Using numbers and hipster terms like ‘trequartista’ to describe positions😠
Numbers barely mean anything to a position anymore and people adapt them to whatever position they think is a 6 or 8 or 10. Tony Adams wore 6 and Ian Wright 8 when I started watching! And I get these new fangled terms describe the way in which someone plays, not just the position, but when did simply ‘Left back’ or ‘striker’ not suffice? What’s next, ‘divingistario’ for a goalkeeper???
Playing out from the back has slowed down the game is as boring as hoofball football
Yeah, but when it works, it looks good, but I know what you mean.
The Havertz signing has fucked us.
It’s nice to see the classics make a comeback once in a while.
In what way?
I don’t think Havertz, Jesus or Trossard were poor attacking signings but considering what we paid, they could and should be upgraded if we’re serious about winning the PL title.
Cole Palmer is like prime Ozil with goals. Unreal talent.
(ban incoming 
)
I understand it’s your opinion but your opinion is wrong
Like he has the same play-style or the same type of creativity?
Not saying he’s a clone but I like how he plays with similar freedom, very creative, great vision (maybe not exactly as good as Ozil).
Hard to find a player with such great vision who is such a strong goalscorer also, that’s the combo wanted to highlight. He’s a true complete attacker. An english Rivaldo you could say.
You could also say their (him and Ozil) style and some of their touces are quite similar too. Feels he has that touch of spontaneity in his football, not a system cunt.
I really like watching him.
You wanna heat something even more unpopular?
Rice is heading that way too until we sort a lot of stuff in our play.
You aren’t paying 100M for a harworking, defensive 8, with good corner kicking ability.
He’t still yet to impose himself as a 6. Would be about time for him to start playing there regularly.
For a 100m midfielder, Rice has no passing creativity.
The thing is, he’s so bad under pressure.
His technical ability is actually very good, it’s not about lack of that. The thing is he panics when he gets pressed and goes for the safe option most of the time. He has a good pass in him, but he’s too conservative when pressed and that’s his biggest issue if he wants to become an elite 6.
Even when you look at Caicedo, I think Rice is better equiped technically, but Caicedo is better under pressue even with pretty limited technical ability. He just stays calm and proggresses the play in those situations and that’s what makes him a better 6 atm.
I have huge doubts whether can Rice ever improve that too much, it’s a mentality thing. Not easy to teach that at this level.
On Mesut Özil, it was his ineffectiveness in front of goal that was a big reason why Arsenal didn’t win the league 15/16.
After that 22/23 break out season this team had, it was clear, in my opinion, that improvement needed to come by replacing Xhaka. He was very useful as a link up/glue guy between midfield and defense, but as soon as got the ball in and around the penalty area, you just saw a lack of creativity and ability to play in tight spaces/link up with Martinelli and Jesus.
A more creative player would have made our offensive game more symmetrical and unpredictable in stead of fully dependable on that right hand side with Odegaard/Saka.
Havertz is not only not able to replicate what Xhaka did well, creating triangles with the left centre back/left back and/or the deep-lying midfielder by which Xhaka could progress the ball and be the link up between defense and midfield, he’s also useless in that left sided pocket space behind the striker.
Everything that needed to be solved hasn’t been solved by signing him and what his predecessor did well he can’t duplicate either. By which the creativity we had in 22/23 has been completely eradicted from this team. In hindsight signs of that we’re already visible last season.
@Pires I wasn’t familiar with Rice at West Ham, but having seen them both play now I do think Partey is better in that roll. Rice best roll for us is a box2box midfielder.
Palmer couldn’t lace Ozil’s boots.
I absolutely agree Partey is the better 6, Jorginho is a better 6 than Rice too.
That’s exactly why I’m not sure this transfer will be great for us in the long run, similar as Havertz.
If Rice wasn’t English, “Mr Future Arsenal Captain”, I don’t think most fans would want him for anywhere near the fee we paid for him.
He’s a good player, but he’s too limited in this game besides his crossing and ‘ball carrying’ abilities.
I think he will improve and get better with time, but I don’t know whether he’ll ever reach the heights of Scholes/Lampard/Gerard.
Hold up, I’m a big believer of Partey still being our best CM but this view of Rice is wild.
He’s playing well in a box to box role and a very very good player, impressed me a lot more than what I ever saw at West Ham (probs wasn’t watching too well tbh).
Agree with Pires about him under pressure and that’s what makes Partey more elite than the others because he can handle both pressure and perform technically. Now that doesn’t make Rice anything less than a great player and already worth every penny in today’s market.
Let’s not go overboard because we’ve struggled a bit this season.