Do you actually believe Arteta or any competent manager would make such a call?
Perhaps he didn’t make the call deliberately, but that’s where we are.
5 years in, and no reliable backups for key positions.
Well, it was deliberate, but no manager would make that call(with maybe Arsene being the exception, lol).
They intentionally stripped the team to clear pathways for youngsters like Ethan and others.
That call goes above Arteta’s head, and in fairness to Edu, it was probably a goal above his head too.
There have been plenty of reports the past year from The Athletic and often enough from Ornstein directly but they’re trying to get us to being self sustainable again(hence the push to sell existing assets) and use our youth team more, they’ve even allocated a budget for youth recruitment to help with that.
Arteta spent £60m on Havertz when that could have gone to a good striker.
Also that money on Merino and Calafiori which hasn’t added much as they are either injured or not enough to increase the level.
Him and Edu didn’t give forwards the right priority.
I hope that changes but pretty worrying, worst case we may have another dictator manager style transfer policy but this guy is more boring than Wenger and hasn’t even won is much to get that.
Title charge commences
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just need Salt Bae and then this would be a perfect trip
This season we are still in hunt, talk about last season, Kai was one of our best performers since November/December. No one knows how a “better” striker could help, but Kai did his job and we did not win the title not because of him, get this straight.
Also, Merino missed pre-season and the first two months and Tierney was out until November. I appreciate these were less missed by us but it still reduces the options for rotation, placing further strain on the squad.
Just waiting for Raya now and we have a stronger injury XI than the “stayed relatively fit” XI
Edit: It’s a good idea for next season’s calendar though. All your favourite players, in various states of recuperation.
it’s just bad luck tho, innit.
We’re such a well-drilled and mature team that I keep forgetting how young of a squad we still have.
Kiwior was our oldest defender against Madrid at 25!
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Arteta can build a dynasty with this team!
Is it safe to say that we now actually have world class players in this team? I was watching Madrid, and I wasn’t really impressed with anyone from their lot.
But we have:
- Saliba
- Gabriel
- Partey
- Rice
- Saka
How far away are these guys from being world class in your eyes? Or are they there already?
At the start of the season, I maintained that we didn’t have any world class players, till Saka scored that goal vs. Liverpool - I changed my mind.
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You could also include Raya on that list as well.
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Yeah I think you could add Raya. You could also add Odegaard 2023-24 on there as well!
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Add Timber as well.
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World class isn’t really a term I like a whole lot but I think you could put Saka, Saliba, Gabriel, Partey, Rice in a pretty high tier.
Gabriel has a genuine case as the best CB in the game right now. Saliba is extremely high level. Saka is the second best right winger in the game imo. Partey is the second best 6 in the game and it’s not much of a gap between him and Rodri.
I don’t know if there is a standout keeper in the game right now but Raya is definitely in a high tier. He was always elite with the ball at his feet, he’s excellent at claiming crosses and he has shown he can make great saves too. Main issue is probably his work at penalties.
Rice is a tough one because I think his intangibles are key when rating him. He isn’t great receiving the ball deep with his back to goal and he isn’t an elite passer but in terms of the role he plays for us, he is at a very high level alongside his leadership and the fact he is extremely consistent.
Timber is another guy who is continuing to show how good he is and other fans have started to recognize that too. Ben White before his injuries was very good too.
I prefer to look at it in terms of how players make the overall squad work. I think we have 10+ guys that would be tough to replace for us and would be important players for almost any side (if you ignore situations where a particular side has a top player in that position e.g. Salah).
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I’d say right now Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Partey, Rice and Saka are world-class.
The Odegaard from previous seasons would’ve been there but he’s been nowhere near it this season.
It’s crazy to say, but MLS might be the next up because there aren’t many LBs out there currently that are better than him, if he continues like this it won’t be long before he’s considered world-class despite his age, similar to Yamal.
And I can see a case for Raya too.
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To be fair, Raya is horrific with penalties. It really seems like something that can’t be taught. I’d love to have confidence in our keeper saving penalties.
Raya saved 3 PK in CL last season.
Horrific??