Honest thread on Arsenal's squad.
When your center forward goes 6 continuous games without scoring for the second time in a season and your creative player offers 0 goal threat and has 1 assist in the past 17 games, it is no mystery we fail to kill games off. Team is over reliant on Aubameyang.
It is time to set aside our emotions for certain players and live in the present. The year is not 2015 anymore. Mesut Ozil needs to be replaced. Much as I love him and he's one of my favorite Arsenal players ever.
For now, till we sign a replacement Ozil can start. But I don't see the player I once saw. Understandable given his age. He doesn't dribble like before, doesn't have the cutting edge in the final third anymore. No goal threat. No consistency.
Lacazette is a good striker, but nothing more. Doesn't run the channels, not strong enough holding off his man, not clinical enough in front of goal. He plays with great spirit and passion and is a likable character, but that cannot mask reality.
He has gone almost a year without scoring away from home in the league. That is unacceptable no matter who you are.
We need more athleticism. Liverpool are one of the most successful teams in Europe because they have players who are not only good technically, but can run for 90 minutes. Our midfield is an issue. Even after going 2-0 up against United, we sat back and look tired after 45 mins.
I do love Xhaka and I think he does a fantastic job. So does Torreira. They hide each other' flaws well. But in my honest opinion we need one player who is a good distributor as well as good defensively (Partey/Diawara) and 2 box to box players. We need a runner from deep.
4-2-3-1 with a conventional 10 is dusted. Teams just crowd out the midfield and block passing lanes to the #10. 4-3-3 should be the way forward. We just do not have the profile of player needed for 4-3-3 at this moment.
The defence need revamping. AMN has done fantastic, but I dont think Arteta considers him as a long term option there. He looks comfortable because he is made to stay deep and not venture forward much like how he did under Emery. Pepe is isolated as a result.
I still think Arteta prefers a right back who can go up and down the flanks. Bellerin when fit is perfect. But I cant see him getting to peak fitness levels till after he has a full pre-season with us. Same with Holding.
We probably need 2 new center backs. Luiz has been fantastic under Arteta but he isn't getting any younger. Mustafi should be sold, so should Sokratis.
Our center backs should ideally be:
Marquee CB
Saliba
Luiz
New CB (26/27)
Holding
Chambers (Injured)
Our center backs should ideally be:
Marquee CB
Saliba
Luiz
New CB (26/27)
Holding
Chambers (Injured)
Right now the squad is a mess. Arteta has walked in at a very difficult period where fixtures are coming fast and I think he has made an average bunch of players look decent. He should be backed. We need an overhaul.
The one area of our squad I love are our Hale end ballers. They have impressed me. Saka, Nelson and Willock have a future here. Martinelli is a top talent. But above all, out youngsters need stability. Our starting 11 has to be quality so their integration is smoother.
The squad has 2 holes in defence and 2 in midfield. Possibly one in the frontline. 4 solid first team additions and we can convert these draws into wins. We need to back Arteta. He will do wonders with a better squad. End of thread.
