30 Nov 2020 08:52:55
Realistically who in the current squad is good another to push the team back into the top 4 (or even 6!) ?
Leno
Gabriel Tierny
Partey Saka
Auba
AMN possibly at right back. Our rebuild is a huge task and I'm not sure the club have the right people involved to do it. The Pepe, Willian and Saliba transfers prove that.
Also Ozil- I understand that he doesn't start because he doesn't buy into Arteta's defensive tactics but surely you'd have him on the bench to bring on when your chasing a game and trying to unlock a defence!
The club is an embarrassment at the moment.
30 Nov 2020 09:00:48
We are currently relying on Willock as our AM to create our chances, which is not really fair on him currently. Ozil would be a much better choice, especially now with Partley and Elneny supplying much better cover than when Ozil last played.
30 Nov 2020 09:07:35
The players you have not listed may not be good enough for the top 4 GH, but they have all been in an Arsenal team that has played much better football than current, and look around the Premiership to see what you can still achieve without a team of superstars. I am sure most Arsenal fans would struggle to find many Southampton players worthy of our magnificent club, and yet there they are looking down at us, playing pretty decent football. They also have that new wondersigning called Walcott, perhaps they may accept a swap, we can send them Pepe and they send us Walcott😂.
30 Nov 2020 09:20:31
On current form - Saka, Gabriel and Tierney.
30 Nov 2020 09:34:23
I'd take that swap! Haha.
30 Nov 2020 09:54:44
In my opinion having been a season ticket holder for almost 25 years;
Leno - Just Ok, should have sold him and kept Martinez though
Tierney - Really like the lad and is a must keep
Luiz/ Mustafi/ Holding/ Sokratis - None of them good enough for a club that want to be mixing it at the top
Gabriel - Early days but looks pretty good to me
Bellerin - Overrated and would like a replacement
Saka - We shouldn't be putting all our hopes on him, real potential but shouldn't be playing every minute of every game yet
Ceballos - Don't see what he offers, doesn't defend well enough, doesn't create either
Xhaka - Don't understand the fascination why managers seem to pick him.
Ozil - On the fence tbh, would like to see him in the team just creating in the hole between midfield and attack with Partey protecting behind
Partey - Very early days but you can see his quality already
Elneny - Very average
Willock - I just don't see what others seem to. Very average for me as well
Maitland-Niles - Potential there. Not a starter yet for me but something there to work with
Lacazette - Really liked him when he joined. Not sure what has happened to him but looks low on confidence.
Aubameyang - Looks disinterested at times. If we could get him and Ozil playing and firing in the same team and just concentrate on creating and putting away chances we could improve overnight
Willian - Not sure what he offers. Mistake buy
Martinelli - Really excited about him. He has something about him for sure
Pepe - Why oh why didn't we get Zaha for less when we could have?
Nelson - Not good enough, can't cross to save his life
Nketiah - Maybe a squad player at best
I don't want to be negative, these are just my thoughts on our players. We need to sell/ replace 70-80% of our team I think. We need to stop offering HUGE contracts to players nearing the end of their shelf life in a desperate bid to convince them to stay with us. We are The Arsenal, you should be desperate to play for us! Unfortunately, we aren't the club we were 15-20 years ago.
30 Nov 2020 13:47:15
Nice post Gooner Jim. I happen to concur with most of your players analyses - appreciate that it's all subjective and what do I know - but I am beginning to question some of Arteta's decisions.
Rome and a day and all that but he is increasingly looking unlike the motivational, inspirational leader we desperately need, sadly.