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A non fully fit Jesus vs Romero and Otamendi is suicidal, hope the man makes it out alive
Ha at this rate , their wage structure will mean the toilet cleaners will be on £25,000 a week
Getting big players who are getting older on big wages is just peak united.
Going for status and ‘prestige’ rather than truly adressing the issues in their squad.
Checking Zubimendi’s FBref profile and it’s uncanny but this guy is just a lesser Rice in every way. Some might say we should still buy him and let Rice play as the more advanced midfielder but that looks like a sideways move to me.
From the little I’ve seen of him I’d say he’s a spanish Jdp Rice. Inferior physicality with slightly better passing ability. Again I’ve not seen too much of him so maybe I’ve got that completely wrong.
He’s a Jorginho. They’re Pirlo-style "DM"s. Let them cook, but with a Kante/Gattuso beside them. PL has players like Enzo too who will look shocking without a terrier beside them.
It’s the right profile. He’s can be better passer tempo wise than Declan.
Now whether he’s attainable, that’s another thing.
Yeah maybe it’s better to actually watch him. Completely different profiles.
How often is the census down around here?
Judging from the way people are voting in the best player in x position threads, most people seem to be incredibly new
So Odegaard isn’t playing in the euros next summer?
kai havertz is going to go down as the best goalkeeper of his generation. tall german jorge campos regen
Probably posted before but interesting (and long) article that looks at the risks and benefits of moving Odegaard to a deeper role on the left, and why that represents the best path for both the player and the club in the long term. Some snippets below.
The issue:
His zone of influence on a game needs to be larger in order to deserve the sizeable contract he’s been handed, Ødegaard at LCM (especially with that LCM being a deeper role) does just that. The forced directness that is a by-product of his angles being cut off (left footer on the left side) as well as the increase in areas of reception that would occur with him consistently operating deeper would increase both the volume of actions that would occur as well as increasing the quality of those actions. Too often Ødegaard lets games slip away from him, too little responsibility in tandem with too much influence- if Arsenal’s ability to play well is going to be influenced by Ødegaard’s ability to influence the game then he needs to have more responsibilities to match that influence and given what he can do, that responsibilities has to come in the form of an increased role in deeper phases.
Concerns about moving him:
Martin Ødegaard has a heavy angle bias, he’s one footed and this clearly affects how he receives the ball as well as the passes that are available to him once he has it. While when he’s on the right hand side of the pivot with his back facing a presser he has a large portion of the pitch available to him on his left boot, when on the left hand side he’s far more limited. He’ll also likely be less secure when on the left, when turning to his left (which is likely to happen as that’s where most of the space is when receiving on the left hand side), he’s more likely to show the ball to the defender as his body isn’t between it (has to use the outside of the boot to push the ball left). When turning right using his left foot his body is between man and ball which is a safer turn. Ødegaard knows this and it’ll likely just lead to missed opportunities to progress rather than turnovers but it does bring forth inefficiency in deep build up. The limits that his angle bias puts upon him would likely lead to somebody who’s inefficient in build up on the left hand side, reliant on risky outside of the boot passes and bounce passes into deeper players (therefore shirking progressive responsibility). Therefore resulting in enforced safety when being progressed to by a centre half.
Potential benefits:
There’s also simple positives with moving him to the left that require no level of work or adaptation. Firstly, as previously mentioned the balance between him and Martinelli is great, his creative numbers would spike as he’s afforded a runner and with his angles being cut off he’d become more of a threat transitionally due to forced directness. This directness would also translate to his half space crossing, less time to think and less touches in the final third would force him to produce that action more often (which is especially beneficial considering Kai Havertz’s likely CF conversion and his preference to drift to the right hand side). His temperament already presents him as a better option in the role than anyone in the squad aside from Declan Rice and if he can iron out his in possession deficiencies (build up) there is simply no reason why he can’t start the biggest of games in the role. There’s also the matter of his exceptional finishing ability when shooting across his body, a large issue with his shooting comes from his struggles when opening up, this wouldn’t be an issue on the left as the angles for his favoured drilled shot to the bottom left hand corner of the goal are more favourable. His offensive movement will not be affected either, he will still be one of the best box crashing midfielders in world football- just with better angles to get his shot off. He’ll also be a far more effective runner, while not a dynamic over lapper, he’d certainly be a threat on the underlap (something Arsenal have sorely missed since Granit Xhaka’s departure), further increasing his creative output.
https://medium.com/@HBM_afc/martin-ødegaard-problem-or-solution-3eac18c4d0b8
nice points. Who would be the right 8? Havertz? Vieira?
pokes DD with a stick
Do something. Come on.
Dooooooo something
Going by the recent ‘reports’ about us looking for new signings in midfield, what do you guys think about Youssouf Fofana from Monaco ?
Was really impressed when he played against us during the friendly and that guy has the engine to work non-stop for 90 mins.
81% passing is spooky for a 6 for a team like us
He’s really solid. I hope we’re seriously considering him instead of 60m plus on luiz( he’s good but it’s a bad buy when we could have got him for much less)
Have looked at highlights from several midfielders recently trying to see if anyone sparks my interest, and all have obvious shortcomings. However, Fofana looks very solid. Although, not sure him alongside Rice have the creativity we have been missing, but I reckon a useful addition to the squad.
Totally hit the jackpot in picking an NBA team with Celtics. Was looking forward to tonight’s game but Gabi^3 vs Argentina is around the same time and football always wins
🚨 𝐁𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆: Gabriel Jesus, available and back to play again for Brazil! 🔴⚪️🇧🇷
Excellent news for Arsenal as he will be part of the squad next week.
Nice try Fab, gooners are too cynical to fall for this
https://x.com/AFCAMDEN/status/1726335814735401189?s=20
Chambers homecoming 😍
All jokes aside I hope its Jacob Ramsey
Isn’t it so amazing that we have Saliba and that we have him signed to a new contract. Dont want to overhype the boy, but he’s considered one of the best in the world and is so young for world class CB.
I’m just awaiting the 100m bid from PSG and the nightmares following.
100m? Idk why they want to pay for just one of his legs
Grealish W. Bro is wholesome and I love it about him
Nice from Foord to go up 0-2
