I think Saka has struggled this season on the wing - he is doubled and tripled up on. Maduake has a burst of pace and is direct.
I am happy to give this a go against Wolves. I think it will give Saka more space to operate on - he is more involved in the game than Eze (who lurks on the periphery doing next to nothing). There appeared to be chemistry with Saka & Eze.
I do not think this is anything like this. Saka already moves around the field and his ability to be press, pass, take on a man, make a run and shoot means he can fit in the 10 role seamlessly.
I also think a lot of teams we have faced know our attacks are coming down the wings and they overload. Having Saka in the middle can free up some space on the wings and if doesn;āt, will leave space for Saka to operate in.
I actually really like the idea and if anyone should be sitting on the bench, it is Ezeā¦he can come back against Spuds as he seems to like performing against them
Our attack has definitely not been fantastic this season. Which is why a tweak like this (moving Saka centrally) is a positive idea, with the dwindling options we have in front of us right now. It potentially opens up different combos for us, we get to squeeze him into the team and keep Madueke involved.
Havertz as the support striker/L8/10 was going to be on the cards, back to his roots and not really a big take with our options for strikers we possess.
I donāt see the outrage for this move anyway but I can see youāve somewhat come around to it since my last post.
Definitely not adverse to attacking tweaks, but our best attacker in his natural position seems the logical move.
I like the idea of us becoming less predictable through Saka playing centrally. Giving Eze another start would be the personal preference. Madueke, Trossard, Jesus and Eze are our unpredictable players. I like the idea of two of them being in the pitch together. With players like Gyokeres, Odegaard and Saka, we know what theyāre going to do. Itās a good balance.
I think Saka has struggled immensely lately. I donāt remember the last game he got MOTM. It was Arteta/Berta and the club that decided buying Mads for 52ms was good business, they mustāve had a plan for him beyond just ārotating with Sakaā.
Giving the fact that Odegaard seems to be finished here and we are dying for creativity, itās worth experimenting. At least against bottom feeder opposition like Wigan, Wolves etc.
If itās the unlock that wins us titles this season, then Iām all for it.
If it doesnāt work, then we can revert to type.
But Madueke seems to be getting more productive as of late, if this helps increase his output & frees Saka up then I think only good things can come from it.
Hasnāt got much in the way of goals but Iām not sure I agree with the talk of him struggling. He usually always looks good and dangerous when heās on the ball. Some nice chances heās created havenāt been converted on the other end but aside from that Iāve liked him this season.
Would love to see if he can thrive playing centrally. He has all the tool and it might help if we have a direct winger like Noni and someone like Saka whoās always thrived cutting inside anyway
Thank you. Iāve been biting my tongue following this discussion.
Heās had plenty of performances this season where heās made his fullback suffer all game but came away without any goals or assists and his contribution is then ignored.
I guess you can criticise him for his numbers not being as good this season and obviously some of it is justified but I like to think anyone whoās been watching us has seen how unlucky heās been.
Say for example yesterday, he made the pass for the third goal but that went down as an own goal so no assist for him.
Similarly against Wolves, dude singlehandedly won us that game after we played awful yet he came out of it with no G/As as both the goals counted as own goals.
Again, same against Palace.
And I havenāt even touched up on all the chances he served this season that were squandered due to Gyokeres struggling, especially in the first half of the season.
Saka could have very well had the exact same performances yet be sitting on 10+ and 10+ goals this season if things out of his control went his way and the discussion would be much different.
Trossard - Saka - Madueke behind Gyok could come in handy against low blocks, especially now with the absence of Havertz. Would like to see him there again on Wednesday.
Was this a complete happy accident to try this tactic out? He wasnāt even meant to start and now people are looking at this like the answer to our problems going forward.
Iām all for it, just find it interesting. Could be one of those defining moments that was complete luck/chance.
And now everyone is pushing for it like crazy, some pressure on Arteta to give it a go now. He could well have just fixed the lineup for the injury and has no intention at all to give that a go.
Like, with all due respect, Norgaard was out there looking prime Busquets.
Appreciate the team getting a bit of confidence boost after Brentford and the backup lads showing great cohesion despite all the rotation involved but letās not get crazy.
Wigan are a relegation candidate in League 1 and it showed.
If he was fully fit, Iād actually like to see us try playing Havertz in the Odegaard/10 role, with Saka on the RW and Trossard on the LW. In the absence of Havertz though, and with Odegaardās form, I am happy with trying Saka in this new role, especially if it means we get to use Noni on the RW alongside him. As others have said, I think they could have some chemistry.
Iām all for Saka in the 10 as an experiment, just on the basis that heās 3x stronger than Odegaard and wonāt get brushed off the ball that easily. Letās see if Arteta does try it out against weaker opposition in the league. Could it help us out against these dry low-blocks??
