We've been led astray by upper management for so long that many here are jaded and have little to no faith. It's not really their fault. Although some of the cynicism is purely down toxic football culture. The idea that every positive outcome on the field has to have an inverse. Just listening to commentary can be tiring. For every goal scored there has to be blame assigned. I've watched football with people who groan after every missed pass as if critiquing every facet displays their knowledge or something. Nah.
No doubt people would blame Arteta. But they are probably the same people saying it wasn't a penalty V Spurs.
A couple of interesting videos... BENCH CAM of Arteta: https://player.arsenal.com/video/pure-derby-delight-arsenal-2-1-tottenham-bench-cam THE BREAKDOWN: https://www.arsenal.com/news/analysis-calm-and-clever-approach-seals-derby-win Adrian Clarke: "In a word the Gunners were superior to Spurs. And that's the way we like it"
One thing that jumps out is that Arteta seems to trust Cedric more than Bellerin. Cedric's turned out to be a decent signing so far.
Go figure. Wind the clock back to his arrival (injured for months I recall) then his initial play (underwhelming) and people were moaning about him. Now, I agree he's been quite reliable & effective, for quite a few months now. However, I'm not sure it's safe to say Cedric's more trusted than Bellerin. Hector had a long run of starts recently IIRC while Cedric was more rotational on the right, or deputizing on the left a few times. I wonder if it's just all about the ebbs & flows of form & fitness and the natural rotation that happens as a result. And that's one of the most important skills our coach(es) must demonstrate: figuring out who's peaking and who's not.
I'll acknowledge --- I thought it was a dumb signing. Never upset about being wrong when a player does well.
i think it's still a bit of both. getting someone with experience and just outside of a strong national team to be your no 2, uh, no 2 is a plus. doing so without shelling out major transfer fee is a double plus. sinking a high amount of wage bill into a no 2 is dumb.
I don’t think Cedric has been that good. He’s a good crosser and can deliver a decent set piece, but his passing is terrible and he’s no better defensively than Bellerin. Also I don’t think it’s clear that Arteta trusts him more than Bellerin. It’s been very difficult to guess who will start in that position lately. Bellerin played against City and all the knockout games in Europa. He’s played a ton this year and needs a rest once in a while. Also paying a loan fee for a then-28 year old who Soton had given up on using for a few months, then signing on a ‘free’ with high wages and a big signing bonus is still dumb. He’s been fine, but if Bellerin needs to be upgraded we need to make a signing. Cedric isn’t it.
The most important facet to a fullback is their crossing now they are used as a winger as most sides use inverted wide players and withdrawn strikers bellerin can be sold imo even though I like him a pace merchant who can cross would be awesome
Tariq Lamptey signed with Brighton for £3m on the same day Cedric joined Arsenal on loan. Arsenal paid a loan fee and covered his wages and he will be 33 when his contract expires (assuming he isn't bought out sooner). Arsenal have been strongly linked with Lamptey for £30m. But Lamptey was a young kid and Cedric was able to step in and contribute immediately so Cedric made sense...no...wait...Cedric was injured and cup tied.
He's been much better than I thought he'd be. Granted that was a low bar. I stand by the "it was a dumb signing" comment. Wasn't weighing in on the "trust more" issue. And I absolutely agree he shouldn't be considered a Bellerin upgrade if Hector leaves this summer.
i feel like it's telling that every sell-bellerin discussion has been buying a replacement starter and none of buying a new backup right-back/elevating cedric.
I still don't think Cedric was a great buy, because he has had a couple of really good games and some atrocious ones. But he can somewhat cover the left and right back positions and has set up some goals so its not a total bust. But realistically he should be third drop next season.
This summer is probably a good time to sell Bellerin. I think the longer he plays, the lower his value, is the current trend. Also, this summer is particularly special because there are a lot of clubs looking to sell at lower-than-usual price given the economic situation. If we can sell Bellerin to one of the recession-proof clubs (eg. PSG) then that money can go a long way.
We probably missed the best chance to sell him when he was strongly over valued pre injury Now we probably have to sell him on a depressed market as he is one of the few liquid assets we have
Tbf, many people thought he was going to be a Spanish Dani Alves before his injury. He never quite showed the level of technical ability and intelligence to be so, but his athleticism was so ridiculous I understand why he was unsellable at the time.
I think when you compare to Tierney or the liverpool fullbacks, its pretty clear he is not good enough at either end of the pitch to justify. Utd went with a good defender for example - and got upside in terms of how much their defence is improving. We had the best of neither world with fullbacks who couldn't defend well, and who couldn't attack well. It's been a huge issue since clichy and sagna left It was nice to see us tearing spurs a new one on the left flank in the first half. No more aimless crossing - lots of breakins and dangerous pullbacks
No doubt, Tierney shows us what we've been missing in the modern game with a proper fullback. I would even argue that Monreal gave us a glimpse of what a good fullback can do for us. If nothing else, he was very good at utilizing the ball in the final third, something even Clichy or Sagna couldn't say. Sagna was at least a proper defender. I think with regards to Bellerin, given his style of play and athleticism, it was understood that he would at least become a great wingback for us. He never quite developed the technical ability or football intelligence to be one, unfortunately.
I forgot about Monreal - he was very good. It's also been an issue having no decent right winger through those times. With Saka and Pepe emerging, you can perhaps make a case for a more defensive right back and play a lopsided system
Yeah, yeah... Here ya go! https://www.bigsoccer.com/threads/arsenal-vs-olympiacos-uel-18-mar-2021.2114254/