Formations, Tactics, Analysis, and Statistics

[Arsenal Tone]

Team picks itself. Two players and our starting XI is sorted!

???
Martinelli/ESR--Odegaard--Saka
???--Partey
Tierney--Gabriel--White--Tomiyasu
Ramsdale

[ag6789]

Some musings:
Yesterday's loss was tough to take. Third marginal loss ( ManU, Everton, and then MC), where we scored first but couldn't finish the job. All winnable ones. Need to move on quickly.
Aubs, Pepe, Partey all out for AFCON. Though some of them aren't first choice anymore, still we'll be short handed for over a month. We need quality replacement to hold the line. Hopefully Mertasaker & Co. will again surprise us with more top notch talents.
Midfield will be light w/ Lokonga and Xhakha trust none of them) , so good time to invest in a CM?

[jayramfootball]

Jay, we played fooking shit up until Auba was dropped, but we were winning games. Our football improved when Auba was dropped, we began to get good performances as well as results.

There is no way you can tell me we played good football. Even last season during our recovery the football wasn't great, it was ok in patches but again we got plenty of results

I would say we have played well in patches earlier in the season, villa, leicester, spurs etc we saw glimpses of good play which wasn't always sustained through a full 90 minutes, we have defended better on the whole (after those first 3 games) hence why we have the joint most clean sheets in the league I believe. The main issue I could see was our transition between midfield and attack and also holding on to the ball and possession long enough to maintain or relieve pressure, we seem like we have remedied this now and have looked really good after the man UTD/Everton matches. I would say west ham, Leeds, Norwich, Sunderland and even yesterday against city we have played well, created chances and have looked comfortable in every match, when was the last time city looked so ordinary? And when was the last time city were limited to 1 shot on target from open play in a match?

Yep.
We looked good in patches last season too.
It’s been coming together and a few could see it.
Excited about what the team can do over the coming years as they continue to grow together

[DiamondGooner]

There was no sign at all that "This was coming" again, a happy accident in Auba falling out with Arteta caused it to happen.
You could say that about any manager using any system "Its coming" the issue is how long is it going to take, does he have the funds to do it and does he know what players he actually needs to get there?

Would we have got there anyway, yes maybe, how long was Arteta going to keep starting Auba with no return? but Arteta is definitely in the "Trial by error" stage of his career, he's not yet like a Tuchel or Klopp who know exactly what they want and more importantly, what players you need to get it.

My hopes are that now Arteta is nearly there, i.e a proper profile CF away from being a legit top 4 side, I'm hoping he can now "see" what he needs and so won't quickly forget it because it seems playing a CF in the CF role (can you imagine) has unlocked our attack.

............ our attack which literally before Auba was the last comment I saw myself and HH made that "Defence is fine, midfield is good enough just about, but what Arteta needs to to sort out is the offense".

I said that about a week or two before Auba was dropped, Auba got dropped and I've not had a complaint about the offence since.

That's not just because we're winning, its because we are playing substantially better.

[jayramfootball]

There was no sign at all that "This was coming" again, a happy accident in Auba falling out with Arteta caused it to happen.
You could say that about any manager using any system "Its coming" the issue is how long is it going to take, does he have the funds to do it and does he know what players he actually needs to get there?

Would we have got there anyway, yes maybe, how long was Arteta going to keep starting Auba with no return? but Arteta is definitely in the "Trial by error" stage of his career, he's not yet like a Tuchel or Klopp who know exactly what they want and more importantly, what players you need to get it.

My hopes are that now Arteta is nearly there, i.e a proper profile CF away from being a legit top 4 side, I'm hoping he can now "see" what he needs and so won't quickly forget it because it seems playing a CF in the CF role (can you imagine) has unlocked our attack.

............ our attack which literally before Auba was the last comment I saw myself and HH made that "Defence is fine, midfield is good enough just about, but what Arteta needs to to sort out is the offense".

I said that about a week or two before Auba was dropped, Auba got dropped and I've not had a complaint about the offence since.

That's not just because we're winning, its because we are playing substantially better.

No signs?
I even read them for you and have been bloody telling you for the last 6 months!

[theHotHead]

Jay, we played fooking shit up until Auba was dropped, but we were winning games. Our football improved when Auba was dropped, we began to get good performances as well as results.

There is no way you can tell me we played good football. Even last season during our recovery the football wasn't great, it was ok in patches but again we got plenty of results

I would say we have played well in patches earlier in the season, villa, leicester, spurs etc we saw glimpses of good play which wasn't always sustained through a full 90 minutes, we have defended better on the whole (after those first 3 games) hence why we have the joint most clean sheets in the league I believe. The main issue I could see was our transition between midfield and attack and also holding on to the ball and possession long enough to maintain or relieve pressure, we seem like we have remedied this now and have looked really good after the man UTD/Everton matches. I would say west ham, Leeds, Norwich, Sunderland and even yesterday against city we have played well, created chances and have looked comfortable in every match, when was the last time city looked so ordinary? And when was the last time city were limited to 1 shot on target from open play in a match?

Yep.
We looked good in patches last season too.
It’s been coming together and a few could see it.
Excited about what the team can do over the coming years as they continue to grow together

Right! Finally you admit, we have looked good in PATCHES!!

Coming here and saying we have looked good for 45 games or whatever it was you said was preposterous and absurd. We have looked good in patches, but we haven't looked as good as we have done in the last 5 or so games, we look next level now even the performances in the Spurs and Villa victories do not compare to how we are playing now.

[theHotHead]

Credit to the manager for finally getting there, but we have to maintain this now. My worry now is, is this a team that can only play well with all team members present? What happens if we lose White or Gabriel, will we fall apart? What if Laca gets injured, does it all come tumbling down?!!

We need to reinforce the team with key replacements able to slot into the team seamlessly .

[jayramfootball]

Jay, we played fooking shit up until Auba was dropped, but we were winning games. Our football improved when Auba was dropped, we began to get good performances as well as results.

There is no way you can tell me we played good football. Even last season during our recovery the football wasn't great, it was ok in patches but again we got plenty of results

I would say we have played well in patches earlier in the season, villa, leicester, spurs etc we saw glimpses of good play which wasn't always sustained through a full 90 minutes, we have defended better on the whole (after those first 3 games) hence why we have the joint most clean sheets in the league I believe. The main issue I could see was our transition between midfield and attack and also holding on to the ball and possession long enough to maintain or relieve pressure, we seem like we have remedied this now and have looked really good after the man UTD/Everton matches. I would say west ham, Leeds, Norwich, Sunderland and even yesterday against city we have played well, created chances and have looked comfortable in every match, when was the last time city looked so ordinary? And when was the last time city were limited to 1 shot on target from open play in a match?

Yep.
We looked good in patches last season too.
It’s been coming together and a few could see it.
Excited about what the team can do over the coming years as they continue to grow together

Right! Finally you admit, we have looked good in PATCHES!!

Coming here and saying we have looked good for 45 games or whatever it was you said was preposterous and absurd. We have looked good in patches, but we haven't looked as good as we have done in the last 5 or so games, we look next level now even the performances in the Spurs and Villa victories do not compare to how we are playing now.

We have been good since Dec 2020 - based on the points we have won. That is not absurd - it is fact.
The quality of the football has been variable - good in patches. Certainly not all crap as you claimed.

I disagree about the Spurs and Villa games - we looked as good then as we do now. Especially the Villa game.

The bottom line is that our current play is not a surprise to me at all, but it is to you.
That is because I spotted the progress a long time ago.

[theHotHead]

Jay, we played fooking shit up until Auba was dropped, but we were winning games. Our football improved when Auba was dropped, we began to get good performances as well as results.

There is no way you can tell me we played good football. Even last season during our recovery the football wasn't great, it was ok in patches but again we got plenty of results

I would say we have played well in patches earlier in the season, villa, leicester, spurs etc we saw glimpses of good play which wasn't always sustained through a full 90 minutes, we have defended better on the whole (after those first 3 games) hence why we have the joint most clean sheets in the league I believe. The main issue I could see was our transition between midfield and attack and also holding on to the ball and possession long enough to maintain or relieve pressure, we seem like we have remedied this now and have looked really good after the man UTD/Everton matches. I would say west ham, Leeds, Norwich, Sunderland and even yesterday against city we have played well, created chances and have looked comfortable in every match, when was the last time city looked so ordinary? And when was the last time city were limited to 1 shot on target from open play in a match?

Yep.
We looked good in patches last season too.
It’s been coming together and a few could see it.
Excited about what the team can do over the coming years as they continue to grow together

Right! Finally you admit, we have looked good in PATCHES!!

Coming here and saying we have looked good for 45 games or whatever it was you said was preposterous and absurd. We have looked good in patches, but we haven't looked as good as we have done in the last 5 or so games, we look next level now even the performances in the Spurs and Villa victories do not compare to how we are playing now.

We have been good since Dec 2020 - based on the points we have won. That is not absurd - it is fact.
The quality of the football has been variable - good in patches. Certainly not all crap as you claimed.

I disagree about the Spurs and Villa games - we looked as good then as we do now. Especially the Villa game.

The bottom line is that our current play is not a surprise to me at all, but it is to you.
That is because I spotted the progress a long time ago.

Aaah yes, the progress that took us to 8th and out of Europe!

[jayramfootball]

Jay, we played fooking shit up until Auba was dropped, but we were winning games. Our football improved when Auba was dropped, we began to get good performances as well as results.

There is no way you can tell me we played good football. Even last season during our recovery the football wasn't great, it was ok in patches but again we got plenty of results

I would say we have played well in patches earlier in the season, villa, leicester, spurs etc we saw glimpses of good play which wasn't always sustained through a full 90 minutes, we have defended better on the whole (after those first 3 games) hence why we have the joint most clean sheets in the league I believe. The main issue I could see was our transition between midfield and attack and also holding on to the ball and possession long enough to maintain or relieve pressure, we seem like we have remedied this now and have looked really good after the man UTD/Everton matches. I would say west ham, Leeds, Norwich, Sunderland and even yesterday against city we have played well, created chances and have looked comfortable in every match, when was the last time city looked so ordinary? And when was the last time city were limited to 1 shot on target from open play in a match?

Yep.
We looked good in patches last season too.
It’s been coming together and a few could see it.
Excited about what the team can do over the coming years as they continue to grow together

Right! Finally you admit, we have looked good in PATCHES!!

Coming here and saying we have looked good for 45 games or whatever it was you said was preposterous and absurd. We have looked good in patches, but we haven't looked as good as we have done in the last 5 or so games, we look next level now even the performances in the Spurs and Villa victories do not compare to how we are playing now.

We have been good since Dec 2020 - based on the points we have won. That is not absurd - it is fact.
The quality of the football has been variable - good in patches. Certainly not all crap as you claimed.

I disagree about the Spurs and Villa games - we looked as good then as we do now. Especially the Villa game.

The bottom line is that our current play is not a surprise to me at all, but it is to you.
That is because I spotted the progress a long time ago.

Aaah yes, the progress that took us to 8th and out of Europe!

No, the progress in the amount of points we were winning, the signs all through 2021 that the team was starting to find more fluidity and, of course, the excellent transfer window. All these things were there for people who wanted to see, which is why the way we are playing now is no surprise to me at all.
It's not like it should be a surprise for you, either. I have been telling you for some time.
Still only part way through the journey - we had a massive overhaul to do and a few more players - and more experience - is still required.

[starmandb]

Jay, we played fooking shit up until Auba was dropped, but we were winning games. Our football improved when Auba was dropped, we began to get good performances as well as results.

There is no way you can tell me we played good football. Even last season during our recovery the football wasn't great, it was ok in patches but again we got plenty of results

I would say we have played well in patches earlier in the season, villa, leicester, spurs etc we saw glimpses of good play which wasn't always sustained through a full 90 minutes, we have defended better on the whole (after those first 3 games) hence why we have the joint most clean sheets in the league I believe. The main issue I could see was our transition between midfield and attack and also holding on to the ball and possession long enough to maintain or relieve pressure, we seem like we have remedied this now and have looked really good after the man UTD/Everton matches. I would say west ham, Leeds, Norwich, Sunderland and even yesterday against city we have played well, created chances and have looked comfortable in every match, when was the last time city looked so ordinary? And when was the last time city were limited to 1 shot on target from open play in a match?

The 0-0 home game with Southampton this season

[Zenith]

[Zenith]

[NovaGB]

I'd like to see this against smaller teams

------------------------New Striker------------------

Martinelli--Smith Rowe--Odegaard---Saka
---------------------------Partey---------------------
Tierney---------Gabriel--White-----Tomiyasu
-------------------------Ramsdale

[Angelito]