Power n Glory wrote:
I wouldn't say that. A lot of players have the ability to play a second position. I think of former players like Rosicky, Cazorla and that time when Flamini filled in as LB and helped us get to the Champs League final. Currently, we have Saka, ESR, White, Tomiyasu, Gabriel Jesus....At other clubs, I think of Firminho, Jota, Berando Silva, Foden, Richarlison....
For us, I think it will be difficult to find bench players that are good as the starters and if they are that good, it's hard to convince players to share one position without disrupting form. We can't really afford it to be honest. Then you have the quality issue. I would much rather try White as RB then have Cedric start or move Tomiysau to CB instead of Holding. At least they're not coming off the bench cold and out of match practice which is another problem. Besides the dip in quality, we have players that aren't ready to start, which was a problem for us last year. Hopefully, with the Europa League, some of our bench options will get more games and won't look so rusty off the bench if needed.
I'm going by what I see, which is Arteta yelling instructions on the touchline for most of the game. He is constantly in Xhaka's ear, and Xhaka relays those instructions to players as well. Its' not an easy system for players to adapt to.
There's an opportunity cost to consider as well. Saka was excellent as a LWB, but his role is now RW because his goal contributions are more important than his defensive work. Similarly, would we want to use Zinchenko as a CM if it meant moving Xhaka to LB? Would the tradeoff be worth it?