• kindaforgotit@alien.topB
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    11 months ago

    Are Arsenal worse this season?

    Well yes, but actually no. Some key points:

    - Rice isn’t as good as partey when playing as pivot in possession, with partey he can receive the ball and make a progressive pass with his back facing against the opponents. Which in turns lower odegaard contribution because he relied on partey distributions. Which in turns lower our attack outputs from the middle. That’s why we usually attacks from the wings with saka/martinelli this season.

    - Our defence is very solid this season because we have rice, who’s arguably one of the best player out of possession in the world (don’t quote me on that, that’s what they said on the video). And with addition of havertz we can have more fluid formations.

    - There’s no more element of surprise like last season, where we tend score in the first 15 minutes.

    • dhiaizk@alien.topB
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      11 months ago

      The first point is the reason we’ve dropped points this season, especially in the Chelsea game. If our wingers get nullified we’ve got literally no more attacking threat apart from hoping that Ødegaard scores another like 0.06 xG long range effort

      • ixtechau@alien.topB
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        11 months ago

        The Ode stats are interesting mainly because, as we’ve found out, he’s been playing through injury. If the injury has caused the performance dip then we’re in for a massive boost once cleared up and he can get back to his normal output.

        I also think the reason we’re so dependent on wingers right now is because Saka, Trossard and Martinelli are the players that can create something out of nothing, so our players prefer passing them to unlock the opposition. They’re always on the flanks, so that’s where the ball goes. And with Jesus often injured, our central option (Nketiah) isn’t as unpredictable and explosive as our wingers.

    • OG12@alien.topB
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      11 months ago

      Thought Partey changed the game against City. Arsenal immediately had control of the midfield when he came on.

    • Internetolocutor@alien.topB
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      11 months ago

      This is precisely why I wanted rice and partey in midfield but Arteta kept insisting on Kai.

      There’s no reason why partey can’t play the left sided role. He’s fast, strong in the tackle and air, tracks back very well and passes well. Shooting is a bit off though

    • ixtechau@alien.topB
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      11 months ago

      The Rice observation is interesting, and a good argument as to why I’d rather see him play as a Busquets-type sweeper DM that falls back into the defensive line to form a three-man backline so the full backs can push up.

      Have Rice be the final boss for opposition forwards before they have to deal with the Saliba-Gabriel axis, and leave him back when we transition so he can be more like a quarterback. That way we exploit all his strengths.

    • jimbo_kun@alien.topB
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      11 months ago

      Yes, but it’s not like Partey isn’t playing because Arteta is picking Rice over him. Partey isn’t playing because he can’t stay healthy.