Kinda was tho cos he hasnt been playing much.
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I hope he smashes it next season
Happy to hear.
Hope he returns to his best.
Heard on a podcast last week this is the first time he can play or train without pain in 5 years or something
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Emile Smith Go Away
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https://twitter.com/gunnerblog/status/1663528569161625604
So I guess it is true that they communicated their intentions with our players. Good that this was dealt with before the lads went out for their holidays.
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Thank fuck. Too talented to be written off so quickly.
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Odegaard
Partey
Rice
ESR
Jorginho
Vieira
Elneny
Letās say we get Rice, is there really room for another midfielder like Mount or Gundogan? It feels like somebody would have to go and if ESR is staying the only realistic candidates are Vieira or maybe Partey in a surprise move.
Loaning Vieira to a club in a less physical league like Spain or Italy with an eye to a sale next summer seems ideal to me but Iām not sure Arteta is willing to give up on him so quickly.
Elneny isnāt really an option. They renewed his contract because he of his injury to stand by him. Dude will leave shortly after his recovery.
And I wonder if he now seeās Partey as his inverted RB
I wonāt count ESR as a body for next season until Iāve seen him perform. Heās 23 this summer and heās spent a considerable portion of his career unfit. Iām not going to rest anything on him until we see if heās actually capable of staying fit and healthy for long enough.
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I think there is. El Nenny is a bit-parter at best and wonāt be here in two seasons, Jorginho and Partey (definitely) the former will be phased out. In three seasons that leaves Rice, Mount? Vieira, ESR and Odegaard. Rice and ESR can play in different areas of the pitch as well.
The issue we have with ESR is he is nothing like a like for like with Odegaard, whereas Vieira is a bit more similar so itās hard to see where ESR slots into midfield.
As competition to Martinelli, there are far more similarities.
City have Grealish, Foden, Mahrez, Bernado and Alvarez fighting for two starting roles with very little drop off. Having Saka, Mar9, Trossard, ESR and Jesus is genuine quality.
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Leave for where?
Seems more likely that he is putting out cones next year and playing in the occasional domestic cup match. Elneny is kind of irrelevant to the calculation anyway, even without him its six players for three positions. You can maybe imagine adding another but its hard for me to see us adding a very expensive midfielder into that mix without somebody else going.
I think ESR should be viewed as an attacker. And I think thatās a valued trait that Arteta certainly looks for.
Good news to hear and it probably puts to bed any rumours of attaining another striker/attacker.
I reckon we will go for Rice and Kudus now. Rice primarily as a āsixā option with Kudus adding further versatility in the midfield/RW/forward positions.
Iām just not sure Arteta imagines ESR as a forward in the setup we currently play. When he played LW for us in the past he wasnāt really a LW like Martinelli, he was basically left attacking midfielder with Tierney playing wide. Our LW now needs to keep the width, threaten to run behind, and be a 1-v-1 threat when we quickly switch to his side - not ESRās game at all.
If Arteta really imagined ESR as a LW alternative I donāt think we would have bought Trossard and then would be trying to renew Nelson right now.
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It does seem possible that we could see more of this kind of thing next year.
This would also maybe make adding Rice and Caicedo more likely as well, since Caicedo has also played the inverted FB role.
Basically, sell Tierney but instead of buying another FB who can do the Zinchenko thing, buy another midfielder who can play FB in a four man backline (which is basically what Zinny is anyway).
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Makes sense and looking at Mikeās reluctance to use ESR in the run in, it would indicate that maybe he is less sure in him than 18momths ago.
My pushback would be this though. Trossard signing and a lack of faith in ESR I would suggest are independent of one another. ESR was injured or literally just returning from injury when Trossard joined - Jesus was injured a month earlier. Trossard can and has played as CF for Arsenal, ESR has only done so once.
I agree with ESR not being a touchline hugger, but donāt see why he couldnāt become one but disagree with him not being a 1vs1 player or one who can run in behind. Iād say carrying the ball/dribbling is his biggest asset. He hasnāt got as much of a direct threat as Martinelli with pace, granted.
I would expect to be seeing ESR wide mostly next season but you are absolutely right that Zinny playing behind him instead of Tierney changes things drastically.
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Tbf his talent has never been in question. His availability has been a huge issue.
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Great news.
If performances in 21/22 are anything to go by, heāll be an important part of the team here for years to come.
Yeah, my thoughts exactly. Beautiful dribbler, really elegant and casual style on the ball. Eye for goal, great agility and balance.
A fully fit ESR and maybe we get another win or two in the run-in where we died a painful death. Heās got the ability to score from midfield which could have changed how things ended up, who knows.
So yeah, a difference maker if he can stay fit. Big if. Needs selling off in 12 months if he picks up more injuries next season. Talent means nothing if you arenāt available.
Harsh but you donāt win titles carrying an injury prone player as one of youāre key 16-17 first teamers.
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Completely agree. However, his talent means that you give him every opportunity to have a full season. With Trossard here, we have other options now so arenāt reliant on him.
I would reluctantly well next summer if he hasnāt made an impact.