They aren't garbage. They are perfectly serviceable backups, but shouldn't be starters if everyone is healthy.
I'd agree that overall, El Neny was mediocre to poor yesterday. But what about his cross to Lacazette was shit? He hit a first time ball that curled just over Morgan's head and right onto Lacazette's --- with enough pace on it that all Laca had to do was re-direct. In my experience playing, a first time ball like that often catches defenders flat footed as opposed to letting them set up after you've taken that second or third touch. So what about the cross was shit exactly?
I think Elneny is good. He is not, however, an actual defensive midfielder. The strength of his game is passing, not interceptions or positioning. So, for the 9th season in a row the midfield is missing the vital piece that has always been needed. A positionally disciplined defensive midfielder who is competent at moving the ball.
i would disagree. coquelin may not be a world beater but he is more than good enough to be depth on our squad. elneny . . . i'm beginning to have questions about. i liked him when he arrived but seems to have regressed since.
Really, I go exactly the other way on this. Garbage or otherwise, Coq is pretty bad. I don't even think he's worth it as a late defensive sub, even being home grown. I'd probably feel different if he were a Gilberto-style wall, but he's not. He get high on the pitch and intercepts the ball when the opponents are trying to play out. That's a good thing on its own terms but not what we need. Moe, on the other hand, is a useful squad player for exactly that purpose. But his passing range is so limited we really need a significantly better player to be starting.
Coq is an example of people sticking with their first impressions. Since the half season after his loan return he's been incredibly mediocre and could be replaced easily. Elneny might suck or he might be ok. We're never going to find out because he doesn't play.
I thought he played superbly. He was very involved in a deeper role, orchestrating play and a lot of key balls went via him With Laca and Welstroz playing he can switch back to his true midfield role which suits him far more IMO But this means you won't see him so much in advanced positions.
I find this comment strange. Go back and watch him directing play, always showing for a pass, taking responsibility. That's what leadership is about. Not being shouty.
A lot of mishit passes, and the movement seemed off. Maybe he wasn't fully fit, but he didn't seem to be playing deeper. Heat maps?
https://www.whoscored.com/Matches/1190174/Live/England-Premier-League-2017-2018-Arsenal-Leicester According to the heat map, Ozil barely hit the 18. About the same depth as Ramsey.
We had a few defensive lapses but other than that, I thought we looked super. Honestly, I do not get all the hate for Nene and Xhaka. XHaka had a bad game for the most part but his shooting and pinging ability are second to none on the team. Nene did good. I would love to see Iwobi get a shot at MF with Xhaka and Ramsey. I think we will see a really dynamic MF with those three. The question is with a squad this deep, how do you keep everyone happy? Who do you build this team around? Overall, very promising.
The problem is that Nenny and Xhaka together have very low press resistance. Nenny is technically not good enough IMO. Xhaka is a fine passer and thus should have no issue, provided Wenger sets the team up correctly.
I don't think that Xhaka had that bad a game. He had the most touches on the team and really helped dominate the ball. I thought Nene had a much worse game. Xhaka really held the attacking line well. 6 shots from a deep lying position as well as some really nice crosses on corners. Not his best game but far from terrible.
I think there was a reason why the team flourished when Ramsey came on for Nene. But it is tough to play them together with a makeshift backline. With a true CB holding the backline, I would feel better about that.
Team flourished when Ramsey came on because Leicester parked the bus. I think Elneny started for two reasons, which are related: 1. To provide more assurance in possession, because of the threat of Leicester breaking, and 2. To sit deeper, because we were playing a makeshift backline. I think the approach worked well defensively except for three really stupid giveaways, all of which led to Leicester goals. One was Elneny's fault (Leicester's second), another was Ozil's fault (Leicester's first), and I forget who was at fault for the third.
So it worked well bar the three gold we conceded? We are Keats open to the counter and have been for over a decade
There have been times we haven't - it's a vulnerability that comes and goes. What I'm saying is that a patchwork system worked well except for the three times players did stupid crap. All three times led to goals: that's a little bit bizarre (xG scoreline was 2.4-1.2 for us, btw). We'll see Ramsey start once we have healthy CBs, and hopefully the stupid giveaways around our box will be eliminated.
I would like to know what position Kolasinac was brought into play. LCB? LB? LWB? Do we actually have 8 or 9 Defenders for 3 positions? What is the deal with the defence?
You give us a lineup that can unlock a bunker and this team will do really really well. That continues to be a problem for us.
If this team limits the other team to 3 shots on goal a game, and we will win the league comfortably. Especially given the types of goals that we allowed.
I don't know whether when you give the ball away in the defensive third of the field it can be termed a counter attack.