, it doesn’t work

With the last bit, to clarify I mean winning as in winning trophies. Sure there’s enough leeway for a manager to change things and change a club from 17th to 12th. But ultimately most of the time, it’s the club with the best players and the most money to spend that wins the big things not the team with the best coach, apart from anything else 95% of what coaches do is largely all the same anyway.

[HCZ_Reborn]

Put it this way, if there was any club in the league that was in the predicament we are in, and a fan of that club was bemoaning lack of goals because the coach wasn’t prepared to mix it up stylistically. We’d laugh at that fan

If you go back and look at the discussions I’ve had with IBK about our system in the long term, I’ve absolutely stated we should adapt the system and be more flexible. I do think having the best players fit to play is ultimately more important than what system you use to play them, but a system is relevant (even though it’s less so the nearer you get to the top of the tree).

I’d like to bring in players who can mix it up a bit stylistically, but at the moment? We have to work with what we’ve got

[Mac76]

Calafiori is being played at left back rather than MLS as a tactical tweek.

It wasn't because MLS is suspended then?

He's actually been rotating them, they're quite similar except Cala's defending is very poor which means he's not suitable for LB, MLS can defend though so for me should be the choice for the biggest games amongst who we have

I think Cala is a better impact sub than MLS though

[HCZ_Reborn]

It wasn't because MLS is suspended then?

He's actually been rotating them, they're quite similar except Cala's defending is very poor which means he's not suitable for LB, MLS can defend though so for me should be the choice for the biggest games amongst who we have

I think Cala is a better impact sub than MLS though

MLS wasn’t suspended for West Ham game, he was sent off as a sub. And I think Calafiori would have started against Forest even without the red card, and at the risk of sounding harsh I don’t think he’d have been caught dithering on the ball as easily as MLS for said red card.

I’ll be honest not a big fan of MLS, I think he’s a very good squad player and certainly one of the better players to emerge from Hale End. But for me he’s not a baller, he’s more of an athlete. I think he can cross a ball better than Maitland Niles and his red cards have been more unfortunate than petulance (red card even, harsh to say plural when one was rightly rescinded) but ultimately technically limited…I’m hoping unlike Maitland Niles he doesn’t start sulking because he won’t ever play in central midfield

I don’t even think MLS is a better defender he’s just quicker because Calafiori is a centre back playing at left back

Calafiori mostly gets done defensively for pace

[KSE Comedy Club]

I don’t want to sound patronising and ask you why it’s called counter attacking football. But the clue is in the name

The reason we scored an average of three a game in the second half of last season was counter attack. But in order to play on the counter attack, you have to open the scoring to begin with or you have to have a side that will come out and attack. Death by a thousand passes is often a consequence not a feature. The alternative to what we are doing isn’t counter attack it’s route one football….and that would be lovely if we had the type of players who could a) play a decent long ball b) trap a decent long ball.

Deck chairs on the Titanic as I keep saying

Nothing wrong with what I said

Unless you are fucking rain man, why feel the need to comment in that way?

[HCZ_Reborn]

Nothing wrong with what I said

Unless you are fucking rain man, why feel the need to comment in that way?

I’m just wondering how you propose we should go about counter attacking to counter the attack of the other team so to speak when the other team isn’t coming out to attack

Given you started with the film references, we could goad them into attacking us like in the Warriors

“Come out to Plaaaaayy!”

Anyway nothing what with what you said, Definitely Nothing wrong with what you said. Definitely nothing wrong

Fuuck Rain Man, not seen that in years

[Mac76]

Calafiori mostly gets done defensively for pace

That's not what happened v West Ham though it wasn't pace, he stood off their player too much and allowed him to cross - it's like Zin, he doesn't have the technique, positoning or knowhow, he's just not a defender

[Mac76]

Nothing wrong with what I said

Unless you are fucking rain man, why feel the need to comment in that way?

He's just on here to argue with people until they get bored and go and do something else, you'll never get the last word

[HCZ_Reborn]

He's just on here to argue with people until they get bored and go and do something else, you'll never get the last word

Are you still working from the assumption that someone could only disagree with you to be contrary

Are you that conceited that you don’t believe anyone could disagree with your opinions

That’s not rhetorical, I genuinely want to know

[KSE Comedy Club]

I also disagree with HCZ that a total change of system is either what is being advocated or is necessary. For me it simply needs to be tweaked to progress the ball faster up the pitch with our CM's making runs to prevent our wingers automatically being overloaded. For me, we always look first to play the same passes into space - out wide, back to centre; back to our defenders - rinse and repeat - while the team as a whole creeps up the pitch to face a set defence and a congested final third. Our only creator in MF, Odegard, spends as much of his time running sideways and backwards as he does going forwards and there is rarely anyone making overlapping runs with him from central positions.

Solving this does not require a system change, it needs less emphasis on keeping possession and more bravery - particularly as the former generally comes to nothing anyway when our moves break down in an around the box.

I think you are suggesting the same thing NQ is tbf.

We need more through balls, passes into space on the attack and up the pitch. Balls that the wingers / strikers (if we have any) can chase down.