EPL – Arsenal vs QPR – 3:00pm - 31/12/11

[spartandre217]

If he continues on this form don't be surprised to see him at the euros

i wouldnt count on that.. he will never get into the Spain side..

Agreed-he doesn't have the pace and look at the competition-Xavi, Iniesta, Busquets, Alonso, Fabregas, anybody missing?

I guess you lot missed the rest of my post where I said he'd likely get in ahead of Alonso. Spain mostly play 3-5 midfielders at any point in time. You really don't think he could get a game if he continues to perform at this level or improve with Jack and improved players around him?


Nah mate. The only thing counting against Arteta right now is age and international/continental experience. He's a hybrid of Xavi and Xabi Alonso in that he keeps to game moving, doesn't lose possession easily, can play in tight spaces and has an eye for a pass albeit not nearly to Xavi's level. In addition he can play the ball from end to end but to a lower extent than Alonso.

He's a mixture of both but without the strength of either and Spain could definitely use that, especially if Xavi's Achilles problem flares up again.


In any case I'm damn glad we have him.

 

[Hunta]

Arteta isn't as good as any of those midfielders mentioned above, but we're talking about probably the best bunch of Spanish midfielders they've ever had. If he was English he'd have had 50 caps minimum by now.

 

[spartandre217]

He's not as good as Alonso at keeping possession? Ha!

 

[dreamLord]

Rosicky helped us get a foot on the ball, retain possession, he's a more technically-rounded and clever footballer than current Ramsey I think, problem with Rosicky is that he struggles to do decisive work in the final third, had an easy ball to play Robin in one-v-one but delayed it and tried a more difficult chipped pass(which would have ran though to Gerv but anyway, wrong choice) and he attacked another cross without much conviction.

Good analysis with the rest, but are you talking about the pass where RvP was offside? Rosicky was aiming for Gervinho anyway - you could see him gesturing to van Persie once the whistle had gone. And how could he have done better for Gerv's cross? It was an awkward height and he had to delay his run.

 

[bertlb2]

Arteta isn't as good as any of those midfielders mentioned above, but we're talking about probably the best bunch of Spanish midfielders they've ever had. If he was English he'd have had 50 caps minimum by now.

He is, you know...

 

[Mastadon]

He's a fine player but the fact is Spain has a generation of great midfielders playing for top teams and Arteta was a late bloomer playing overseas at a mid level club so he was never going to get a look in. Playing for Everton was probably not the best way to get selected for the Spanish national team midfield tbh. If he had been playing for Valencia or one of the non Madrid Real clubs he would have had a much higher chance of picking up a few caps.

 

[ibby]

I love Arteta but let's not be silly here.

 

[DiamondGooner]

Thank god for this result or to be more correct thank RVP.

I missed this game as my heads been up my arse all bloody day and night, in fact I don't even know what the hell I'm doing up at 10am?? lol

 

[Hunta]

He's not as good as Alonso at keeping possession? Ha!

Might be as good as Alonso at keeping possession, but he doesn't risk playing too many long balls, which Alonso is the best at in football, thats why.

 

[fabo]

Good analysis with the rest, but are you talking about the pass where RvP was offside? Rosicky was aiming for Gervinho anyway - you could see him gesturing to van Persie once the whistle had gone. And how could he have done better for Gerv's cross? It was an awkward height and he had to delay his run.

Yep that's the one, the pass to RVP was on for an age tbf and he had held his run long enough for Rosicky to roll him in. Robin eventually should have let it run through to Gerv who was coming from an onside position, but still, wrong choice from Rosicky there imo.

 

[mavelous]

He's not as good as Alonso at keeping possession? Ha!

Might be as good as Alonso at keeping possession, but he doesn't risk playing too many long balls, which Alonso is the best at in football, thats why.

Not a fair statement at all.

11-12
Alonso- 146-188 or 77.7% (15 apps)
Arteta - 90/102 or 88.2% (16 apps)

10-11
Alonso - 228/301 or 75.7% (34 apps)
Arteta - 144/158 or 91.1% (29 apps)

09-10
Alonso - 260/348 or 74.7% (34 apps)
Arteta - 85/93 or 91.4% (13 apps)

 

[fabo]

Alonso goes for more flash/Hollywood passes than Arteta. He's quality but I think he's a bit overrated, shouldn't be in the Spain side with Xavi there. Was very hit and miss in England aswell tbf, couple of good seasons, couple of average/mediocre ones.

 

[David Smith]

@ the irony when stats prove you wrong. I thought Alonso's was better but I always known Arteta to be good at recycling possession, that proves it.

 

[Hunta]

He's not as good as Alonso at keeping possession? Ha!

Might be as good as Alonso at keeping possession, but he doesn't risk playing too many long balls, which Alonso is the best at in football, thats why.

Not a fair statement at all.

11-12
Alonso- 146-188 or 77.7% (15 apps)
Arteta - 90/102 or 88.2% (16 apps)

10-11
Alonso - 228/301 or 75.7% (34 apps)
Arteta - 144/158 or 91.1% (29 apps)

09-10
Alonso - 260/348 or 74.7% (34 apps)
Arteta - 85/93 or 91.4% (13 apps)

Aahh, bring out the stats that mean **** all, you only need to watch one match with both players to see Alonsos passing is superior, that's not a dig at Arteta, but there's a reason Alonso was wanted by Real for the deep lying midfield role, rather than Arteta.

I hate stats like those, like those stats for Arshavin last year that people used to use to defend him, even though he was awful. Also, how do they choose what counts as a 'long' ball? Comical.

<a class="postlink" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCDzHQXzSNw" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCDzHQXzSNw</a>

Some of the passes in that video, Arteta wouldn't even attempt, that's my point.

 

[SomGooner]

Arteta isn't as good as any of those midfielders mentioned above, but we're talking about probably the best bunch of Spanish midfielders they've ever had. If he was English he'd have had 50 caps minimum by now.

He is, you know...

I wonder why we never made a move for Arteta instead of Barry and Carrick of this world as he would've improved our ball retention which has always proved to be our achilles heel? I think he would've jumped the chance and I'm sure he would've improved England chances instantly.

 

[Hunta]

Arteta isn't as good as any of those midfielders mentioned above, but we're talking about probably the best bunch of Spanish midfielders they've ever had. If he was English he'd have had 50 caps minimum by now.

He is, you know...

I wonder why we never made a move for Arteta instead of Barry and Carrick of this world as he would've improved our ball retention which has always proved to be our achilles heel? I think he would've jumped the chance and I'm sure he would've improved England chances instantly.

Nobody had the balls to call him up.

 

[mavelous]

btw, Xavi 120/128. that's 94% accuracy.

re: the comical aspect. How do you judge the best at football?

 

[Hunta]

It was aimed at those particular stats, with no evidence of how they come to that conclusion. At what point do they put it down as a long pass? 10 yards? 20 yards? 30 yards?

How do you judge the best at football?
Wut? You watch them and look at stats that matter (depending on position). :wink:

 

[dpt49]

It's difficult to judge a footballer on stats alone.

If you take Denilson, for example, he had great passing accuracy and completion but most of those passes were short to the player nearest to him, gaining no real advantage.
Whereas other players might have had less passes and accuracy but might have had more assists involving goals.

Although anyone watching Denilson would be well aware that he hardly contributed anything positive in any game

 

[eye4goal]

Might be as good as Alonso at keeping possession, but he doesn't risk playing too many long balls, which Alonso is the best at in football, thats why.

Alonso's long passing is more suited to the way Madrid play for me. Busquets is a better fit for Spain. Alonso's is vastly experienced though and his place in the squad is all but certain. Maybe Arteta will get a chance ahead of Cazorla or J Martinez