Manuel Locatelli

[HairSprayGooners]

You never replied to my emails.

I've been calling you and @OnlyOne every night without response.

 

[Finesse]

Just speaks to a lack of a plan. He plays for Sassulo ffs. There has been so much time to get in contact with his representatives prior to the euros and make a bid. Instead it seems more like Edu rang Arteta up while watching Italy saying, this Locatelli guy looks good shall we bid?

He is good on the ball, but just strikes me as a Ceballos type off it. I don't feel high tackling numbers translate to England when you press so little off the ball. I can see him being outrun and bypassed quite easily. Would much rather Renato Sanches. Statistically they are quite similar, but the physcaility of Renato and his shot creation statistics are far better than Locatelli, not to mention the prospect of him settling in easier.

Just speaks more of , I don't have any insights into the internal negotiations of this deal and I will deploy my disdain for Arteta and Edu to just waffle and project they are incompetent !

You may like Renato better but you can concentrate on his strengths to show than rather than making completely wrong statements about Locatelli. It boils down to what we lack and need in the team. Looking at the interests in Neves , Locatelli and Jorginho ( last season ) for example , we are looking at control , ability to dictate from deep , vision from deep , protecting the defence and recycling intelligently to beat the press and initiate attacks. Maybe this is why the links to Bissouma have died. This is what Locatelli brings. Partey has the power , mobility and guile to dominate a midfield , while Locatelli brings control from deep as a partner. We have not suffered physically in midfield last season. It was more about dynamism on the ball , transition play and creativity from deep. ( This is what Elnenny and Ceballos struggled at when they partnered Partey ...with predictable and safe sideways passing) This is where Locatelli comes in. His defensive stats and recovery tackles are very impressive for a deep playing CM.

We want to replace Xhaka and bring in a player who can control the tempo of the play , quicker on the first touch , can tackle and has the passing range to find the ESR , Pepe or Saka between the lines. Then Locatelli is your man. Xhaka did this for us when he had his best games and this is what he did against France for the Euros. The challenge for Xhaka has been his very one footed style , weakness evading the pressure exerted on CMs by opponents and ability to cover ground / winning balls . This is what led to his many errors.

 

[ragnarock]

I miss the Gokhan Inler rumors. Felt so right and comforting.

 

[HairSprayGooners]

Just speaks more of , I don't have any insights into the internal negotiations of this deal and I will deploy my disdain for Arteta and Edu to just waffle and project they are incompetent !

You may like Renato better but you can concentrate on his strengths to show than rather than making completely wrong statements about Locatelli. It boils down to what we lack and need in the team. Looking at the interests in Neves , Locatelli and Jorginho ( last season ) for example , we are looking at control , ability to dictate from deep , vision from deep , protecting the defence and recycling intelligently to beat the press and initiate attacks. Maybe this is why the links to Bissouma have died. This is what Locatelli brings. Partey has the power , mobility and guile to dominate a midfield , while Locatelli brings control from deep as a partner. We have not suffered physically in midfield last season. It was more about dynamism on the ball , transition play and creativity from deep. ( This is what Elnenny and Ceballos struggled at when they partnered Partey ...with predictable and safe sideways passing) This is where Locatelli comes in. His defensive stats and recovery tackles are very impressive for a deep playing CM.

We want to replace Xhaka and bring in a player who can control the tempo of the play , quicker on the first touch , can tackle and has the passing range to find the ESR , Pepe or Saka between the lines. Then Locatelli is your man. Xhaka did this for us when he has his best games and this is what he did against France for the Euros. The challenge for Xhaka has been his very one footed style , weakness evading the pressure exerted on CMs by opponents and ability to cover ground / wining balls . This is what led to his many errors.

Very well said.

Its the blind ignorance of some that really makes me question things. If @The_Playmaker did a little bit of research he'd find what @American_Gooner found and posted. We've been in for Locatelli for a while. And like you said, its simply the agenda against Arteta/Edu that makes people post like this instead of looking at things objectively.

Whatever you think about the regime, they would've made a plan. It was fairly clear that they would've known Xhaka was off way before the end of the season, hence the contact for Locatelli in April. That's the kind of player we want to replace Xhaka with, a massive upgrade.

 

[Finesse]

Back to back 8th place finishes is how the current “project” is going. Literally no signs of improvement from last season. All we are seeing is a decline and a steep decline since Wenger left. The board backing a rookie manger with the worst results in modern history is also a sign that the club lacks ambition and is not taking this project seriously at all.

So let’s see if any players with serious suitors buy into this clearly failing project we have at Arsenal. We already failed in signing one player (Buendia) who went to ducking Aston Villa over us.

I know a man on a mission when I see one. I do not want my post to be your mission. You are not a fan of the board and manager etc and rightly so. Why not keep this energy on the related Board and Manager thread. Rather than making it a mission of littering this agenda on a player transfer thread , when we are looking at sharing opinions and insights on players linked etc?

 

[gunner4lyfe]

United has not sunk as low as us despite being in their banter years. This is why I hate Arteta, can’t even enjoy United being a banter club anymore. ****, even Tottenham is ahead of us. This is the worst timeline.

And this is where i would stop arguing with you. What have Tottenham won? Fvck off with that. Lol.

 

[MikelHadADream]

United has not sunk as low as us despite being in their banter years. This is why I hate Arteta, can’t even enjoy United being a banter club anymore. ****, even Tottenham is ahead of us. This is the worst timeline.

Maybe a few years ago they were, but Levy f*cked up by not reinvesting/refreshing the team. Its going to be grim for them once Kane leaves. They don't seem to have any top younger players coming though either. I'd say today we are ahead of them.

 

[LG10]

I think we’re hijacking Leiceste’s deal with soumare. Rightfully so, guy is a phenom.

 

[LG10]

Renato is a mega talent but bayern ****ed him over. Unbelievably raw.

 

[LG10]

Basically arsenal fans want shiny new toys and don’t know what we need. The players people are twerking for are sad. Imagine getting hyped for locatelli ffs.

 

[Barry]

I think we’re hijacking Leiceste’s deal with soumare. Rightfully so, guy is a phenom.

Just a feeling or is there some gossip out there?

 

[The_Playmaker]

Just speaks more of , I don't have any insights into the internal negotiations of this deal and I will deploy my disdain for Arteta and Edu to just waffle and project they are incompetent !

You may like Renato better but you can concentrate on his strengths to show than rather than making completely wrong statements about Locatelli. It boils down to what we lack and need in the team. Looking at the interests in Neves , Locatelli and Jorginho ( last season ) for example , we are looking at control , ability to dictate from deep , vision from deep , protecting the defence and recycling intelligently to beat the press and initiate attacks. Maybe this is why the links to Bissouma have died. This is what Locatelli brings. Partey has the power , mobility and guile to dominate a midfield , while Locatelli brings control from deep as a partner. We have not suffered physically in midfield last season. It was more about dynamism on the ball , transition play and creativity from deep. ( This is what Elnenny and Ceballos struggled at when they partnered Partey ...with predictable and safe sideways passing) This is where Locatelli comes in. His defensive stats and recovery tackles are very impressive for a deep playing CM.

We want to replace Xhaka and bring in a player who can control the tempo of the play , quicker on the first touch , can tackle and has the passing range to find the ESR , Pepe or Saka between the lines. Then Locatelli is your man. Xhaka did this for us when he had his best games and this is what he did against France for the Euros. The challenge for Xhaka has been his very one footed style , weakness evading the pressure exerted on CMs by opponents and ability to cover ground / winning balls . This is what led to his many errors.

The problem we have is that we play in our own third too much. Deep lying play makers drop deep to pick the ball up off the back 4 and play from there. Yet we are in for Ben White. Cb's are esentially deep lying play makers. If he wants his centre backs to be that good on the ball, it means he wants them to step out and push the team up the pitch. The higher up the pitch you are, the more susceptible you are to transitions through your midfield. We are not paying 55 million for a cb to pass the ball 5 yards to a deep lying player for the purpose of control.

My preference for Renato Sanches isn't about Locatelli not being a good player. I simply don't like that style of player for the Premier League. I prefer a combination of physicality and skill and while he has good attributes, he still needs a Partey next to him to flourish. It is a case of having goldi locks players over the years and I simply don't want them anymore.

I am also of the opinion that line breaking passes and finding people is just something that a good footballer should be able to do. I don't see it as a specific skill that we need to invest in a player who has that speciality. Statistics have made people justify the need for specific skill sets.

I rememeber watching Arsenal back in the day. Was I concerned with how many deep progressions Gilberto made? It's like people pointing to Xhaka. Look at his pass completion stats, his switches of play, his between the line passes, but all I see is a player who can get run off the pitch and give away a goal every now and then. He may prove me wrong and I would like that if we signed Locatelli, but I don't see it.

Your comment waffle and Arteta and Edu being incompetent. It has nothing to do with projection.

We finished 8th, got knocked out of the Europa League, due to Arteta's galaxy brain.

Edu has masterminded the release clause of Partey, dropping £16 million into Özil's bank account to get rid of him and who knows how much more with other players we have paid off. Cedric, Willian. Literally terrible deals.

Arteta and Edu have a lot of trust to win back. Their detractors have every reason to feel how they do and people who dismiss those feelings, because of a back up left back, a 21 year old midfielder who hasn't kicked a ball and LINKS in the media are quite arrogant in their approach. I genuinely want Arteta and Edu to prove me wrong, but I literally haven't seen anything of the sort, transfer wise or on the pitch.

 

[OnlyOne]

Locatelli running back to defend a counter attack:

 

[LG10]

Just a feeling or is there some gossip out there?

Feeling. Why haven’t they announced it? Daka was.

 

[MutableEarth]

Maybe a few years ago they were, but Levy f*cked up by not reinvesting/refreshing the team. Its going to be grim for them once Kane leaves. They don't seem to have any top younger players coming though either. I'd say today we are ahead of them.

They do have Dane Scarlett tbf who looks very good.

 

[RunTheTrap]

The problem we have is that we play in our own third too much. Deep lying play makers drop deep to pick the ball up off the back 4 and play from there. Yet we are in for Ben White. Cb's are esentially deep lying play makers. If he wants his centre backs to be that good on the ball, it means he wants them to step out and push the team up the pitch. The higher up the pitch you are, the more susceptible you are to transitions through your midfield. We are not paying 55 million for a cb to pass the ball 5 yards to a deep lying player for the purpose of control.

My preference for Renato Sanches isn't about Locatelli not being a good player. I simply don't like that style of player for the Premier League. I prefer a combination of physicality and skill and while he has good attributes, he still needs a Partey next to him to flourish. It is a case of having goldi locks players over the years and I simply don't want them anymore.

I am also of the opinion that line breaking passes and finding people is just something that a good footballer should be able to do. I don't see it as a specific skill that we need to invest in a player who has that speciality. Statistics have made people justify the need for specific skill sets.

I rememeber watching Arsenal back in the day. Was I concerned with how many deep progressions Gilberto made? It's like people pointing to Xhaka. Look at his pass completion stats, his switches of play, his between the line passes, but all I see is a player who can get run off the pitch and give away a goal every now and then. He may prove me wrong and I would like that if we signed Locatelli, but I don't see it.

Your comment waffle and Arteta and Edu being incompetent. It has nothing to do with projection.

We finished 8th, got knocked out of the Europa League, due to Arteta's galaxy brain.

Edu has masterminded the release clause of Partey, dropping £16 million into Özil's bank account to get rid of him and who knows how much more with other players we have paid off. Cedric, Willian. Literally terrible deals.

Arteta and Edu have a lot of trust to win back. Their detractors have every reason to feel how they do and people who dismiss those feelings, because of a back up left back, a 21 year old midfielder who hasn't kicked a ball and LINKS in the media are quite arrogant in their approach. I genuinely want Arteta and Edu to prove me wrong, but I literally haven't seen anything of the sort, transfer wise or on the pitch.

I hear what you're saying but the way I see it, I believe us signing Locatelli is about having variation in midfield. If our midfield options are Partey, Lokonga, Willock and Locatelli, I'm not really concerned about athleticism in that regard, you only have one midfielder who can't run compared to the rest. Now compare that to Partey, Xhaka, Cellabos and Elneny. Clearly athleticism is the biggest problem because three of the four can't run. Yes Locatelli isn't the most athletic but if he were to sign he would probably be our best midfield in build-up play. I think we as Arsenal fans have PTSD about slow midfielders, Xhaka was the right profile but the wrong player. At least Locatelli is more modern and mobile and probably more suited to PL football.

 

[Token Yank]

Spuds are a mess. They blew their wad on a bunch of players that haven't really worked out. That was their big push after the CL final and it hasn't paid off. Their CBs are horrible. Add to that the insane stadium debt and Kane looking to move.

 

[HairSprayGooners]

Locatelli isn't purely a DLP, got a lot more to his game than that.

 

[Finesse]

The problem we have is that we play in our own third too much. Deep lying play makers drop deep to pick the ball up off the back 4 and play from there. Yet we are in for Ben White. Cb's are esentially deep lying play makers. If he wants his centre backs to be that good on the ball, it means he wants them to step out and push the team up the pitch. The higher up the pitch you are, the more susceptible you are to transitions through your midfield. We are not paying 55 million for a cb to pass the ball 5 yards to a deep lying player for the purpose of control.

My preference for Renato Sanches isn't about Locatelli not being a good player. I simply don't like that style of player for the Premier League. I prefer a combination of physicality and skill and while he has good attributes, he still needs a Partey next to him to flourish. It is a case of having goldi locks players over the years and I simply don't want them anymore.

I am also of the opinion that line breaking passes and finding people is just something that a good footballer should be able to do. I don't see it as a specific skill that we need to invest in a player who has that speciality. Statistics have made people justify the need for specific skill sets.

I rememeber watching Arsenal back in the day. Was I concerned with how many deep progressions Gilberto made? It's like people pointing to Xhaka. Look at his pass completion stats, his switches of play, his between the line passes, but all I see is a player who can get run off the pitch and give away a goal every now and then. He may prove me wrong and I would like that if we signed Locatelli, but I don't see it.

Your comment waffle and Arteta and Edu being incompetent. It has nothing to do with projection.

We finished 8th, got knocked out of the Europa League, due to Arteta's galaxy brain.

Edu has masterminded the release clause of Partey, dropping £16 million into Özil's bank account to get rid of him and who knows how much more with other players we have paid off. Cedric, Willian. Literally terrible deals.

Arteta and Edu have a lot of trust to win back. Their detractors have every reason to feel how they do and people who dismiss those feelings, because of a back up left back, a 21 year old midfielder who hasn't kicked a ball and LINKS in the media are quite arrogant in their approach. I genuinely want Arteta and Edu to prove me wrong, but I literally haven't seen anything of the sort, transfer wise or on the pitch.

There is an Edu and Arteta rant thread. Bump it !
Locatelli is a Mazzela by nature and he is not just a deep lying CM. Deep playmaking and tempo control is just one of his attributes based on game plan and team structure. The goals he popped up with and contribution for example for Italy in the Euros proves he is not what you limit him to.

 

[The_Playmaker]

There is an Edu and Arteta rant thread. Bump it !
Locatelli is a Mazzela by nature and he is not just a deep lying CM. Deep playmaking and tempo control is just one of his attributes based on game plan and team structure. The goals he popped up with and contribution for example for Italy in the Euros proves he is not what you limit him to.

I could make the same argument for Bissouma who scores screamers from the edge of the box. Limited to a 6 but capable of being an 8.

It's just a preference.