A wider perspective 2018/19

[truth_hurts]

The proverbial DM (still convinced that this is a champ man/football manager creation rather than a real positions), A goal keeper worthy of the shirt a clinical forward and a commanding CB. These have been our problem positions, since Gilberto left, the space between Lehmann and Cech, Before last summer and before Sokratis. IT could be argued that we have addressed all of the positions, which had plagued is for many years, during the Wengerball era. BUT, width! Have we had a wide forward, who puts fear into the opposition since Pires? I can't think of one. If we're being pedantic, for all his greatness, it could be argued that Overmars was our last world class natural wide man.

That is a really long intro! Furthermore, I have yet to properly introduce the topic for discussion, which is - are our wide options gpod enough? And if so, do our options strike fear into opponents like Zaha did for us this weekend, like Mane and Salah will this weekend and like Hazard, Willian, Sterling and Sane already have?

 

[asukru]

I believe out of the wide options we currently have only PEA could be deemed as a player who strikes fear into the opposition with his pace. I think Lacazette could be added to this category as well. Maybe Xhaka from the fact that he can be feisty and can score a screamer from free kicks.

I love Özil but I think people view him as lazy so he doesn't really strike fear into players. For some reason I feel players who strike that fear are players who are pace merchants.

 

[truth_hurts]

It is worth mentioning that we do have attacking fullback options and we have international forwards who are capable of playing on the wing namely PEA, Welbeck, Iwobi, Mkhitarian and to a degree Özil and Ramsey - who are all quality. Emery also had a habit of not playing Di Maria wide and he was the most natural wide option available to him at PSG. I can't remember Seville playing with much width either, but they had players like Neymar, Mbappe, Draxler and Di Maria who could ghost past players. We only have Mkhi and Iwobi. Does anybody else see our wide options as our biggest problem? Strange call with one of the options being the leagues top scorer and Iwobi being in the form of his life. I don't believe opponents fear us though.

I'd be very interested to hear from fans of opposition teams to see how our wide options are viewed.

 

[truth_hurts]

I believe out of the wide options we currently have only PEA could be deemed as a player who strikes fear into the opposition with his pace. I think Lacazette could be added to this category as well. Maybe Xhaka from the fact that he can be feisty and can score a screamer from free kicks.

I love Özil but I think people view him as lazy so he doesn't really strike fear into players. For some reason I feel players who strike that fear are players who are pace merchants.

Pace and the ability to dribble past players in my opinion. Walcott types don't create fear, but a Zaha, Hazard or Sane will, due to technical ability.

 

[Garrincha]

Its a huge blindspot.

To me felt like we never accepted our position as an underdog after all the oil money flooded the league a decade ago. You dont try to overcome these teams with significantly better players / squads by out playing them but you counter them.

Hate to say it but Liverpool showed the way. Pacey wide players are a huge part.

 

[Trilly]

I’ve always thought, why are we the only side who doesn’t have a pacy wide player that can dribble?

The closest we’ve had in recent years was an inconsistent Ox, and I think he falls more into the powerful runner mould rather than natural dribbler.

Iwobi’s got the feet but he doesn’t have the outright pace and sometimes that’s all you need ffs, something Wenger just didn’t care for.

 

[ClubLevel]

I can't remember Seville playing with much width either

I can't remember if Sevilla had an and out wingers but they did play with width as they crossed the ball into the box quite a lot, whether thats a ball in the air or a pull back.

 

[bingobob]

The last winger we had that put fear into the opppsition was Walcott. Pep freely admitted to it. His pace frightened teams that left space.

Now fear and ability are two different things. Our wide players were often neglected, roles given to central players as opposed to natural wide players. Wide players who viewed themselves as central midfielders or strikers supported by a manager who preferred flexibility over a specialist.

We have been linked with enough natural wide players to make me think we will make a move sooner or later and rectify the balance in the team.

 

[GunnerBP]

Well, right now we're not really playing with wingers and we're getting our width from our fullbacks.

So if the question is, "Do we need an attacking winger like Zaha?" then I'd say that we maybe do, but I'm not sure how it would work in our current setup.

If the question is, "Do we need new players to provide us with width?" then the answer is no. Our fullbacks give us width.

Against Palace, Bellerin was subbed off at halftime, and Xhaka played LB. We struggled against Palace not because Zaha was incredible, but because our fullbacks couldn't press up the field as well they normally do and they didn't provide us with width.

Right now we have three CFs who are in top form and Emery looks to try to get them on the field, and this means one less spot for a winger. Not sure if a winger would create more goals than Laca, PEA and Welbeck currently are.

In the summer, I can see us going after a winger and/or bringing back Nelson and playing him on the wing just to diversify our attack, but I don't think we really need one right now.

Right now we need quality and healthy fullbacks who can provide us with width.

 

[truth_hurts]

Well, right now we're not really playing with wingers and we're getting our width from our fullbacks.

So if the question is, "Do we need an attacking winger like Zaha?" then I'd say that we maybe do, but I'm not sure how it would work in our current setup.

If the question is, "Do we need new players to provide us with width?" then the answer is no. Our fullbacks give us width.

Against Palace, Bellerin was subbed off at halftime, and Xhaka played LB. We struggled against Palace not because Zaha was incredible, but because our fullbacks couldn't press up the field as well they normally do and they didn't provide us with width.

Right now we have three CFs who are in top form and Emery looks to try to get them on the field, and this means one less spot for a winger. Not sure if a winger would create more goals than Laca, PEA and Welbeck currently are.

In the summer, I can see us going after a winger and/or bringing back Nelson and playing him on the wing just to diversify our attack, but I don't think we really need one right now.

Right now we need quality and healthy fullbacks who can provide us with width.

I agree, but all 3 (Pea less so) rely on service as they can't make their own goals. An option of a pacey dribbler would add so much.

Bellerin and our fullbacks definitely provide width, not really penetration though.

I'm excited by Iwobi and Nelson long term, but would love a more direct wide player now. Zaha definitely improves us.

 

[Trilly]

If the question is, "Do we need new players to provide us with width?" then the answer is no. Our fullbacks give us width.

Could be a case of us being forced to play that way while Emery moulds the squad. Wenger clearly preferred width from the fullbacks instead of wide players but Emery might like a natural wideman.

Having width provided by a forward player could mean we can tuck one of our fullbacks in for more protection on the counter (something we struggle with big time). We see it with Man City, Pep will either play Sane or Mendy for width on the left side and then Walker often becomes a weird RB/CB.

I feel like our reliance on fullbacks for width rather than traditional wingers has contributed to this soft defence of recent years.

 

[GunnerBP]

Yeah, @Trilly & @truth_hurts I'm not opposed to us having a winger at some point, I just think our team is pretty reliant on our CFs right now. PEA, Laca, and Welbeck are in great form, and we need to find ways to get them on the pitch.

These three make it hard for us to also have a winger because they need to play centrally. PEA and Welbeck can play on the wings but they are far less effective.

Also, Özil can't really play on the wing either, so now we have 3 attacking players who play down the middle.

I think due to the form of these three, and some other factors, Emery has chosen to get width from our fullbacks.

I wouldn't be surprised if Emery changes things up next season, and a lot also depends on if we keep Welbeck.

In a fantasy world, I'd love it if we spent big money on Dembele from Barca this summer. See if Sven and Raul can use their Barca and Dortmund connections to get it done.

 

[krackpot]

That is a really long intro! Furthermore, I have yet to properly introduce the topic for discussion, which is - are our wide options gpod enough? And if so, do our options strike fear into opponents like Zaha did for us this weekend, like Mane and Salah will this weekend and like Hazard, Willian, Sterling and Sane already have?

As someone said, we haven't played with real width since the days of Overmars. We have setup our team (and junior teams) to play without wingers. Especially it would mean Bellerin/Kola become surplus as they can't really defend.

Priority should be to either bench/replace Xhaka and Mustafi to really go forward. They don't have the compsure to be in the starting XI.

 

[Yousif Arsenal]

As someone said, we haven't played with real width since the days of Overmars. We have setup our team (and junior teams) to play without wingers. Especially it would mean Bellerin/Kola become surplus as they can't really defend.

Priority should be to either bench/replace Xhaka and Mustafi to really go forward. They don't have the compsure to be in the starting XI.

I think xhaka did improve with Emery mustafi still has mistake in him in every game hr should be replaced

 

[Maybe]

I think we are making huge steps forward.
1. We sorted our midfield issues within a single transfer window.
2. There is a potential clear out on the horizon starting with Ramsey, and I hope other players like Mustafi, Monreal and Xhaka will be added to that list.
3. Transfer policy is changing again to what we are good at, finding gems like Torreira and Gundo unlike buying average players that will secure Europa League spot that we did for the last few years.
4. Club plans to integrate elite youth players and create a core of the team with them. Sanllehi is crucial for this plan as he has experience from Barcelona.
5. It looks like we will only go for elite players in the market and combine that with some gems and youth products.

It will take a few years for us to get there but at least there is some vision at the club now, and I think we are already good enough to secure 4th spot this season which is the most important thing.

 

[truth_hurts]

So people have faith in our wide options?PEA is the leagues top scorer, so hard to argue with him as an option, Welbeck is pacey and offers physicality, drive and goals, Iwobi and Mkhi offer playmaking ability.

Strangely it's us, United and Sp**s that play without real width, but even then Moura and Martial can dribble past opponents at pace. I really think it's our next step to transition to real contenders. Without width we are overly reliant on Özil creating or a strike like Xhakas at the weekend.

I'd really like to hear what opposition fans think about our attack (as a unit rather than individuals)

 

[vijay]

Have we had a wide forward, who puts fear into the opposition since Pires? I can't think of one. If we're being pedantic, for all his greatness, it could be argued that Overmars was our last world class natural wide man.

nasri.

ah samir...what a player he was. It hurt me more to lose him than Cesc or RVP. Still havent replaced him. He was magic.

 

[GoonerJeeves]

Must admit it would have been interesting to see Zaha at Arsenal. Don't think it is going to happen though.

He'd fit in better now at us, than he did at United. Wrong club too early with the wrong manager.

 

[Trilly]

Must admit it would have been interesting to see Zaha at Arsenal. Don't think it is going to happen though.

He'd fit in better now at us, than he did at United. Wrong club too early with the wrong manager.

For a player who can beat his man at Will he doesn’t score enough. He’s not a great ball striker.

I think our team needs more of a Martial/Mahrez type, admittedly not as good 1v1 as Zaha but considerably better technicians, especially when it comes to shooting off the dribble.

Would still cartwheel around the place if we did sign Wilf though.

 

[truth_hurts]

nasri.

ah samir...what a player he was. It hurt me more to lose him than Cesc or RVP. Still havent replaced him. He was magic.

Brilliant player, but again I believe respected rather than feared by opponents.