this part.

there is so much for us to improve when it comes to tactics. call me bias or whatever you guys want but i have been noticing that the best way to defeat possesion-based teams are to have a strong double pivot first used by heynckes. i witnessed this when bayern destroyed barca and madrid dismantling bayern themselves. the two double pivots, basti n martinez as well as alonso and modric were never too far apart from each other, allowing them to support each other when in possession or in defensive stance. in this formation, one would the the destroyer who sweeps potential threats to the defense while the other pivot would sit deep and in between the two centre backs to distribute and guide the team from deep. i also realized that the destroyer tend play higher up the pitch than the playmaker, on the contrary to popular belief. this allows the teams to break down play initiated by opponent's deep playmaker.

but in order that, we need a proper destroyer who is technical enough. i believe we SHOULD have it in coquelin. but as for the deep playmaker, im sorry to say that no one is good enough for that role. the only player who understands that role is arteta who is already semi-retired. wilshere lacks the tactical understanding and discipline to do well at No.6. Same goes to ramsey. flame we all you want but these two just cheong up the field without thinking about those at the back. fortunately, these things can be taught. and i foresee ramsey to grasp such concepts faster than wilshere.

if we have no choice, we got to look abroad. there are a couple of deep playmakers who might be possible

1. Gundogan- a world class young deep lying playmaker for me. came back to his former self which dismantled madrid and bayern midfield a couple of seasons agi.

2. Xhaka- dubbed the young schweinsteiger by hitzfeld. could be a cheaper option than gundogan.

3. Weigl- heard that pep wants him at man city. been watching this player for this season and he seems to be another busquets in terms of his footballing brain. keeps it simple, releasing the ball shortly after receiving it etc.

4. verrati- i would say he is the next xabi alonso. nuff said.

Time to move on.

Time to unleash our anger vs Man U

Rooney injured right?

There our chance. 1st time rooney wont play against us if not mistaken

Nice write up. I shud email this to hiddink to improve blues game 😄

Is Coq injured? Why Wenger sub in Flamini when we needed a goal. I'm sure he doesn't mean to sub him to close the game so they could focus on BPL instead.

I wouldn't say no one especially as Santi was doing an excellent job before he got injured. People talk about Coq, Sanchez and Ozil but the way things have panned out turns out Santi was the most vital cog. It is no coincidence that our best football was played with Santi on the field.

I won't jump the gun and condemn Wilshere just yet, will need to see more of him first in this system, playing with these players. However he will need to sort out his injury problems first.

As for Ramsey, sorry to say he just ain't good enough. If a good offer comes in the summer I would seriously consider selling. He is just a workhorse. Nothing more, nothing less.

I would like to see Elneny given an extended run in this role though. He looked very good against Hull playing this deep-ish playmaker role with Flamini as the anchor and some of his through balls were delicious. He has the energy and stamina to transition from attacking to defending quickly and his tireless movement off the ball will undoubtedly free up some spaces as well.

This post has been edited by sigheart: Feb 24 2016, 10:09 PM

I'm sorry to say that i do not share the same sentiment as you on that. I do agree that santi is a very good footballer but for this role? We shall see. I guess we have to agree to disagree on this.

I understand your scepticism about Santi just yet because its just been like probably 15 odd games he has played there having just been converted to that role this season but our best football and wins have come with him in that role especially our wins against Bayern and Man Utd.

Arteta for me was never a good deep lying playmaker. Even at his best for us he was just a decent player at best. High completion of passes % but it was mostly sideways and backwards passing rather than actually doing any "playmaking". So I am actually not even sure if he is even qualified to be called a deeplying playmaker. To me he was more of a pseudo DM rather than one who creates play. He just sits in there in front of the back 4 providing an additional body and just keeps play moving when we have the ball.

But regardless, we can only rely on the players we currently have until the end of the season till the transfer window reopens. So with Wilshere and Santi returning in a few weeks time, we will have everyone fit bar Rosicky. Would you still have Ramsey in that role or would you prefer someone else?

Ramsey go back to the right and elneny and coq in the middle ^^

Walcott and ox can play as sub first lol

Well at least this thread is full of discussion which is great

well, in his first season at arsenal, arteta seems capable of playing such role although not to the point of world class. he's just a recycler of the ball which would keep us in possession but not necessarily competent in switching plays from one side to another.

to be honest with you, i would rather have someone else to slot in that role. far too many times have i seen arsenal failing to control the game with and without the ball. a capable deep lying playmaker with commanding experience, technical ability and tactical intelligence should suffice. he does not have to be strong and powerful like yaya toure cause such players are useless in european games. i believe we have seen him getting his ass whooped by those technicians from bayern, barca and dortmund.



This post has been edited by ChaNzy: Feb 25 2016, 12:52 AM

Per Mertesacker insists Arsenal’s problem is up front, not in defence

the ox cuti 3 month..



lots of criticism about TW14 and rambo performance..

can i say ramsey too ambitious.... he started to play selfishly nowaday when he got the ball... trying to shoot by himself n did't really pass..

my 2 cents.

so who's to blame now? Ramsey?Per?Flamini?OX?

I think we shouldnt put metersacker in dc. First goal he is up there trying to intercept a pass, failed and left the defend vulnerable. Second goal i am not sure he is trying to stop the ball to himself or making pass to flamini, he should have just clear it. Wondering why wenger prefer him over Gabriel.

refer to this, outdated though

i won't fault mertersacker for the first goal cause there is no way he can track back on time (we know he's the slowest on the pitch), therefore he had to try to intercept the pass but unfortunately did not success.

but the second goal he could have done better ... he should just clear the ball.

as for gabriel, indeed i would prefer him as well especially playing against barca but unfortunately there is a language barrier between gabriel n kocielny, therefore for big games wenger still prefer kos-mert combo.

Gabriel injured anyway

The only option is here is Chambers which i really think is a bad idea preferring him over a world cup winner.

Oh, really. Then there is no choice. Chambers is not ready for this big game. Hhaaiiz.

Not really. I believe Coq can fill into the position if required. Can see Wenger is trying to play Chamber in Coq's defensive midfield also

List apa ni? season clearance this summer ke?

kroenke, dok parasit profit arsenal, beli ranch merata2 US sampai 500m sanggup. mai tengok game arsenal setahun sekali susah, kalau mai pun tengok muka mcm org kena sembelit je sepanjang2 90min walaupun gol, kalau game american foolball boleh pulak senyum.