Our slow and lethargic football

[tcahill]

Xhaka-Torreira is the only midfield pairing that has worked since Coq-Cazorla. Anything else has looked weak and unbalanced.

 

[BigPoppaPump]

Our football is slow and lethargic because of Xhaka. Also we haven’t had a proper set of fullbacks in years, we had to play Saka and AMN in those positions ffs.

Also our team is slow af, we got fatties like Lacazette leading the line ffs.

Ramsey wasn’t good enough to be an Arsenal legend, another case of Arsenal fans hyping an average player tbh.

 

[tcahill]

Our football is slow both with Xhaka and without him.

We also have plenty of quick players, they are just given very little space to operate because we're so poor in buildup and creativity.

 

[Oxeki]

It's been slow and lethargic since we left Highbury.

Our Football the first few years at the Emirates was better than anything played at Highbury imo

 

[Get These Hands]

Look at those games against Chelsea and Utd when Arteta first arrived. We pressed for 90 minutes and moved the ball around like a pinball. We can do it, so why aren't we? Why have we totally abandoned that style of play?

 

[Hunta]

Pretty sure I read it’s a tactic from Arteta that he learned from Pep. He wants our defenders to commit players and play around them, thus you see our bums just stand still for 2 mins before somebody comes close to them.

Difference is our players don’t have the skill to do it, so it ends up going back to Leno who lumps it to our striker who loses it.

 

[DUFFMAN]

Look at those games against Chelsea and Utd when Arteta first arrived. We pressed for 90 minutes and moved the ball around like a pinball. We can do it, so why aren't we? Why have we totally abandoned that style of play?

Exactly.

At least we looked like we had a plan then.

Pressing and doing little triangles and moves.

We had a plan and purpose.

Then he just abandoned it and now we look like we have no style or plan.

What football are we meant to be playing under him???

 

[Yousif Arsenal]

Because you got 4 midfielders who unable to carry the ball forward and a finished playmaker we have bad midfield it's the reason we heavily depend on Auba to make something from nothing.

That's why when you see us on counter we very slow to attack.

 

[9jagooner]

Arsenal player tested positive for Covid-19 ahead of restart against Man City, forcing three into quarantine

https://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/ars...of-restart-against-/93xzkhvsggsr1xae3n003r6of

Who do you think it was?

 

[Yousif Arsenal]

Pretty sure I read it’s a tactic from Arteta that he learned from Pep. He wants our defenders to commit players and play around them, thus you see our bums just stand still for 2 mins before somebody comes close to them.

Difference is our players don’t have the skill to do it, so it ends up going back to Leno who lumps it to our striker who loses it.

Ederson is better passer than most of our midfield you see that long pass to Mahrez for 2nd goal? Non of our mids can do it

 

[krackpot]

I agree with some of the more educated responses. We lack in only three things: Pace, Strength and Technique.

We used to have an abundance of technique and kinda sorta made up for the other two. I will put the people in brackets who we used to have.

Pace (Rosicky): We were never fast through the middle, but had ample pace on the wings to make it up. Xhaka is our best player in CM and he is very very veeeeery slow.

Nowadays we have Pepe who needs the ball to his feet, so pace is not a big things with him, and Auba on the left whose speed is easily mitigated.

AMN, Willock give me hope here.

Strength (Wilshere, Djaby): We have always been timid b!tches. Now we are small timid b!tches with Xhaka, Torreira and the like.

AMN, Willock give me hope here, again.

Technique (Caz, Özil, Wilshere, etc): Call me an idiot, but I miss Özil just for the joy of seeing someone who can control a quick ball. Or Caxorla/Wilshere who could spin/turn on the ball and turn defense into attack. Luiz is an exception but he is also an idiot. Ceballos is very slow in making his mind up

Now we don't have anyone. Mayyyyyyyyybe Willock or Nelson (if played as a 10).

Saka/Tierney/Bellerin/Lacazette are guys who we can work with and add to.

 

[Manberg]

The football tends to look better in convincing victories. I can count plenty of times we played slow and lethargic football under Wenger.

 

[shootxhakashoot]

This all goes back to wenger changing our style to "the arsenal way", which is really the barca way, shortly after the invincibles season. It worked with cesc in the team for a while asthetically but we won nothing. Now despite expensive signings to try and play this way we cant even string a few passes together as a team except sideways and backwards The whole philosophy is wrong for english football. It didnt work then 2006 onwards and it wont work now. Return to athletic and fast counter attacking and dumping of said losing philosophy (wengers philosphy) is long overdue but the club and a few misguided fans will cling onto it.
The club and their marketing put a lot of emphasis on all this actually and clearly see it as important and yet it has got us nowhere, its no coincidence weve been **** since the emirates move as this is when we dumped our winning English fusion style.
Ive seen precious little to suggest arteta will do things differently or better as he was balls deep in some of these gutless wenger teams but he has to be given time, patience and funding nonetheless as any else would make us even more of a joke club. The two however along with a new, real plan and identity are the only way we will see better performances.

 

[shootxhakashoot]

I agree with some of the more educated responses. We lack in only three things: Pace, Strength and Technique.

We used to have an abundance of technique and kinda sorta made up for the other two. I will put the people in brackets who we used to have.

Pace (Rosicky): We were never fast through the middle, but had ample pace on the wings to make it up. Xhaka is our best player in CM and he is very very veeeeery slow.

Nowadays we have Pepe who needs the ball to his feet, so pace is not a big things with him, and Auba on the left whose speed is easily mitigated.

AMN, Willock give me hope here.

Strength (Wilshere, Djaby): We have always been timid b!tches. Now we are small timid b!tches with Xhaka, Torreira and the like.

AMN, Willock give me hope here, again.

Technique (Caz, Özil, Wilshere, etc): Call me an idiot, but I miss Özil just for the joy of seeing someone who can control a quick ball. Or Caxorla/Wilshere who could spin/turn on the ball and turn defense into attack. Luiz is an exception but he is also an idiot. Ceballos is very slow in making his mind up

Now we don't have anyone. Mayyyyyyyyybe Willock or Nelson (if played as a 10).

Saka/Tierney/Bellerin/Lacazette are guys who we can work with and add to.

You have to go back to any time before 2006 to find those things all together as per my post. Wenger abandoned all that after the invincibles season and quickly took it all apart much to our detrement..The george graham teams of the late 80s early 90s had all those things as well and suceeded, we even won a european trophy mid ninetees a couple of years pre wenger, something he never managed. As for Wilshere/diaby, you would have to go much further back to find any strength in our midfield. The two of them were made of glass which suggests quite the opposite of strength but your point about the type of player we need now is right for me nonetheless

 

[GunnerShy]

We could probably play some more pleasing football with Saka and Özil in a midfield three.

But with Guendouzi at the base we'd offer absolutely nothing in terms of shielding.

AMN, Saka, Özil in a three would be interesting. Could also go wrong!

 

[shootxhakashoot]

We could probably play some more pleasing football with Saka and Özil in a midfield three.

But with Guendouzi at the base we'd offer absolutely nothing in terms of shielding.

AMN, Saka, Özil in a three would be interesting. Could also go wrong!

Feck it might as well go all out kamikaze football the way things are, thats a lot of responsibility on amn though as we will essentially have one man in midfield defensively and only two of the 3 who can tackle.
But hey if we go with Özil at least james ward prowse will show him how good a modern attacking midfielder can be.

 

[yybecause]

I actually think out problem is we are tryin to play to fast. Always trying those risky passes to break lanes, and we do it too often and too quick. Result usually being counter attack.
blows my mind sometimes why dont we just try to keep the ball for as long as something opens up, really opens up.
That's how you get there eventually, by playing it extra safe if needed, cause that helps both your attack and defense. Losing ball is never good, especially if team is already struggling.
just keep the ball, and whoever messes it. up, LET HIM HEAR THAT! no clapping for a nice try, those players are not u15 where they need to be clapped...at this level whoever makes a silly mistake needs to be shown that!

 

[GunnerShy]

I actually think out problem is we are tryin to play to fast. Always trying those risky passes to break lanes, and we do it too often and too quick. Result usually being counter attack.
blows my mind sometimes why dont we just try to keep the ball for as long as something opens up, really opens up.
That's how you get there eventually, by playing it extra safe if needed, cause that helps both your attack and defense. Losing ball is never good, especially if team is already struggling.
just keep the ball, and whoever messes it. up, LET HIM HEAR THAT! no clapping for a nice try, those players are not u15 where they need to be clapped...at this level whoever makes a silly mistake needs to be shown that!

I think many times this year our midfield just hasn't had the imagination or range of passing (Özil aside maybe) to play those final balls and defence splitting passes.
No doubt though, Arteta would like more avenues to goal. Leno may not be capable of it but they'd love Alison type passing. And good passing range at CB. Unfortunately we don't have any CBs who can defend solidly (Holding) and create by foot (Luiz). It's usually one or the other. Making us one dimensional.

Obviously we will need more from our fullbacks too but Tierney needs some time. Bellerin too. Bit he needs to step up on the ball.

 

[Batman]

The football tends to look better in convincing victories. I can count plenty of times we played slow and lethargic football under Wenger.

True but the difference under Wenger was that even on bad days where the football wasn't perfect, chances were still being created and let's be honest, there weren't all that many even in the worst of times. We always looked like we could score a couple under Wenger, it was just whether the clowns at the back would let more in. We've now got even worse clowns at the back and we don't look like putting the ball in the net for 3-4 matches on the bounce.

All of this is residue from Dein leaving by the way. Forget Vieira, forget Henry, forget Fabregas, JVP etc. We have never adequately replaced David Dein and certainly not with the agent gobbling chuckle brothers we've got in place now. What David Dein had was not just connections and ambition but vision. There were very few, if any round pegs being put in square holes under his watch. He and Wenger had an idea of what won trophies and every single year they picked up players who fit that mould. We used to have a squad so well put together that someone like Kanu or Wiltord could come off the bench and hold the fort for Henry for weeks at a time. We could deal with Bergkamp not traveling in Europe. Now we look hopeless without Granit F*cking Xhaka. It's tragic and hilarious at the same time.

Arteta is going to flame out unless an actual archetype for the players required in each position on the pitch is established and adhered to in the transfer market. That's how you create a squad with depth, quality and the ability to execute your vision. Will you get a few wrong? Of course. Even Dein did but he hit far more often than he missed and his vision in collaboration with Wenger's innovative(at the time) view of winning football created a juggernaut. Unfortunately, I don't think we have that kind of intelligence at the board level and that's before we even mention the Kroenkes or a budget. We could have City's cash and I don't know we'd look any better out there because there's no architect, just some idiots with mortar and poorly cut bricks.

 

[say yes]

To play quickly you need to be confident, and your side needs to be cohesive. You need to know where your teammates are going to be, and you need to trust they’ve got the skill (and confidence) to control anything you ping at them. I’d say those two attributes are actually more important that technical ability, although having a squad which is technically proficient is obviously hugely important too.

We’re lacking in all three of those at the moment. I trust Arteta to improve the first two on the training ground, but Raul and co desperately need to help him out in the transfer market. A top CM is a priority, and I think some more creativity out wide is essential too.