Given all the ball that PSG had I was totally unimpressed with Barcola, Doue and Dembele and have been for a while. I don't get the hype.
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Don’t watch the French league but they tore Bayern apart they must be a bit alright. You’d think playing the sort of dross they do most weeks would have a negative impact over time.
Think Arsenal just defended really well. Saka was basically a right-back. Odegaard barely touched the ball in their half.
Edit- thought this was the prem forum.
None of their forwards looked like they were the kind of players who could hack it in the PL.
Playing with loads of space even average forwards look good.
IMO the main area we need to improve is midfield.
One of the trends I have noticed this year is that out attacking midfielders are not good at dribbling past players and not good at retaining the ball under pressure either through strength or a turn. The one way we try and retain possession is by passing it back or sideways.
Odegaard and Eze do not have the ability to either play under extreme pressure and hold the ball or beat players.
Dowman might be the guy in a few years, but right now we are sorely lacking that player.
IMO its the main reason we have hardly won any games this year against the big teams.
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Striker less of a priority it seems.
Winger is probably going to be Rogers I think. Or we'll class him as one and play him off the left. Please no to Barcola. He's just a Martinelli clone. Fast, but can't finish his dinner. Right back I think will be Livramento. Midfielder harder to predict.
Most of this summer's signings have got to be starting XI ceiling raisers (apart from the RB). Our squad is big and strong enough as it is.
They tore Bayern apart in the one game that Bayern played zero defence (which PSG also did and also similarly got torn apart themselves). Then the game they both decided to play a bit of a defence was a bit of an attacking non-event and neither got torn apart.
What PSG had to play on Saturday, is what we have to play week in, week out in the prem. Doue, Khvarat and Dembele created nothing against a low-block. I'm not sure there's any special answer that will suddenly make a team attack really well against a low-block.
I don't really get how Arsenal are the ones who get pilloried in the UK for boring football by playing horsehoe sideways passes against low-blocks, but when PSG do it against us, suddenly we're the ones in the wrong now. Why weren't PSG castigated for being boring in the final? They created nothing. Well, we all know the answer why Arsenal are the ones who get castigated. But ultimately, I don't think there is a magical signing that will suddenly make it easier or more attractive to play against low-blocks. We'll be playing them almost every week and that's the way it is. But left-wing does need an upgrade. But I don't see anyone coming in and being significantly better at dealing with low-blocks and double marking than Eze or Odegaard at #10 or Saka at #7. If Khvara can get nullified by a low-block and double-marking, then there's not much hope for anyone really.
Striker is a tough one. No-one is going to play the hold-up/lump role better than Havertz up top apart from the tiny number of super-freak-strikers who won't be moving (Haaland etc). But we could do with a technician up front too though, which is why I like the idea of Kroupi.
Imagine if we could tempt Haaland though, if City got hit with a monumental penalty and he didn't want to stick around. Oof.
Great post except for the last sentence.
Haaland is a drag on a team, not a benefit.
City have focussed on him and played to his strengths and it's degraded them.
People too often look at just goals and think - he must be great - but in fact City score less with him in the team than they do without and they are FAR more vulnerable to dropping points over a season.
Disagree. At this stage, no-one is moving to Arsenal without being totally clear on their role and how they have to play to get into our team. And if they don't, they get dropped until they learn it (see Eze). Firstly, if Haaland did magically decide to leave City and also magically agree to move to us, he'd know what he'd have to be doing for the team and therefore he'd implicitly be agreeing to doing it by coming. Secondly, it's not HIS fault the City team was built around him. His teamwork and ethic have got better and better year on year. He's a beast and he runs and presses like a bastard.
He's the attitude-opposite of Mbappe.... saw this on X:
This might genuinely be the CRAZIEST stat I’ve ever seen.Out of all 341 La Liga players — including GOALKEEPERS — Kylian Mbappé ranks DEAD LAST in defensive contributions per 90.Not among forwards. Not among attackers.Dead last. 341st out of 341.Good luck winning anything.
Forget Mbappe - not only is he an absolute no no for any team because of his character, he is over rated.
I disagree on Haaland - he's got worse, not better. Against the better teams he often goes missing. Isn't it 12 cup finals now and no goals.
He a flat track bully - mainly - who gets loads of chances because he plays for City.
He'd be no better than Gyokeres in our team.
Haaland and Gyokeres would be at the same level playing up front for us? Christ.
Yes.
We play totally differently and do not focus the CF to be constantly central and the focal point.
If we did there is no guarantee that we would score more goals as a result. City didn't when they changed approach.
Honestly think you - and many - get carried away with individual goal tallies.
Look at Kane - he is light years ahead of Haaland as a player yet didn't score as many in the PL.
Individual tallies rely heavily on the system and the quality in the team overall.
Put Haaland in the West Ham team and he struggles to hit double figures in a season.
Kroupi and Rogers would be brilliant signings
PL proven and would undoubtedly strengthen our attack
As much as I love Martinelli, his end product isn't consistent enough for the level we want to be at
Jesus looks like he will be sold too, so that's two attacking positions that we need to upgrade on.
PL proven and would undoubtedly strengthen our attack
As much as I love Martinelli, his end product isn't consistent enough for the level we want to be at
Jesus looks like he will be sold too, so that's two attacking positions that we need to upgrade on.
All this talk about low blocks is nonsense ,- not saying your post is nonsense but the general consensus that everyone is suffering because of it. Not true at all. The low block is no different to parking the bus so its been around for decades !
The difference is there are far fewer good-to-top players now than there was when Mourinho first joined Chelsea. How did Arsenal, Chelsea and Man U deal with the low block then?
You beat a low block by crisp passing and movement, you also beat it by beating players when running with the ball, other players have to then engage you which creates space.
Arsenal do not pass the ball well enough thats why we struggle, we don't have any vision in midfield, a Cazorla, Ozil or Fabregas, we dont have anyone in midfield to run past players with the ball like Partey and Wilshire used to do. So its all static movement and predictable passing patterns, PSG are guilty of the same. First half the Karavatskila bredda got no change at all from Mosquera, but look at what ended up breaking our defence - a simple "one/two".