Prediction
Nottingham Forest 1-3 Arsenal
20-30M ? They guy wasted almost those 100M on Havertz and a GK we don't need.So, you want a player who:
* Score Goals
* Hold up play
* Inter-play/link-up play
* Move around = Dribble?
You pretty much summarized the key attributes of a great centre forward which like I said is rarity. Liverpool spent 100M on potential WC CF, City spent close to similar fee on Haaland yet you are blaming Arteta for not finding some random 20m-30m CF so he may compete with these guys. That's extremely unfair expectation. We will have to be extremely lucky in finding that gem and hope he hits the ground running.
I agree everything you said about GJ. We must upgrade on him. But not with a random dude. We are not Bayern Leverkuson. We are competing in league where losing 25 points in a season gets you a second place.
Its the one area where we must improve, taking more risks when we are very close to goal, and trusting ourselves to recover our defensive shape if we do.
Think just this tweak alone, in addition to what we do now, will add another level to our game.
We already seen such an Arsenal team that takes more risk, it was only last year. Arteta has significantly overcompensated for what happened at the end of last year by reducing opponent risk, but in the mean time killing our attack and forward output in the process.
Remember how we started to slow down during the business end of 22/23? Norwich away, West Ham, Everton away, etc? That gives us a clue to 23/24.
Also I’m not sure if you’ve been watching us lately, but I’m seeing a combination of both right now. A solid defensive structure, and incisive and direct attacking play. Our finishing is the problem at the moment.
Against Forest for example, we were doing exactly this at 0-0.
Teams have reverted to a deep block to nullify our impact yes because it works well, but when teams look to open their lines, you see more what I’m talking about.
One of two things need to happen for us to continue building momentum. The first option is that we face teams who will take us on, granted this is a minority but it’s a big help. Teams like Liverpool, Sp**s, City will do this.
The second is that we force teams out by scoring first and cut them more open that way. We’ve seen this more, and it’s likely our main objective for the run in.
I still don't feel we are creating a lot against teams we should be creating against i.e. mid-table and lower table teams. I know the stats might suggest otherwise, but it just doesn't feel convincing to me. That Forest game to me turned on Turner's error. If he didn't make that error I am not convinced we would have won.
Tbh checked the xG in this game and it was essentially the same for both sides (1.05 to 1.03 ). Feel that it is actually a little biased towards Forest in this game.Remember Jesus hit the post just before that? Saka had made about 3-4 entries into the box as well by then too. Ødegaard was deeper and facing their goal mostly, and that’s why I knew we were going to score soon.
Here’s the funny thing. We’ll beat Liverpool on Sunday, and you’ll get that gut feeling of confidence in our chances. Just wait and see. The funny thing is that a Liverpool like opposition is the last type of opposition well be facing for the rest of the season. But you’ll believe
That’s why I take the numbers seriously, as it gives context to the emotions and gut feelings we have.
Our squad cost isn't far off City's now and we only had an xG of 1.39, so we over performed by getting 2 goals against a team with around a third of our squad cost and about 10 players missing. So its a good job they let in that howler or it would have been another setback in Arteta's title challenge.@Makingtrax in the mud as usual. What squad cost is required to not let in near post finishes?
Our squad cost isn't far off City's now and we only had an xG of 1.39, so we over performed by getting 2 goals against a team with around a third of our squad cost and about 10 players missing. So its a good job they let in that howler or it would have been another setback in Arteta's title challenge.
Exactly.Do teams with high squad cost always beat teams with lower squad cost?