Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang: Black Panther

[CanadianGooner1608]

That’s what happens when you judge players on a pre-season game against whateverwood instead of years of competitive games.

Loving how Mkhi first destroyed people with an agenda during the Chelsea game (although he needs to up his defensive game)
And now this speed test is destroying misconceptions about Sokratis.

I want the whole team to succeed. Including the Xhaka's, Musti, Wele of this world. And I may be wrong, but I feel like we're on our way to raise our collective game a couple levels.

 

[Slartibartfast]

Pretty sure it has more to do with people being so used to us being, let's admit it, subpar in terms of performance (where we are compared to where we hoped we'd be), that they are stuck in that mindset.

There's an expression: "a falling tree makes more noise than a growing forest". People need to relax. So far, from what I see, Sven's recruiting has been top top notch, and we're slowly morphing into being competitive again.

Chelsea wet their pants when we started controlling the game. Even City to some extent saw us trying.

We used to give-up and throw the game once we were outplayed.
Right now I see us willing to adapt to the conditions and fighting back.
We keep that up, the future is bright.

(I'm so far off the Aubameyang topic, I think I'll stop talking here lol)

That's part of it, no doubt. Also, people make assumptions based on age. When a guy is about to turn 30, he's ready for a rocking chair on the front porch. Fans like those shiny new only slightly-used toys. The "next so-and-so," even if the right thing to do is to bring in an experienced hand.

 

[krengon]

All it shows is that max speed is not that important when it comes to football.

 

[Tir Na Nog]

All it shows is that max speed is not that important when it comes to football.

This is true, acceleration is much more important. Footballers don't do constant 30/40 yard sprints so it's very rare that most of them will reach max speed in a game.

 

[Mark Tobias]

And now this speed test is destroying misconceptions about Sokratis.

.

No it is not. Top speed, as has been mentioned several times now, is not really that important. What is important is the ability to react quickly and accelerate into the situation at the quickest pace possible. Very different from topping out over a greater distance. Football is predominantly played in short bursts. Particularly when a team tries to maintain possession.

 

[Slartibartfast]

Side note: Imagine people calling Sokratis "slow" and he comes up third in speed tests lol.

Just wanted to add something here. I just heard John Cross on Keys & Gray talking about how Arsenal doesn't have a chance for the top 4 this year. The biggest thing he mentioned was that Arsenal's "center backs are too slow to play a high line." This is how these sorts of myths start. People hear somebody like Cross say something that just isn't the case and then people repeat it as fact.

Obviously the problem isn't a lack of speed. Mustafi finished 5th in the speed trials, just behind Iwobi. The problem with Mustafi is a lack of positioning. This can be corrected. If you look at Morata's goal in the Chelsea game, Mustafi had the pace to stay with Morata and, in fact, eventually got a leg in front of him and almost blocked his shot. The problem was that he was playing an offside trap when Morata was in his own half of the pitch, where he couldn't be ruled offside. Had he kept himself a couple of yards between Morata and the Arsenal goal until he saw if Morata was going to drift into the Arsenal half, then Morata likely wouldn't have gotten position on him.

As for Sokratis, he's been his usual solid self.

 

[CanadianGooner1608]

No it is not. Top speed, as has been mentioned several times now, is not really that important. What is important is the ability to react quickly and accelerate into the situation at the quickest pace possible. Very different from topping out over a greater distance. Football is predominantly played in short bursts. Particularly when a team tries to maintain possession.

As I stated previously, that's a really fair point. Then again, he hasn't shown an inability to catch-up to attackers during the first two games. I'd even say he was probably our most solid defenders. Wouldn't you agree? Genuinely curious as I see your posts, and you always make some balanced statements.

 

[TheArsenalis]

Loving how Mkhi first destroyed people with an agenda during the Chelsea game (although he needs to up his defensive game)
And now this speed test is destroying misconceptions about Sokratis.

I want the whole team to succeed. Including the Xhaka's, Musti, Wele of this world. And I may be wrong, but I feel like we're on our way to raise our collective game a couple levels.

This typa think is way more uplifting. Than calling for people to sold and saying they are ****, when we have to live with them. We should be supporting them, hoping their next outting be better than the last.

 

[CanadianGooner1608]

This typa think is way more uplifting. Than calling for people to sold and saying they are ****, when we have to live with them. We should be supporting them, hoping their next outting be better than the last.

Hahaha thanks!
I find that being hopeful makes it more tolerable and enjoyable to be a football fan than the opposite.

That being said, that optimism might have rubbed off on me from an LFC fan mate of mine... so in retrospect, it might an horrific personality trait all things considered.

 

[Batman]

As I stated previously, that's a really fair point. Then again, he hasn't shown an inability to catch-up to attackers during the first two games. I'd even say he was probably our most solid defenders. Wouldn't you agree? Genuinely curious as I see your posts, and you always make some balanced statements.

It could be argued that his lack of top end pace caused him to be out of position for Morata's goal last week. He's not some awful lumbering mess but in an ideal world I think you want someone faster over distance if we're going to play a such a high line and press the way Emery wants. Or at the very least his partner has got to be for it to avoid being exposed on the counter. It's what made Sol and Kolo so tough. They were both rapid with Kolo being slightly quicker over distance and Sol being stronger in the air but both having pace and strength and the ability to recover. Neither was a stranger to a long run forward but each had the pace over distance to cover for the other's ventures forward.

 

[hydrofluoric acid]

The good thing with Auba is when he misses chances you know his head won't drop, he'll keep looking for them.

Good to have striker like that in our ranks. Nketiah is a youngster with similar mentality!

 

[CanadianGooner1608]

It could be argued that his lack of top end pace caused him to be out of position for Morata's goal last week. He's not some awful lumbering mess but in an ideal world I think you want someone faster over distance if we're going to play a such a high line and press the way Emery wants. Or at the very least his partner has got to be for it to avoid being exposed on the counter. It's what made Sol and Kolo so tough. They were both rapid with Kolo being slightly quicker over distance and Sol being stronger in the air but both having pace and strength and the ability to recover. Neither was a stranger to a long run forward but each had the pace over distance to cover for the other's ventures forward.

All you did is make me nostalgic of the Sol/Kolo duo lol.

Legitimate question: to you was Soyuncu (we were rumoured to be trying to move for him) a better prospect than Sokratis?
If not, who would you see as a CB (excluding Kalidou Koulibaly who's an absolute dream) that would fit our budget and criterias?

 

[Keile]

The internet decided that Sokratis was a big, lumbering plow horse with no mobility. The internet is often wrong because it's peppered with people who perpetually pilfer presumptions from persons who promulgate fallacious, faulty or downright fabricated (alternate) facts.

Sokratis is slow. The "top speed" thing doesn't measure anything but Sokratis' top speed in a game at any given time. He's a defender so he runs flat out more than someone like Iwobi, who runs more with the ball and has to run slower to control it. Like someone else said, Sokratis' lack of speed was exposed by Morata's goal last week. I've never seen "top speed" used as a speed metric either.

 

[celestis]

That’s what happens when you judge players on a pre-season game against whateverwood instead of years of competitive games.

Nah seen him for Dortmund as well sluggish , Guendouzi slower than Xhaka by that metric

 

[razörist]

Nah seen him for Dortmund as well sluggish , Guendouzi slower than Xhaka by that metric

Guendouzi has fast thinking capacity, all the brain waves is why his hair is all frizzy like that. And beautiful. <3

 

[Batman]

All you did is make me nostalgic of the Sol/Kolo duo lol.

Legitimate question: to you was Soyuncu (we were rumoured to be trying to move for him) a better prospect than Sokratis?
If not, who would you see as a CB (excluding Kalidou Koulibaly who's an absolute dream) that would fit our budget and criterias?

I honestly didn't know enough about him to determine that. Like most of us I'd never heard of him before he was linked and while he has a good physical profile, I didn't see enough to compare his level to Sokratis. I would have probably been happier with him coming in alongside Sokratis and Mustafi going but I actually wanted Benatia over Sokratis because I rate him higher.

 

[krengon]

Speed I.e Usan Bolt isn't worth much in football but speed with dare I say a decent level of technical ability is a football orgasm.

Acceleration/speed over a shorter distance, speed with the ball, agility, how quickly you can change directions etc. all very important in football, max speed less so.. In a game there are very few situations where any player will hit their max speed, most of the sprints will happen over a shorter distance(10- 40m).

 

[Slartibartfast]

Sokratis is slow. The "top speed" thing doesn't measure anything but Sokratis' top speed in a game at any given time. He's a defender so he runs flat out more than someone like Iwobi, who runs more with the ball and has to run slower to control it. Like someone else said, Sokratis' lack of speed was exposed by Morata's goal last week. I've never seen "top speed" used as a speed metric either.

Sokratis wasn't the one chasing Morata. That was Mustafi. And the problem wasn't Mustafi being too slow. It was Mustafi being out of position. And it's exactly that sort of situation when the speed measured in the speed test comes into play. Mustafi kept up with Morata pretty well, but could never get position on him because he was out of position in the first place.

 

[bingobob]

Opl

Acceleration/speed over a shorter distance, speed with the ball, agility, how quickly you can change directions etc. all very important in football, max speed less so.. In a game there are very few situations where any player will hit their max speed, most of the sprints will happen over a shorter distance(10- 40m).

Think I've mis understood you.

Speed is vital the quicker you are without the ball the more dangerous you will be if you have any type of technique I.e. Walcott. If you're ridiculously good and quick then you are near unstoppable.

Guys like Henry, Mbappe the original Ronaldo just go past effortlessly. See Mbappe destroy Argentina ,kicked the ball and ran. Original Ronaldo use to go off the field to run around guys and could dribble at high speed near making him unstoppable. We all know Henry's goal against Sp**s where he ran with the ball quicker than guys were running without the ball.

And I suppose in terms of pure speed counter attacking after defending a corner is lethal with pure pace.

 

[krengon]

Opl

Think I've mis understood you.

Speed is vital the quicker you are without the ball the more dangerous you will be if you have any type of technique I.e. Walcott. If you're ridiculously good and quick then you are near unstoppable.

Guys like Henry, Mbappe the original Ronaldo just go past effortlessly. See Mbappe destroy Argentina ,kicked the ball and ran. Original Ronaldo use to go off the field to run around guys and could dribble at high speed near making him unstoppable. We all know Henry's goal against Sp**s where he ran with the ball quicker than guys were running without the ball.

And I suppose in terms of pure speed counter attacking after defending a corner is lethal with pure pace.

Yeah I think so, speed is definitely very important, but when it comes to football acceleration and quickness over a short distance is what matters the most, not max speed by itself(those who are elite over a short distance tend to have elite top speed too however)

Look how quick Mbappe accelerates there and over a few meters he has gained significant seperation from the defenders already..

Henry leaves the midfielder for dust over a few meters here.


Here, Zanetti manages to keep up with Henry until he stops up, and again over a few meters he manages to gain significant seperation between himself and Zanetti because he's so quick over the first few meters..


If your max speed is good, but it takes you 50-60 m to get there than it's pretty useless in football terms as the damage will already have been done in the first 10-40 m.

To keep it PEA, I'd like to see what his numbers are over shorter distance. There have been a few situations where you expect him to burn the defender for pace, but they surprisingly keep up with him. Doubt he hits top speed often over a season.