In what universe is Chambers a better full back than Cedric, or even the uninspiring Bellerin. Probably in a galaxy where sideways/backward passing and poor position sense are the hallmarks of a full back.
Saka was deployed as an emergency left back for most of last season and excelled in the role, getting forward to join attack and decent recovery pace and stamina to get back to defensive duties. Surely he would be a better option to cover for Tierney allowing Xhaka to return to partner Partey in midfield with the attendant bonus of not hurting one’s eyes watching the clown Ceballos pretending to be a footballer.
How does a Holding, sixth choice CB in the pecking order( in my opinion behind Saliba and Mavropanis though both are on loan) captain the team in a crucial European semi- final game.
Then the denouement. Opting for and experimenting a false 9 system, with a fit, chomping at the bits Martinelli wasting on the bench.
Oh the folly of trying to be a Pep without the playing personnel and man management skills of the balding tactician.
Arteta on the brink.
posted on 2/5/21
Arteta is a strange one, almost everything he's done as a manager has been poor. At best he improved the defence but as he blunted the attack so badly the overall effect is still a negative.
When he was first appointed an awful lot of pundits made entirely baseless assumptions about his quality as a manager seemingly due to association with Pep. This was then compounded by an FA Cup win that, while a great coup, flew in the face of the overall progression of his team.
It appears that the pundits and many fans who shot their Arteta loads very prematurely are now overly hesitant to admit they were wrong. I can't think of another manager across the whole league that receives such lenient press coverage given how badly he's doing.
posted on 3/5/21
comment by Sharteta (U19684)
posted 1 day, 11 hours ago
Arteta is a strange one, almost everything he's done as a manager has been poor. At best he improved the defence but as he blunted the attack so badly the overall effect is still a negative.
When he was first appointed an awful lot of pundits made entirely baseless assumptions about his quality as a manager seemingly due to association with Pep. This was then compounded by an FA Cup win that, while a great coup, flew in the face of the overall progression of his team.
It appears that the pundits and many fans who shot their Arteta loads very prematurely are now overly hesitant to admit they were wrong. I can't think of another manager across the whole league that receives such lenient press coverage given how badly he's doing.
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Two things you havent considered.
First is that Arteta said he would not change tactics in the middle of the season and would wait until the summer break, so that was not his tactics but just keeping the team running for a few months. What we are seeing now is far what he has implemented.
Second is the forced change of playing Emi. This is not a discussion about who is better overall (just to clarify). Its about Emi is a better organiser of the defence which is one part of a gk's job. That influence to get the defence performing better and his distribution helping launch attacks made a small but crucial difference imo.
But agree, Arteta is being given an easy ride.