Albert Sambi Lokonga (23)

[DiamondGooner]

As I pointed out previously.

Lokonga is more in the mold of Xhaka, a ball playing CM.

Bissouma is more like a Partey, Kante midfield enforcer / defensive ball winning type.

That's why I said it should of been Elneny behind ESR and Odegaard to play that anchor role instead of Lokonga .......... it obviously wasn't working which is why Xhaka got moved back into midfield when we started getting over run by Brighton's breaks.

.......... also lets not forget, this is Brighton ffs we're dissecting it like they're Barcelona, because that's how we made them look at times.

We were the problem.

[Salibatelli]

Yes Brighton hadn’t won a game in 7 and had score 1 goal in those 7.

Suddenly they play us away and score 2.

[jayramfootball]

As I pointed out previously.

Lokonga is more in the mold of Xhaka, a ball playing CM.

Bissouma is more like a Partey, Kante midfield enforcer / defensive ball winning type.

That's why I said it should of been Elneny behind ESR and Odegaard to play that anchor role instead of Lokonga .......... it obviously wasn't working which is why Xhaka got moved back into midfield when we started getting over run by Brighton's breaks.

.......... also lets not forget, this is Brighton ffs we're dissecting it like they're Barcelona, because that's how we made them look at times.

We were the problem.

I think they had 3 shots on target and 8 shots overall.
They hardly dissected us.
Their second goal was magnificent football that would have been hard to stop by any team.

I agree on the difference between Bissouma and Lakonga however - different strengths.

[DiamondGooner]

........... I didn't say that though did I.

I said "we're dissecting it like they're Barcelona" as in we're pouring over the stats etc.

[ag6789]

Shouldn't expect a lot from a midfield of Partey, Xhakha, Lokonga, Elneny. Only quality is Odegaard. So, what we are getting right now is not totally unexpected. We have been punching above our weight for a while due to the improved defense and quality wingers in Saka, Martinelli and ESR. Now that injuries have caught up w/us and defense is no longer protected much, we look overwhelmed.
So, basically, it means we will need reinforcement in the middle and up top , and accept whatever position comes our way and roll on.

[jayramfootball]

........... I didn't say that though did I.

I said "we're dissecting it like they're Barcelona" as in we're pouring over the stats etc.

...."because that's how we made them look at times"

Read that as you thinking the cut us to ribbons like Barca used to do to teams... not what you meant?

[DiamondGooner]

Only for the two goals, mainly the second one and we couldn't handle their breaks but I'm saying we're dissecting the match / players stats like its Barcelona and some big match.

Its Brighton.

[jayramfootball]

Only for the two goals, mainly the second one and we couldn't handle their breaks but I'm saying we're dissecting the match / players stats like its Barcelona and some big match.

Its Brighton.

Fair enough.
That second goal was world class - has to be said.

[Fran Solo]

Shouldn't expect a lot from a midfield of Partey, Xhakha, Lokonga, Elneny. Only quality is Odegaard. So, what we are getting right now is not totally unexpected. We have been punching above our weight for a while due to the improved defense and quality wingers in Saka, Martinelli and ESR. Now that injuries have caught up w/us and defense is no longer protected much, we look overwhelmed.
So, basically, it means we will need reinforcement in the middle and up top , and accept whatever position comes our way and roll on.

Partey is quality, no?

[theHotHead]

Shouldn't expect a lot from a midfield of Partey, Xhakha, Lokonga, Elneny. Only quality is Odegaard. So, what we are getting right now is not totally unexpected. We have been punching above our weight for a while due to the improved defense and quality wingers in Saka, Martinelli and ESR. Now that injuries have caught up w/us and defense is no longer protected much, we look overwhelmed.
So, basically, it means we will need reinforcement in the middle and up top , and accept whatever position comes our way and roll on.

More nonsense from the king of nonsense.

We have not been punching above our weight at all, we have been playing exactly how a team with the players we have should be playing. We now look overwhelmed solely because Arteta did not plan ahead, its piss poor management. A good manager plans ahead, he has a contingency plan. There is no reason whatsoever for injuries to have caught up with us.

At the beginning of the season we had a plethora of players that could all have contributed to the team, Arteta chose to let half of them go. The only part of your post that is correct is that it was not totally unexpected - because many people called it out.

This is not a situation where you can bemoan the unfairness of football, this is a situation that the short-sightedness and inexperience of a manager has caused!

[jayramfootball]

Shouldn't expect a lot from a midfield of Partey, Xhakha, Lokonga, Elneny. Only quality is Odegaard. So, what we are getting right now is not totally unexpected. We have been punching above our weight for a while due to the improved defense and quality wingers in Saka, Martinelli and ESR. Now that injuries have caught up w/us and defense is no longer protected much, we look overwhelmed.
So, basically, it means we will need reinforcement in the middle and up top , and accept whatever position comes our way and roll on.

Partey is quality, no?

At times.
Xhaka has been much better than Partey this year, though.
Deeper Midfield is definitely the area we need to strengthen.Only Lakonga really has a future here .
Partey is 30 next year and in truth has been a disappointment.
We have to be careful in the summer. Players that look brilliant in other leagues can not always handle the PL.

[jayramfootball]

Shouldn't expect a lot from a midfield of Partey, Xhakha, Lokonga, Elneny. Only quality is Odegaard. So, what we are getting right now is not totally unexpected. We have been punching above our weight for a while due to the improved defense and quality wingers in Saka, Martinelli and ESR. Now that injuries have caught up w/us and defense is no longer protected much, we look overwhelmed.
So, basically, it means we will need reinforcement in the middle and up top , and accept whatever position comes our way and roll on.

More nonsense from the king of nonsense.

We have not been punching above our weight at all, we have been playing exactly how a team with the players we have should be playing. We now look overwhelmed solely because Arteta did not plan ahead, its piss poor management. A good manager plans ahead, he has a contingency plan. There is no reason whatsoever for injuries to have caught up with us.

At the beginning of the season we had a plethora of players that could all have contributed to the team, Arteta chose to let half of them go. The only part of your post that is correct is that it was not totally unexpected - because many people called it out.

This is not a situation where you can bemoan the unfairness of football, this is a situation that the short-sightedness and inexperience of a manager has caused!

Happy to get many of those players out of our club, even if it means the squad is thin and it takes longer to get back into top 4.
I am very glad we didn’t have them hanging around.
None of them showed they could help us when they were here anyway.

[theHotHead]

Still burying your head in the sand Jay ?!!

Carry on .......

[Highbury Hillbilly]

Shouldn't expect a lot from a midfield of Partey, Xhakha, Lokonga, Elneny. Only quality is Odegaard. So, what we are getting right now is not totally unexpected. We have been punching above our weight for a while due to the improved defense and quality wingers in Saka, Martinelli and ESR. Now that injuries have caught up w/us and defense is no longer protected much, we look overwhelmed.
So, basically, it means we will need reinforcement in the middle and up top , and accept whatever position comes our way and roll on.

Partey is quality, no?

Did you see him against Palace? He is incredibly inconsistent, and with his background he should be far more composed on the ball. He's made Xhaka look the better player several times this season.

There's a rumour from Fichajes.net that Arteta isn't happy w/him and wants to sell him in the summer.

[Fran Solo]

Shouldn't expect a lot from a midfield of Partey, Xhakha, Lokonga, Elneny. Only quality is Odegaard. So, what we are getting right now is not totally unexpected. We have been punching above our weight for a while due to the improved defense and quality wingers in Saka, Martinelli and ESR. Now that injuries have caught up w/us and defense is no longer protected much, we look overwhelmed.
So, basically, it means we will need reinforcement in the middle and up top , and accept whatever position comes our way and roll on.

Partey is quality, no?

Did you see him against Palace? He is incredibly inconsistent, and with his background he should be far more composed on the ball. He's made Xhaka look the better player several times this season.

There's a rumour from Fichajes.net that Arteta isn't happy w/him and wants to sell him in the summer.

The Palace game was one bad game after a string of good game from him. And he was injured in that match. We have seen similar incident before. Partey against Spurs and especially Tomiyasu against Liverpool. I wonder if they were not actually 100% fit for those games.
And why should Arteta not happy with him (or Tavares or anyone) when he plays Lacazette after he plays more bad games?