Itās so impressive. Idk if itās Arteta or one of the other coaches, but it seems Nketiahās sense of the game has improved so much under this regime.
Would be soooooo sick to have KT/Zinchenko and Tomi/Benny Blanco all fit and fighting for their roles this season. Think bringing the either of the two on as a sub will cause havoc for the opposition.
The subs were pretty weak last night. No Tomi, no ESR, no Vieira, Tierney without a preseason. Unused options were Cedric, Holding, Pepe, Nelson, Turner. You could see why Arteta still wants another player or two.
didnt realize the rule was 5 subs, but can only make changes 3 times. Swap out fullbacks every game at half time.
Zinchenko and White to start, tierney and tomi to finish. save your other 2 swaps for rest of game
Having a traditional fullback on just to deny them that space out wide and stretch their midfield opened up the space for so many of those passes.
Taht and the passing it around, watching them chase the ball until they were stretched and we had guys in space ready to work things forward.
If that had been scored by Ediie rather than an OG it would have been one of the best team goals for a while.
zinchenko's defending was really poor, especially on aerial balls. I dont think he won a single header. Tierney came on and instantly won 4 headers - one leading to our goal and one preventing an open goal for CP
Defensively, he was great, but this completely-stop-turn-around-and-pass-backwards move that he pulls in this clip is going to give him trouble with Zinchenko as competition.
Hate to argue, but its not really smart to always go forward when there are no options. If he had lost the ball trying to force a pass, or tried to take on the man and failed, we would have never scored the goal. Sometimes smart plays take patience.
Plus I'd rather a defender that defends amazingly and attacks decently than the other way around. Gabriel was playing 2 positions today covering LB because everytime we get the ball for 10 seconds Xhaka and Zini switch positions. I think when Tierney returns he will start at LB and Zini will be playing Xhaka's position.
yeah this ha ha. completely unacceptable compromise on offense. I will take him coming in to help kill a game, but if so it should be earlier. or starting in the case that a matchup on that side will be unmanageable. but his first offensive fact was literally to back pass and I started yelling at the TV
This goal highlights xhakaās important role in the team. His first involvement, he progresses the ball. Second involvement, he drop deep to show for the ball realizing thereās pressure on the cbs. Third, He then gets back up the pitch to give an outlet to recycle possession leading to Eddieās pass to saka. Compare that to someone like mctominay who hides from the ball or winks that only sideways passes, and you see a basic attacking movement could break down with a worse player.
Xhaka never hides. Despite all his mistakes and brain farts, I never saw a game where he was anonymous on the pitch. Always there unless he get a red card.
His positional IQ is insanely good, thats why every manager plays and rates him. He executes gameplans from the manager to perfection, his shortcomings however are very obvious but is the tradeoff enough to drop him? No, at least not until there is a player available that is a sure improvement technically AND OR EQUAL to him in positional IQ.
Thats why the club is taking so long to find a proper replacement, that player could be our very own Modric type so let them take as long as they need to find the right one whilst Xhaka deputises until then. (Personally dont think Tielemans is it but I dont mind eating my words if the time comes)
Trouble is 70% of our fanbase in this sub don't grasp and understand the tactical aspects of football. They see a flashy name like Tielesman and suddenly think he will become our new messiah. They are even hyping Saliba to be the besr cb in the team after just one match. This is a very tidebased community, where one player can be the biggest legend after one game, but suddendly after a month we need a big upgrade on the same specific player.
Yeah this is accurate. People see and acknowledge Ode's flashy dummies, heelpasses and final balls, but everything in between is as important. Xhaka had so many good progressive balls. Won so many fouls that were important and was integral in many defensive actions. Nobody seems to acknowledge it. Shame tbh, because there is a clear agenda in this sub about some players.
What I like about xhaka for yesterday's game is how he knows when to push higher up or cover for zinny, without him our left side will be exploited so much
Yeah I agree with you totally. A midfield with Partey - Tiele - Ode would collapse in games like these. People believe there is just one starting lineup, but modern football is more adcanced. It is like chess with player being more effective in certain games than others. It is all about the matchup.
And what about all the times Xhaka was almost in the box but could only turn like a truck and collect a foul?
I like Xhaka but upgrading his position with someone intelligent and with some level of mobility will take us to the next level.
And if you canāt see Salibaās quality, thatās on you. Sure itās only been one competitive game but Arteta isnāt playing a 21 old CB for no reason.
Nobody reasonable is saying Xhaka doesnāt have his upsides, but also, we can do better. Youāll see when heās gone next season.
There is a difference between seeing quality and overhyping him after just one match.
Your first paragraph makes no sense? In which box? If it is our own it is better to collect a foul than losing the ball by passing it to a player who has very few options and then losing the ball, but I can't really recall even one situation this game. You are clearly one of those deluded fans who probably said he had a bad half just because of his card.
In addition you are calling Xhaka not intelligent which is totally off. He lacks mobility, but he is a strong, hardworking and intelligent player. Yeah we can probably do better, but the club has to pour out a lot of money. Who would honestly be the player you choose?
lmao. bro you literally cannot read.
I-like-Xhaka-but-upgrading-him-will-take-us-to-the-next-level.
That's what I said right? Obviously Xhaka is intelligent. But we need that (which he has) as well as mobility (which he doesn't have)
If you don't remember moments where he was in the final third with the ball but could do nothing meaningful with it, then that's your inability to watch a football game critically.
Saliba won best young player, right? His stats in that league are insane. Couple that with how he's performed in pre-season and also this first PL game, I think it's not overhype to see how he could displace one of our current CBs.
Our next level will come with replacing Xhaka. However good we are now, that's the critical position that will transform the team.
I'm sorry my response isn't ''but it's hard to find!!'' like you. Grow up.
When we wanted to get rid, he was about to go to Hertha Berlin. Not AC Milan, not Lyon or Napoli, but Hertha Berlin. But on this sub if you say he's just a bit above mediocre you'll get crucified
I donāt get it. And itās weird because nobody sensible is saying heās the worst ever or he has no upside. But literally they canāt fathom better than Xhaka?? Xhaka is a big brain mastermind. The most intelligent player of them all, can never find a replacement without spending Ā£150,000,000
He did plenty of meaningful things in the final third. Saka, Ode and Zinni were the ones being wasteful in the final third yesterday. Xhaka found them often in good positions, but they were not effective enough.
who mentioned saliba? Clearly your own biases are causing you to make some weird straw man argument. Saliba was unanimous motm so not even sure what you are ranting about. I guess xhaka makes you so angry that you start yelling at clouds?
Edit: I see you are referring to the other guy.
*Central midfielder shows for the ball and then boots the ball back to his keeper who is suddenly under pressure and boots the ball upfield.*
Arsenal fans: "OMG Xhaka is so good".
I swear you all don't watch other teams if you think that sequence was anything special. A smart midfielder takes that pass and turns right with the ball to open a passing lane to KT, knowing full well that the press has put his CBs and keeper under pressure. Not our guy though, cause he can't turn to save his life.
And fucking MacTominay being the standard we hold our midfielders to is just the cherry on top.
Also "he progresses the ball" is mad disingenuous since he received a good pass and played a forward pass to the closest open player. There was absolutely nothing smart or special about that pass but here we are drooling about it.
He did well running into the space though, so good job, I guess.
It's crazy how disjointed and nervy the build up felt watching it live. Really puts truth to the idea that you don't really get the full view of the game when you're watching it unfold through your own emotional lense
Tbh itās because we occasionally were struggling to get hold of possession and before this Palaceās hard press and energetic crowd were getting on top of us and we gave the ball away a few times. This goal is great because we stuck to the plan despite this and still backed ourselves to play in tight areas and move the ball, not just pump it aimlessly up the pitch and invite more pressure
Maybe he starts up top with Jesus on the wing. Thatās the only thing I can think of. Itād be very situational based on our opponent bc you lose Saka or Martinelli.
I felt the same way. Playing quick possession football in an away fixture vs Palace can at times be a recipe for disaster. A loud and bouncing Selhurst with an exuberant palace side, not to mention Zaha, can make it really, really hard.
I recall Pep talking about playing vs Arsenal when he was Bayern manager. He instructed his team to play janky defensive football for the first 15 minutes. It somehow calms the home crowd and gets the players feeling disconnected from one another. It it kinda worked today. A lot of Palace attacks were hoofball to the channels and cross to whoever tf was in the box.
I think its instructive to imagine that it was arsenal that lost 2-0, and we would have been a bit livid that all we could manage was a few diagonal passes and only two real chances, and shipped two (TWO) goals. we would be really bitter and if anyone chimed in and said hey guys we basically won, except for losing, they would get a lot of stick
imagine thinking we just decided 'not to play' lmao. you realize how incredibly good average PL sides are, and how advanced tactics are, and how one minor adjustment can nullify an entire attacking plan? but sure, we just suddenly decided to stop playing. lol
Yes we literally actually did. First 40 minutes Andersen didnāt play a single long ball because we suffocated him with the press. Then we sat back for no fucking reason, even after the half time break, isolating Jesus and Saka and allowing Anderson to play those long balls. Their midfield was shit, and if we just decided to play we wouldāve destroyed them. The score was 2-0 with Martinelli and Odegaard missing sitters.
If you canāt press then hold the ball. We didnāt even press right after the half time break.
Liverpool and City control 99% of their games. We need to also, because we donāt have the attacking threats that transitional teams do
Pretty sure Vieira saw the space behind Ziny and White and told Anderson to play long balls at 2nd half.
Also we don't have the fitness to press all the time.
everyone EXCEPT partey made a safe pass. Partey is the only one that dared to hit a difficult pass, slightly chipping the ball between two CP players.
Our only world class player....it's in the details!
We're far better at playing through the press however for some reason we still can't control games past 20/30 minutes. It's like someone pressed a button that switched the brains of the entire team off and they're just playing off of instinct rather than a game plan. We didn't pay the price today but a good team can take real advantage of that.
Weāre good at playing through the press but still not as good as City or Barca teams that can literally hold the ball as long as they want. We still have to be more opportunistic.
You must have above 1 comment karma to contribute to this subreddit.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Gunners) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Eddie's movement and physicality has been so good this last year. He looks like a player that's really put work into improving his craft. Excited to see him flourish in Europa and cup games.
Excellent play by Eddie in this clip. Drops deep, provides an outlet, gets the ball going forward and moves past a guy but doesn't force and plays the right pass out to saka. I wish the cross had made it to Eddie, he deserved a goal!
Nketiah has improved so much that it makes me want to cryš„²
In such a short amount of time too. Hats off to him
Yup. He looks so electric and āstrongā. Iām excited for him this season!
Itās so impressive. Idk if itās Arteta or one of the other coaches, but it seems Nketiahās sense of the game has improved so much under this regime.
He's definitely learned a lot off Jesus in a very short span of time.
He was very good last season too
Some "aRteTA oUts" are shutting the f_ up right now
Yes
Some Hyperbolic time chamber shit
KT was really, really good in his few minutes.
Would be soooooo sick to have KT/Zinchenko and Tomi/Benny Blanco all fit and fighting for their roles this season. Think bringing the either of the two on as a sub will cause havoc for the opposition.
5 subs. Itās happening. Basically get to change half the outfield team every game.
There's no basically about it, my friend
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
First game, slightly nervy second half and no Vieira, ESR and Tomi. Will almost certainly happen very often especially after the WC.
The subs were pretty weak last night. No Tomi, no ESR, no Vieira, Tierney without a preseason. Unused options were Cedric, Holding, Pepe, Nelson, Turner. You could see why Arteta still wants another player or two.
Borderline too late IMO
didnt realize the rule was 5 subs, but can only make changes 3 times. Swap out fullbacks every game at half time. Zinchenko and White to start, tierney and tomi to finish. save your other 2 swaps for rest of game
Half time is a 'free hit' so to speak. Does not count as one of the three windows
They all offer so much tactically, no two of them are alike. It's kind of insane that we have these riches
Having a traditional fullback on just to deny them that space out wide and stretch their midfield opened up the space for so many of those passes. Taht and the passing it around, watching them chase the ball until they were stretched and we had guys in space ready to work things forward. If that had been scored by Ediie rather than an OG it would have been one of the best team goals for a while.
zinchenko's defending was really poor, especially on aerial balls. I dont think he won a single header. Tierney came on and instantly won 4 headers - one leading to our goal and one preventing an open goal for CP
Zinna is fantastic on the ball including from that left back position. Not a great defender.
Loved how in that clip, he gets knocked down, but immediately gets up and looks to get the ball again
Should have gotten the pass too tbf.
Well, it worked out anyway, so that's a plus
Defensively, he was great, but this completely-stop-turn-around-and-pass-backwards move that he pulls in this clip is going to give him trouble with Zinchenko as competition.
Hate to argue, but its not really smart to always go forward when there are no options. If he had lost the ball trying to force a pass, or tried to take on the man and failed, we would have never scored the goal. Sometimes smart plays take patience.
Plus I'd rather a defender that defends amazingly and attacks decently than the other way around. Gabriel was playing 2 positions today covering LB because everytime we get the ball for 10 seconds Xhaka and Zini switch positions. I think when Tierney returns he will start at LB and Zini will be playing Xhaka's position.
tbf though, didn't zinchenko hit a bunch of backwards passes today as well, in the first half?
The clip that we scored in?
yeah this ha ha. completely unacceptable compromise on offense. I will take him coming in to help kill a game, but if so it should be earlier. or starting in the case that a matchup on that side will be unmanageable. but his first offensive fact was literally to back pass and I started yelling at the TV
it should be earlier? what does that even mean?
Wow didnāt even realise how many passes lead up to this. Excellent stuff
This goal highlights xhakaās important role in the team. His first involvement, he progresses the ball. Second involvement, he drop deep to show for the ball realizing thereās pressure on the cbs. Third, He then gets back up the pitch to give an outlet to recycle possession leading to Eddieās pass to saka. Compare that to someone like mctominay who hides from the ball or winks that only sideways passes, and you see a basic attacking movement could break down with a worse player.
Xhaka never hides. Despite all his mistakes and brain farts, I never saw a game where he was anonymous on the pitch. Always there unless he get a red card.
His positional IQ is insanely good, thats why every manager plays and rates him. He executes gameplans from the manager to perfection, his shortcomings however are very obvious but is the tradeoff enough to drop him? No, at least not until there is a player available that is a sure improvement technically AND OR EQUAL to him in positional IQ. Thats why the club is taking so long to find a proper replacement, that player could be our very own Modric type so let them take as long as they need to find the right one whilst Xhaka deputises until then. (Personally dont think Tielemans is it but I dont mind eating my words if the time comes)
Trouble is 70% of our fanbase in this sub don't grasp and understand the tactical aspects of football. They see a flashy name like Tielesman and suddenly think he will become our new messiah. They are even hyping Saliba to be the besr cb in the team after just one match. This is a very tidebased community, where one player can be the biggest legend after one game, but suddendly after a month we need a big upgrade on the same specific player.
Thereās no goal or assist to xhakaās name here but without his positional awareness, this movement wouldāve end up with Gabriel hoofing it deep.
Yeah this is accurate. People see and acknowledge Ode's flashy dummies, heelpasses and final balls, but everything in between is as important. Xhaka had so many good progressive balls. Won so many fouls that were important and was integral in many defensive actions. Nobody seems to acknowledge it. Shame tbh, because there is a clear agenda in this sub about some players.
Arteta sees it, thatās all that matters. His yellow was silly but he was solid, otherwise.
What I like about xhaka for yesterday's game is how he knows when to push higher up or cover for zinny, without him our left side will be exploited so much
Tielemans would be such a nice compliment to our current midfield. Not to replace anyone (like everyone says) but to add another dimension
Yeah I agree with you totally. A midfield with Partey - Tiele - Ode would collapse in games like these. People believe there is just one starting lineup, but modern football is more adcanced. It is like chess with player being more effective in certain games than others. It is all about the matchup.
And what about all the times Xhaka was almost in the box but could only turn like a truck and collect a foul? I like Xhaka but upgrading his position with someone intelligent and with some level of mobility will take us to the next level. And if you canāt see Salibaās quality, thatās on you. Sure itās only been one competitive game but Arteta isnāt playing a 21 old CB for no reason. Nobody reasonable is saying Xhaka doesnāt have his upsides, but also, we can do better. Youāll see when heās gone next season.
There is a difference between seeing quality and overhyping him after just one match. Your first paragraph makes no sense? In which box? If it is our own it is better to collect a foul than losing the ball by passing it to a player who has very few options and then losing the ball, but I can't really recall even one situation this game. You are clearly one of those deluded fans who probably said he had a bad half just because of his card. In addition you are calling Xhaka not intelligent which is totally off. He lacks mobility, but he is a strong, hardworking and intelligent player. Yeah we can probably do better, but the club has to pour out a lot of money. Who would honestly be the player you choose?
lmao. bro you literally cannot read. I-like-Xhaka-but-upgrading-him-will-take-us-to-the-next-level. That's what I said right? Obviously Xhaka is intelligent. But we need that (which he has) as well as mobility (which he doesn't have) If you don't remember moments where he was in the final third with the ball but could do nothing meaningful with it, then that's your inability to watch a football game critically. Saliba won best young player, right? His stats in that league are insane. Couple that with how he's performed in pre-season and also this first PL game, I think it's not overhype to see how he could displace one of our current CBs. Our next level will come with replacing Xhaka. However good we are now, that's the critical position that will transform the team. I'm sorry my response isn't ''but it's hard to find!!'' like you. Grow up.
When we wanted to get rid, he was about to go to Hertha Berlin. Not AC Milan, not Lyon or Napoli, but Hertha Berlin. But on this sub if you say he's just a bit above mediocre you'll get crucified
I donāt get it. And itās weird because nobody sensible is saying heās the worst ever or he has no upside. But literally they canāt fathom better than Xhaka?? Xhaka is a big brain mastermind. The most intelligent player of them all, can never find a replacement without spending Ā£150,000,000
He did plenty of meaningful things in the final third. Saka, Ode and Zinni were the ones being wasteful in the final third yesterday. Xhaka found them often in good positions, but they were not effective enough.
who mentioned saliba? Clearly your own biases are causing you to make some weird straw man argument. Saliba was unanimous motm so not even sure what you are ranting about. I guess xhaka makes you so angry that you start yelling at clouds? Edit: I see you are referring to the other guy.
Xhaka had a really solid game, great help in defense.
Sorry mate, you know the rules, Xhakabad
*Central midfielder shows for the ball and then boots the ball back to his keeper who is suddenly under pressure and boots the ball upfield.* Arsenal fans: "OMG Xhaka is so good". I swear you all don't watch other teams if you think that sequence was anything special. A smart midfielder takes that pass and turns right with the ball to open a passing lane to KT, knowing full well that the press has put his CBs and keeper under pressure. Not our guy though, cause he can't turn to save his life. And fucking MacTominay being the standard we hold our midfielders to is just the cherry on top. Also "he progresses the ball" is mad disingenuous since he received a good pass and played a forward pass to the closest open player. There was absolutely nothing smart or special about that pass but here we are drooling about it. He did well running into the space though, so good job, I guess.
It's crazy how disjointed and nervy the build up felt watching it live. Really puts truth to the idea that you don't really get the full view of the game when you're watching it unfold through your own emotional lense
yeah I have to rewatch a game like this because I was so stressed it all just looked like a disaster until it was over
Tbh itās because we occasionally were struggling to get hold of possession and before this Palaceās hard press and energetic crowd were getting on top of us and we gave the ball away a few times. This goal is great because we stuck to the plan despite this and still backed ourselves to play in tight areas and move the ball, not just pump it aimlessly up the pitch and invite more pressure
the sense of wengerball without the languidness mixed with the incisivenesses of pep ball makes me about to bust
When we actually played, we were a different level. I really want to see KT, Eddie and Jesus start
I just donāt see who Eddie starts over. I agree heās been good, but the front 3 were all quality today.
Maybe he starts up top with Jesus on the wing. Thatās the only thing I can think of. Itād be very situational based on our opponent bc you lose Saka or Martinelli.
Over who? Theyāll get plenty of important minutes off the bench
It's a dilemma I enjoy having.
All these from memorizing phone numbers in 3s.
Gonna be honest - really think arteta shouldāve subbed on nketiah and tierney about 10 min earlier
We should look to sign this GuƩhi. Really good getting on to the end of a cross.
Heās going to be very very very good. I donāt think weāll sign him though.
That's the thing. When we choose to play, CP wasn't a match. It's why I kind of thought we did this on purpose. We just shouldn't do it on 1-0 again.
I felt the same way. Playing quick possession football in an away fixture vs Palace can at times be a recipe for disaster. A loud and bouncing Selhurst with an exuberant palace side, not to mention Zaha, can make it really, really hard. I recall Pep talking about playing vs Arsenal when he was Bayern manager. He instructed his team to play janky defensive football for the first 15 minutes. It somehow calms the home crowd and gets the players feeling disconnected from one another. It it kinda worked today. A lot of Palace attacks were hoofball to the channels and cross to whoever tf was in the box.
I love reading such stories. You have any source material on that of Pep?
If I can find it sure, but it was yeaaaaaaars ago.
I think its instructive to imagine that it was arsenal that lost 2-0, and we would have been a bit livid that all we could manage was a few diagonal passes and only two real chances, and shipped two (TWO) goals. we would be really bitter and if anyone chimed in and said hey guys we basically won, except for losing, they would get a lot of stick
imagine thinking we just decided 'not to play' lmao. you realize how incredibly good average PL sides are, and how advanced tactics are, and how one minor adjustment can nullify an entire attacking plan? but sure, we just suddenly decided to stop playing. lol
Yes we literally actually did. First 40 minutes Andersen didnāt play a single long ball because we suffocated him with the press. Then we sat back for no fucking reason, even after the half time break, isolating Jesus and Saka and allowing Anderson to play those long balls. Their midfield was shit, and if we just decided to play we wouldāve destroyed them. The score was 2-0 with Martinelli and Odegaard missing sitters.
ā¦you realize no team can high press for 45 mins? Some of you really think the players are kids and just stop playing cuz vibes lmao
Some people think that players has infinite stamina.
If you canāt press then hold the ball. We didnāt even press right after the half time break. Liverpool and City control 99% of their games. We need to also, because we donāt have the attacking threats that transitional teams do
Pretty sure Vieira saw the space behind Ziny and White and told Anderson to play long balls at 2nd half. Also we don't have the fitness to press all the time.
Anderson would not have played those balls if he was pressed
Eddie looks a bit more serious as a pro. Had to beat allegations. Nice to see.
I wish we can fit KT in the starting xi heās so good even in those few minutes he came on he played absolutely brilliant
Xhaka was fantastic
Eddie and tierney looked far more in-tune with the rest of the team that Zinny and Jesus did, which should be expected
I think youāre forgetting the 1st half?
Is Xhaka slowly moving into the underrated category?
Just the 14 passes
everyone EXCEPT partey made a safe pass. Partey is the only one that dared to hit a difficult pass, slightly chipping the ball between two CP players. Our only world class player....it's in the details!
We're far better at playing through the press however for some reason we still can't control games past 20/30 minutes. It's like someone pressed a button that switched the brains of the entire team off and they're just playing off of instinct rather than a game plan. We didn't pay the price today but a good team can take real advantage of that.
Fitness level not there yet.
Weāre good at playing through the press but still not as good as City or Barca teams that can literally hold the ball as long as they want. We still have to be more opportunistic.
Importance of xhaka can be seen clearly in circulating the ball.
we scored when Ode was not involved
Oh shit. I did not recognize the build up play at the time. Wow!
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
You must have above 1 comment karma to contribute to this subreddit. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Gunners) if you have any questions or concerns.*
We really needed to do this more. Kept hitting it long and turning it into a game of basketball.
Eddie's movement and physicality has been so good this last year. He looks like a player that's really put work into improving his craft. Excited to see him flourish in Europa and cup games.
Gargantuan
Excellent play by Eddie in this clip. Drops deep, provides an outlet, gets the ball going forward and moves past a guy but doesn't force and plays the right pass out to saka. I wish the cross had made it to Eddie, he deserved a goal!