ajw10 Posted February 7, 2016 Author Share Posted February 7, 2016 He is now getting too easily found out vs decent players with pace. Probably why he didn't go straight back into the team after his suspension, as Wenger didn't want a repeat of Boxing Day. Why do you keep repeating this utter fallacy? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AFootballManager Posted February 7, 2016 Share Posted February 7, 2016 Why do you keep repeating this utter fallacy? This is MLG we are talking about. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kawee Posted February 8, 2016 Share Posted February 8, 2016 Can we expect Eleny or Coq to start against Leceister? It's very hard to predict Wenger right now. Flamini wasn't his awful self last game, but he didn't need to be good either. To be fair, mediocrity is probably all you can expect from your 3rd choice DM. Ox, the goal aside, had a better game than his latest bad run of form, but I still wasn't impressed. Ramsey had a bit of a return to form, by playing a simpler game. I was still a bit annoyed at some of his decision making in the final third, but in this kind of game, that's nitpicking. I thought he was our best player on the day. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SJ234 Posted February 8, 2016 Share Posted February 8, 2016 Why do you keep repeating this utter fallacy? I went to reply explaining why it is wrong but lost interest. Ramsey was excellent I thought apart from his two bad moments deep where he lost the ball 1) with a poorly thought out pass (not all his fault) 2) another he was robbed deep. It was the complete midfield display he can deliver. Defensively in particular he was very prevalent Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suggy33 Posted February 8, 2016 Share Posted February 8, 2016 I'm pleased Ox scored. Hopefully it will really boost his confidence. First league goal in 16 months. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SJ234 Posted February 8, 2016 Share Posted February 8, 2016 Yeah I thought that was big. He had a reasonably good game I thought. I think he is a much better balance option than Campbell Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Le God Posted February 8, 2016 Share Posted February 8, 2016 Why do you keep repeating this utter fallacy? I went to reply explaining why it is wrong but lost interest. Were you going to provide evidence he beats Bellerin in speed & acceleration tests and doesn't have the manoeuvrability of an oil tanker? I'm not denying he is a good player, just that he struggles when up against a fast player who plays on the shoulder of the last defender. I don't think its odd to think that if a through ball is played and Mertesacker is in a race with a striker of decent pace that he'll lose out (his recent sending off highlighted his struggles with pace). A good holding midfielder isn't going to aid him if he is in a race with a quick striker playing on his shoulder looking for through balls, the holding midfielder wouldn't be near him at the time in order to help. I don't think I'm exactly going out on a limb here, or rose tinted just because it was Mane and Long. You may not respect Jamie Redknapp as a football "expert", but at least he appears to agree with me... "Arsene Wenger has a big decision to make. That’s two clean sheets on the bounce without Per Mertesacker. He may be a leader, a World Cup winner and a big presence in the Arsenal defence, but on Sunday, they play Leicester. "Mertesacker is experienced but one thing he is not is quick. When Arsenal travelled to Leicester they won 5-2, but the big German had a nightmare dealing with the raw speed of Jamie Vardy." If this weekend Arsenal use their full backs pressed high up the pitch and leave themselves exposed to counter attacks and one-on-ones between Mertesacker and Vardy then they'd potentially be asking for trouble and playing into Leicester's hands. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted February 8, 2016 Share Posted February 8, 2016 Leicester absolutely must win. Anything but a win and we've no chance of winning the league. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kawee Posted February 8, 2016 Share Posted February 8, 2016 Leicester absolutely must win. Anything but a win and we've no chance of winning the league. Stop saying it's a must win then! We all know we'd win if it wasn't a must win game Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArsenalFan7 Posted February 8, 2016 Share Posted February 8, 2016 Win against Leicester, loss against a half-arsed Man United & collapsing at home to Swansea sounds about right for me Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SJ234 Posted February 8, 2016 Share Posted February 8, 2016 Were you going to provide evidence he beats Bellerin in speed & acceleration tests and doesn't have the manoeuvrability of an oil tanker? I'm not denying he is a good player, just that he struggles when up against a fast player who plays on the shoulder of the last defender. I don't think its odd to think that if a through ball is played and Mertesacker is in a race with a striker of decent pace that he'll lose out (his recent sending off highlighted his struggles with pace). A good holding midfielder isn't going to aid him if he is in a race with a quick striker playing on his shoulder looking for through balls, the holding midfielder wouldn't be near him at the time in order to help.I don't think I'm exactly going out on a limb here, or rose tinted just because it was Mane and Long. You may not respect Jamie Redknapp as a football "expert", but at least he appears to agree with me... If this weekend Arsenal use their full backs pressed high up the pitch and leave themselves exposed to counter attacks and one-on-ones between Mertesacker and Vardy then they'd potentially be asking for trouble and playing into Leicester's hands. 'He gets found out against decent players with pace' just simply isn't true. Saying he isn't mobile isn't much of a point either as that is blindingly obvious. Quoting Jamie Redknapp is just dumb also as he is easily disregarded as not that bright as his analysis shows which seems to just consist of he isn't very quick. The problem with this is the presumption that because strikers can easily run past him that he therefore has an issue against them. Problem is a lot of strikers can run past top CBs such as say Pique or Hummels. They also much like Mertesacker don't have great problems with pacey strikers as they very rarely end up in a one v one foot race and the same applies to Mertesacker. If he does of course he loses out and is in trouble but you're exaggerating how much of an issue that is. CBs like that (which is most of them) have to position themselves to receive the ball which Mertesacker excels at. The red card is on Flamini because he has to close the Chelsea counter down but chooses not and from there the defence is always in trouble. Mertesacker is left exposed and makes positional error (as does Koscielny) he also shouldn't have dived in but this would have been a problem for many CBs. Mertesacker's bigger issue is he isn't comfortable in space which isn't down to a lack of pace per ser but more his lack of manoeuvrability you mentioned. However a striker running off him into the space behind is not really an issue as he positions himself to get the ball like all other CBs as most are slower than strikers who trouble them in behind. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
llama3 Posted February 8, 2016 Share Posted February 8, 2016 'He gets found out against decent players with pace' just simply isn't true. Saying he isn't mobile isn't much of a point either as that is blindingly obvious. Quoting Jamie Redknapp is just dumb also as he is easily disregarded as not that bright as his analysis shows which seems to just consist of he isn't very quick. The problem with this is the presumption that because strikers can easily run past him that he therefore has an issue against them. Problem is a lot of strikers can run past top CBs such as say Pique or Hummels. They also much like Mertesacker don't have great problems with pacey strikers as they very rarely end up in a one v one foot race and the same applies to Mertesacker. If he does of course he loses out and is in trouble but you're exaggerating how much of an issue that is. CBs like that (which is most of them) have to position themselves to receive the ball which Mertesacker excels at. The red card is on Flamini because he has to close the Chelsea counter down but chooses not and from there the defence is always in trouble. Mertesacker is left exposed and makes positional error (as does Koscielny) he also shouldn't have dived in but this would have been a problem for many CBs. Mertesacker's bigger issue is he isn't comfortable in space which isn't down to a lack of pace per ser but more his lack of manoeuvrability you mentioned. However a striker running off him into the space behind is not really an issue as he positions himself to get the ball like all other CBs as most are slower than strikers who trouble them in behind. I agree with your points. Mertesacker might not be quick, but as long as a team covers and protects him from being exposed in a foot race from a high line then there isn't a massive problem. Arsenal switch their pressing style around frequently, but generally we can sit off in a lower block and stay compact, and it seems to suit the whole team more that way. As long as a team is set up tactically well then it shouldn't expose a centre back's pace. Mertesacker's dismissal against Chelsea, was as your pointed out, down to Flamini not putting enough pressure on the ball with the line sat high up the pitch (and that's because Chelsea were on a counter, so the line was never going to be sat any deeper than that in that scenario). If you want to see a textbook example of lack of pressure on the ball and high line, watch Spurs' 2 goals against us at White Hart Lane in 2013 - Bale and Lennon both raced in behind a high line as nobody cut out the through-ball and it left them clean through. Whereas in a more compact shape we reduce the space they can play in, and crowd key areas of the pitch. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SJ234 Posted February 8, 2016 Share Posted February 8, 2016 Yeah exactly, I agree with everything you've said. Spurs game is a great example of everything you shouldn't do Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coulthard's Jaw Posted February 8, 2016 Share Posted February 8, 2016 I mean it's simplistic to say that Mertesacker's pace is always going to be count against him, and he has a lot of other attributes that have outweighed his negatives, but his mobility and pace clearly are issues and probably the reason he's been dropped. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
llama3 Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 I mean it's simplistic to say that Mertesacker's pace is always going to be count against him' date=' and he has a lot of other attributes that have outweighed his negatives, but his mobility and pace clearly are issues and probably the reason he's been dropped.[/quote']I think we are notably less organised with Gabriel and Koscielny, but we are proactive at least with good recovery pace. I expect that we should rotate depending on opponents. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coulthard's Jaw Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 Wenger tends not to rotate his centre backs that much though does it? Once he settles on a pair, they they to be in there for a decent amount of time unless injury/suspension intervenes. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajw10 Posted February 9, 2016 Author Share Posted February 9, 2016 Wenger seems to be doing what he did with Koscielny and Vermaelen, pairing his favourite type of defenders rather than his best partnership. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suggy33 Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 My only reservation with Gabriel is that he's very nervous on the ball and therefore seems to have poor distribution. I think Kos started in a similar way though so he'll get over that. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChampManFan2K16 Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 He seems very rushed even when he has time at the moment, and he can be a little lackadaisical in a physical battle. Also quite poor in holding a line for offside which is something Koscielny struggles with too. I like his aggression, speed and his tackling is quite good. Think he has the makings of starter for us but he's not quite polished enough yet. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kawee Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 It probably has a lot to do with confidence as well. If he was getting a run of games, and we were somehow keeping a few cleansheets, I think we'd see a much better version. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SJ234 Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 Wenger seems to be doing what he did with Koscielny and Vermaelen, pairing his favourite type of defenders rather than his best partnership. tbf at one point they were the best as Mertesacker struggled when he first came Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajw10 Posted February 9, 2016 Author Share Posted February 9, 2016 tbf at one point they were the best as Mertesacker struggled when he first came I had 12/13 in mind. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SJ234 Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 Yeah it was woeful then Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
llama3 Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 I thought Gabriel and Koscielny looked surprisingly well balanced in some of their previous games. But this last few games have looked a bit more rusty. That said, a lot of Sunday's defending will be pace, on the turn, and in 1 on 1's, so I think Gabriel is a better choice for Sunday. That said, I would be playing Mertesacker against a United side that generally lacks pace and where organisation is more essential. It should be a case of pick the right player really, but I have been expecting Gabriel to displace Mertesacker at somepoint. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chr1s Lawson Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 Found it interesting that the Liverpool owners are listening to their fans with regards to ticket prices! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajw10 Posted February 10, 2016 Author Share Posted February 10, 2016 I thought Gabriel and Koscielny looked surprisingly well balanced in some of their previous games. But this last few games have looked a bit more rusty. That said, a lot of Sunday's defending will be pace, on the turn, and in 1 on 1's, so I think Gabriel is a better choice for Sunday. That said, I would be playing Mertesacker against a United side that generally lacks pace and where organisation is more essential.It should be a case of pick the right player really, but I have been expecting Gabriel to displace Mertesacker at somepoint. We will need to be able to launch counter attacks on Sunday too, which is difficult with Gabriel, Kos and Coq/Flam Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kawee Posted February 11, 2016 Share Posted February 11, 2016 We will need to be able to launch counter attacks on Sunday too, which is difficult with Gabriel, Kos and Coq/Flam Kos has been doing a bit of Vermaelen lately, by taking the ball forward himself. I think having Coq over Flamini will also be an improvement. Isn't Eleny also suppose to be someone who can move the ball around quite well? I'm not too sure how many counter-attacks we will get though. Against Man City, Leicester sat deep, and did the counter-attacking. They had like 40% possession didn't they? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
llama3 Posted February 14, 2016 Share Posted February 14, 2016 I feel like we're going to get a result today. Might feel very different when we actually kick off though. Even a draw isn't TOO bad. I know it's not ideal and it'll be an opportunity lost - but 5 points behind vs 8 behind is a major difference with 12 games left. I like the idea of 2 though. I feel like we need a City win today - Spurs have too much momentum. It needs halting. Preferably a 22 man brawl and points deduction... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kawee Posted February 14, 2016 Share Posted February 14, 2016 I feel like we're going to get a result today. Might feel very different when we actually kick off though. Even a draw isn't TOO bad. I know it's not ideal and it'll be an opportunity lost - but 5 points behind vs 8 behind is a major difference with 12 games left. I like the idea of 2 though. I feel like we need a City win today - Spurs have too much momentum. It needs halting. Preferably a 22 man brawl and points deduction... Agreed. We should never wish injuries on opponents, but I can get behind 22 red cards Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coulthard's Jaw Posted February 14, 2016 Share Posted February 14, 2016 Don't want City to win, a draw ideal result in that game. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AFootballManager Posted February 14, 2016 Share Posted February 14, 2016 I will actually feel more confident in this game if we don't actually play Flamini. I'm interested how Arsene will approach this one as to if he will go on the counter attack or play possession football. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coulthard's Jaw Posted February 14, 2016 Share Posted February 14, 2016 Won't be our choice, Leicester will allow us to have lots of possession. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ayub95 Posted February 14, 2016 Share Posted February 14, 2016 Has to be Ramsey and Coquelin. I'd be amazed if it wasn't. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AFootballManager Posted February 14, 2016 Share Posted February 14, 2016 No Flamini... am I dreaming? What happened to Gabriel? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bliss Seeker Posted February 14, 2016 Share Posted February 14, 2016 Welbeck on the bench. Yes, love a bit of the Welbeck. Does he still have a high top? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveUK Posted February 14, 2016 Share Posted February 14, 2016 Won't be too shocked if we lose this, last 8 games with Atkinson as ref we have lost 7, won 1. Some nice defending by Morgan prior to the penalty Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveUK Posted February 14, 2016 Share Posted February 14, 2016 Koscielny off for Chambers, apparently picked up a dead leg, might of been the one Monreal left laying around... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kawee Posted February 14, 2016 Share Posted February 14, 2016 If Welbeck gets injured again, but we still win the league, it'd still be 16m well spent! WOW WOW WOW Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
H.O.V.I Posted February 14, 2016 Share Posted February 14, 2016 Dat guy great win, back in it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
llama3 Posted February 14, 2016 Share Posted February 14, 2016 If Welbeck gets injured again, but we still win the league, it'd still be 16m well spent!WOW WOW WOW Just amazing. Delighted, just absolutely delighted! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chr1s Lawson Posted February 14, 2016 Share Posted February 14, 2016 Good turnaround we sure made it difficult with our finishing at times. Great return for Welbeck Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ayub95 Posted February 14, 2016 Share Posted February 14, 2016 Welbeck to be our Ljungberg in the run-in now. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajw10 Posted February 14, 2016 Author Share Posted February 14, 2016 Welbeck >>>>>> Cal Chambers should be starting games too Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted February 14, 2016 Share Posted February 14, 2016 Unbelievable. We were awful today and my word we made hard work of it but got the result and that's all that matters at end of the day. Hard to see us being able to beat the other sides we need to beat away from home if we play like that though. Hopefully this can be a huge boost to their confidence and spur us on. Im still convinced we'll bottle the title but we'll never have a better chance to win it than this year. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted February 14, 2016 Share Posted February 14, 2016 Oh and Petr Cech. Next level. As much praise as he's gotten this season I think he's still been really underrated. The amount of games he's kept us in crazy. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajw10 Posted February 14, 2016 Author Share Posted February 14, 2016 Unbelievable. We were awful today and my word we made hard work of it but got the result and that's all that matters at end of the day. Hard to see us being able to beat the other sides we need to beat away from home if we play like that though. Hopefully this can be a huge boost to their confidence and spur us on. Im still convinced we'll bottle the title but we'll never have a better chance to win it than this year. Our finishing was awful but we were miles better than Leicester today. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ayub95 Posted February 14, 2016 Share Posted February 14, 2016 After the red card don't think I've seen us play so well. We actually sustained the pressure we put on them for 40+ minutes. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AFootballManager Posted February 14, 2016 Share Posted February 14, 2016 Unbelievable. We were awful today and my word we made hard work of it but got the result and that's all that matters at end of the day. . We was much better in the second half. It was pretty much all us minus the finishing. This win was huge and I expect the team to build off this. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
llama3 Posted February 14, 2016 Share Posted February 14, 2016 Our finishing was awful but we were miles better than Leicester today. After the red card don't think I've seen us play so well. We actually sustained the pressure we put on them for 40+ minutes. Absolutely. Thought our all round play was fantastic. Varied the pace, used width, created different type of chances - and both subs scores the goals. Really great moment for Welbeck. Will do Walcott the power of good too! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candre168 Posted February 14, 2016 Share Posted February 14, 2016 Not shouted at the TV like that for quite some time. I am delighted with the win, but we should have finished it off earlier. Hopefully this gives us some confidence for a very tough run of fixtures. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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