Squad Analysis 2019/20

[14Henry]

It's funny how much the actual position in the league influences the squad analysis. If we would have the full season with Arteta (with a pre-season) we would be around place 3rd/4th pretty sure at the moment.

The biggest criticism for me is, that the board waited to long to sack Emery. Every single fan knew it would happen but they still wanted and lost time. Of course it's never easy to sack a manager, but it was really obvious this time.

Don't forget we have the youngest squad in the league and we are introducing a lot of talents to the first team and we had to deal with a lot of injuries this season. Getting players like Tierney, Pepe and Saliba without CL is a pretty good job. Luiz as Koscielny replacement and Ceballos a short-term solution, a lot of things makes sense.

The squad structure was a mess before Raul. So many "deadwood" players earning high wages, we were on our limit on a wage level. Most of them gone or out on loan at least.

Talents like Saka, Martinelli, Nketiah, Willock, Nelson, Smith Rowe or Guendouzi need a place in the future, most of them playing their first Premier League season.

Our transfer business in summer will rely on our out-goings a lot i think (Auba, Laca?), but a creative midfielder is probably the most important transfer for us.

Of course league position influences analysis. It shows how well the players as individuals are performing and how as a team we are performing.

Another way to analyse player quality is comparing player for player with our rival teams.

When we were winning things at least 3-4 of ours players would be first choice in any team in the league.

If we compare player for player our starting 11 we could easily find 2 or 3 players better.

Leno- Allison Ederson
Bellerin- TAA, Walker, Perreria, Azpi
Luiz/Mustafi- VVD, Rudiger, Laporte, Maguire
Saka- Robertson, possibly Mendy when fully fit

That's not including midfield and strikers but when you can find a lot better players in the other teams it's hard to think why we should be higher in the league or that our players are better than they are.

Theres a clear reason why no other teams were competing for the players we sign.

Need to hope these young lads develop and kick on other wise we are in trouble.

 

[Hunta]

Sell everyone over the age of 24 and rebuild.

Bellends the lot of them.

 

[say yes]

Sell everyone over the age of 24 and rebuild.

Bellends the lot of them.

Welcome back Terry.

 

[bingobob]

Feels like I havent been here for a while. I don't think much has changed with the quality of the squad. Players seem happier, they seem to be playing a slightly better system. Theyve shown in part they can play great offensively and defensively and in other parts shown themselves to be a complete shambles.

Wherever we finish it's a bit of surgery required. Centre back and midfield being the prime two areas for a cull. Inevitably Lacazette or Aubameyang will leave regardless even if we get CL football.

If we are smart we can make this squad work.

 

[Impact]

Spent a relatively significant amount of time yesterday thinking through our incoming transfer activity this season. Evidently the results have been subpar though we have seen an upturn especially in performance levels since Arteta rejoined, but I think we did very good work on reflection.

It's evident we are building for a push in the near future and to that end we are targeting players at the younger (>24) end of the market.

Following on from picking up Guendouzi the summer before, we purchased Saliba and Martinelli (18). From what we have seen, it is no overstatement to suggest both are stellar prospects with the potential to be elite in their positions in the near future. Both were signed and in particular in Martinelli's case for sensible prices and with next to no serious competition, which is indication of excellent scouting work from our recruitment team.

The middle bracket between future prospects and veterans is often the hardest to get right. Right in terms of players and value. We went for Tierney, Pépé and Ceballos (loan).

Tierney has been injured but when he has played, we have seen his quality. There is little debate about this.

Pépé has been inconsistent. For the outlay, you expect more of a finished product but those who watched him extensively knew that he was far from the finished article. I personally think he will come good and in a huge way but it will take time. He's still only 24.

Ceballos is clearly a good player. We saw that in spurts under Emery and more consistently under Arteta. The problem fundamentally with him has been that he doesn't fit perfectly into any current (or even previous under Emery) midfield construction. Added to that, even when Ramsey was here, we needed more players with his athleticism/physicality so when he was sold, the gap grew and Ceballos was never that type of player.

David Luiz was a last minute response to the forced sale of our then captain Laurent Koscielny. Considering the circumstances, he has been an adequate replacement. Perhaps not the quality injection we sorely need at CB but at the very least has ensured we do not miss Laurent.

In January, we made two loan signings in circumstances were funds were restricted. Mari looks an able deputy that fits Arteta's mandate for a left-footed left-sided centre back. Cedric hasn't played yet but has a decent CV. European Championship winning full back with substantial PL experience and still only 28. A solid back-up for Bellerin.

Perhaps our outgoings left a bit to be desired. Should we have let Monreal go with Tierney injured? Should Iwobi have been sold without a replacement? Was it negligent to also let Mkhitaryan go on loan? Who knows? All our outgoings were players we were happy to move on, it was more so the lack of replacements.

If we could have a similar summer this year, we'd be in a very good place. A couple of elite prospects, two to three high potential experienced >25 players and an experienced signing or two to bolster the squad could transform our team. Especially if we manage to get rid of a substantial amount of deadweight.

 

[truth_hurts]

Our problem is that we have a lot of good squad players in our best 11! Another problem is that football isn't played on paper, because if it was we would probably be a top 4 team.

Before last season would anybody have said that Liverpool have a better squad than us? I wouldn't. Our top earners and name brands aren't contributing anywhere enough bar Aubameyang.

GK - Leno is a very good goal keeper and good enough for a team who want to be playing in the Champions League. Martinez is decent back up and proved last year that he is definitely Championship level, so probably is good enough to play in the Premier League. Assessment - Good enough for a champions league team.

RB - Bellerin on paper is one of the best full backs in Europe, in reality though he's average. Last his pace, okay defensively, okay going forward, but he does have leadership qualities. Has been underperforming for too long now. AMN is his own worst enemy, he would have been in the category of excellent back up but seems to have walked his way out of the reckoning. Soares will probably be okay. Assessment - average. Not top 4.

CB - Weak area. We do not have one CB who could be classed as one of the top 10 in the league, which is criminal for a team claiming to be a top team. On paper it looks good with a world cup winner, former Brazil captain, Greek captain and promising defenders with experience in the league. In reality only Luiz has the right to be here and he is on the wane. Chambers has looked the best of the rest and he is squad level at best. Salibah needs to coming into an environment that maximises his chance to succeed. This isn't it. Assessment - shocking. mid-table.


LB - On paper this is a strong area. in fact arguably our strongest. Who is oyer best CB? I cant answer and in my humble opinion we have 3 that are Premier League quality. I believe Tierney would be one of the leagues best but hasn't proved it yet, Kolasinac I didn't rate but he's impressed (despite injuries) since Arteta arrived and young Saka has been a revelation. Best collection of LBs in the league? I'd say so. Assessment - quality. Can and will all 3 be here and happy at rotating at LB next season though?..

 

[truth_hurts]

So in summary, we have strong enough goal keeping situation, chaos at right back despite it being good on paper, a tragedy at centre back and strength and variety on the left hand side of defence.

Soft centre, strong left, weak right. I'll come back to this...

CM - The engine room and an area often so vital during the Wenger years. Over the past couple of decades, we have saw some of the finest players that the Premier League has saw such as Petit, Vieira, Gilberto, Cesc and Santi bossing and/or controlling games for us as well as Ramsey, who is arguably an Emirates legend. It's criminal then to look at our current options. Wilshere, Ramsey and Santi have all gone despite still being active footballers and for a variety of reasons (I'd have extended Ramsey) and have been replaced by Torreria, Xhaka, Guendouzi and a Loanee. It's tragic! None of those four players are amongst the best in the league, we still don't know what our best pairing is. Torreria allegedly was unhappy in England and has spent large periods on the side line or as an attacking midfielder. Former captain Xhaka hasn't justified his fee, polarises fans and despite having qualities always seems one brain fart or head loss moment from costing us. Ceballos doesn't want to be here and has only shown flashes and despite having talent Guendouzi is inconsistent but that is to be expected with his age. You could argue our midfield options are barely top half and all 4 are simply good squad options for a team aiming for top . I actually rate Torreria, but maybe I rate his attributes rather than what he has done here? We do have talented young players in Guendouzi and Willock, but this environment is not one for a developing cm. Assessment - WOEFUL. The type of cm options that wouldn't be seen as definitely better then the likes of Wolves, Everton or Leicester. UNACCEPTABLE.

AM - We've got Ozillllllll, Mesut Özil……. Eurghhhhhhh. Arguably the best no.10 in world football when we signed him, now barely top 10 calibre. No doubting his ability, but he's not giving enough. His rotation options? Mkhi has gone to Serie A and by all accounts seems to be doing well. Dortmund Mkhi would solve a lot f our issues, but I think that version has retired physically and mentally and ESR has a high ceiling but isn't ready to carry or creative burden he needs a season on loan or at least a solid midfield base behind him (LOL LOL LOL). Assessment - PATHETIC. Can think of at least 7 teams with better CM options than us. We do not have 1 top CM and our 2 AMs were last good about 3 years ago and are here on a semi retirement.

What a mess we are in

So baby poo soft centre, Good goal keeper, who needs to be as teams can run through us, underperforming right hand side and good left side of defence.

 

[truth_hurts]

LMAO - Laca, Mkhi, Aubameyang, Özil. On paper that is top 10 in Europe if all are fit and firing. Add 72 million pounds of Pepe to the mix and surely we have at least an attack that the club can be proud of? You score 3, we'll score 5? Ermmmmmmmm. Guess not.

RWF -
LWF -
CF -

Soft centre, no regular left sided forward, right winger who should be tearing the league apart but is struggling, our top scorer plays wide and our cf options alter between an out of form cf who hasn't scored 20 league goals yet and a young striker who was sent home by Leeds. I need a drink - too upset to talk about our forward options.

A top CB, CM, RB and attacker and strangely we become a threat for top 4 again.

 

[OnlyOne]

LMAO - Laca, Mkhi, Aubameyang, Özil. On paper that is top 10 in Europe if all are fit and firing. Add 72 million pounds of Pepe to the mix and surely we have at least an attack that the club can be proud of? You score 3, we'll score 5? Ermmmmmmmm. Guess not.

RWF -
LWF -
CF -

Soft centre, no regular left sided forward, right winger who should be tearing the league apart but is struggling, our top scorer plays wide and our cf options alter between an out of form cf who hasn't scored 20 league goals yet and a young striker who was sent home by Leeds. I need a drink - too upset to talk about our forward options.

A top CB, CM, RB and attacker and strangely we become a threat for top 4 again.

@BigPoppaPump

 

[say yes]

It's funny how much the actual position in the league influences the squad analysis. If we would have the full season with Arteta (with a pre-season) we would be around place 3rd/4th pretty sure at the moment.

The biggest criticism for me is, that the board waited to long to sack Emery. Every single fan knew it would happen but they still wanted and lost time. Of course it's never easy to sack a manager, but it was really obvious this time.

Don't forget we have the youngest squad in the league and we are introducing a lot of talents to the first team and we had to deal with a lot of injuries this season. Getting players like Tierney, Pepe and Saliba without CL is a pretty good job. Luiz as Koscielny replacement and Ceballos a short-term solution, a lot of things makes sense.

The squad structure was a mess before Raul. So many "deadwood" players earning high wages, we were on our limit on a wage level. Most of them gone or out on loan at least.

Talents like Saka, Martinelli, Nketiah, Willock, Nelson, Smith Rowe or Guendouzi need a place in the future, most of them playing their first Premier League season.

Our transfer business in summer will rely on our out-goings a lot i think (Auba, Laca?), but a creative midfielder is probably the most important transfer for us.

Great post.

 

[truth_hurts]

It's funny how much the actual position in the league influences the squad analysis. If we would have the full season with Arteta (with a pre-season) we would be around place 3rd/4th pretty sure at the moment.

The biggest criticism for me is, that the board waited to long to sack Emery. Every single fan knew it would happen but they still wanted and lost time. Of course it's never easy to sack a manager, but it was really obvious this time.

Don't forget we have the youngest squad in the league and we are introducing a lot of talents to the first team and we had to deal with a lot of injuries this season. Getting players like Tierney, Pepe and Saliba without CL is a pretty good job. Luiz as Koscielny replacement and Ceballos a short-term solution, a lot of things makes sense.

The squad structure was a mess before Raul. So many "deadwood" players earning high wages, we were on our limit on a wage level. Most of them gone or out on loan at least.

Talents like Saka, Martinelli, Nketiah, Willock, Nelson, Smith Rowe or Guendouzi need a place in the future, most of them playing their first Premier League season.

Our transfer business in summer will rely on our out-goings a lot i think (Auba, Laca?), but a creative midfielder is probably the most important transfer for us.

Unbelievable anecdotal statement! I had missed it previously. Yes, we could very well be higher than 9th if Arteta had a pre season here, but equally we could be just where we are now. Are you confident of finishing 3rd or 4th next season? You must be if King Arteta gets 3 months a COVID break and a full pre-season behind him before football restarts. Hell maybe he can break top 2?

We do have talented young players all given their chance by Emery.

 

[nick gould]

I think central defence is not our weakest position. I think midfield is. We have half backed midfielders. It's a bit like when we had Giroud, Welbeck and Theo. You put those 3 in a melting pot and come up with 1 striker with their attributes. Xhaka good long balls, positions himself well but zero focus, zero mobility zero dribbling skills.

You need a midfielder with Xhaka's height, Joe's mobility and eye for goal, Dani's dribbling skills, Guendozi's through balls and mentality, and Torreira's reading of the game and ball-winning attributes.

I would get Thomas Partey from Athletico, keep Dani as a number 8 because skillful players are hard to come by, get another 8 who is more 10 than a 8, mobile with good through passes. Keep Guendozi and Joe as backups. I still don't know how Matteo will turn out. Should we develop him as a 8 or a 6?

 

[MutableEarth]

I think central defence is not our weakest position. I think midfield is. We have half backed midfielders. It's a bit like when we had Giroud, Welbeck and Theo. You put those 3 in a melting pot and come up with 1 striker with their attributes. Xhaka good long balls, positions himself well but zero focus, zero mobility zero dribbling skills.

You need a midfielder with Xhaka's height, Joe's mobility and eye for goal, Dani's dribbling skills, Guendozi's through balls and mentality, and Torreira's reading of the game and ball-winning attributes.

I would get Thomas Partey from Athletico, keep Dani as a number 8 because skillful players are hard to come by, get another 8 who is more 10 than a 8, mobile with good through passes. Keep Guendozi and Joe as backups. I still don't know how Matteo will turn out. Should we develop him as a 8 or a 6?

As much as the unfortunate pandemic has seen a lot of suffering, one of the scant consolations I've had is that I've had so much time on my hands that I've been able to actually watch matches in a way I haven't been able to over the past couple years due to my change in career. Specifically the matches since Arteta began as manager.

I agree with about 95% of this post. Midfield is absolutely our weakest area, and I don't think it's a dispute personally. CB is not that far behind but far enough that I don't think CB is as weak as perhaps most people do, despite the error prone nature of our defenders. Perhaps having a tactician at the helm with some semblance of consistency has helped. Midfield is a huge problem. There's no power, pace, ball-carrying or consistent duel-winning (bar Torreira). They only seem to know how to pass. The 5% I disagree with is on Ceballos. Unlike some, I'm not that impressed by him if I'm honest. I think he's an excellent technician and perhaps in a more settled and rounded midfield, I'd keep him but given he isn't our player and our midfield is not in the kind of shape we need it to be in, I don't care about him not becoming a permanent member of our team.

 

[The_Playmaker]

As much as the unfortunate pandemic has seen a lot of suffering, one of the scant consolations I've had is that I've had so much time on my hands that I've been able to actually watch matches in a way I haven't been able to over the past couple years due to my change in career. Specifically the matches since Arteta began as manager.

I agree with about 95% of this post. Midfield is absolutely our weakest area, and I don't think it's a dispute personally. CB is not that far behind but far enough that I don't think CB is as weak as perhaps most people do, despite the error prone nature of our defenders. Perhaps having a tactician at the helm with some semblance of consistency has helped. Midfield is a huge problem. There's no power, pace, ball-carrying or consistent duel-winning (bar Torreira). They only seem to know how to pass. The 5% I disagree with is on Ceballos. Unlike some, I'm not that impressed by him if I'm honest. I think he's an excellent technician and perhaps in a more settled and rounded midfield, I'd keep him but given he isn't our player and our midfield is not in the kind of shape we need it to be in, I don't care about him not becoming a permanent member of our team.

Our midfield is unbelievably bad. People look at the defence but it is the main reason we are so far off the pace.

Strangely enough Torreira has not played in his best position meaning he is in bigger spaces getting exposed. If we played him at the base of a 3 and flanked him with two athletic box to box players, we could then probably afford to overlap both fullbacks.

I genuinely see nothing but safe unadventurous passing in our midfield. They all have traits that annoy me. Its why I hate that we stick with the same old double pivot with the same players playing week in week out doing the same thing every game. Its basically insanity.

We watch each game hoping for something different but its literally about whether Saka can put a cross in, whether Pepe can beat 5 men or whether Auba can score. Our midfield will not score, dribble, assist or do anything other than play the ball to the centre backs or full backs.

We need at least two starters. Maybe even 3.

 

[RunTheTrap]

Our midfield is unbelievably bad. People look at the defence but it is the main reason we are so far off the pace.

Strangely enough Torreira has not played in his best position meaning he is in bigger spaces getting exposed. If we played him at the base of a 3 and flanked him with two athletic box to box players, we could then probably afford to overlap both fullbacks.

I genuinely see nothing but safe unadventurous passing in our midfield. They all have traits that annoy me. Its why I hate that we stick with the same old double pivot with the same players playing week in week out doing the same thing every game. Its basically insanity.

We watch each game hoping for something different but its literally about whether Saka can put a cross in, whether Pepe can beat 5 men or whether Auba can score. Our midfield will not score, dribble, assist or do anything other than play the ball to the centre backs or full backs.

We need at least two starters. Maybe even 3.

What annoys me the most is that for the past couple of years, midfield has seen the most transfers in. From 2013 we have signed Flamini, Kim Kallstrom on loan (lol), Elneny, Xhaka, Torreira, Guendouzi and Cellabos on loan. When you look at that list, what attributes stick out? Where’s the athleticism? All of these players are more or less the same. No real standouts in quality, no one who can go both ways effectively. Attack and defend. Now look at the midfielders we signed before 2013: Wilshere, Ramsey, Arteta, Song, Fàbregas, Cazorla, Diaby, Ox, Denilson, Nasri at times. As you can see there’s a clear difference in technical quality and more athleticism. Funnily enough when we were broke we understood the premier league but now we sign midfielders who clearly struggle to adapt to the league. You can’t even blame it on lack of funds, this is poor recruitment as it comes. It’s worrying because it shows that while Arsenal understand there’s been a long standing problem in midfield, we continuously fail to address the issues at hand. Of course fans don’t know best at all times but why is it that we’ve been crying for athleticism in our midfield and the club doesn’t even consider it.

We’ve had the likes of AMN, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Chambers and David Luiz play some games in midfield. So we have had loads of different players in midfield and disregarding a few, we are so poor at identifying talent at midfield for almost a decade now.

 

[RunTheTrap]

What annoys me the most is that for the past couple of years, midfield has seen the most transfers in. From 2013 we have signed Flamini, Kim Kallstrom on loan (lol), Elneny, Xhaka, Torreira, Guendouzi and Cellabos on loan. When you look at that list, what attributes stick out? Where’s the athleticism? All of these players are more or less the same. No real standouts in quality, no one who can go both ways effectively. Attack and defend. Now look at the midfielders we signed before 2013: Wilshere, Ramsey, Arteta, Song, Fàbregas, Cazorla, Diaby, Ox, Denilson, Nasri at times. As you can see there’s a clear difference in technical quality and more athleticism. Funnily enough when we were broke we understood the premier league but now we sign midfielders who clearly struggle to adapt to the league. You can’t even blame it on lack of funds, this is poor recruitment as it comes. It’s worrying because it shows that while Arsenal understand there’s been a long standing problem in midfield, we continuously fail to address the issues at hand. Of course fans don’t know best at all times but why is it that we’ve been crying for athleticism in our midfield and the club doesn’t even consider it.

We’ve had the likes of AMN, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Chambers and David Luiz play some games in midfield. So we have had loads of different players in midfield and disregarding a few, we are so poor at identifying talent at midfield for almost a decade now.

Look at the signings Klopp made in midfield in Liverpool. Oxlade-Chamberlain, Keita, Fabinho and Wilnajdum. They all have characteristics they we used to sign in our midfield players. None of them are huge (except for Fabinho) but they’re athletic and technical players that can go both ways.
I think United has figured it out too. Pogba, Bruno, Fred, Mctominay and Matic. Plus the average height of that midfield is over 6ft. You start to realise just how much we’ve fallen behind. Our midfield needs a complete overhaul and fast.

 

[L3T5 PL4Y]

Yeah, we have to totally overhaul the midfield but can't ignore the defense either. Specially we need two new fullbacks and a starting CB.

For midfield we definitely need 2 starting quality players and a creative outlet.

Its going to need one hell of a window from Arteta, Edu, Raul etc to really pull off a good summer window with all bases covered.

 

[RunTheTrap]

Liverpool: Henderson, Milner, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Fabinho and Wilnajdum.
City: KdB, Fernandinho, Rodri and Gundogan.
Chelsea: Jorginho, Kante, RLC, Kovavic, and Gilmour.
Tottenham: Lo Celso, Ndombele, Dier, Winks and Sissoko.
United: Pogba, Bruno, McTominay, Fred, and Matic.
Leicester: Ndidi, Tielmanns, Choudhary, and Maddison.
Wolves: Neves, Dendonker, Moutinho.
Arsenal: Xhaka, Torreira, Cellabos and Guendouzi. We easily have the worst set of midfielders in this group.

 

[truth_hurts]

Liverpool: Henderson, Milner, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Fabinho and Wilnajdum.
City: KdB, Fernandinho, Rodri and Gundogan.
Chelsea: Jorginho, Kante, RLC, Kovavic, and Gilmour.
Tottenham: Lo Celso, Ndombele, Dier, Winks and Sissoko.
United: Pogba, Bruno, McTominay, Fred, and Matic.
Leicester: Ndidi, Tielmanns, Choudhary, and Maddison.
Wolves: Neves, Dendonker, Moutinho.
Arsenal: Xhaka, Torreira, Cellabos and Guendouzi. We easily have the worst set of midfielders in this group.

Seeing it written like this really brings home how weak our midfield area is. Even City, who I've referred to as technical widgets can call on Fernandino, Rodri or Gundogan for a bit of physicality, drive and/or size.

On top of not being physically strong or powerful, we severely lack quality and only Özil has proven himself to be elite and he hasn't been that for at least 3 seasons.

AMN, Guendouzi and Willock are probably the type of midfielder that we need, but none are ready to be starting regularly here. You'd hope that being a cm (a very talented one at that) Arteta will be addressing this area in the summer.

 

[Aussie_gunner123]

What annoys me the most is that for the past couple of years, midfield has seen the most transfers in. From 2013 we have signed Flamini, Kim Kallstrom on loan (lol), Elneny, Xhaka, Torreira, Guendouzi and Cellabos on loan. When you look at that list, what attributes stick out? Where’s the athleticism? All of these players are more or less the same. No real standouts in quality, no one who can go both ways effectively. Attack and defend. Now look at the midfielders we signed before 2013: Wilshere, Ramsey, Arteta, Song, Fàbregas, Cazorla, Diaby, Ox, Denilson, Nasri at times. As you can see there’s a clear difference in technical quality and more athleticism. Funnily enough when we were broke we understood the premier league but now we sign midfielders who clearly struggle to adapt to the league. You can’t even blame it on lack of funds, this is poor recruitment as it comes. It’s worrying because it shows that while Arsenal understand there’s been a long standing problem in midfield, we continuously fail to address the issues at hand. Of course fans don’t know best at all times but why is it that we’ve been crying for athleticism in our midfield and the club doesn’t even consider it.

We’ve had the likes of AMN, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Chambers and David Luiz play some games in midfield. So we have had loads of different players in midfield and disregarding a few, we are so poor at identifying talent at midfield for almost a decade now.

Good point, I'm not from up there so I can't do anything but I'd like to see some die hard Gunners faithful over there go hard & protest to our board & head of recruitment bring all these CM points up to them haha! Ask them why it is, they never bother about doing any top CM or CB signings anymore. If we want to get back up there we need to change our current recruitment process big time!