Reply With QuoteI don't think hiding is quite fair - even after he makes a ricket with a risky pass he never stops demanding the ball (I know you may mean defensively but it doesn't seem a trait of his)Originally Posted by Peter
It's the difference between a lure courser and a live courser; whilst both can run fast, only one of them can actually hunt.
Not very good.
"Plenty of strikers can score goals," he said, gesturing to the famous old stands casting shadows around us.
"But a lot have found it difficult wearing the number 9 shirt for The Arsenal."
I don't think hiding is quite fair - even after he makes a ricket with a risky pass he never stops demanding the ball (I know you may mean defensively but it doesn't seem a trait of his)
Fair enough. I mean, I am not saying he is the only problem- far from it. In terms of possession we really, really miss Cazorla.
I’m afraid the only way it will resolve itself is by Wenger dropping one of Xhaka or Ramsey. Wilshere is a must, he’s the only one in the midfield who can receive the ball under pressure or wants the ball under pressure. He gives the midfield needed balance. We’re going to have to keep Elneny in there and play Wilshere with one of the other two.
This is all dependent on what formation Wenger adopts. I think he will keep 4 at the back. If he keeps the 4-3-3 of the last few games it should be Elneny, Wilshere and one other. If he goes back to the old 4-2-3-1 I have no idea who should play with Wilshere. The wildcard would be a diamond in which case I’d play Elneny, Wilshere, Mkhitaryan and Özil.
At present., I think Elneny is the only viable option in there, alongside Jack. He does a least hold his position to some extent.
We just cant afford to have Ramsey in that midfield. He doesn't want the ball apart from in the areas of the pitch where we want Ozil to have it. If he has to play it has to be further forward.
Our current midfield options are the worst I can remember us having in years.
the midfield in (around) 1992-1993 was pretty poor, istr.
Apart from Limpar, of course. Another body shaving deviant :alexis:
“Other clubs never came into my thoughts once I knew Arsenal wanted to sign me.”
As stand alone sentences go this is a nonsense and simply underlines your lack of appreciation of the role.
Both Ramsey and Xhaka are very good footballers, Wilshere is also a very obvious talent and to be fair to the African lad Elneny performs well within a more limited role of doing the basic and simple things and doing them well (itself a very basic job description for a top level midfielder).
Our issue is balance, or the creation of an effective working midfield partnership. Actually fúck the creation of it we need to identify it before we can create it.
Wenger appears to have struggled with this very basic need for years. Arguably his most effective of Cazorla and Coquelin he stumbled over by accident as opposed to his footballing knowledge.
The world appears to have decided this pairing to be Wilshere + 1 though I am unsure if AW feels this way given the manner in which he allowed the lad to fúck off for an entire season as opposed to keeping him and forcing him to try and fight his way into selection.
And he's slow, very slow. Play him with the very average and very sideways Elneny and you have a disaster waiting to happen.
I think the point is, if your forwards don't score enough goals, it actually makes no difference who plays in the middle of the park. Or indeed anywhere else
"Plenty of strikers can score goals," he said, gesturing to the famous old stands casting shadows around us.
"But a lot have found it difficult wearing the number 9 shirt for The Arsenal."
Our midfield has NO PACE. For £35 million Xhaka is an absolute bust. Elneny is average. Hopefully the new German scout will do a better job of recognising talent than the previous numpty.
Our standards as fans has slipped considerably if we're making statements like "Xhaka is a very good footballer" because game after game I really don't see him as that at all.
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