Build a team around Laca, Xhaka and Saka.
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Heās the furthest player forward, thatās literally his job. But as far as I could tell, that one thing is all he did the entire match.
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Soā¦if he lost the ball a ton of times, didnāt follow the tactical instructions, but had 10 shots on goal, one of which maybe went in, he would have had a proper performance?
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Are you sure you watched the game today?
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When fully fit in previous seasons heās been pretty good. Having a disappointing season this time and think we all hoped for more.
Even so not our worst player.
Very disappointed in Ozil. Like playing with a player short with him today. For our highest paid player by a mile think him more deserving of our extreme disappointment.
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I would guess thatās the misconception, our wide players are supposed to be our main threat, itās pretty common with top clubs nowadays and has been for a while. he did hustle, set up the first goal, did a great pass from deeper to Pepe on his run that ended in what shouldāve been a penalty. Last game he assisted Aubaās goal and wouldāve assisted Pepeās winner again as well had it gone an inch further inside on the post.
That said, while I agree his pure goal contribution is getting worrying and heās probably unhappy with it himself by his standards, he still does set people up for good chances a couple of times a game still. Iāve defended him so much lately it makes it seem like I think heās the best around which I donāt, but I do think he is doing well at his role which Iām trying to argue for is not the same as it was back under Emery.
So what is Lacazetteās job then? Is he supposed to be like Firmino? Or Aguero? Or Vardy?
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probably more like a poor manās Firmino lol
Look at where heās at when he plays Pepe when we counter after Torreira (?) punts the ball up to midfield:
Heās not up by the CBs running waiting for a pass from midfield, heās dropping to meet the ball.
This is probably fair, it was a decent performance Iād rate 5.5/10.0
My issue with Laca has isnāt about his goal return per se, itās important to have a CF whose focus isnāt totally on scoring and seeks to bring other into play. My point is that what Laca offers to the 11 is not very unique or special and we can find similar output elsewhere at a cheaper cost and better returns long term.
I think everybody agrees not thereās no scenarios where Laca can be considered the main CF for this club in the event Auba leaves. Renewing his deal will be a massive mistake and my fear is that Arteta will play it safe and retain him rather than exploring the market
( taken whilst I was watching match of the day so quality is pony)
And this is him running on the last defender, hes just playing a normal single striker role nothing special. 8 games and 1 goal against standard liege whilst being upfront and pushing the guy who was scoring nigh on a goal a game to the wing where he got sent off.
yeah ok that means he doesnāt drop deep. got it. forged my picture. great logic.
Iām telling you he does drop deep I see it plenty every game so do you if youāre not blind. that was the point. He also stands in the penalty area on corners sometimes. so does Firmino.
Haha just saying he does both like every other striker?
You said he drops deep to meet the ball not on the last man. When quite clearly he does both.
We play with a front 4 with arteta and depending where the ball is one of the 4 drop to receive it.
Love how you tell us he doesnt hang on the last man and drops deep with a single picture, but when I post one disproving what you say and that he does both, you can be a snarky little bellendā¦great logic
Iām saying he plays in a normal position where he gets the opportunities to get chances. Hes not always dropping deep to enable wingers, I dont see how you can defend him with how hes being told to play.
by your own logic he is every role that exists then because so is every striker as every striker do all things at some point. Just because you go to the store now and then doesnāt mean you never go to the toilet ( despite that you appear to be full of shit lol)
Jokes aside, you strictly conclude he is not a false 9 which you should immediately retract since a false 9 is also up front sometimes and does other things. thatās why your logic is poor. Your picture isnāt disproving shit, I never said āall he does is stand in midfield nowadaysā. that would be disprovable by one picture of him somewhere else lol
His role has changed recently, thatās why he doesnāt spend as much time up there as he used to and why he shouldnāt be judged by the same metric as he used to, he is given another role by other people and thereās nothing strange with it as many successful teams do the same thing and have for a decade. his game is changed as well, not just his form.
Hes playing the role of a striker, if he played false 9 as his actual role he would pass more than 14 times. Hold the ball up atleast more than once a game.
Iām full of shit saying our starting striker shouldāve scored in the last 8 games and itās not good enough, especially when hes making 14 passes a game complete and loses the ball 8 times a game. Uhu.
Last game was 17 passes 1 shot 0 dribbles 3 loss of possession, 25 touches, 0 aerials, 0 tackles won. 0 interceptions, stellar
Never said youāre full of shit for wanting him to score more, I clearly also said that the full of shit thing was a joke. Nor your obsession with 14 passes, not sure what makes that the breaking point but it takes two to pass, he needs to be given the ball by someone else as well, and he needs a guy to pass who is in a decent position. I also want him to score more, Iām certain he is off his form as Iāve stated plenty, but I consider his change in role as well which has clearly coincided with how much less time he spends trying to be the last guy on the ball to finish it, which you do deny.
Itās ok if a striker is a striker to you, I think I can tell some things a new manager changes in a playerās game sometimes and I think I can see it in his role after Emery for example.
In fact, I donāt think I said any of that which is in your post, but good fight.
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False 9ās are far more involved, thus the passing stats and our wingers would be far more forward during attacks which they are not. His game has changed like everyone elseās, the forward gets alot more support now with ozil and 2 wingers rather than being isolated like aubamayeng has been for a while.
He should be judged on goals and assists as a striker with those kind of passing/defensive stats.
The thing with that is at this point we have made the decision and now we have him here for too much money, obviously. Arsenal have more gaping holes than go out there and look for other striker talents. Left winger, Xhaka, centre back, Ozil. We have at least four positions that need replacing before we even think of replacing Lacazette in my opinion.
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But I can find you a screen shot where Firmino who is a pure false 9 does other things as well. Is the false 9 thing what youāre stuck on? I said he isnāt exactly a false 9 just that he does more of that stuff now, which he does, I see it several times every game now especially under Arteta, I even posted a picture of him doing just that and the intention of āsacrificingā your CF a bit to do more stuff like that is that you need more output from your wingers in return. Like in that picture, he sets Pepe free, Pepe gets in a great position. Maybe shouldāve had a penalty when brought down, maybe wouldāve scored on it, maybe wouldāve won us the game. If he stayed up front all game just lingering he probably wouldāve had more shots on goal as well. Heās shown he can do that earlier.
I donāt even understand what you are arguing against, it is literally happening on video lol
That heās shit basically and cant do any role well at all.
And he should be judged on his goals and assists, which you said isnt the correct metric for him, so what is exactly, he doesnt do any metric fine at all ( why I keep mentions passing and defensive actions )
do you think he never did? and yes not goals and assists alone now since he isnāt free to do whatever he wants to try and get as many goals as possible. and assists are up to the finisher as well.