OK, I'm hearing a lot of comments regarding our central midfield, and the fact that we need a more attack-minded partner for Vieira. I was thinking, why not move Pires or Ljungberg to central midfield? Freddie did used to play behind the front 2 before he joined us and Pires is also capable of playing the Bergkamp role. Parlour or Pennant (when he's back) should be brought in on the right. Vieira could then sit back while Pires/Freddie goes forward to support the attack.
Agreed 100 percent Gilberto is useless for us and I don't see what Wenger sees in him. Viera has to do twice the work by trying to go forward and running back defensively. Gilberto is just absent on the pitch, it's like everygame we play 10 men instead of 11. He's a sissy, never wants to tackle for balls and his passing is attorious. When Pennant comes back, start him on the right. Move Pires to the Middle and Lungberg to the left. That sounds perfect sense. Why? Well Patrick will cover the central defensive midfield and Pires will cover the central offensive midfield. Pennant will bring pace to the midfield down the right why Freddy would bang in more goals. Wenger I got a message for you: Drop Gilberto, Lauren, and maybe even Cole. When Volz comes back, he definently should start.
I'm nearing the end of my rope with Gilberto. He's one of those players who doesn't do anything quite well enough to warrant a place on the pitch. No tackling, wins headers from corners but has never converted one, clams up in front of goal. I can think of two occasions where he threaded a crucial pass into Henry (Roma in Rome, ManU at THOF), but given that he's a starter, that's nothing to write home about. I'm not in the camp that Arsene should be canned or that we need to slaughter the starting XI, but a change or two stands to be made. Taking Gilberto out is step one, IMHO. I don't know about putting Pires in the middle. Since injury, he hasn't tackled much more than Gilberto.I think it might be time for Edu to get a stretch of games.
Stick Ray Parlour inthe middle. Both Gilberto and Edu have looked lightweight in the last two games. Parlour will give us the necessary energy and grit needed against Butt and Keane on Sunday.
Yeah, Gilberto is arguably worse than Jeffers at converting sitters. And that, friends, is sad. BTW, I completely agree with you, michaec, about starting Parlour against ManU.
I'm sorry but I completely disagree. I think that you are not paying attention to what's happening on the pitch. Gilberto is doing a tremendous job of stopping or slowing down opponents attacks, which is what he was hired to do. His interception rate is tremendous, and he makes a lot of headed clearances. His defensive play may be better than our captain's, at least at the moment. Go back and watch the ManCity game, and you will see that Gilberto made more tackles, got caught in possession less, completed more passes and had a much better game than Vieira. Don't watch the ball, watch what Gilberto and Toure are doing off the ball.
What on Earth are you smoking? Gilberto is never the one that is tackling, it is only Patrick Viera. DO you honestly expect me to believe that Gilberto actually challenges for tackles. Your on crack.
Part of Arsenal's problem is that neither Viera nor Gilberto contribute significantly to the attack. And when Gilberto does push forward and ends up with the ball deep in enemy territory, "goal" does not come to mind. It's really just a question of how he's going to lose it. I like Gilberto and think he does work hard but we need more service from the middle. Pires in the middle would contribute to the attack but we would lose something defensively. But with Viera behind him, maybe that's OK. GJ40
Crack is pretty good. You should try it sometime Okay, stats are stupid, but lets look at them anyway, shall we? Here are Gilberto's stats from last season: http://www.planetfootball.com/playe...3201&clid=3&cpid=8&Title=+Gilberto+OPTA+Stats Here are Vieira's: http://www.planetfootball.com/playe...clid=3&cpid=8&Title=Patrick+Vieira+OPTA+Stats One thing that you will notice is that Gilberto's tackles won percentage is slightly greater than Vieira's. He does perform fewer tackles, but he tends to win them more. He is already having a better season this year than last, which was inconsistent. I think that people underestimate his value to the team. The principal negative in my view is that his mistakes tend to be very costly (non-tackle against Graveson in the first game, for example). He needs to be more willing to deck a player and get a yellow card in some situations.
I like the idea of Parlour in the middle against ManYoo. The team is going to need his hustle out there for sure. Pires in the middle sounds ok too, especially when Pennant's loan is up because he is really enjoying starting consistently and he's playing well. http://www.soccerage.com/en/13/q2342.html I can see this turning out just like Upson if he doesn't get any time when he gets back.
Parlour is always giving 110%. I absolutely love his hustle. I would like to see Edu get a shot but damn he always seems to have at least 2-3 bad giveaways either at midfield or in the defensive end.
comments: I watched alot of Arsenal matches last season and I thought Edu might deserve some more minutes, Parlour less. Gilberto is a player you watch without the ball, his runs and intelligence are there for all to see. Pires has seemed a bit off this season... Pennant has looked quite good on his loan, but his chances at highbury are not so good......
Pennant is also looking to extend his stay at Elland Road. http://www.skysports.com/skysports/article/0,,49-1104335,00.html
i just wish wenger would put freddie on the left, pennant on the right, and let pires slide into bergkamp's role. freddie always seems to play exponentially better on the left than on the right. even against everton, when he went to the left and took the free kick he had richard wright smacking his face against the post to keep out his shot
sorry, this isn't about central midfield, but the last few games wiltord has not been up to snuff. Do the French guys try harder for les bleus?
i agree that gilberto silva is underrated by some here, but he IS basically a poor man's vieira - i cant believe nobody wants to see lord dennis behind the strikers PFFFT!
I'm on the fence about Bergkamp. I think he's still capable of moments of brilliance. I was thinking the other day that it might actually be better to have him play the first half of matches, then switch him out with Wiltord. In the first half, the team seem to come out with all guns blazing, and it's during those early moments that some Bergkamp magic could come in handy. As for the midfield - here' s one Gooner who's hoping Arsene learned his lesson from the Upson debacle and will give Pennant some playing time soon. The formations discussed earlier including him on the wing sound good to me, and I'd be intrigued to see it happen.
After reading all the posts here, I still think that for this Sunday's match against manUre, Edu is the one to start. He has no problem mixing it up in the middle, and that allows PV4 a little more freedom to move the ball forward without a huge drop off in defense in central midfield. Go back to the manUre fixture 2 years ago when Arsenal won the League: Edu was a pain in the a** for every manUre player within 20 feet, and he got Keane completely off his game. Midway through the second half I was starting to think good ol' Roy was going to try and end Edu's career if Edu didn't back off a bit. Every match w/ manUre over the past 3 years has been as physical as it gets. We need palyers on the pitch who are not afraid to mix it up and PV4 and Edu seem to relish the contact that comes with this match.
I would like to see a match with Freddie on the right, Pennant on the left and Pires in the middle. Dennis is still god but only when coming off the bench in the second half. He no longer has the legs for a starting role. Once the starters have half a game on their odometers, he can be a threat. GJ40