The Wizard of Özil

[Newman123]

Modric is clearly the best midfielder in the world. Kroos is up there, but it has to be Modric. Real Madrid have the best CM pivot (or duo) in world football at the moment. Kroos & Modric.

Prime Iniesta or Modric?

[MecurialGooner]

Modric is clearly the best midfielder in the world. Kroos is up there, but it has to be Modric. Real Madrid have the best CM pivot (or duo) in world football at the moment. Kroos & Modric.

Prime Iniesta or Modric?

This is the age old question and surely one of the most difficult. But I'd have to say Prime Iniesta

I don't think I've ever seen a more gifted midfielder than Prime Andrés Iniesta, with the exception of the likes of Zidane of course.

[Marsbar100]

Prime iniesta by far, I prefer xavi though

[Sims]

Shame they ruin it by having Casemiro behind them

[Gunpowder]

Shame they ruin it by having Casemiro behind them

Thanks to your best midfielder in the world they have to have Casemiro

[Sims]

Think Kroos/Kovacic played DM when he was injured and I think they won every game

[ESR10]

Casemiro is a rich man's Coquelin .. very useful in some bigger games to gain possession and interrupt the attack of the opposition... doesn't bring much to the side though in other games, when they dominate and need the creative touch of every player

[Newman123]

Casemiro is a rich man's Coquelin .. very useful in some bigger games to gain possession and interrupt the attack of the opposition... doesn't bring much to the side though in other games, when they dominate and need the creative touch of every player

I don't think a lot of fans appreciate just how good of a player Arteta was for us when he joined. Only a few players could have played the role he did so well for us. What I'd give to have Arteta back with fresh legs.

[ESR10]

Casemiro is a rich man's Coquelin .. very useful in some bigger games to gain possession and interrupt the attack of the opposition... doesn't bring much to the side though in other games, when they dominate and need the creative touch of every player

I don't think a lot of fans appreciate just how good of a player Arteta was for us when he joined. Only a few players could have played the role he did so well for us. What I'd give to have Arteta back with fresh legs.

agreed he did the DLP role very good in 12-13, he got the best out of Ramsey too for a while in 13-14. Shame that Wenger renewed his contract until he overstayed his welcome and got hated from the majority of fans

[Newman123]

Casemiro is a rich man's Coquelin .. very useful in some bigger games to gain possession and interrupt the attack of the opposition... doesn't bring much to the side though in other games, when they dominate and need the creative touch of every player

I don't think a lot of fans appreciate just how good of a player Arteta was for us when he joined. Only a few players could have played the role he did so well for us. What I'd give to have Arteta back with fresh legs.

agreed he did the DLP role very good in 12-13, he got the best out of Ramsey too for a while in 13-14. Shame that Wenger renewed his contract until he overstayed his welcome and got hated from the majority of fans

I feel sorry for Arteta. You could tell he would give his all for the club and wanted the club to do really well. I'll never forgive fans for the abuse they gave him after he helped us greatly after Cesc left.

[UFGN]

Casemiro is a rich man's Coquelin .. very useful in some bigger games to gain possession and interrupt the attack of the opposition... doesn't bring much to the side though in other games, when they dominate and need the creative touch of every player

I don't think a lot of fans appreciate just how good of a player Arteta was for us when he joined. Only a few players could have played the role he did so well for us. What I'd give to have Arteta back with fresh legs.

agreed he did the DLP role very good in 12-13, he got the best out of Ramsey too for a while in 13-14. Shame that Wenger renewed his contract until he overstayed his welcome and got hated from the majority of fans

I feel sorry for Arteta. You could tell he would give his all for the club and wanted the club to do really well. I'll never forgive fans for the abuse they gave him after he helped us greatly after Cesc left.

What do you mean he "helped us after Cesc left"?

What a bizarre statement. He was brought to the club and paid very well to do a job. He wasn't as good as the player he replaced, which wasn't his fault, but was also poor by his own standards in his final two seasons here, hence fans' disapproval.

[Newman123]

Casemiro is a rich man's Coquelin .. very useful in some bigger games to gain possession and interrupt the attack of the opposition... doesn't bring much to the side though in other games, when they dominate and need the creative touch of every player

I don't think a lot of fans appreciate just how good of a player Arteta was for us when he joined. Only a few players could have played the role he did so well for us. What I'd give to have Arteta back with fresh legs.

agreed he did the DLP role very good in 12-13, he got the best out of Ramsey too for a while in 13-14. Shame that Wenger renewed his contract until he overstayed his welcome and got hated from the majority of fans

I feel sorry for Arteta. You could tell he would give his all for the club and wanted the club to do really well. I'll never forgive fans for the abuse they gave him after he helped us greatly after Cesc left.

What do you mean he "helped us after Cesc left"?

What a bizarre statement. He was brought to the club and paid very well to do a job. He wasn't as good as the player he replaced, which wasn't his fault, but was also poor by his own standards in his final two seasons here, hence fans' disapproval.

Yes he was brought in to do a job and he did the job didnt he? I never said he was as good as Cesc but when fans ask for loyalty from players and then can in a moment forget the good a player has done for them and start treating them badly then I have no sympathy for the fans.

Arteta played well and then he declined. He was being played by Wenger but ofcourse we blamed Arteta.

[Santi]

Think Kroos/Kovacic played DM when he was injured and I think they won every game

Actually as soon as he got injured they drew 4 consecutive games after winning 5 in a row to start the season off.

There was no direct replacement at 'DM' btw, Isco, Asensio, Kovacic and Rodriguez all got more games while he was out. All done fine but there's a reason Casemiro plays every game when fit and why Zidane loves him.

Shame they ruin it by having Casemiro behind them

He makes it the best mid trio in football. Only Barca come close but they keep chopping n changing, dunno why they didn't stick with Sergio Iniesta Raki.

Modric far superior to Kroos anyway, best CM in world football right now. He's been more key to Madrid than even Ronaldo for the last 2 years.

[Sims]

Still think a team like Madrid should have more than a simple destroyer on the side

Do they need a workhorse who can put a shift in and be a bit more robust than Toni & Modric, of course, but they also need that player to offer more going forward

Obviously not really feasible for Madrid at this point but someone like Vidal or Nainggolan in Casemiro's place would send their team to a whole other level


Barca need to bin Rakitic but as Iniesta's getting on he can't play as many mins, and they've bought square pegs for round holes in Arda & Andre Gomes

[Angelito]

Not even the best midfielder at Real

^

Think Kroos/Kovacic played DM when he was injured and I think they won every game

Actually as soon as he got injured they drew 4 consecutive games after winning 5 in a row to start the season off.

There was no direct replacement at 'DM' btw, Isco, Asensio, Kovacic and Rodriguez all got more games while he was out. All done fine but there's a reason Casemiro plays every game when fit and why Zidane loves him.

Shame they ruin it by having Casemiro behind them

He makes it the best mid trio in football. Only Barca come close but they keep chopping n changing, dunno why they didn't stick with Sergio Iniesta Raki.

Modric far superior to Kroos anyway, best CM in world football right now. He's been more key to Madrid than even Ronaldo for the last 2 years.

Modric, by far, has been the best performing player for Real since their decima season. The best CM in the world, hands down.

Iniesta-Rakitic-Busi is nowhere as good as Real's trio at this stage. Iniesta isn't the same player he was. Shame that he peaked way earlier than Xavi did. He's still class of course. Sergio has also slowed down these days. On paper, Barca still have a stellar side. It's flattery though. They're more reliant than ever on Messi because Neymar's become this clone of Gervinho and Walcott, while Suarez has been quite inconsistent this season.

Still think a team like Madrid should have more than a simple destroyer on the side

Do they need a workhorse who can put a shift in and be a bit more robust than Toni & Modric, of course, but they also need that player to offer more going forward

Obviously not really feasible for Madrid at this point but someone like Vidal or Nainggolan in Casemiro's place would send their team to a whole other level


Barca need to bin Rakitic but as Iniesta's getting on he can't play as many mins, and they've bought square pegs for round holes in Arda & Andre Gomes

That's why Real failed for years. Every team needs a destroyer. It does help when that destroyer is as good as Sergio. That, of course, doesn't happen all the time. They started succeeding after realizing the importance of a protective CM. It's rather simplistic to call a player a mere simple destroyer when he allows his midfield partners to express themselves.

Casemiro is one of the reasons why Real have been stable and consistent this season, and managed to win the CL last season (with help from UEFA of course). You can't have three similar attack-minded players and expect, theoretically, for them to produce mouth-watering football. That's a very idealistic way of looking at it. Wengerball?

I don't think Vidal would work with Kroos and Modric. Casemiro's attitude helps bring the best out of Kroos and Modric. Kroos needs a baby sitter by his side. Vidal, while world class, won't offer the protection Casemiro does - the selfless sacrifice, if you will. I can't say much about 'Ggolan because I have't seen him play all that.

On Rakitic, I'd easily take him here. He's better than all our midfield players, except Santi. He could play with Xhaka or with Coquelin. The whole, "What's our best midfield combo?" would also be put to rest.