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The Unpopular Opinion Thread

BigPoppaPump

Reeling from Laca & Kos nightmares
Now that Hazard has gone, Son is the best player in the league.

Case can be made for Sterling at a push although I’d want him to perform at this level for a worse team than City.

Salah as a player can hinder your team when he’s not scoring, he gets really selfish and gets tunnel vision. Son is selfish but not to the extent where it f*cks his team up.

Son isn't even top 5. De Bruyne is the best player in the league and he was when Hazard was here too.
 

TornadoTed

Established Member
Now that Hazard has gone, Son is the best player in the league.

Case can be made for Sterling at a push although I’d want him to perform at this level for a worse team than City.

Salah as a player can hinder your team when he’s not scoring, he gets really selfish and gets tunnel vision. Son is selfish but not to the extent where it f*cks his team up.

de Bruyne for me, just a beautiful footballer in every aspect.
 

Iceman10

Established Member
Mourinho will be our next manager.

When Mourinho was at Real Madrid he was in constant power games. When he was at United he was also in constant power games. He's a bit like Wenger in that the transition of football clubs from do-it-all managers to separated out roles from the first team coach left them both behind because they were not adaptable to such club structures, egos built around prior success. I don't see Mou being someone Raul/Edu/Vinai would be happy bringing in, and they would have Kroenke's ear on that.
 

Jury

A-M's drunk uncle
1. I’m going full conspiracy mode here but hear me out. The Ljungberg appointment had nothing to do with the youth. It was basically a power move by Raul to keep Emery on his toes.
It could be both!! :eek:That's a fair claim. Great move, nonetheless.
 

Mitch

Blonde Brigade Grand Wizard
de Bruyne for me, just a beautiful footballer in every aspect.

Agreed. I had B.Silva as the best player in the league last season and had KDB the best for the previous 2 seasons.

As for Son as best player in the league. Although I rate him very highly I would have KDB, B.Silva, Sterling, Salah, Van Djik, Allison, Mane, Eriksen and PEA over Son.
 

BigPoppaPump

Reeling from Laca & Kos nightmares
Lacazette is our 2nd worst transfer ever after Mustafi, even Xhaka's wasn't as bad and that's a solid 3rd.
 

tap-in

Nothing Wrong With Me
1. I’m going full conspiracy mode here but hear me out. The Ljungberg appointment had nothing to do with the youth. It was basically a power move by Raul to keep Emery on his toes.

Well the rumour is it was Ljungbergs idea that he and Bould swap. Tbh Freddie must be bloody confident if this is true. Personally I think it was a case of Bould stepping down or being sacked, he should have gone with Wenger tbh and probably wont be around much longer.
 

MutableEarth

Reiss' Dad
Trusted ⭐
He was saying on Sky spend alot of time watching Lille after getting sacked & a fan of Pepe.

He will manage us or Sp**s with in 24 months.
Hopefully Sp**s. Don't want Mourinho anywhere near Arsenal, especially not with Hale End churning out the talent it currently is.
 

Kingofthebongo

Active Member
Front Foot - Back Foot - Athletes Foot

Most of our defensive frailties stems from our CM options.

Modern football in the premier league relies on efficiency and reducing waste as goal scoring opportunities are more than ever before reliant on forcing transitional mistakes and so much less when defenses are set. This is due to the amount of data, analytics and information about opposing teams. Nobody can surprise anybody anymore with new strategies and tactical wit. The winner is usually the team that can play on the "front foot" (Wenger's favourite phrase) most often as this puts more pressure on the other teams, thus forcing mistakes in key areas.

Every single pass has to be zipped at the right pace, right weight. The player has to be more aware than ever of his surroundings to make a rapid progressive decision as quickly as ever, controlled with the right push towards the right direction in space. The hidden problem with the El Neny's of the game is that despite them creating zero errors and looking nice statistically, the lack of courage will eventually put your team under pressure. If you're not forcing the other team into making mistakes, you most likely will make the mistake eventually.
Cm's have two ways of going on the "front foot". Passing through the lines, or carrying the ball through clean dribbling, power, and shoulder feints.
Xhaka as an example - working in a double pivot with Guendouzi against Newcastle. His tools are excellent weighted passing, vision, good first touch, and range of passing. The problem is, his ability to go on the "front foot" is entirely limited to this as he has absolutely zero mobility and ability to carry the ball and break the lines by carrying the ball. That's okay though, if he were a master passer who seldom makes mistakes, ala Xabi Alonso - but this is also not the case as he has massive concentration lapses and even in his front foot skill set of passing he is really not consistent enough to be considered good enough for our aspirations.
Guendouzi - young kid. Mentally he lives to be on the front foot. Has stamina to run for days, can go on the front foot by breaking a line or two with clean dribbling and shoulder feints, has a nice weighted through pass on him, and a decent balance. I like him, but he has shown to also be prone to massive errors when players are physical with him. He lacks strength, balance, and nous - which will come with age. I have faith in him for 2-3 years from now.
Torreira - Really really struggles to get on the front foot in CM. He opts for safe passes, what he has in courage to put body in the line, he lacks in courage to make the difficult pass or take a player on. More than likely because it is just not his forte but is being asked to grow as a player. The little man lacks in power and dynamism and I don't know if he has the stamina to last a full season of 90 minutes in this intense league. I like him for what he is, just not sure about him in Emery's system.
The lack of Cm's to fit into Emery's system really puts immense pressure on the back 4 in transitional moves. This is how most goals are scored in this modern game. I think the closest one is Guendouzi.

I have not seen enough of Willock or Ceballos to comment on them yet - but secretely have hope that players of this profile are the solution to our defensive woes rather than the most obvious option of spending fortunes on the backline.

I would rather take that 80mill on Upa and put it towards an elite and proven CM to replace Xhaka as the main pick in the middle of the park. and partner some of these young kids who are showing potential to work in Emery's system.

I like feet. PM me pics.
 

tap-in

Nothing Wrong With Me
I think so yes. Will be interesting to go over the numbers when the window closes.

Swiss Ramble claims our gross spend was £46m based on all the initial 1st yr payments, then 1st yrs wages on top take it to about £70m. That figure then comes down with initial Iwobi payment, Bielik, Ospina. Obviously if we sell Mustafi & Elneny it will reduce further.
 

YeahBee

Terrible hot takes
Well the rumour is it was Ljungbergs idea that he and Bould swap. Tbh Freddie must be bloody confident if this is true. Personally I think it was a case of Bould stepping down or being sacked, he should have gone with Wenger tbh and probably wont be around much longer.

Freddie (whom I Love as both a gunner and a Swede) does have a history of being over confident
He was very vocal about being moved centrally for Sweden which wasnt really His position, and there was often an aura of arrogance around him
He fought with both Olof Mellberg and Zlatan :p
But you gotta admire the balls of the Little Guy to do that.
 
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