For all the apparent strength and depth in the team we don't have no one capable to replace Cazorla. I said the other day that if he gets injured, our midfield becomes very average. For all of Ozil goals this season his passing hasn't been very good but bar him and Santi, no other player has any sort of creative bone in them.
Seriously what was the point of Elneny. Absolutely useless player
And for all the mugs that say we don't need Giroud, just have a close look at this game.
I can't remember how many crosses or corners we had but typically we provided no threat whatsoever with them.
This system got lucky against burnley but was showed up today and to be honest, we are lucky to get a point.
P.S When will wenger realise that Nacho needs to be dropped
Santi Cazorla
posted on 22/10/16
comment by Sheriff John Brown - bring back David Dein (U7482)
posted 8 minutes ago
I didmt mention after the Ludogorets game that due to our goal scoring form I suspect we will now face a lot of teams that will sit back including spurs
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You're delusional if you think Spurs will sit back against us.
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ok Im delusional and I apologise for for offending you as a spurs fan. now fack off
posted on 22/10/16
Taxidriver is just an embarrassing cringeworthy fool
posted on 22/10/16
comment by taxidriver (U21039)
posted 7 minutes ago
comment by DaStuDogg (U9291)
posted 51 seconds ago
I think, as you say, the system is always likely to struggle against teams that organise themselves defensively.
The 3 most convincing victories we've had with this system were against Chelsea, Basel and Ludogrets - all of whom are presumably used to controlling most games they played, which explains why they were all so willing to push high up the pitch (despite the fact none of them seemed to press the ball at all).
This meant it was easy for Walcott, Sanchez, and co to pick them apart and exploit the space in-behind.
On the flip-side, we really struggled against the deeper-lying and more organised teams like Southampton and Burnley, and whilst we've been able to snatch last minute victories in these games up to now, we came unstuck today.
As good as Cazorla is, I'm not sure he would have necessarily made the difference today. He would have given us more going forward, but we would have been left even more exposed to the pace of Traore when we lost possession (to his credit, Elneny did get a few important tackles and interceptions today).
He might have been able to play that killer ball, but I really don't like how we try and force the ball through the eye of a needle when we're against a solid defensive block.
It used to be repeated ad nauseam, but we really do need a plan B. Some sort of width and aerial presence in these kind of games could go a long way.
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This!
couldnt have said it better.Breaking down organised defences is a problem we share with all the contenders but as opposition fans will tell you, we generally beat the weak teams especially away from home.
I didmt mention after the Ludogorets game that due to our goal scoring form I suspect we will now face a lot of teams that will sit back including spurs and united in a couple of weeks. We are really good against open teams.
We have at least improved against the top teams which is a small consolation.This was a game we badly needed Xhaka which wont please Wenger.
All contenders struggle to break down organised teams
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Yeah, I think Xhaka would have been better than Elneny today - particularly if he was given the freedom to shoot from range, as this could have drawn the Boro defence out a bit to try and close him down.
I agree that everyone struggles against defensive organisation, but our narrow play, lack of height, and general lack of directness (in terms of dribblers who can consistently go past their man and help drag other defenders out of position) makes us particularly susceptible to being frustrated in these sort of games, IMO.
We have looked better this season, as you say, but it's still a concern of mine tbh - particularly considering how close it was against Southampton, Burnley, and now Middlesbrough.
I don't think Spurs will play deep, but I do fear we will struggle. Against teams that press as well as Tottenham, I think a good out-ball is needed. Sanchez has great acceleration, but I don't really see him consistently stripping Toby (not even going to bother trying to spell it) and Vertonghen for pace on the channel balls, nor is he going to bully them in the air. And Wanyama/Dier and Dembele are usually very organised at shielding the centre of the pitch, which would limit his ability to easily drop off and receive the ball to feet in space.
We could leave Walcott high up the pitch, but it might be quite risky considering how advanced Rose likes to get down the left.
Wouldn't mind seeing Perez come into the side in that game to give us a more old-fashioned, orthodox striker.
posted on 22/10/16
https://mobile.twitter.com/gunnerblog/status/789868613708775425
Ffs
posted on 22/10/16
comment by Tu Meke Takuma. (U3732)
posted 2 minutes ago
https://mobile.twitter.com/gunnerblog/status/789868613708775425
Ffs
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Ah Christ. It begins
posted on 22/10/16
comment by Santi Cazorla (U18355)
posted 7 minutes ago
Taxidriver is just an embarrassing cringeworthy fool
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posted on 22/10/16
Just read the article properly.
What the hell is the op's problem with elneny? He's our 5th/6th choice midfielder, were not getting anyone better than him for that position.
posted on 22/10/16
Ya Elneny got a load of abuse on twitter, too. Dunno what people are expecting. He's a decent squad player, nothing more
posted on 22/10/16
What does Elneny do?
He doesn't break up play, doesn't tackle, plays everything sideways.
Yes he has s good engine but that's it
posted on 22/10/16
he's an upgrade on flamini, don't know what the fack people are expecting from a 5th choice cm