The key thing for me is we get as many of our players back as quickly as possible and then manage their players minutes wisely. No overplaying Saka, Rice and Odegaard. Havertz can cover as a 10 or play as the CF. Madueki is a great option on the right. Jesus can cover any of the forward positions. Martinelli deserves more playing time based on his cameos this Season already.
Chelsea are no threat ! Liverpool have been found out. City I still don't think cut it - Haaland is dragging them forward so while he continues they will be nipping at our heels for sure.
Hell No. We need to stop this foolishness. Chelsea are in NO WAY a threat in the title race. Yes we have spent a jazillion dollars, but its mostly on kids whose value we can inflate and then sell on in 3-4 years time to bag a profit. We have a decent side, but if our owners were serious about a title push, they'd have signed Guehi, Donnarumma and Isak, not Gittens, Joao Pedro and Garnacho. (Both lists of 3 players collectively cost around the same) Thats not to diss those players we did sign, they are all good players (at least Pedro and Garnacho are, not sure on Gittens yet), but it was an obvious sign that our owners are not in this for the titles. We have no big name CB in the Saliba or Van Dijk mould. All we have are kids and journeymen. Levi Colwill and Cucurella are decent players but the rest of the players who can play in the back 4 are far from convincing. And dont even get me started on our keepers! You aint winning no league title when your keeper options are Sanchez and Jorgensen.....it just aint happening. Top 4 and a pot is best we can hope for. No with Liverpool out of the picture, City are your main rivals in the title race. You can never count out Pep, he always finds a way to evolve his squad. They had a large transitional season last year, but seem to be getting toward something like a decent team again. The main difference is Arsenal look different to me this year, they seem to have a determination, probably caused by being bridesmaids 3 years in a row. You are deffo favourites for me, but you cannot count out City.....but Chelsea Nah, we may flirt around the top for a bit, but by March I wager you and City will be AT LEAST 10-15 points ahead of us, if not more.
WTF else would you play Havertz? He is a 10, thats where he plays. He aint no striker and he sure as **** aint a wide forward. As for him being class, as the bear stated. Yes, I agree, if that class is "inconsistency 101"
I guess it depends on what you mean by a 10. If you mean 10 as in support striker I can accept that inasmuch as Bergkamp was a 10 and he was a support striker, but Bergkamp was creative, Havertz isn't, so that comparison fails. If you mean 10 as in traditional 10/CAM (think Ozil, Aimar, Maradona) then absolutely not. The context in which the original comment was made by theBear intimates 10 as in replacement for Odegaard who has traditionally been our CAM/10. If he isn't there the next best choice is Eze who is the closest thing we have to a 10 anyway, moreso than Odegaard who I feel is more of a box to box midfielder than Eze who is more attacking midfielder due to his industry. You are 100% right though Havertz is neither a striker or a wide forward, he is also no midfielder, ultimately I think he is an attacking midfielder cum forward, he doesn't fit any traditional box/roles, but he is good at what he does, when deployed in that hybrid role.
He does create. He's nota silky passer like Odegaard admittedly. He's much improved from the player we bought from Chelsea. Last Season - scored 14 goals and 5 assist whilst missing 3+ months of the Season. I could see it working with him just behind Gyokeres. (also see 2 up top for moments when we really need a goal) He's rarely been given the chance to play as a 10 for us though - a handful of games at most. I don't rate Havertz as an 8 but as a 10 or a false 9 - that's his position. For me Odegaard is the clear candidate for that 10 role though. Like I was saying we need plenty of rotation.
Nah sorry Bear, but I disagree completely. The only way Havertz should be getting into this team is if he's playing up front. He shouldn't be playing in any other position on the pitch. We tried him as a left 8 and he was utterly ineffective. We've tried him at the tip of a diamond once and that experiment was terrible. Arteta never did it again. We've seen him utilised as a 10 and he didn't have the creativity, silkiness, agility, turning radius or eye-of-the-needle passing to succeed in that role. If he's not playing up top as a false 9/CF, or if he's not going to be partnering with/playing off Gyokeres in some games, then he needs to be on the bench.
Yeah and don't take this as me bagging on Havertz, I like him and think he is absolutely a key member of the squad. He offers something we don't have and his numbers whilst played as a forward are decent. Literally my problem with Havertz is you wouldn't bet your house on him to score in a one vs one with the keeper and to win the top prizes you need to bury good chances in tight games.
Let's not pretend he didn't have some good performances in midfield because he did. Is he better as a false 9? Yes - but also let's not pretend that a false 9 is a CF. His role is somewhere between a No9 and a 10 already. Hardly a leap to say he can play as a 10 considering 50-60|% of the time he is actually in that position.
Let's just go 4-4-2 old school. Sprint down wings, cross it into the mixer, two big men up top, smash it in the onion bag. BOSH
Again I guess it depends on what you mean by a 10. If you mean a support striker you wouldn't get much argument out of me, if you mean a CAM then I would argue vehemently against. If its the latter then surely Eze is a far better option.
When we bought Gyokeres that was one of my first thoughts, 4-4-2. Havertz naturally drops deep, Gyokeres naturally runs in behind, the perfect pairing. I'd love to see us give it a go.
I'm being deadly serious when I say I can barely remember 5 games where he was good in midfield and most of those games where he was good were against lower calibre opposition in the cups. The only game in the CL that sticks out to me where he was good in midfield was against Lens at home, who we smashed 6-0. Every other performance with him in midfield made our dynamics very clunky as he ghosted through games or he didn't offer enough on the ball to make it work. My issue with Havertz is I just don't see him as an 'elite' player. He is a serviceable striker and can be good at playing just off a main forward/being a foil for Saka/Trossard/Martinelli, but we spent £65m on him and he's one of our highest earners on £285k p/w. His contract will be coming up to the final 2 years at the end of this season, so we need to decide what we're going to do with him in summer 2026. Has he done enough in an Arsenal shirt to justify a pay rise and contract extension? I'm not convinced...
I don't know what you've been watching but last Season Havertz was class. (he was also good in the 2nd half od 23/24) One of our better players. Runs his socks off, good in the air. He's toughened up physically improved massively from the player we first bought. I won't be surprised if he's still first choice even with Gyokeres here.
I thought he was shockingly poor in midfield, I don't remember him having any decent games in midfield. 21 goal contributions in his first season is not bad at all, considering it was only in Feb he properly got pushed up top. 12 in his last season considering he missed a huge part of it was very good too. I think as a forward Havertz has been good enough to warrant a place in the squad absolutely.
In the previous 2 seasons as a CF for us, Havertz was one of the best strikers in the world, without a doubt. 16 goal contributions in 13 league games in 2023/24 and 16 goal contributions in 26 Prem and CL appearances as a CF is top level. Lets not forget he had plenty of games in midfield, I am talking as a CF his numbers are fantastic.
