Goonersworld

Fran Solo wrote:

SuperJackyWilshere wrote:Tonight's just proving again why he isn't suited to the PL.

Been absolutely superb in a game that is very slow paced. He's been dictating play all night.

Ramsey was not bombing forward that often tonight. Some occasion he even positioned himself behind Xhaka. I think that helps.

good pt superjack...

slow AC allowed him to "shine".. so to speak.. pretty sure he told wenga to sod off about that late potshot

This guy has been bad for so long that most of you have forgotten what a real midfield performance looks like, theirs nothing special about the way he played against Milan.



These are real midfield performances...









Xhaka has been here nearly two years now and I haven't seen a performance half as good as any of these who put out top performances for us on a regular basis.

Diaby did not put out top performances on a regular basis.

Bloke made about 3 appearances a season.

Should have posted any Fabregas or Vieira match comp instead of Abou.

Diaby dear god.

Injury prone and shit when he did play for the most part

Were Xhaka not paired with Ramsey or Wilshere, I gather he'd be fine. He needs to be paired with a player who spends less time in the attacking third. He has too much ground to cover when he's left all by himself between the boxes. He also doesn't like chasing the ball and breaking up play. He likes to find open spaces from where he can start an attack. But pair him with a Pjanic, Modric or even Kante type of player and you have a solid double pivot. His creativity and passing range is good and he can be a very good deep lying playmaker.

This squad has plenty enough #10's that we sure as hell don't need a DLP. We need a defensive mid, and we've needed one since 2008.

Luzh 22 wrote:This squad has plenty enough #10's that we sure as hell don't need a DLP. We need a defensive mid, and we've needed one since 2008.

Spot on!

With Cazorla finished, we should bring in someone like Sergi Samper next to Xhaka.

Some really good points made here and others not so good in my opinion as they lack a little bit of perspective but hey that's football. 60,000 of us could watch the exact same game and leave with 60K different opinions. As I have said previously, Xhaka is not and has never been the out and out midfield destroyer that we can see our team has been crying out for since Gilberto Silva, but more of a DLP who doesn't effect the game by being a Tasmanian devil as it were (kante, makelele, flamini, fernandinho, Keane etc) but more of a quarter back type who GETS GIVEN the ball and can accurately ping it 60 yards no problem. Pair him with a Kante, Fernandinho or Matic and you have a completely different animal imo.
Carvalho is a bit different in that his short game is much better than Xhaka's as is his physicality so doesn't lose challenges as easily (would love to see him in a PROPER 50/50 with dembele or wanyama, the impact would be like a sonic boom) and makes up for his lack of pace with better positioning, spacial awareness and excellent one and two touch passing which in itself is tailor made for our style of play.

I can't and will never agree with holding someone's injuries and effectively poor health against them like it was their intention to be purposely injured and under the knife. Derogatory comments regards the likes of Cazorla, Wilshire and Diaby leave me stupefied in the same way they did when levelled against van Persie. Mind you, I suppose his one injury free season for us and the following one proved that those of us who thought he was the canines gonads and worth preserving with were right, including Wenger.
I believe we were robbed of seeing just how good Diaby truly was. If Patrick Viera had suffered the exact same injury history as Abou Diaby and never got to show just what he was about and had his career decimated in the same way, imagine the same comments being levelled at him. Do you suddenly feel sick to the stomach too?

Va-Va-Voom wrote:Diaby did not put out top performances on a regular basis.

Bloke made about 3 appearances a season.

Should have posted any Fabregas or Vieira match comp instead of Abou.

Even if you don't think that fact is even though Diaby was injury prone he still managed to put in some quality games and I have yet to see one from Xhaka when I'm like wow he bossed the game and deserves MOTM.

Even Elneny today who never plays let alone starts has put in a performance twice as good as Xhaka has all season

A moment in yesterdays game pretty much sums up the type of player he is.

Loses the ball just outside his own box, tracks back to regain possession in his own box, then decides that instead of hoofing into safety and out of danger, that he needs to do a back heel to the keeper in the 6 yard box.


SMH!!

StLGooner wrote:A moment in yesterdays game pretty much sums up the type of player he is.

Loses the ball just outside his own box, tracks back to regain possession in his own box, then decides that instead of hoofing into safety and out of danger, that he needs to do a back heel to the keeper in the 6 yard box.


SMH!!

My blood pressure spiked so hard when he did that. Felt to kick my tv of its wall mount when he did that.

f***ing imbecile.

StLGooner wrote:A moment in yesterdays game pretty much sums up the type of player he is.

Loses the ball just outside his own box, tracks back to regain possession in his own box, then decides that instead of hoofing into safety and out of danger, that he needs to do a back heel to the keeper in the 6 yard box.


SMH!!

yea risk/reward was not weighed obviously, but it worked.

half empty cup says imbecile
half full cup says creative.

hahaha, the dichotomy of xhaka

Zedie wrote:

StLGooner wrote:A moment in yesterdays game pretty much sums up the type of player he is.

Loses the ball just outside his own box, tracks back to regain possession in his own box, then decides that instead of hoofing into safety and out of danger, that he needs to do a back heel to the keeper in the 6 yard box.


SMH!!

My blood pressure spiked so hard when he did that. Felt to kick my tv of its wall mount when he did that.

f***ing imbecile.

Statement play that backheal pass.

Showing Deany the team has balls.

I still believe he could be better under a manager who understand him. This is not his position in Gladbach or the national team. He can defend, but surely not defending like a DM like Makalele. Why? Because he is not a a DM. Ottmar Hitzfeld called him the new Schweinsteiger, not the new Lothar Matthaeus. Surely that means something.