Mark Tobias
Mr. Agreeable
For senior he has though..Saka has not played more games as LB than Left forward.
For senior he has though..Saka has not played more games as LB than Left forward.
He means for England where hes predominantly been played as a LB. Hes pretty much a winger at this point. OP also added "in the games I've watched" meaning hes seen most of his 90 min performances for England before his Arsenal debut.Saka has played more games as a left back for us? What? Do you mean for the youth team/U23s? In the first team he's been solely a left winger, which is obviously where he's best.
For senior he has though..
I completely misread that. My apologies. You are quite right. No idea why I thought you had claimed the opposite.I can't remember a game where he played as left back for seniors. Can you name a game?
Transfer markt also has him playing 8 times as left forward and 2 times as left winger.
https://www.transfermarkt.com/bukayo-saka/leistungsdaten/spieler/433177
I meant in the youth teams . He played LB for England from u16 , u17, u18. Though in the Euro u17, he was constantly rotated in between the two positions. Only recently after his first team exploits has he been moved to LW permanently at u19 level. He's first u18 season while still a school boy he played almost 40-60 at LB -LW and it was the same case at u16 level. He's only been permanently stationed at LW once he brokethrough at u23 level. My point was , he's played as a defender a lot in his youth but at first team level it is his defending that has come under criticism despite the fact he's not played as one in first team level. It just shows how hard the transition is from youth to first team. Reiss, on the other hand had never played in defence before but was intergrated as a RWB and expected to perform as he did in the youth teams. This was when he was tearing up the u23 level . IMO this really damaged his confidence. He didn't get the chance to continue what he was doing at youth level. Moving from u23 to first team is hard enough as an attacker . As a defender its even harder.Saka has played more games as a left back for us? What? Do you mean for the youth team/U23s? In the first team he's been solely a left winger, which is obviously where he's best.
I meant in the youth teams . He played LB for England from u16 , u17, u18. Though in the Euro u17, he was constantly rotated in between the two positions. Only recently after his first team exploits has he been moved to LW permanently at u19 level. He's first u18 season while still a school boy he played almost 40-60 at LB -LW and it was the same case at u16 level. He's only been permanently stationed at LW once he brokethrough at u23 level. My point was , he's played as a defender a lot in his youth but at first team level it is his defending that has come under criticism despite the fact he's not played as one in first team level. It just shows how hard the transition is from youth to first team. Reiss, on the other hand had never played in defence before but was intergrated as a RWB and expected to perform as he did in the youth teams. This was when he was tearing up the u23 level . IMO this really damaged his confidence. He didn't get the chance to continue what he was doing at youth level. Moving from u23 to first team is hard enough as an attacker . As a defender its even harder.
Isn't it precisely what I've said. I specifically mentioned his first season while still a school boy he still played a few games at LB and across England youth teams since u16 level he's been used there . Anyway I prefer him as a winger and the whole point of my post is getting lost in the Saka argument. The point was people criticize his "lack of defending " and this is a guy who has played regularly as a defender . Reiss was played as a wingback despite the fact he's never played there before which made him lose a lot of confidence . He then went on a loan where he didn't play a lot despite his early season scoring . He's never really got consistent game time in senior football for him to showcase his talentHe played majority of his games with u18 as a left forward. Same with u23.
Kept it simple and didnt overthink anything. He needs games like that to build on. Glad he looked good even though his run out was very short. Showed great technical security.I assume this would probably be overlooked but while it was short i think he came on the pitch with discipline, didn't try to take big chances potentially leaving us exposed. Basically just came on and provided the calmness we needed.
Good job Nelson, more of that and you are knocking on the XI door.
Needs to be a bit braver. Feel the fear and do it anyway. Hes doing diligent stuff at times but when it calls for him to he adventurous he is backing away.I have read that he and Sancho were considered similar prospects, just hope Reiss can now kick on and hopefully under new management really show what he can do
Needs to be a bit braver. Feel the fear and do it anyway. Hes doing diligent stuff at times but when it calls for him to he adventurous he is backing away.
Leaving is a possibility here. He needs to back himself more otherwise this narrative will continue and he wont get more chances to perform and show his talent. I dont think hes been bad either, but could be better. Gnabry was similarly timid at first so it's not over.
There's often a bit of revisionism on Gnabry's time at Arsenal - he was always hugely promising but his development was far from linear. His first 5-10 games or so he was very cautious at times, and didn't play very adventurously. That said, there was generally more positiveness towards Gnabry at that time, so it's not often talked about.Agree on Gnabry , man kept it simple and scored when given the oppurtunity, a few goals for Nelson will allow him to develop in peace .
Freddie's first interview at Leicester he went out of his way to declare Nelson the future of Arsenal football Club - his words .
That's one aspect of his game today that I really didn't like. His runs and movement was very poor - was too narrow at times and didn't create enough space with his movement. Wasn't bad on the ball but those intangibles were not there today. He started well IMO but faded over the course of the game - I was surprised he had 90 mins today, but maybe Freddie wanted to throw him a bone.This boy has close ball control. I know that he can shoot. But the application is not there most of the time. No runs in behind. Is he happy being a sub then. He should show more fight.