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Squad Analysis 2019/20

Ricardinho

La Liga Correspondent
Formation: 4-3-3

GK: Leno, Martinez, Macey
LB: *Tierney, Monreal
CB: Sokratis, Chambers, Mavropanos
CB: Holding, *CB
RB: Bellerin, *RB

LCM: Guendouzi, Willock
DM: Torreira, Maitland-Niles
RCM: *RCM, Smith Rowe

LM: Kolasinac, Iwobi
CF: Aubameyang, Nketiah, *Martinelli
RM: Mkhitaryan, Nelson

In: CB, Tierney, RB, RCM, Martinelli
Out: Koscielny, Mustafi, Jenkinson, Elneny, Xhaka, Özil, Lacazette

First XI

-------------------------------Leno

Bellerin--------Holding------------------Sokratis-------Tierney

------------------------------Torreira
-----------------RCM--------------------Guendouzi

Mkhitaryan-----------------------------------------------Kolasinac
---------------------------Aubameyang

Subs: Martinez, Chambers, Maitland-Niles, Smith Rowe, Nelson, Iwobi, Nketiah

You want Kolasinac at LW?!
 

SingmeasongSong

Right Sometimes
Formation: 4-3-3

GK: Leno, Martinez, Macey
LB: *Tierney, Monreal
CB: Sokratis, Chambers, Mavropanos
CB: Holding, *CB
RB: Bellerin, *RB

LCM: Guendouzi, Willock
DM: Torreira, Maitland-Niles
RCM: *RCM, Smith Rowe

LM: Kolasinac, Iwobi
CF: Aubameyang, Nketiah, *Martinelli
RM: Mkhitaryan, Nelson

In: CB, Tierney, RB, RCM, Martinelli
Out: Koscielny, Mustafi, Jenkinson, Elneny, Xhaka, Özil, Lacazette

First XI

-------------------------------Leno

Bellerin--------Holding------------------Sokratis-------Tierney

------------------------------Torreira
-----------------RCM--------------------Guendouzi

Mkhitaryan-----------------------------------------------Kolasinac
---------------------------Aubameyang

Subs: Martinez, Chambers, Maitland-Niles, Smith Rowe, Nelson, Iwobi, Nketiah

I feel personally offended by the attacking third.
 

Bobby the no1 gooner

Ya'll need Jesus
At this point, we are so far behind being a team that can challenge for top four. That is even with the signing of Tierney, Saliba (Who won't even play this year) and Cabellos being signed this week. We would still need a starting CB for this year, starting winger, CM (I would argue 2 as Granit is a liability in this league, Özil is non-existent and can't be relied upon and Guendouzi is just too erratic, weak and raw in his play).

The comfort you take players like Saka, Willock and ESR coming in to freshen up and bulk up the squad but these are surely not players that we can rely on week in, week out? We can't shift players like Jenks, Elneny, Mustafi on so this is obviously stifling our progress. The future is too prohibited by terrible business made in the past. God bless you all and turn to Jesus.
 

Dutch D

Well-Known Member & FPL Champion 19/20
áfter Ceballos you want to sign two more CM's? Might as well shut down the academy. Ideally, I'd also like to replace Xhaka, but that doesn't seem on the cards. Looking at the time it takes to wrap up signings we'll have trouble enough to get 4 signings (along with Saliba) in, let alone sell Xhaka and buy a replacement.

I made an argument to keep Bielik as DM cover after analysing our current squad options. With Elneny and Bielik likely going, will that mean Chambers is staying as cover for DM/CB then? Not really happy with the DM position as stands.

CM should be fine with the academy prospects stepping up. With a starting XI of Torreira - Xhaka - Ceballos (imo Willock ahead of Xhaka), Willock, ESR, AMN, Guendouzi surely should be adequate cover?

If we can't rely on academy prospects as cover for starters, what's the point? I for one encourage buying for the starting XI with prospects as back-ups. If they're good enough, they can fight their way into the starting XI through competition.
 

Bobby the no1 gooner

Ya'll need Jesus
áfter Ceballos you want to sign two more CM's? Might as well shut down the academy. Ideally, I'd also like to replace Xhaka, but that doesn't seem on the cards. Looking at the time it takes to wrap up signings we'll have trouble enough to get 4 signings (along with Saliba) in, let alone sell Xhaka and buy a replacement.

I made an argument to keep Bielik as DM cover after analysing our current squad options. With Elneny and Bielik likely going, will that mean Chambers is staying as cover for DM/CB then? Not really happy with the DM position as stands.

CM should be fine with the academy prospects stepping up. With a starting XI of Torreira - Xhaka - Ceballos (imo Willock ahead of Xhaka), Willock, ESR, AMN, Guendouzi surely should be adequate cover?

If we can't rely on academy prospects as cover for starters, what's the point? I for one encourage buying for the starting XI with prospects as back-ups. If they're good enough, they can fight their way into the starting XI through competition.
You make some good poi he on cover for CM but I seriously do not consider anyone in our "first choice" midfield good enough with the exception of Terriera. I like the look of these prospects you mention but not to be first choice but back-up. For me, the midfield was very culpable last year to the evident leaky defence. They had no cover which exposed their weakness. So I agree our DM options are just not enough. We get all nostalgic about Ramsey but he was an absolute liability as cover for our defence.

So yes, I believe we need 2 starting Cms but I hope you are right in that one of the youngsters can make the step-up to regular and reliable action.
 

SingmeasongSong

Right Sometimes
I'd really like to see a poll as to how AM sees Iwobi - as CM/as winger and next to that, how many still/no longer believe in him.
 

Pat Rice

Self-Proclaimed Nice Guy
Main changes for me this season would be to move to a 4-3-3 and move Iwobi in to a central position where he can focus on transitioning play not end product which he still lacks. The squad below is how I see it with players sold and bracketed players incoming.

GK: Leno, Martinez, Macey

RB: Bellerin, AMN, Chambers
CB: Sokratis, (Left sided centre back), Holding, Mustafi, Chambers, Mavropanos
LB: (Tierney), Kolasinac

DM: Xhaka, Chambers
CM: Torreira, (Ceballos) Guendouzi, Willock, Iwobi, ESR

LW: (Zaha/Everton), Iwobi, ESR, Saka, Martinelli,
RW: Mhki, Özil, Nelson
ST: Auba, Laca, Nketiah

Outgoings:
Kos
Monreal
Elneny
Bielik
Maybe Nelson or ESR loan if PL game time an option
Mavropanos loan with option to recall
Ideally I’d get rid of Mustafi but face it he is here to stay.

Incomings:
Saliba w/ loan back
Tierney
Ceballos
Left sided centre back
Zaha/Everton

I think the squad would be strong enough for top 4.
 

Aussie_gunner123

Established Member

Country: Australia
Our leadership group this year, Monreal has been put on there, is it only Xhaka & Özil the 2 others, only 3 in the group this year or are there others I haven't heard about?
 

Ricardinho

La Liga Correspondent
Our leadership group this year, Monreal has been put on there, is it only Xhaka & Özil the 2 others, only 3 in the group this year or are there others I haven't heard about?

Seen a tweet saying Holding will be thought of as the 'english captain' so I guess he part of the group.
 

Aussie_gunner123

Established Member

Country: Australia
Seen a tweet saying Holding will be thought of as the 'english captain' so I guess he part of the group.
Ok I didn't see that, you'd think he'd be one of main captains for the future, one of our main young cb's who should be around for a bit longer yet. I'd also like to think Leno will be there in the future, he is only a young keeper.
 

Balboa

Active Member
I'm wondering how many people are cautiously positive about the direction the club is heading in?

I've heard a lot of talk of Arsenal being in the depths of despair at the moment. A complete mess. I'm in two minds about this myself and I'm not sure it's all that bad.

On the one hand, I can see that there are major question marks about how much investment the team will get from Kroenke. How long the rebuild will take with a lot of limited and overpaid players at the club for the time being. The loss of Mislintat. The money that Sp**s are spending, the quality at Man City, Liverpool and Sp**s.

On the other hand. I'm not sure if I really think the current approach is all that bad. Man Utd have hired now 4 managers who I believe have not fitted their club. Say what you like about Emery, he's a better choice than any of those 4 in my view (he is way overqualified compared to Moyes or Salksjaer, way less past his prime compared to Van Gaal or Mourinho). Man Utd spent a lot of big money unwisely on Galacticos and it wasn't sustainable (Arsenal did it with Özil and Sanchez and it didn't work). Compared to that, i can see the need for Arsenal to show some pragmatism, whether Emery ends up as a transition manager, or as a manager who can succeed in getting them back into the Champions League.

Some good things I see in Arsenal's approach
  • Patience in the transfer market signings and keeping their budget tight and not advertised
  • Signings for the long-term - Guendouzi, Torreira, Leno, Saliba, probably Tierney
  • Not much talk about elite signings except for Aubameyang, who was a great signing.
  • Pragmatism - Ceballos signing
  • Didn't give Emery a huge contract
  • Have appointed a lot of staff during the transition - Sanlehi, Mislintat, Edu, Ljunberg, Fahmy (Man Utd are supposed to be appointing a Director of Football or technical director or something, but still have not done so, Arsenal now have both)
A lot of things that need to be seen more of in future as the club develops
  • Selling players for more money. They need to get top dollar for Laca either this summer or next.
  • Getting more from the academy players via loans, League Cup, FA Cup, Europa League and ultimately selling them or finding the right ones to fill gaps in the squad.
  • Getting more value from signing players from the lower ends of the Premier League, the Championship and less prominent leagues. They can't keep missing out on players like Sadio Mane, Virgil Van Dijk, Harry Maguire, James Maddison, Andrew Robertson, Joe Gomez, Dele Alli. They need to find these players and sign them and have a manager who can bring them on.
  • The next managerial appointment is going to be key. They need to find the next Poch or Klopp. I think they should keep an eye on Eddie Howe.
 

Tourbillion

Angry & Miserable
I'm wondering how many people are cautiously positive about the direction the club is heading in?

I've heard a lot of talk of Arsenal being in the depths of despair at the moment. A complete mess. I'm in two minds about this myself and I'm not sure it's all that bad.

On the one hand, I can see that there are major question marks about how much investment the team will get from Kroenke. How long the rebuild will take with a lot of limited and overpaid players at the club for the time being. The loss of Mislintat. The money that Sp**s are spending, the quality at Man City, Liverpool and Sp**s.

On the other hand. I'm not sure if I really think the current approach is all that bad. Man Utd have hired now 4 managers who I believe have not fitted their club. Say what you like about Emery, he's a better choice than any of those 4 in my view (he is way overqualified compared to Moyes or Salksjaer, way less past his prime compared to Van Gaal or Mourinho). Man Utd spent a lot of big money unwisely on Galacticos and it wasn't sustainable (Arsenal did it with Özil and Sanchez and it didn't work). Compared to that, i can see the need for Arsenal to show some pragmatism, whether Emery ends up as a transition manager, or as a manager who can succeed in getting them back into the Champions League.

Some good things I see in Arsenal's approach
  • Patience in the transfer market signings and keeping their budget tight and not advertised
  • Signings for the long-term - Guendouzi, Torreira, Leno, Saliba, probably Tierney
  • Not much talk about elite signings except for Aubameyang, who was a great signing.
  • Pragmatism - Ceballos signing
  • Didn't give Emery a huge contract
  • Have appointed a lot of staff during the transition - Sanlehi, Mislintat, Edu, Ljunberg, Fahmy (Man Utd are supposed to be appointing a Director of Football or technical director or something, but still have not done so, Arsenal now have both)
A lot of things that need to be seen more of in future as the club develops
  • Selling players for more money. They need to get top dollar for Laca either this summer or next.
  • Getting more from the academy players via loans, League Cup, FA Cup, Europa League and ultimately selling them or finding the right ones to fill gaps in the squad.
  • Getting more value from signing players from the lower ends of the Premier League, the Championship and less prominent leagues. They can't keep missing out on players like Sadio Mane, Virgil Van Dijk, Harry Maguire, James Maddison, Andrew Robertson, Joe Gomez, Dele Alli. They need to find these players and sign them and have a manager who can bring them on.
  • The next managerial appointment is going to be key. They need to find the next Poch or Klopp. I think they should keep an eye on Eddie Howe.
What about Vieira?
 

892

Member
Seen a tweet saying Holding will be thought of as the 'english captain' so I guess he part of the group.
Might have missed something but it seems like Emery discussed wanting an English captain amongst (up to) five captains, and Holding's progress in returning from injury separetly, and then the two got linked together. Talked about an English player from the academy who understood English and Arsenal values as what he wanted from a potential captaincy option. Holding might suit what he wants without being from the academy but I'm not sure it was directly mentioned anywhere.

Doubt Emery was intending a dig at the senior players but I was hoping it was a message for the younger players to step up as they have an opportunity since we don't really have leaders in the team.
 

Balboa

Active Member
What about Vieira?
Not for me. I'd prefer to see Arsenal get themselves back up the table before they look at past legend players to get them out of trouble. I believe (and hope) that Solskjaer and Lampard will not work for Man Utd and Chelsea. Eddie Howe has earned his shot for me, as much as Poch earned his. I just have a feeling that he could step up.
 

Tourbillion

Angry & Miserable
Not for me. I'd prefer to see Arsenal get themselves back up the table before they look at past legend players to get them out of trouble. I believe (and hope) that Solskjaer and Lampard will not work for Man Utd and Chelsea. Eddie Howe has earned his shot for me, as much as Poch earned his. I just have a feeling that he could step up.
Might be worth looking at iPad Mikel as well.
 

lufere7

Active Member

Player:Martinelli
Assuming we sign Pepe and Tierney and maybe keep Ceballos, have we ever been in such a good position for the future?

Nelson?------------Nketiah?--------------Pepe
-----------------------Ceballos--------------------
--------Willock/Guendouzi--Torreira----------
Tierney------Saliba-------Holding-------Bellerin
----------------------Leno-------------------------​

Bellerin is the oldest outfield player on there at 24 ffs :lol:
Nelson and Nketiah are not a sure thing but there is a lot of talent coming through the wing at least, I refuse to believe one of Nelson, Martinelli or Saka isn't making it.
 

Iceman10

Established Member
Things look good in terms of where we are headed over the next 2-3 seasons, but I would say for this season a lot revolves around Holding. Don't want too much pressure on him but we all know our defence is borderline disaster right now, and last season was bad enough.

Nevertheless, even if the defence is bad we have enough going forward to make top 4 realistic. If Holding has a good season we then would potentially require one summer less in finishing squad development to be ready to change season targets from CL qualification to being contenders for the major trophies.

Do we have what we need to be potent in counter-attack, with all that power and pace upfront? Hope to see potential of brilliance this season, but probably a season away from having a consistent killer counter-attack.
 

db10fan

Active Member
4-4-2 diamond will fit our current and expected signings :
--Bellerin/AMN--Sok/Chambers--Holding/Monreal--Tierney/Kola--
------------------------------Guendouzi/Xhaka-----------------------------
----------Torreira/Willock----------------------Dani C/Iwobi-------------
-----------------------------------Özil/Miki----------------------------------
--------------------------Auba/Laca/Pepe/Nketiah------------------------

Can be awesome, but ideally need 2 more signings :
Lefty CB
Back up RB so AMN can play in CM and allowing Iwobi to compete at CAM.
 

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