WIN Premier League: Tottenham Hotspur 0 - 1 Arsenal | Sunday 15th September | KO: 14:00 BST | Sky Sports

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1835284393889353962

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1835283764223627584

Prediction

Sp**s 1-1 Arsenal

 

[hydrofluoric acid]

Damn, this victory taste just as good as yesterday!

 

[Xln]

FFS, you're complaining that it's a snooze fest?

So you'd rather we shipped more goals so that you are entertained?

No I want us to win but it's just not as entertaining. I'd rather win the title with this crappy watch than be entertaining and sit 2nd. But I just don't enjoy the footie anymore as before that's all.

 

[DJ_Markstar]

Damn, this victory taste just as good as yesterday!

Another masterclass from ARTEKKERS and the haters...hate it!

 

[dave_rwr]

I'm a defender mate and I still play football. It's crazy when I say my team (almost) done the same strategy as Arteta this weekend but you say I don't understand. Please -esque means not the same you know that right

Loool, this guy says he knows ball like Arteta just because he plays it on Sunday.

 

[Xln]

Loool, this guy says he knows ball like Arteta just because he plays it on Sunday.

Ah I said that? Stop the weed at night mate.

 

[SA Gunner]

I'm a defender mate and I still play football. It's crazy when I say my team (almost) done the same strategy as Arteta this weekend but you say I don't understand. Please -esque means not the same you know that right

I’m pretty sure many of us here have played the game at various levels mate, some of us even getting involved behind the scenes at diffident levels as well.

I believe it’s why our discussions are as technical as they are. Initially as a means of justifying the project underway, now a part of football watching detail, for good or for bad.

There is a distinction we need to make here and recognise as important pillars, and that’s what we like to see and what we are doing.

The first… enjoyment. There’s no doubt in my mind that we all are here to watch swashbuckling stuff all the time, it’s why we started watching ball, and it’s why we love Wenger so much.

And then there’s the technicality of it all. The details, the shapes, movements, triggers, rotations, etc. It’s necessary because of the level of competition and reward in football. Unfortunately we cannot get away from how technical the game is and will likely continue to be.

 

[Sulosky]

It's so weird, isn't it?

It was Porro who tackled sole ahead. He should have received a yellow card for that.

 

[razörist]

Do have Tottenham mates, after the game I text none them, I know what it's like losing a derby or any huge game.

Anyway mate text me hour after the game, you game management got you the win well drilled team, us looking for a bit of magic, crowd flat as soon as you scored, inevitable result.

Pretty fair comments.

Not real friends if you didn’t do everything in your power to rub it in.

 

[razörist]

Sp**s fans got to him:

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1835430788021752009

That sucks for him. Really limited player though, don’t understand why they signed him.

 

[albakos]

Love the cheeky celebration that Ben White made in front of Maddison

 

[Sapient Hawk]

Love the cheeky celebration that Ben White made in front of Maddison

Ol' Ben would make a killing if he could find a historic bridge to live under

 

[Rex Caudillo]

Love the cheeky celebration that Ben White made in front of Maddison

Would you look at that mate… right again about my day one Benny and Camavinga while sh*tting on Madders and Neves.

Yeah for me Ben White is a top CB in the making. I’d compare it to Man Utd splashing a big fee on Rio Ferdinand a few years back. It’s a big fee but he’s young enough and talented enough that he could start for us for the next decade.


Most people who’d watched him in the Championship were ridiculously high on him after the 2019/20 season. I’ve seen a lot has been made about his height and his frame and it’s true he’s always on the skinnier side than Lewis Dunk or Adam Webster who he played alongside in a back 3 this year.

The main thing is that everything else you’d want in a CB in terms of reading the opposition, knowing when to commit to tackles and positioning his body he’s elite at. He’s got a good leap even though he has been caught under the ball a few times going for aerial duals with some of the giant strikers knocking around in the Premier League.

The main reason for the Leeds season hype though was because of the skills he showed with the ball at his feet. He has a remarkable range of passing and close control for a CB and at times he looked like a Franz Beckenbauer clone. He excelled in a two and sometimes covered midfield for Phillips when he was injured on occasion and performed admirably. Also had ridiculousness like this in his locker.



This season the hype has fallen off a bit but it’s important to note the different role he’s played under Potter in a back 3. He’s often seemed to sit deep and touch the ball less which the numbers back up. He’s had considerably less touches and carries per 90 than both Dunk and Webster.

It’s hard to measure the impact he’s had on Brighton’s defence but despite their lowly finish in the table if you go by Understat their xG against was the third best in the league behind only Chelsea and Man City. They were a solid defensive unit and improved greatly once they upgraded Ryan to Sanchez in goal. It’s simplistic but considering they finished 14th with the same metric the previous year it’s a great improvement which I’d share equally between White and the emergence of Bissouma who has some ridiculous numbers as a defensive midfielder.

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As for some of the other players we’re linked with I think it’s a mixed bag. Neves I’m not sure is really a massive upgrade on Xhaka and if you believe the quoted figures, we’d be spending £15M net to get a younger version of a player who has split opinion hugely in the five years he’s been here. How much the absence of Jimenez has affected that whole Wolves team is a very valid counterpoint but the tools he possesses seem very limited although I think he’s better defensively than Xhaka is.

Maddison I’m also unsure on which considering how hard I’ve pushed for him in the past may seem surprising. The fee quoted for a young English attacking midfielder by a club that normally demands top dollar for their players sets immediate alarm bells ringing. Main reason for that I’d reckon is injury history, back to back years now he’s missed solid periods of time with a persistent hip joint issue. That’s not a fun injury at all and in other sports has completely decimated players’ careers.

For you NBA fans this is a pretty yikes list.

View attachment 3393

I did feel watching Maddison this season that he wasn’t the same player we’d seen in recent years. It’s hard to really track but his dynamism didn’t seem there where in previous years he’d try and run behind with and without the ball. Also for an attacking midfielder he has a very similar profile to someone like Calhanoglu who despite gaudy chance creation numbers relies mainly on set pieces and long shots for his goals and assists.

In terms of open play chance creation by attacking midfielders over the last couple of years the numbers have been dominated by KDB, Grealish and Bruno. Maddison isn’t really on that level so once you factor in how he’s coming off a year of stagnation with two reoccurring injuries I think it could be dicey.

I’m not one to turn my nose up at set piece chances as they’re a key part of the game but it’s important to know what we’re getting.

Camavinga I think would be an excellent buy in terms of buying him off a relative down year with his contract situation. Purely from an asset collection standpoint now would be the time to buy him as he surely has room to develop. I’ve not seen much of him but he looks a scary two way prospect from games I have.

Similar story for Lokonga where it’s good value and if he gets the game time you should be able to cash in for decent money even if he stagnates in a few years.

Sabitzer I’ve been on record as being sceptical over and I still am considering the role we’d ask him to play but I don’t hate the fee quoted and he’s clearly got a very good passing range as demonstrated in the Euros even though some of the opposition quality is highly debateable. He can play in a lot of different positions so if we do clear house of our midfielders, him and Lokonga for a combined 30M would fit in well with Partey and hopefully Willock.

 

[Tom Mix]

Do have Tottenham mates, after the game I text none them, I know what it's like losing a derby or any huge game.

Anyway mate text me hour after the game, you game management got you the win well drilled team, us looking for a bit of magic, crowd flat as soon as you scored, inevitable result.

Pretty fair comments.

One of my best friends, also my business partner, is Tottenham. We don't do the hate stuff, just some banter. When he gets pissed (quite often) he will go on about Woolwich and I respond with the Sol Campbell has won the double song, or the 49 undefeated, or you won the league in black and white. Plenty to choose from really.

Had an older friend who had White Hart Lane on his birth certificate (how degrading) who was always saying they were rubbish. Funnily enough with one or two exceptions all the ones I know prefer us winning the league to Citeh.

 

[Gooner Zig]

That sucks for him. Really limited player though, don’t understand why they signed him.

40 million too - Nott Forest took Sp**s to the cleaners.

 

[Bloodbather]

Bro answer me how Villa and Newcastle have one if not two better strikers? It’s about 2024. We got to be perfect and ruthless to beat City and the 6-8 points the refs give them every year. He is a below average striker for an elite European club

They don't.

Your assumption is that other strikers bring what Havertz does and what they do on top of it. It's just not true.

Havertz is probably Europe's best link-up and press striker right now, or at least in the convo. He's easily the best duel winning/header winning striker in the PL. And this profile fits our team more than a prolific goalscorer who gets behind the defense. If you can find one who can do both, be my guest.

This team has been on an absolute tear ever since he moved to CF. That's no coincidence.

 

[Kjipt]

Quite strange that this has not gotten more traction. Spuds showing their true colors, not really that long ago that some idiot got a kick in on Ramsdale. Nothing confirmed yet when it comes to allegiance, but I would assume they are not Arsenalfans…

 

[DJ_Markstar]

Ol' Ben would make a killing if he could find a historic bridge to live under

That historic bridge seems to be PL away grounds (including Stamford) right now

 

[Sapient Hawk]

Quite strange that this has not gotten more traction. Spuds showing their true colors, not really that long ago that some idiot got a kick in on Ramsdale. Nothing confirmed yet when it comes to allegiance, but I would assume they are not Arsenalfans…

They're animals, of that there is no doubt.

But I'd do all I can to avoid putting myself in their crosshairs. AFTV should've at least waited till they were on neutral territory to start their post match interviews.

 

[coleio]

No I want us to win but it's just not as entertaining. I'd rather win the title with this crappy watch than be entertaining and sit 2nd. But I just don't enjoy the footie anymore as before that's all.

Our football is great most of the time. The difference is we're now pragmatic and I love it.

There is not one element of football where we don't try to maximise its potential. We seem to work on things like throw ins and kick offs, in order to make them dangerous. It's why our set pieces are so highly regarded.
This attention to detail and being able to change plans dependant on game state is one of the things I love about this team.

 

[DJ_Markstar]

Love the cheeky celebration that Ben White made in front of Maddison

Love Saliba's reaction as well, giving mad props to Gabriel.