Player:Saliba
There is one midfielder that needs to go.
Everyone knows who he is.
The cause of all these formation changes & as much to blame as any player for us dropping down the league.
....?
edit: oh Xhaka
There is one midfielder that needs to go.
Everyone knows who he is.
The cause of all these formation changes & as much to blame as any player for us dropping down the league.
The problem then must be how they are set up,, or what they are instructed to do.Jack, Xhaka, Ramsey
Özil
together they have everything you need from a midfield
they compliment each other nicely, neither of them are out and out ballwinner but they won't be bossed around and can all get stuck in
Ramsey can bomb forward and not leave the midfield exposed
Xhaka doesn't have to go forward and have his lack of speed be seen
he stays in the middle, drops down if needed
Jack tie everything together
a solid almost purely ballwinning midfielder to compliment sure up the defensive against the big sides , and could play with 2 of any the 3
Mkith can cover for either Jack or Ramsey (and obviously for Özil)
Wingbacks can provide width, either striker can drift out and there is still one left (plus Özil and someone from midfield
Jack can go doen the wing if needed and ramsey to
4-3-1-2 does anybody have a logical argument against it?
Xhaka is much better than Jack defensively. We need someone else.We need a disciplined defensive minded midfielder who still has the
I had high hopes for Xhaka but he simply isn't that player. (Kanye or even dembele like)
Jack does everything Xhaka does but better. They should be competing not partnering.
Keep Ramsey out of the guts of our midfield, if you want to keep him let him compete with our forward line.
The days of squaries and roundies is over.
Fixing that core midfield will improve our backline immensely.
DM/DLP - Elneny - AMN
Jack - Xhaka - Willock
Jack, Xhaka, Ramsey
Özil
together they have everything you need from a midfield
4 midfielders who can't defend...... play this if you want us to be crushed. For all the talk about a Cazorla replacement why don't we start talking about a Coquelin replacement? We have been badly missing the steel that an on-form Coquelin provides us......
The problem then must be how they are set up,, or what they are instructed to do.
Ramsey no longer stays in position but stays forward and relies on his stamina to rush back. If someone instructed him to move forward AFTER Özil/Mkhi get the ball, he could be even more dangerous. Nowadays he stands on the edge and waits for the ball, which is what a striker like OG would do.
Wilshere has been underwhelming. He's not done any of his famous turns, which is one of his best tricks. Someone posted a video which shows how a good CM makes a difference.
Diaby beats two players with a 'simple' play, runs ahead and scores. There are almost 8 AFC players still in our half so no risk of getting countered.
....?
edit: oh Xhaka
They can defend just fine if the manager organizes the team to defend, We've seen much better performances out of em all, a competent coach will create an atmosphere where their average performances are higher and playing closer to their ceiling Skillwise
Özil naturellt shouldn't have any such responsibility
With the cm trio it will be good cover in the centre
Diaby beats two players with a 'simple' play, runs ahead and scores. There are almost 8 AFC players still in our half so no risk of getting countered.
Paddy was radhus early to
It is something You can Iron out
If santi can play CM so can jack (and he has been doing it for his whole career )
Ramsey got the tools for sure, we just need to rein in his bombruns
He frekkin lead the leagues in suc tackles with yaya one point in time
And you are downplaying them actually being 3 in midfield, on a line so jack and Ramsey have easy access to the flanks
Xhaka only dropping slightly
It is not a CDM behind Two cms
That can be used sparingly vs the bigger sides
We all know how much Wenger loves Özil, so why wont he protect him? why wont he put 2 bullys in the middle and allow Özil to "express himself" Playing Özil & Miki in the same team means you need 2 workhorses who dominate the midfield. I feel the front 3 shouldn't have defensive responsibility. All they should do is press and get into shape when needed. But as far as tracking runners and making tackles its not their strengths. So play to their strengths!
Ramsey? How far we have sunk when people think Ramsey is Arsenal quality. We have had the likes of Vieira, petit, Bergkamp, Cesc, Santi, Rosicky, Gilberto and even Diaby etc. Now we are at Ramsey level.We actually have not replaced Vieira even after more than a decade. The CM situation is dire really:
Xhaka, Wilshere are Barely Adequate
Ramsey, El-Nenny are on the way out
I did not include AMN as he has barely played there.
Apart from the above, we do not have anyone. On current form, Championship quality, apart from Ramsey.
Even if we manage to keep Ramsey, we would need another outstanding CM to maintain the minimum number of bodies.
Who do you think we could get/promote to even think about being competitive? Or do you guys think Defense in a greater priority?
Looking at our own crop of academy midfielders, I'd really love to see Ben Sheaf in our midfield. Impressive physicial presence and great feet. Unfortunately he is on loan (good for him though). We should be out for a quality DM that can help our youngsters grow alongside them.I think at this stage it is coaching problem.
For example against Brighton I counted twice when Özil was deep lying midfielder, Xhaka was running up left field into the final third with his back towards the ball he was furthest forward of our midfielders. Wilshere was also out of position moving up the field. Guess who had the ball. Koscielny.
Im no expert but Xhaka with his back against the ball almost in the final third when defender has the ball? Hmm....
But even so, Im not a huge fan of our midfielders. I think we only have space for one of Wilshere and Xhaka but both needs to be coached better.
Elneny is not good enough and Cazorla is done I think.
We need solid signing there in the summer but I also would like us to look at the academy and stop being scared giving the youngsters a real chance in the midfield position!