We seem to be approaching the same conclusion from two different directions. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Martinelli’s most productive season occurred with Xhaka as the left 8. Xhaka would move outside, allowing Martinelli to move inside. I think a lot of how he has been used is down to the players surrounding him. Rice plays the left 8 differently than Xhaka did. He doesn’t stay as high as Xhaka did in that role and is more inclined to stay in the inside channel. Are these Arteta’s instructions (maybe) or is it just down to the fact that Rice probably doesn’t read the game as well as Xhaka. Arteta’s use of inverted left backs that rarely overlap does play a role, but that problem could be at least partially mitigated by a more creative left 8. It would he interesting to see how productive Martinelli would be if he had the equivalent of Odegaard and White on his side. Finally, the drumbeat did originate with the club and their interest in Nico Williams, with the fans turning up the volume, but what Arsenal actually did was buy a new player that they can use as the left 8. Was this viewed as a potential solution to the production problem on the left side of the offense or simply as depth.
Me and you aren’t disagreeing. Martinelli needs more help than Saka does and Saka has Odegaard. Im not sure why Arteta hasn’t liked for that 8. One suggestion I’ve seen is he wants to teach Rice how to turn and pass so he can be a more productive 6 in the future. I don’t think this is on the fans as much as the club.
The bolded is entirely possible. It wouldn't be crazy if Arteta was influenced by Wenger and along those lines, he would've seen firsthand how Wenger played Ramsey wide a lot initially, which he claimed was training him to play in the middle later.
🚨🇧🇷#Fluminense no hará uso de la opción de compra por Marquinhos. ↪️ Regresará a #Arsenal, dueño de su pase. Se le buscará un club en enero. pic.twitter.com/FtHDa9yRXO— Uriel Iugt (@urieliugt) December 1, 2024 Option not picked up. Will be returning in Jan.
I'm getting the impression he is one of the not a striker attackers, who needs to be unleashed/channelled rather than coached into a system. But also probably doesn't have the straight "I'm him" attitude to make that happen. Too bad he started well, imo.
Claims that..... - Palmeiras approached us to sign Jesus in the summer but we rejected the approach - They have not reengaged for Ja, yet - We are looking to add a ST in Jan EXC. Palmeiras no se ha movido de cara al mercado de invierno por Gabriel Jesus. En verano sí que hubieron contactos y consultas al respecto, pero el Arsenal se negó a dejarle marchar. Los ‘Gunners’ buscan un delantero para enero. El brasileño sí podría salir del Emirates. pic.twitter.com/hN77o7vmO7— Eduardo Burgos (@edu17burgos) December 6, 2024
Gotta add CM to the list with Jorge & Partey out of contract and even if one is resigned they are both 30+ My wishlist in order of need/preference..... Starting L8 (move Rice to DM) LB that better compliments Marti ST W (open to starting LW or left-footed depth/rotation) Backup DM/CM Backup CB (if Kiwior moves) My priority for L8 could change if we resign Partey or Jorge
Then we bought a flop because that’s why the club spent nine figures on him. He is a very mediocre 8.
For lack of a better, more general recruiting thread to put this... I listened to the first part of Arsecast this morning and James made a few notable/sarcastic points, one of which was (paraphrased): We seem to be elite at recruiting successive LB's that are injury prone: Tierney, Zinchenko, Calafiori. I don't think he even mentioned Timber who had to sit out virtually an entire season last year. Maybe that omission was because he sees Timber more at RB now? Or because that ACL absence is a bit of a one-off? We'll have to wait and see what his future holds. But the club's future may just lie in his hands. Or legs and feet... to be more accurate. Anyway the points stands... we haven't been able to hire any sort of reliable durability in our FB's, at least on the left side. On the right, we got some good long runs out of White, even if large chunks of that he played injured and now is in post-op rehab. Tomi's been an injury nightmare, on par perhaps with Partey. It was also speculated that FB's are more injury prone than CB's. That was mentioned in the context of Calafiori who used to play more CB and now we're wanting him to play FB almost exclusively.
i recall when Ramsey first place at right midfield i questioned how he even got into the first team his touch was so poor. i guess nerves. and yes wenger and others played noob guys out wide where they could not mess up so bad.
Maybe true, but better 6 than 8, no? At 6, perhaps he's better defensively than offensively? He lacks that quick-turn+pass-forward that Partey does so well.
If you are going to play a right footed pace merchant LW in Martinelli we need a left footed L8 because of the angles their passes go in. Rice at L8 is never going to work. I don't want to shift Ode out there but Odes passing would put Martinelli into space just as he frequently does for Saka. But you don't touch the sort of chemistry Ode/Saka have with each other. So if you persist with Rice at L8 then Martinelli needs an overlapping FB and instead we are using right footers there who don't really overlap.
Looking at last summer’s business it’s not unreasonable to assume that Merino and Calafiori were bought in the hopes of unlocking the left side of the attack, with Martinelli as the primary beneficiary, but neither has been healthy enough to put together an extended run of games. In fact they have rarely played together. If they can get healthy and consistently play together it will be interesting to see how (or if) the left side of the attack evolves. I have said before that I don’t think it was an accident that Martinelli’s best form came with Xhaka as his left 8. Merino clearly has a much better defensive skill set than Xhaka, the question is whether he has the tactical nous to help unlock Martinelli.
We don’t yet know how well a healthy Calafiori will complement Martinelli. I wouldn’t be ready to invest in a new left back, until it is clear that Calafiori can’t stay heathy. His injury came from a slip that over extended his knee, not from chronic muscle issues, like Tomiyasu and Zinchenko. If that slip damaged his surgically repaired knee, then we have an issue. But, if it is something new and relatively minor, he may be good to go once he returns from his injury. Re Kiwior moving, I don’t see it happening in January.
Fair argument but I still think a new LB should be on the list. Our current LB options...... Cala - new to the team but already showing some injury issues OZ - has had some very strong moments for us but has been injured alot and is a liability in defense. Also not an ideal LB for Marti due to the level of inversion that he plays. he is effectively a CM that drifts wide for defense. contract expires in 2026 and there has been zero efforts (that we know of) to renew. Kiwior - has been more focused on CB this season and is a risk to leave seeking starting minutes. Timber - appears to be healthy but is a natural right-footer and doesn't play to Marti's strengths. with White being out he is needed on the right. Long term I think he and White should be duking it out on the right rather than using him on the left. Tomi - can't stay on the field. natural right-footer but 2-footed enough that he works on the left very well. contract expires in 2026 and there has been zero efforts (that we know of) to renew. Reality..... if you want strong competition & depth then White & Timber should be primarily on the right. OZ & Tomi have (or should have) one foot out the door. That leaves Kiwior as your only long term option with Cala and he (a) is more suited to CB and (b) could be looking to leave (in the summer). Im not saying we will/should look for a LB in Jan but I think it absolutely needs to be addressed in the summer.
You wouldn’t happen to know Whether it was his left or right knee that was destroyed when he was a teen? I tried to suss that out a while back and was unsuccessful.