Pressing Shelvey isn’t a contest really. Think he has the edge on Cabellos which should seal the Spaniard’s chances of a contract.
We’ve been through this before. It’s a classic Xhaka boom-bust cycle. He’s not good enough to take us where we should go.
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Agree but he did exactly that on that cross around 63 min. Way out but 10-15 yards back, did nothing to close, let crosser reset and he had his arms behind his back when not in pen area. But fair play, did well today.
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Not even boom. He was solid and we make him the next Platini. Wait for proper opponent who doesn’t give us ages on the ball… main thing I am noticing is our overall off the ball movement has been getting better lately.
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Yeah, he’s basically only effective doing one thing and that requires runners off the ball.
And no pressure =)
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The numbers and jawline might be great, but the eye test…
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JFC. He must do this six or seven times a game. Drives me insane. People talked a lot about how Özil hid behind numbers but Xhaka is just the same. He kills our momentum.
I want to punch my screen watching this
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Think that must be Arteta’s game plan rather than Xhaka at fault for that.
Seen so many examples of Xhaka doing this and yet he’s always the first name on the team sheet so Arteta must be telling him to do that.
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There’s a pirouette and a pair of pink boots difference between Xhaka and Dani. Both need fucking off.
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Fair point. It fits well in his risk averse approach, indeed. Protect possession, look to create openings methodically and with patience.
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Basically. There was a risky ball to ESR available to him that we know Xhaka can pull off. But chances of interception are high, so he doesn’t do it.
Shame because ESR could release Saka who would then be in on goal to play to Auba and Laca in the centre.
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Don’t see much wrong in this instance, ESR would have been closed down and could have lost the ball in a dangerous position.
Maybe the long ball to Saka was on, but I can’t see it clearly enough.
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I think there was another Newcastle defender shaded toward Saka’s side of the pitch that is off screen almost the entire clip (you can catch a very brief glimpse of his boot between :15 and :16). He might still have been able to hit Saka with a long diagonal but it would have been a tough ball and Saka would still have had this defender right in front of him.
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Absolutely pathetic player. Disgusting.
I would agree but Partey was passing forward quickly with no issues. And if a forward pass wasn’t on, he’d dribble and commit a defender to open the space for a forward pass.
@Bl1nk the pass to the winger on his left was on pretty early if he would have just played it.
It’s what Cesc would have done. I know it’s harsh to judge Xhaka against Cesc but we must have some standards ffs
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Underrated post.
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He’s been enjoying a bit of good form lately
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Done enough to keep his place for Saturday. Think he’s a better fit than Cabellos for Partey. Responsibility taken off him makes it simple for him.