Tir Na Nog
Changes Opinion Every 5 Minutes
Country: Ireland
This thread needs resurrecting. I was watching some old Hleb compilations from 2006-2008 and what stood out was not only his composure under pressure, but the other players around him. Compare that to now where you wouldn't trust many of these players when being pressed.
So many of our guys now are scared in possession, especially the defence while we give it away too cheaply in midfield. It's such a recipe for disaster.
I know I go back to him a lot but Cazorla was such a good player when it came to press resistance and keeping the ball in tight situations while being calm enough to play his way out. While at the back Mertesacker, while he did make some mistakes, was relatively composed at the back. We still had problems no doubt but even from then we've declined so much now in that regard.