You may remember me from such shows as Bellerin
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Yeah Iām definitely not trolling. Genuinely think that if all our players are fit then a midfield of Xhaka and Partey is our best option.
Obviously Xhaka can and should be upgraded, but fact is he is still here. And with the way Arteta chooses to play Iād rather see Xhaka in the XI than the alternatives.
As much as it pains me (and it is sort of what I would imagine child-birth would be like if I were a woman, or maybe passing a really, really big stone (which thankfully I have never had to do)), I canāt really argue with this atm.
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Nah itās still not. This club is dumb af, they want to invest in a youth project supposedly, at least thatās the excuse they are using, but then our midfielder pivot is in their late 20s early 30s? What sense does that make? Poor Partey came here to waste his peak years as a player so sucks for him. In Xhakaās case tho we know his ceiling. Heās absolutely shit in every facet of the game except for picking out a pass or two every 3 or 4 games 
Iād much rather give the game time to Lokonga and let him cut his teeth, AMN as well give him some consistent game time and see if he develops.
With Xhaka consistently in the team we finished 8th last year and barely had a positive goal difference. We are doing just as shit with him in the lineup this year, lost our first 3 matches and scored no goals with Xhaka featuring prominently. Whatās the use of playing this fucking shitter if we arenāt gonna do better than 8th? Might as well try to develop the youngsters.
Stop trying to make this happen. Heāll be 35 and people will still be wanting to give him more game time. Need to ship him out.
Xhakas ceiling is known and itās fucking trash. AMN is our best RB and a much better technical player than Xhaka, so for me id rather he get the game time. Of course thereās also the issue of Arteta making Xhakaās slow snail like ponderous play the focal point of our entire attack. Thatās working fucking wonders
Since when has a youth project meant only youths?
DIfferent argument though - if you are putting your CURRENT best 11 vs. taking a slight risk on younger players in that position or are yet massively unproven - and not helped by a horribly underperforming Partey.
I agree we should go all in on youth project and jettison him though - i could care less if we finish 11th or 9th or 8th.
Right so what is the benefit of playing Xhaka? To get 8th place? As opposed to developing Sambi. Maybe Sambi makes mistakes and that means we finish 10th, but in that time he improves and acclimates to the PL and next season he, Partey, and Guendo lead us back to CL glory under a proper manager.
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there is none other than to maximize points this season, which I agree with you is pointless as it is futile race to mediocrity either way.
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Watching Partey and Sambi dwindle on the ball and get robbed for the first time definitely hurt less than watching Xhaka do it for the eighth time.
It they start to catch up to his kind of numbers then Iāll worry.
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Players donāt develop simply by playing thatās just a myth. Game time doesnāt equate to development nor will help Sambi acclimate.
Player development is dictated by coaching, both mental and physical. Itās dictated by how well a player fits into a managers ideas and systems.
We are seeing with Saka and ESR was game time does for a player - absolutely nothing at this level. Theyāre not being coached adequately and relied far too heavily upon.
Iād rather Sambi was given less game time and let Xhaka continue to be a (rightful) scapegoat for the season until a replacement manager is brought in
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This discussion is frustrating, we shouldāve taken Romaās offer and be rid us of this problem for good.
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Letās face it, if its down to coaching (and i donāt disagree with your point really), then we are well and truly screwed.
I agree with your point overall, nobody on our team is going to really improve until we can get a good coach in. However I do think that playing on a regular basis can at the least prepare a player for the speed/physicality/technical level of the league. Iād argue just getting consistent play time initially highlighted the skills of Saka and ESR and showed that they could be good players in this league. They havenāt kicked on due to shit coaching but theyāve impressed enough to be noticed as important players in our team.
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Xhaka is best 11 in this current squad but obviously he still needs to be replaced.
But ultimately Iām done with Arteta, how many Brighton players would make our starting line up ? How many palace players ? Yet Brighton outplayed us and palace did for large periods.
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What exactly is Xhakaās area of expertise?
Is it his defensive quality, pace, goal scoring, tackling, leadership, quick thinking or as a play maker?
The best compliment written about him in this thread is heās, ānot that terrible.ā
A glowing reference indeed.
That is quite harsh, he might be a dreadful footballer, but he would be a tremendous scrabble scoreā¦72 points in the right scenarioā¦Thatās not too badā¦
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Youāre missing my point though. Iām not saying he is amazing. Iām saying he is the best out of what we have.
Yeah, but thatās like saying that Arteta is the best choice of managers at the clubā¦Still doesnāt mean heās any feckin goodā¦
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