Aussie_gunner123
Established Member
Country: Australia
Probably can play both. He's got a good shot on him certainly.I could've sworn he's a DM.
Probably can play both. He's got a good shot on him certainly.I could've sworn he's a DM.
I could've sworn he's a DM.
Oh, okay. I just thought he was a DM because that's where I've seen him play.He has the skillset to do both, but because of his skin colour people tend to think of him as a DM.
He's an out & out CM & those players are capable of doing all positions. Some are only one in particular.He has the skillset to do both, but because of his skin colour people tend to think of him as a DM.
I know you like Saka as a left 8, and I know he can play there, but why can't he play at LW? Like what's wrong with that. That's his preferred position after all. Maybe he can move a bit further back later on in his career, but the kid is 18, just let him run and dribble at people. That seems like the simpler and more natural thing to do.
If he plays left 8, he will be more involved and can go lw, ahead of the centre forward, he can even go on the right. I also like how it pushes Tierney forward. I just like what Saka gives us there and we can play Auba left and buy a proper Cf.
I think we can take it he wants to stay with usAre we interested in signing him permanently anyone know also if he is interested in joining permanently? Xhaka back to his best, Ceballos in this form consistently & if Partey joins would be a good central midfield rotation or in a 3.
I get that, I get how it works and everything. I'm just making the case for a bit of tactical simplicity. Auba at CF, Saka at LW, Pepe at RW, and three actual midfielders behind, instead of hoping Saka can be this midfielder/winger/creative hub hybrid, which he might be, but he's still 18 for Christ sake.
Like get Ceballos back in on loan and buy Fabian Ruiz. Bish bash bosh, you've got your no. 8's in a 4-3-3, and you play either Xhaka or Torreira as a no. 6. It's simple, all the parts fit neatly.
New league, new country, need time to adjust, 3 different managers, injuries, he’s been thrown into the deep end really.Hej has has 4 performances in a year, not Good enough
Auba at cf doesn't make sense to me. He just doesn't have the ball retention and it gets him into aerial duels, back to goal hold up play that you just dont want him involved in. Off the left, he ghosts in, he makes runs. His defensive work is closing down and tracking back. That's all he does. He isn't the focal point.
Give him a cf who can dominate in the air and link play, it adds so much to our game. Imagine Saka, Tierney, Soares and Pepe crossing to that cf with Auba lurking in the box. If you watch our games closely. Auba is constantly making really good runs and not being found. He needs the ball early, we dont have the players to do that.
I hope we can loan him again with maybe an obligation to buy if he hits a certain amount of games or something?
Talent has been clear from the get go, with PL imports you gauge their ceiling from their first season and hope they can become more consistent in future ones. Only issue is that someone like Partey still isn't enough legs to cover him and Xhaka.
But what if we built a midfield which could make those passes to him?
I get what you're saying about aerial duals and hold-up play and everything, but is that the only interpretation of the CF role? I mean Auba played 5 seasons at Dortmund and scored like 140 goals, and wasn't he playing at CF for most of that time?
I really don't know the first thing about tactics, but it just seems to me that Tierney and Saka are players you want on the left flank, so put them on the left flank. Auba is your striker, so put him at striker. Why are we overcomplicating this.
If Saka is LCM in a 4-3-3 he's still gonna veer mostly to the left, so he's not really a central midfielder, and you lose the ability to control games with possession.
Fabian Ruiz - Xhaka - Ceballos
Pepe ---- Auba ----- Saka
Partey - Xhaka - Saka
Pepe --- CF --- Auba
Personally I prefer the first option.
So I just listened to the latest arsenal vision podcast and @clivepafc, who is very insightful, came up with the theory that coaching is moving in a direction where teams are not interested in playing through the centre of the pitch as they are fearful of transition (notice how we build up down the sides).
So we know Arteta likes the 5 up and 5 back irrespective of the formation he plays, the key is the midfield two. Therefore the traits of the midfielders need to be able to get the ball to the front 5, via passing or running.
Is it a coincidence we are linked to Koopmeiners and Roca? Two players who are better on the ball than Xhaka and more adventurous in their passing. Partey is someone who can run out of pressure. Ceballos is somewhere between, but also lacks altheticsim.
So maybe Arteta's ideal midfield will be a double pivot instead of a 3 man midfield with the right back inverted allowing the left back to push forward.
It's anyone's guess at this point, but getting the ball to the attackers is one problem and then having the right balance of forwards is another.
Nobody does, you're right.Who has enough legs? Partey has a lot of legs tbf to him, probably the only player with more legs is Kante, no?
Nobody does, you're right.
I think we'd get away with it in most games but Ceballos and Xhaka are so one paced that our midfield will always average out to being quite slow.
Agree. I don't even think he was particularly amazing against Leicester relative to the ceiling he has displayed.If Ceballos could play every game like he did against Leicester I'd happily have him in a midfield with Partey. It might not beat City's midfield but it's probably enough to dominate all the teams below us.
New league, new country, need time to adjust, 3 different managers, injuries, he’s been thrown into the deep end really.
Getting into his groove now the waters are calmer and he’s found his feet in the team with Arteta.
Next season he should be doing bits from the get go.