Marc Roca

[Baki]

By all accounts he looks like a good young player, but i'm not sure I see the logic in it. He's so similar to Xhaka, as is Koopmeiners who was also linked.

I'm not sure why we're linked to so many deep midfielders. We already have Xhaka, Torreira, Ceballos and Guendouzi who all do most of their stuff around the half-way line. They're not players who spend much time on the edges of the oppositions box.

Don't we need a midfielder who takes up positions a bit higher up the pitch?

Because we're selling Guendouzi and Ceballos is a Madrid player. Si we only have 2 CMs and Xhaka is not a DM.

 

[Dutch D]

Because we're selling Guendouzi and Ceballos is a Madrid player. Si we only have 2 CMs and Xhaka is not a DM.

Why would you want two of the Xhaka-type player. I don't even want one.

Thought he was pretty good because I thought unlike Xhaka he was more of a defensive midfielder, but his defensive stats are quite poor. Fewer slow unathletic midfielders please.

Shouldn't just go for him because he seems relatively cheap.

 

[The_Playmaker]

Why would you want two of the Xhaka-type player. I don't even want one.

Thought he was pretty good because I thought unlike Xhaka he was more of a defensive midfielder, but his defensive stats are quite poor. Fewer slow unathletic midfielders please.

Shouldn't just go for him because he seems relatively cheap.

There are so many players out there. So many in the south American market, tenacious, skillfull ball carrying midfielders that can pass. Why settle for a cheaper Xhaka.

It's the main reason we couldn't break vs Liverpool. Nobody to put their foot on the ball, beat the on rushing press and drive out. And the problem didn't change when Ceballos came on, because he is exactly the same.


1.04. We don't have a central midfielder that can do that. I've seen Willock do it before, but he isn't defensively good enough.

 

[Malky]

This lad is hardly the big upgrade we're needing in midfield, he looks bang average. Think I'd rather stick with what we already have than waste money on him.

 

[dashsnow17]

Whether it's this guy or someone else, we're obviously looking for new midfielders. It's funny cos Arteta publicly backs Xhaka and Ceballos as two players he really likes, he's always praising them. But at the same time he openly admits that the quality of the team isn't good enough.

So surely that means he doesn't actually think Xhaka and Ceballos are good enough? You can't simultaneously rate your midfielders and also think the quality of your team is miles behind where it needs to be.

 

[bingobob]

This lad is hardly the big upgrade we're needing in midfield, he looks bang average. Think I'd rather stick with what we already have than waste money on him.

he is highly rated tbf.

 

[Monstar-Gunn4r]

Whether it's this guy or someone else, we're obviously looking for new midfielders. It's funny cos Arteta publicly backs Xhaka and Ceballos as two players he really likes, he's always praising them. But at the same time he openly admits that the quality of the team isn't good enough.

So surely that means he doesn't actually think Xhaka and Ceballos are good enough? You can't simultaneously rate your midfielders and also think the quality of your team is miles behind where it needs to be.

I think he wants a 3 man midfield, feels like he can work with Xhaka and Ceballos. But even if we get Ceballos and either him or Xhaka get injured we have very little depth with quality.

 

[dashsnow17]

I think he wants a 3 man midfield, feels like he can work with Xhaka and Ceballos. But even if we get Ceballos and either him or Xhaka get injured we have very little depth with quality.

Hm yeah, but still it would be a bit strange to admit there's a huge gap in quality and then have the same players in your "improved" team. I wonder if Arteta is rating Xhaka for the moment because he feels it's the best option available to him, but in the long run he wants to upgrade.

 

[#254]

Whether it's this guy or someone else, we're obviously looking for new midfielders. It's funny cos Arteta publicly backs Xhaka and Ceballos as two players he really likes, he's always praising them. But at the same time he openly admits that the quality of the team isn't good enough.

So surely that means he doesn't actually think Xhaka and Ceballos are good enough? You can't simultaneously rate your midfielders and also think the quality of your team is miles behind where it needs to be.

I think he is happy with them for being the best they can be and doing what he wants of them. Still, he wants to play in a certain way if he had his way.

 

[TornadoTed]

He has to back his players publicly for now, we still have 4 or potentially 5 games left this season. We may also not be able to secure our transfer targets this Summer, we certainly won't be able to fix all the problems in one transfer window. Realistically Mikel will have to play players he maybe privately isn't that keen on next season too, no point burning bridges.

 

[Fewtch]

We already have Xhaka and I don’t think Arteta wants two left footers in midfield.

 

[Yousif Arsenal]

Marc Roca and Partey would be good partnership if we have attacking mid and not xhaka

 

[GoonerJeeves]

James Dean haircut. Potential there.

 

[lomekian]

Whether it's this guy or someone else, we're obviously looking for new midfielders. It's funny cos Arteta publicly backs Xhaka and Ceballos as two players he really likes, he's always praising them. But at the same time he openly admits that the quality of the team isn't good enough.

So surely that means he doesn't actually think Xhaka and Ceballos are good enough? You can't simultaneously rate your midfielders and also think the quality of your team is miles behind where it needs to be.

I think Xhaka & Ceballos come into the category of people he'd be happy to have in his squad as they can do certain things he wants, but neither are his ideal. He's genuinely happy with their contribution and their performances compared to their potential, but like all of us can recognise that they are not at the level of top club central midfield.

 

[Rex Stone]

Not a fan of him at all, poor man’s Steven Gerrard.

Hits a decent long ball but his second touch is usually a tackle and he just charges all over the pitch with no discipline.

 

[dashsnow17]

I wonder if the ability to hit a long pass is slightly overrated in football.

 

[Kysus]

Unless Arteta sees Xhaka leaving in the long run I don't get this.

What's not to get?
We have ONE, I repeat, 1 good CM at the club.
Everyone is always crying about the CB'S but all our struggles are mainly due to that trainwreck of a CM.


Funny thing is that without Arteta we actually would have zero now, just wow.

 

[senna]

What's not to get?
We have ONE, I repeat, 1 good CM at the club.
Everyone is always crying about the CB'S but all our struggles are mainly due to that trainwreck of a CM.


Funny thing is that without Arteta we actually would have zero now, just wow.

Well you could offset with Guendouzi, who is probably better than Xhaka bar the attitude.

Do take your point about the CMid, its far worse problem than CB. They not good going forward or particularly good at parking the bus. Offer nothing. Need 3 new midfielders to even think about challenging.

 

[RunTheTrap]

I wonder if the ability to hit a long pass is slightly overrated in football.

Its not. Moving the ball through a pass is quicker than dribbling with it. The best midfielders in football are capable of accurate long balls, I can't think of a highly rated midfielder who couldn't hit the long pass.

 

[Hinderz]

Marc Roca and Partey would be good partnership if we have attacking mid and not xhaka

Throw a Coutinho or Szoboszlai in and I think that would be very interesting