It's.......pre-season.Arsenal playing mighty FC Nürnberg right now for a preseason friendly. The "Glubb" has already scored 5 (3-5 to Arsenal)
Mikel Arteta | Lego Pep watch
- Thread starter Samid
- Start date
The fact #artetaout was trending after yesterday's match shows the fans aren't really as united as some people in this thread seem to believe. A bad start and it'll all go toxic pretty quickly.
It means feck all, apart from the fact that Twitter is full of scrotes, not that it needed more confirmation.
These people exist outside twitter too.
Yeah, as scrotes.
The man does it all
This is giving me 2012 throwback.The man does it all
Not sure if he is the right guy for the job BUT what I can say is Arsenal have done some great business and have a nice young set of talent to build around. Their is a lot of promise around this squad!
Im looking forward to seeing how Saliba is, see if the lad justifies the hype. Hes really is like a new signing considering we've waited 3 years to see the kid!
Apparently going for Zinchenko now, which actually makes sense.
A player that already plays the inverted left back role and midfield, knows the league, knows the manager and the system he's looking play.
Im surprised we seem to go for Martinez over him, I think it was probably Martinez ability to play centre back as well that had him favoured.
Martinez makes more sense for Utd, ex manager, he knows his system and gets to play in the position hes been playing in most recent.
Deals that suit all parties I would say (if Arsenal can land Zinchenko that is).
A player that already plays the inverted left back role and midfield, knows the league, knows the manager and the system he's looking play.
Im surprised we seem to go for Martinez over him, I think it was probably Martinez ability to play centre back as well that had him favoured.
Martinez makes more sense for Utd, ex manager, he knows his system and gets to play in the position hes been playing in most recent.
Deals that suit all parties I would say (if Arsenal can land Zinchenko that is).
It will be interesting to see how he does if he goes there, I'm not 100% sure if he's top quality but it's an enormous upgrade on Tavares.
Seems like a good character who works hard etc and still young.
The problem I have with Arsenal is that they're signing all the lower calibre City players that aren't wanted and allowing City to replace them with better players. Jesus -> Halaand, Zinchenko -> Cucerella.
City don't need the money, but I can't help but feel Arsenal are getting a raw deal on both fronts, strengthening a rival for top 4 and singing players for big money that aren't really elite level.
City don't need the money, but I can't help but feel Arsenal are getting a raw deal on both fronts, strengthening a rival for top 4 and singing players for big money that aren't really elite level.
From what I've seen of him, he's not the best when actually asked to defend out wide, but then that seems to be said about a lot of modern full backs.
Seems it more important these days to be able to contribute when you have the ball than to actually be robust defensively when you don't.
Transfer still a long way off, and we know what happened with the Martinez and Raphinha deals.
I've always thought of him as the Ukrainian Lingard, without the off field stuff. He's an attacking midfielder by trade, but isnt good enough to play there for City, and managed to find a place at left back for them due to his work rate.
Decent player, PL experience blah blah blah. I think Arsenal fans will be surprised though when they realize he can't really defend when put under a bit of pressure, and only seemed to work there due to Pep's system.
Decent player, PL experience blah blah blah. I think Arsenal fans will be surprised though when they realize he can't really defend when put under a bit of pressure, and only seemed to work there due to Pep's system.
I think Zinchenko will surprise a lot of people
City signing better players allowed us to get Jesus and maybe Zinchenko, not the other way round. They don't really care what other clubs do, they could have kept Jesus knowing Haaland was coming.
Yes and no, I think a lot of those guys just went to start consistently which was not happening at City due to how loaded the team is . Gabriel Jesus would be a player every team in the EPL would want for example
Action Man, the greatest hero of them all.
He's backup LB and CM. No one's expecting him to set the world alight. Difference between City and Arsenal are that the first teamers here, Tierney and Xhaka, can be removed.
I think it depends on how Arsenal use him. Them being in for Raphinha makes me think the plan might be to move Saka to the left to stretch play and since they're basically playing a CB at RB (Tomiyasu, Saliba or White) Zinchenko could play infield to help out the lone #6, with Viera and Odegaard in front of him:
-------------Jesus---------RW
Saka--Vieira-Odegaard
-Zinchenko-#6--------------
----Gabriel-White-Tomiyasu
Looks like a nice team and the best use of him. Might annoy Saka though, and he's only got 2 years left on his deal I think.
Yeah not saying he's crap, but a little surprised at how excited arsenal twitter are getting, they're making him sound like an elite modern full back! Probably just the buzz of a new signing though.
I believe part of that was our plan if we got Martinez. Starts off left back but actually when in possession comes inside to support the number 6. This then allows the number 8's to push high.
I think he'd like to do the same with Zinchenko. However, it remains to be seen if Zinchenko would be happy with that I suppose.
Unless he uses Zinchenko as 1 of the number 8's.
There's your mistake, listening to Arsenal Twitter!
Let’s be real here - City are not currently our rivals. They are using our money to strengthen, but they would have just have just got that money elsewhere had we not bought Jesus (and possibly Zinchenko). It’s a sad fact that their rotation players would get far more games for us. But that applies equally to Chelsea. (Perhaps even more so as Zinchenko might struggle to dislodge Tierney, but Ake walks straight into Chelsea’s decimated back line.)
Barring Liverpool, the entire league is in the same boat. Hopefully, offering more game time and higher wages to the likes of Jesus is stepping to a point where we can start to challenge once more.
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To his credit Arteta really did seem to grow as a manager as the season went on. That being said they completed choked what should have been a top 4 finish in the end. Still, he did make significant progress beyond what I imagined he would when he went to Arsenal.
Zinchenko is the alternative to Martinez. Neither would have made the first 11 with all players fully fit, but their versality at left back and midfield is what's needed. Especially when Tavares is the back up left back to Tierney who has injury problems. Still think Tielimans will follow Zinchenko & that will be it as far as signings go
Do you rate Tierney in this current system? I see it as a variation of what city used to play and in that system the fall backs tend to hold a high central position. However Tierney just bombs to the byline to get a cross in which doesn’t suit arsenals forwards. I would think zinchenko is better suited to the system and I always thought that’s why Asnl wanted Martinez
Given the rumoured fee of 35m plus add ons, I have to imagine that he’ll be a regular starter. I question the wisdom of a team like Arsenal blowing such a huge wedge on what is essentially a reserve full back. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was being signed to play as a DM, he’s a very technical player, who’s a good ball carrier and has good positional awareness. I think defending is actually the weakest part of his game, and is more likely to be exposed in a less dominant team than city. I think the DM possibility is especially plausible if a certain someone becomes unavailable for non-footballing reasons.
No one underestimates their pull. They'll always pull players competing with West Ham and Brighton.
On the surface that's what it looks like to me. What we don't know is how Zinchenko feels. Is he happy to leave City for more game time, or is he wanting more assurance he'll play more in his most natural position?
So, he could be a replacement for Tierney, or a replacement for Xhaka in our system last season. What might give us another clue is who we target next. If its someone like Tielemans then that to me would suggest Zinchenko playing the inverted left back more, if it's a wide player and no other midfielder then I think he might play in midfield more.
Funny but a bit unfair. Most players are going to choose Barca over most clubs, including us. And United is the biggest club in England with his ex manager as boss. No surprise Martinez came here. Still, it’s true that it’s been a long time since you got the perception that Arsenal were a world class outfit with elite players. You look back over the last twenty years and think of the names they’ve had, Vieira, Bergkamp, Van Persie, Henry, Sanchez, Ozil, Fabregas, Overmars, Campbell, Pires, Petit, Anelka, Silva, Cole…..and you you look at the line ups they’ve had for the last 5 years or so, and there’s nothing there that screams quality, or a player you’d really covet as an opposition fan. Saka is probably the one, but you get that feeling that he might run down his contract and end up elsewhere, like City.
I have to admit that I really enjoyed our rivalry with Arsenal. Now we’re both crap, and the league is dominated by Football Manager style cheat codes at City and Chelsea, and doped up asthma sufferers at Liverpool.
35m on Zinchenko seems quite steep for a backup City player they sure are getting max value for their sales. Cant say I know too much about him but he’s obviously an instant upgrade on Swiss Charlie Adam (not hard tbf) and he provides quality cover at LB. Seems like a good if somewhat overpriced signing and the club is really backing Arteta in this window. Doubt we are finished yet either.
TBH neither Arsenal nor Man Utd are world class outfits with elite players anymore; both clubs have tried that (Ozil, Aubameyang, Pogba, Di Maria, Sanchez, Ronaldo etc.) and only run into problems. I'd wager that more Arsenal players would make it into top top squads (Saka, Odegaard, Martinelli) than Man Utd players (Sancho?).
Martinez has had a lot of hype but ultimately only Man Utd and Arsenal were in for him, and it wasn't clear to me if we just wanted him for versatile backup or as a starter. It could be a starting place as much as anything that sent him to Man Utd.
Swiss Charlie Adam? I thought he was pretty decent for you last year on the whole? Also, presumably he'd be replacing your other DM wouldn't he more than Xhaka?
Swiss Charlie Adam? I thought he was pretty decent for you last year on the whole? Also, presumably he'd be replacing your other DM wouldn't he more than Xhaka?
We don’t know whether the one whose name cannot be spoken will need to be replaced at all. Meanwhile Swiss Charlie Adam is a bottom half of the table level player who should be playing for Stoke and we need an upgrade on him.
I don't get Arsenal, they just seem to want to help City from the beginning to the end, no dignity at all.
Your are judging this after over three years with Ole and a horrendous season. The answer to this question is going to look a lot different in a years time
By then you might have Varane, Martinez, de Jong, Fred, Eriksen, Bruno, Sancho, and possibly even Rashford/Ronaldo making some top squads.
It’s all about context. I am a big Gabriel/Martinelli fan, for example, but I am not ready to concede that they will definitely be better than Varane/Rashford in the right system and in form. Both have had far more accomplished careers so far and the former have it all to prove.
As lovely as Odegaard is to watch too, Bruno has shown over a calendar year what he is capable of. He has reached higher heights of performance than Odegaard has. He can do it again.
These players will be better under ETH, the question is by how much. There will be some serious surprises next season for some.
Zinchenko seems like an upgrade on Xhaka at a reasonable fee. You can see when he’s playing for Ukraine he’s not a left back at all, inverted or otherwise. He’s better suited to stepping in there than Xhaka but he’s just a better midfielder.
Zinchenko is the worst left back in the league, and I've seen Telles play a lot! Fecking stupid money for a player that isn't good enough for PL.
Nothing is signed yet, we'll relay your scouting report right away and walk from the deal. Do you have any target in mind that could suit us ?