And who’s playing 8 then? Cos we aren’t signing one form the looks of it so it’s merino or rice.
Why can’t MLS play there or even Ethan?
Or whatever other attacking talent they should be looking to bring in.
No to the wage rise.
Thanks and goodbye
1 Like
Replacing Partey is going to be way more costly than giving him a slight bump in his wages.
Whoever we sign is going to come with a transfer fee, wages and no guarantee they’ll even be a good fit for the team.
We have a player who has spent the last 4 or so years playing under Arteta he knows the system, the expectations, the league.
We’re giving ourselves more problems by not finding a solution to this with him.
2 Likes
Tbf our highest points total was without partey being involved in the side. Hes had 1 injury free season which imo doesn’t warrant a wage increase. The better option is him staying obviously but im sure the club have a replacement in mind if he chooses to go.
Time to Partey ways.
2 Likes
MLS will be busy playing left back and Ethan isn’t a CM. That would make Odegaard have to play deeper, so Ethan can play more as a 10, and then we’re relying on a kid who’s hardly played to be one of our main midfielders as well as backup for saka, dont like it.
Ethan being an option for LCM in a few games across the season is fine but it shouldn’t be regular if we want to fight for the title.
1 Like
Nwaneri skill set is one that should be able to be utilised as an advanced #8 and the same can be said of MLS, also good chance MLS’s future most likely won’t be at LB.
Calafiori was brought in for that position and if he can’t play there consistenlty then what the hell is the point of him?
Rice is less of an advanced midfielder than they are
This is true but until we sign a left back that can both be fit and good, he is our left back…no choice about it.
MLS will replace Partey himself in midfield eventually but would be better if that was next season or the one after.
Retaining the boss on a 1+1 just makes sense, if he wants an extra 25k a week who cares. Rice has been confirmed as the 8 with our pursuit of Zubi so whether you like it or not, he’s not considered a main option for the 6 role.
I’ve moaned about our midfield and the weird approach before, you know I don’t like it either but that’s the direction we’ve gone, so rather we keep Partey to support it.
1 Like
Perhaps they now just don’t see Partey as that vital especially in terms of usage and whether or not him playing so many games last season was more a fluke than anything
If he really is seen as such a vital cog going forward then one would think this would have been done and dusted already
Seems like those quotes from the other day speaks louder volumes with each passing day.
Losing Partey would be a huge blow. We’d be one Zubinjury away from a total capitulation in midfield.
Just pay him the money, the alternative is far more costly.
Dunno, I think that undermines his involvement in the run-in of that season.
But he isn’t effective as a single pivot either. At least not in what is asked from that position in this particular system.
Seems like another waste of money. Not in way Havertz is, but the fact that we are signing Zubimendi doesn’t reflect well on signing Rice in my opinion.
1 Like
Wouldn’t say a ‘waste’ of money as he has been really good on the whole but I do think it wasn’t the best use of funds given how we’ve moved afterwards.
He is not a 100m #8 and that has now been cemented as his role by chasing Zubi.
Again then why did we sign merino?? Rice already had that spot sorted. Merino just a backup squad player confirmed as well.
It’s disjointed as fuck either way you look at it.
Waste is probably too strong of a word, but I don’t see how he fits in this football/system. If he’s signed upon request of Arteta I’m starting too doubt his eye for identifiying talent/the right fit for his system.
I agree with you, the way we’re signing players then them not working out in that position and having to be replaced by another player is poor. We don’t have enough creativity in our team to be playing him as an 8 IMO, he has limitations in both roles.
Rice having to be utilised higher up speaks to an issue with profiling him and like I said I’m not really for it because it doesn’t help up break teams down especially those that don’t open up
This is precisely why I argued with some people when they said Rice was a transformative signing. He clearly doesn’t fit what Arteta wants from a 6 hence why we’ve gone big on Zubimendi and he isn’t exceptional in that left midfield position either.
He’s been good all in all but so strong to call him transformative
1 Like
Yeah exactly, it was okay to use him as an 8 while Partey was still a key component but as soon as Partey was due to leave I expected Rice to be the 6 while we signed a more creative player for the LCM role.
Chasing Zubi since last year has shown they either never intended that or they did and then decided against it.
It just doesn’t add up and our design of the midfield makes no sense. Even not being sure about keeping Partey now but letting Jorginho go just looks stupid.
Does this series of events really make any sense?
- Started with xhaka - Partey - Odegaard
- We went for Rice and Havertz
- Clearly aiming for Havertz - Rice - Odegaard let’s be honest.
- Havertz was wank at LCM so we made rice an 8
- Rice - Partey/Jorgi - Odegaard
- Then signed merino suggesting again we might push rice to the 6 role
- Merino injured and wank at the start so we are back to Rice - Partey - Odegaard
- Chase Zubi and likely sign him while Jorginho leaves
- End up with Rice - Zubi - Odegaard with merino on the bench and Partey walking.
200m spent for that plus the 65m on Kai to play CF instead and whatever it costs for Zubi’s backup.
2 Likes
Rice at the left 8 may not have been the original plan but he’s so far down the list of our problems. Having a player in that role who can get over 10+ goal contributions a season and that’s elite in terms of covering ground, winning the ball in transition, and carrying the ball forward against the press is just not something to worry about.
Tons of great teams get lesser final third contributions out of their second midfielder. We had our best every PL season by goals scored with him in this role. The issue for Arsenal is the players around him that are supposed to offer more final third impact and creativity simply haven’t delivered the goods. Jesus was supposed to be a centerpiece of the whole project and he became next to nothing. Martinelli just hasn’t developed and delivered on the promise of his 22-23 season. Odegaard’s league goal contributions have gone from 22, to 18, to 11. And while Timber is an upgrade defensively on Ben White, he doesn’t offer as much going forward.
2 Likes
For me with Rice it’s not about the contributions it’s about he’s not silky or dynamic in the role, in big games it’s alright I suppose but we don’t have enough creativity to play him there on a weekly basis or as his de facto position IMO
He isn’t helping when we’re trying to break down teams particularly when we have less space and we need more quality and incisiveness on the ball so much higher up the pitch
He has limitations in that role and also as a lone #6 which brings in to question how they really envisioned him in this team especially paying over £100m
He’s not a huge or most pressing issue but it’s odd recruitment nonetheless