Fran Solo wrote:Power n Glory wrote:Fran Solo wrote:A front two with Lacazette and Martinelli/Pepe is worth trying. Just give Martinelli/Pepe a free role so he can shift from left to right. And don't overburden them with defensive duties. These guys have distrupting run and dribble so asking them to always look behind their back are counter productive. Alexis Sanchez lost a lot of possessions back then, but it didnt really matter because he created a lot of goals. I don't think Sanchez will be as good if the main instruction is "Play it safe, don't lose the ball".
It really was a more open game yesterday. Our counter attacks were much quicker too. Would have been good to see Arteta throw on Martinelli and Pepe. I thought we lost our way once Odegaard and AMN came on.
It was. Just look at Partey's role. He was attacking. Not with those long range shots, but with real penetration into Villa's box. He hit the bar from inside the box. Tomiyasu was also running forward a lot. The last time he did this was against Spurs and we also won. We might (and will) get caught if we continue playing like this, but it's ok for me. I'd rather try to score and win the game positively then to sit back and do the careful defensive strategy. We're not good at that kind of game.
Oh, and AMN and Odergaard might be instructed to slow the tempo down. Some players were starting to get tired.
It was good to see Partey and Lokonga carry the ball for to break into the final third. There was one particular carry from Lokonga that stood out for me. Happy to see more of that and not just the sideways pass.
Tomiyasu was fantastic as well. Really impressive game.
Agree on Odegaard and AMN being instructed to slow it down, but I'm guessing they weren supposed to slow it down by controlling possession but instead we lost possession in those final minutes of the game. Ended up conceding. Thought the backline deserved a clean sheet. Otherwise, an impressive team performance.