NBC highlighted how the origin of this goal was that Luiz, Chambers & Partey all got caught out of position, playing pretty high up at 40-45 yard line. Luiz got dragged out to RB position, Calum never really recovered so Partey filled Luiz's CB position which left the space for Lingard. Right before the shot Chambers tried to pressure Lingard but it was too late, and Jesse was too good. Granit was in the vicinity but I guess he figured Calum was closer to the shooter so he held his zone. In the end it was fine margins and a fantastic strike, but losing our shape right at the start is what enabled that.
Outside of the comeback, it was the first time I can remember Arsenal looking like a big team with the ball. They pinned West Ham into their defensive third after it was 3-0, and the Hammers couldn’t do much except for a couple of counter attacks, albeit they almost scored on one. That was a big dog performance, and I was happy.
Maybe not a lot, but I think there are lingering tendencies when things get bad. I also 100% think that general fatigue played a big part in things getting bad on this occasion.
I'm listening to the AV pod and Clive is absolutely gushing with how Partey played in the last 60 mins or so. I must say I didn't quite notice this live (I noticed Odegaard's performance more), but then again I've gotten bad at not giving the match my undivided attention lately, especially when we're building out from the back. But his praise really makes me think about doing something I practically never do... rewatch the match. Hmm...
I was looking at these last night. Given Partey's strength on the ball and ball progression to generate final 3rd entries, it would seem a better midfield partner for him would be someone mobile, with good defensive skills an good short passing. it's shame Douzi turned out to be a muppet. LT is all wrong - too slow on the ball. But in any event, Xhaka is less than ideal IMO. Poor defensively, slow, needs too many touches on the ball, And his upside, we don't need.
Watching the gears in Xhaka's brain churn is painful, only for him to make the pass the whole world saw 3.5 seconds earlier. If Xhaka was get El Neny time I think people would have a much lower evaluation of his ability. But of all our starting 11 it's hard to show how much of a drag he is on the whole machine. I'm curious about Guendo's private life how is he in such poor control of himself. He'd be a good partner for Partey, and Odegaard, it's annoying he's picked up Xhaka's turn around and fall over the ball move though. Also is there any evidence Luis has been better than Holding? Maybe it's just my feelings but we look much less stable since Luis has been back from injury.
my issue with xhaka as partey's partner is partey will be spending most of his time and energy covering for holes in xhaka's game - and he seems capable of doing it - instead of maybe being the dynamic midfielder we hope he can be.
as a passer, yes. david luiz is a good passer from the back. as a defender, no. never. ever. he is just barely better than an orange cone or mustafi defensively.
what in the name of actual fuck? reading art de roche's article, aubameyang started on the right?!?!?!? we have saka who has been brilliant on the right and aubameyang who excels from the left but has never shown to be particularly good on the right on the pitch at. the. same. damn. time. and arteta decides . . . . hey, let's play aubmeyang on the motherfucking RIGHT?!?!?!?!?
Given how physical Antonio and Soucek are, I’m perplexed Arteta didn’t start his two most physical defenders, Gabriel and Holding. BTW With respect to Luiz’ passing range I think we’re looking at his history, not his current form. Per whoscored.com this season he has completed 42% of his long pass attempts. Holding is at 46% and the player Arteta deemed not ready is completing 65% of his long passes in France. Luiz may be capable of pulling off more spectacular long passes than Holding or Saliba, but what’s the last time you remember a spectacular long pass from Luiz? All that aside, Arteta does have a preference for experienced (over the hill) players.
i think their ability in the air and cresswell's ability to deliver is likely why mari and chambers were in. can't say specifically but more recent than luiz's last meaningful and actually threatening free kick? unfortunately.
It’s more than just Antonio and Soucek’s ability in the air, they are also very physical players, which makes them dangerous both in the air and on the ground. Mari makes sense if you’re facing Peter Crouch, but Gabriel is not only Arsenal’s most physical defender, he is also good in the air and Holding is clearly more physical than Luiz.
can't argue with you on gabriel over mari. my thinking (that i failed to convey) was that maybe he was less concerned about them and felt they were the team to rest gabriel/give game time to mari in. absolute agreement on playing holding instead of luiz . . . like, ever. but arteta is apparently in the "but david luiz is healthy! he must play!" camp. and i have zero justification for it.
Yeah I'm a little perplexed at how Holding is kinda locked out since his concussion. He had been on a really good, consistent run of form before that. And I certainly had a little hope to see him in the XI vs Hammers, for the reason you stated. But Arteta sure does seem to love Luis... whatever that is based on. At some point in the season I decided I'd had enough of Luis and would like to see other CB's get more of a chance. Mari has, which pleases me, but not Holding for some reason.
We'd be in top 4 contention if not for the dreadful start Premier League since Christmas Day (15 games)1 Man City 48 (17 games)2 Man Utd 31 (16 games)3 Leicester 29 4 Arsenal 28 5 West Ham 286 Chelsea 267 Spurs 23— Orbinho (@Orbinho) March 24, 2021
Speaking of alternate tables, here is NBC's new Player Power Ranking. Sure we can take it with a few grains of salt, given the source, and it's only a brief snapshot in time. But when it landed in my email inbox and I noticed the picture of the #1 player I did a double-take! I wonder when the last time Arsenal had a #1 in this table, let alone 4 players in the top 20. https://soccer.nbcsports.com/2021/03/23/premier-league-player-power-rankings-list-top-20-analysis/ Edit: "Interesting" that Laca made their top 20 but Partey did not.
Or, if they lose 3 in a row it's back to 8th place. I hate partial season tables because it doesn't take into account who you've played. Our big "run of form" after Christmas was because we played bottom 5 teams for a month.
i would not say no! but a partey is not easy to come by. or cheap. absent that, i would be decently pleased with a true 6 who can recycle the ball and having partey and odegaard/smith-rowe partner in sort of a partnership going forward.