Country: USA
Player:Saliba
This question, when often asked, makes people think only of what our team and players do with the ball (for example I often hear it said that it doesn't matter if x player starts out wide as they can drift inside etc etc), yet perhaps the biggest conundrum thrown up by selecting players such as Wilshere and Ramsey to play on the wings is the impact of the workload off the ball that this asks of them, and how much that detracts from their ability to influence our offensive game to the best of their strengths.
As Arsène said, nearly every footballer you ask will say he prefers to play centrally, however, I feel that some players say that because they are know that their strengths are on the ball not off it. There are players - I give you Di Maria, I give you Walcott, who would probably say that they prefer playing centrally but the fact is that they have the raw physical attributes required to provide pace, off the ball movement and penetration while there are others who do not.
My reason for making this thread is to get your views about how important you think this issue is to us making that final step. I feel we have a fantastically creative team, and with the addition of a couple of impact players (Theo / Podolski) we will be a devastating counter attacking team. I look at Bayern Munich's performance away at City, and just in general, I imagine how much weaker they would be without two players with the pace and directness of Ribery and Robben. It is, what I feel has made them able to play without a properly world class CF for so long. Their ability to cover the ground so quickly is critical to Bayern's transitions of play.
So what is your view and who do you see as our preferred wide options with everyone fit? Do you feel the addition of a new wide player in January is required or can we achieve success this season with just Walcott, Miyaichi and Gnabry?
As Arsène said, nearly every footballer you ask will say he prefers to play centrally, however, I feel that some players say that because they are know that their strengths are on the ball not off it. There are players - I give you Di Maria, I give you Walcott, who would probably say that they prefer playing centrally but the fact is that they have the raw physical attributes required to provide pace, off the ball movement and penetration while there are others who do not.
My reason for making this thread is to get your views about how important you think this issue is to us making that final step. I feel we have a fantastically creative team, and with the addition of a couple of impact players (Theo / Podolski) we will be a devastating counter attacking team. I look at Bayern Munich's performance away at City, and just in general, I imagine how much weaker they would be without two players with the pace and directness of Ribery and Robben. It is, what I feel has made them able to play without a properly world class CF for so long. Their ability to cover the ground so quickly is critical to Bayern's transitions of play.
So what is your view and who do you see as our preferred wide options with everyone fit? Do you feel the addition of a new wide player in January is required or can we achieve success this season with just Walcott, Miyaichi and Gnabry?