Laca Is The Slayer Of The Baggies
Sep 25th, 2017 by 'holic
The expected back three and wing-backs were named in the starting eleven, but the midfield was re-arranged with Mohamed Elneny stepping alongside Granit Xhaka, This enabled Aaron Ramsey to be played in support of Alexis Sanchez and Alex Lacazette. Interestingly Jack Wilshere was next to Mesut Ozil on the bench and there was no place for Alex Iwobi.
Gareth Barry broke the Premier League record for appearances when he stepped onto the pitch for a 633rd time in the top flight. In the technical area stood a familiar baseball cap wearing slightly more than middle aged man.
The first big opportunity came the way of an Alexis free-kick from just outside the left hand side of the box which curled agonisingly wide of the far post. Out of the blue Rodriguez found himself one on one against Shkodran Mustafi in the box and was clearly brought down by the German international. He was up in a flash and got away a shot that Cech did well to turn onto the far post. Livermore hit the rebound wide when a goal seemed more likely. A let off indeed.
After Aaron Ramsey had put a near post header wide of the mark the next to try his luck was Kieran Gibbs. Fortunately the former Gunner blazed his effort high and wide. He had got a warm reception from the home support before the match.
Not for the first time at the Grove Ben Foster took an age to take goal-kicks and of course Bobby Madley made no early caution to nip the blatant time-wasting in the bud. It has to be said though that the visitors were rather more energetic in their pressing of the ball from front to back, but for how long could they keep that up?
Evans, an Arsenal target in the transfer window, tripped the lively Elneny on the edge of the box. Alexis went closer this time, hitting the bar full on, and Lacazette headed the rebound into the empty net. Twenty minutes in we had the early goal to settle the nerves.
Arsenal 1-0 West Brom
The Arsenal were warming to the task with Ramsey and Elneny prompting and Alexis never far from the action, but it was Nacho Monreal who was denied a goal by a desperate Nyom challenge. The referee would have had a decision to make had Nacho dropped to the floor. Alexis sent Ramsey clear but his attempt at a quick cross was claimed by Foster, strangely still in no rush to get it back into play.
Another clear penalty was denied when Krychowiak clearly pulled Alexis to the floor but the referees eyesight recovered sufficiently to spot Evans nasty challenge on Lacazette and the first yellow card of the night was produced. Alexis was again very close to the target with the resulting free-kick.
Arsenal owed a debt of gratitude to Monreal for a spectacular goal-line clearance when Rodriguez was gifted a free header at the far post. The same player was within inches of connecting with another cross from point-blank range. As the visitors pressed again Kolasinac was pushed to the floor by Dawson and picked the ball up expecting a free-kick. Mr Madley awarded the handball which drew a furious reaction from Alexis. The yellow card count was levelled.
Rodriguez, proving himself a real handful, was once again close as the half drew to a close. A scramble at the near post was eventually scrambled behind by a combination of the Baggies striker and Petr Cech. The former new neighbour reported that Cech was giving Alexis a real dressing down as the teams left the pitch.
The second-half was barely three minutes old when Dawson scythed through the back of Alexis to make the yellow card count 1-2. Five minutes in Elneny teed up Lacazette for a drive that was deflected over the crossbar for an unproductive corner. Elneny’s frequent sojourns into the attack were impressive, but leaving the back three exposed with just Xhaka for cover.
We almost converted a corner in an unlikely fashion when Mustafi sprinted to the near post for a deft flick which tested the alertness of Foster. Rodriguez somehow avoided censure for smashing an elbow into Monreal’s cheek as the Spaniard cleared one down the line. Next to go through the back of his man was Krychowiak on Elneny. The Baggies thereby extended their lead in the yellow card count. Dawson’s next challenge on Alexis drew a free-kick but not a second yellow card.
A stunning turn and cross by Alexis sadly counted for nought when Ramsey couldn’t help his cross into the path of Lacazette in a crowded box. The visitors sent on the experienced Morrison for Livermore in a bid to keep up the pressing game, and almost immediately he also put on Rondon for Robson-Kanu.
Almost midway through the half Ramsey sprinted clear of Nyom by the touchline and the full-back shoved Rambo over. The deadly Lacazette drilled his spot-kick beyond the dive of Carson. Thoughts turned to the ‘holic pound. One more please!
Arsenal 2-0 West Brom
Looking for his first hat-trick in a Gunners shirt Lacazette then magnificently controlled a superb lofted through ball from Alexis but sliced his effort over the target. On the touchline a slightly more than middle-aged man in a track suit and baseball cap was apoplectic. He ranted incoherently at his assistants and on came Phillips for the hapless Nyom. With his first touch he drew a save from Cech.
With twelve minutes left Dawson avoided a second yellow again for another savage assault from behind on Alexis. It’s hard to know what goes through the referee’s mind on such an occasion. St Francis of Assisi would have sent him off. On the Gunners ploughed against understandably tiring opponents. Hector Bellerin’s powerful shot was deflected for a corner. Cue the introduction of Giroud and Ozil for Lacazette and Alexis to standing ovations. Those were good to see in the light of recent circumstances.
Now totally in control the third perhaps should have fallen to Xhaka when teed up by Giroud. In his excitement he fired it over the bar. I was hoping for the delivery of the coup de grace, for obvious reasons. I was to be (mildly) disappointed. This was a solid Arsenal performance, grinding down a tough opposition before asserting their obvious superiority.
West Brom deserve some credit for being rather more adventurous than we might have otherwise expected, but leopards don’t change their spots and once again a team managed by a slightly more than middle-aged man in a baseball cap had demonstrably been shown that the Arsenal aren’t the soft touch he believes they are with his bully boy instructions.
In closing, a word for Gibbo. Well played son. Have a great future.
80 Responses to “Laca Is The Slayer Of The Baggies”
I agree
I also agree.
Now to read the post.
I even heard Stephen Sidwell on the wireless this morning talking about Arsenal’s soft underbelly. It’s got into the laziest of punditry and tactics of dinosaurss
Lazy punditry, really? ?
Damn quick that, and I agree too.
Well, being an Arsenal player for years, never getting a start, then playing for Stoke tends to cultivate those kinds of comments by footballers-cum-commentators.
Not the greatest performance but 3 points is 3 points. I thought our first half performance was not great. We got away with a pen which could well have put us under pressure. We were much better in the second half although still could only score from the spot.
Whilst there was a lot of industry there was very little creativity. Elneny, Ramsey and Xhaka will run all day, but they create very little. For me it shows how much we miss Ozil and shows why we should be getting Jack on the pitch. Hopefully he will start on Thursday.
Nice write up H.
A game of such overwhelming mundanity,that i have given my Man of the Match award to Ash Maitland – Niles.
We’ve edged above Huddersfield in the table.
Whoopee.
And oh, I do agree.
I would say though, that there has been many times I’ve watched us play somewhat technically weaker opposition, and still pick out a quick wing back, saying to myself “Now, he looks quite interesting.” Gibbs didn’t tease those thoughts out of me today. And I almost somehow hoped he would, if only because of his long service. I wish him all the best, and he deserves his place in the annals of the Arsenal, but however illustrious his career in the future will pan out, I do believe we made the right decision in moving him on at this point. Just a bit sad he didn’t play a blinder and still lost.
AW can still surprise too. Keeps
Xhaka and Rambo together after
the Anfield fiasco, then changes
after a much better show at the
Chavs. Can’t argue with the
result though, so credit to him.
And a shout for Cech’s fingertips
and Nacho’s boot off the line.
Laca was calmer than me for
the penalty fortunately.
Off to Eastern Europe we go.
I know for a fact how much effort you put into your punditry neighbour
Just in. Not read the Guvna’s post but I too may agree. ?
We were very poor in the first half. Against a better team we would have been 3-1 down at HT, certainly 2-1 down. However, despite only having a penalty to show for it, we were far better in the second, kept the Baggies’ threat under control and should certainly have delivered the Guvna’s 3-0 winnings.
Job done.
Now for Jack, Feo, Iwobi and HFB to deliver the goods in Batty Borisov.
Watched it, fell asleep, woke up, watched a bit more, had a cup of tea, managed not to spill it or fall asleep, advised a maye not to back Lacazette for the hat-trick as Wenger would take him off and lo and behold…
Still think three at the back is asking for trouble but this entire club feels like it’s in a holding pattern. We’re a dull watch and have been for a long time IMO.
Still it could be worse.
Obvious typo. Who the hell is maye?
I do agree Guvna. Nice report.
Just watching the game again. I retract ‘very poor’ from 12, and substitute ‘quite disappointing’.
Top performances from Monreal, Ramsey and Lacazette. Too many useless show pony flicks from Sanchez to get top marks.
Upgrades required for Elneny and Xhaka for this team to become a real challenger.
Wow ! Quick and comprehensive, Holic.
Pulis on Sky right now – complaining that Sanchez dived for his first free kick and should have been booked ‘cos “it’s cheating”.
Yes, Tony Pulis, formerly of Stoke, complaining about cheating.
Ozil on the bench was a pleasant surprise, and a degree more fluency in consequence promised more than was eventually delivered. Perhaps we could have been luckier and had the match won by half-time, but not to be and the resulting tension made for mistakes at crucial moments.
Fortunately some Truly Madley Dopily decisions from the whistle blower kept us in the game. In particular keeping Shkodran Leader Mustafi on the field when his challenge on Rodriguez could have been redded as well as penned. But that leniency was balanced by an equally daft decision later not to award us a pen for Krikeywack’s drag-down of Alexis.
In between, my new favourite gunner Alexandre L’Exocet claimed another goal after being the only player on either side to follow up Alexis’s bar shaking free. Yes I had my doubts about Laca’s size and ability to hack it in the Prem, but he looks more and more reassuring with every outing. Memo Theo: Pool in January?
Now, if this same team could be allowed a run of games to properly mould their obvious talents, we could make some decent progress.
Just back from the game – these 8 pm kick offs are too much for old men like me. I thought we did a decent job. If Chelsea or United had done that we have heard how professional they were and how the three points were all that mattered.
We were very lucky not to concede in the first half but in the second completely dominated and won easily in the end. Lacazette and Kalashnikov are real finds and tonight Nacho was quite magnificent- easily our man of the match. Ramsey worked very hard indeed and took up some great positions but Sanchez often failed to find him.
I’m sad to hear that Tony Pulis was upset. That has spoilt my evening.
I like slightly unripened, slightly sour apricots in my Lamb Tagine.
That is all.
Poor Tony. Ain’t it a shame when thuggery doesn’t get its just reward. Bitter isn’t the half of it.
I forgot to give Nacho the kudos he deserved for his motm performance. In particular his out-of-the-blue goal-line rescue.
But I have to add that with a back 4 we’d have had a left back covering the far post rather than a gaping hole for Rodriguez to run free in.
Pulis middle-aged, ‘holic? Pft. He’s barely out of his teens.
I’ve just seen the pundits summary and managers’ interviews. I think I saw a different game. We strolled the second half and played the only football that was played. There were two definite penalties in the first half- one each- and our penalty was beyond disputed. Sky are slanting the focus too much to their agenda. TalkShite will take it up tomorrow no doubt.
West Brom are shit, they largely played shit and ended very well beaten. All the quality came from Arsenal and some very good performances were produced.
Sometimes I despair of the game I love.
Above average match report. That is to say, I liked it.??♀️?
All the reports seem to be about Alexis ‘diving’. No mention at all of WBA going through the back more often than not.
Nevertheless, WBA did go through the back more often than not.
Spot on, ‘holic.
Re: Dublin Gooner @19.
And more power to ya. 😉
free state fuckers
.
UNITED IRELAND
.
no
load a fruits
.
ahhhhh
shiiiiiiiii
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zc3LHxEjKNc
in related nonsense
.
if any of you round the world gooners
feel a wee bit irish on st Patrick’s day
go elsewhere
Ireland is full of unreconstructed cunts
and you are a disappointment to your family
BEHAVE !
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEyEO_LVESk
‘dublin’
bout as irish as blackpool
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKoP19WHcFA
ask baff
yer al dooooooooooomed
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-7VNsmWW0I
Isn’t St Pat’s Day in March?
Problem with the Irish is they’re too darn Irish. And that includes you, cba. Even if you’re my favourite Irishman after Billy Yeats and Spike Milligan. Oh, and maybe Seamus Heaney, and then there’s Oscar and Brendan … hmm.
Here’s a choice for you, which I hope will cheer you up. Two versions of the same classic by the same artist about 40 years apart. Betcha can’t pick a favourite:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzS-Jis7kfA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBzXtc8CrrM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jaBOvHTAmY
i am from the north
throw yer shamrock nonsense elsewhere
?
ya upside down darlin
.
.
‘dublin’
bout as irish as blackpool – cba #31
And less so than Liverpool, perhaps?
paddys talk
have issues
.
i for one am tired of ’em
eeejits
I’ll shut up.
Nothing to do with Ireland or the Irish … https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUd1t5ygdWg
Good lee
As saying itgerese
chris
nowt roars my self
like aeiothers
After nicking a couple of 1-0s to
start the season WBA haven’t won
in four games and have only scored
4 goals in 6 games.
I thought there were a few
refereeing decisions that could have
gone either way but I suppose
Pukis has to blame something given
their situation. My brother-in-law
is a West Brom supporter, the poor
fuck must be bored to tears.
Cheers H!
In the first half we did everything to prove that we don’t do defence, except against Chelsea. Lucky we didn’t go behind , otherwise the second half would not have been the romp it turned out for us.
Monreal has never got the appreciation or credit for his performance in match after match. He is probably our most consistent player.
In Ozil’s absence, the flow was missing from our game. We need to get him in, especially in big matches.
WBA’s tactic was to nick a goal and defend and they almost succeeded. We are lucky to get away with three points. We have not looked very convincing this season and a big improvement is needed if we are to finish in the top four.
Essooooooo! 🙂
@46 ksn
Agree with everything you said.
I’d have thought bringing
Elneny in would make us more
secure in the centre but it
didn’t seem to turn out that way.
Might be a one off for West Brom
though so I’ll wait and see who
starts against Brighton.
TalkShite will take it up tomorrow
Sounds painful
Great write up – As always GH watched the same match as me.
According to the BBC and Guardian we were “shakey” last night.
Very funny that, because as a fan i cannot remember being so relaxed for an entire second half as I was last night…I was more nervous and we were far more “shakey” against Doncaster last week !
Good night out. Good three points.
Elneny and Xhaka are MF featherweights. Mustafi is an accident waiting to happen. Alexis Sanchezis is now the consumate runner up blind alleys and giver away of balls which put the ponderous trio of X,E and M under pressure ( which could easily have resulted in three WBA goals). In Ozil’s absence we lacked guile, we were as guileless as a gilly with a guilendectomy and it was zero surprise that both goals resulted from free kicks. Oh, and in Danny’s absence no-one worked on closing down WBA’s defenders.
Good night out. Good three points. Missed you, Bath. Next time.
A balmy autumn night in North London (it was 18 degrees as I stepped from the car). No 1 son was getting hammered at Freshers’ week so I was on my Tod. Supper was old school, a hot dog (from outside, not inside the ground, natch).
The West Brom support was much reduced and well below their quota. They were also quiet as lambs all night. Pulis seems to have put the dead hand on the supporters.
Great report Holic. Agree with everyone above that it was a nervy, slightly lucky first half but that we completely bossed the second. Two of the penalties happened right in front of me, Rodriguez and Ramsey. I thought both were clear penalties. The Sanchez shout was too far away from me but the BBC, the Guvna and other sources seem to indicate that it was a good shout. I’m not sure what the foul count was but Sanchez in particular was kicked from pillar to post. I thought we stood up well to the rotational fouling. WBA played two up top first half and we struggled a bit for about 20 minutes. A few opposition coaches will have noticed that.
The good. As mentioned above Nacho was imperious and for me MOTM. Elneny also excellent. Cech made a couple of critical saves. Laca is the real deal, a poacher’s goal and a clinical penalty taker. He also linked up well especially second half. Kola again good and, I thought, Bellerin’s best game for a while.
The bad. Sanchez was awful. Slowed the game down, predictable, kept losing the ball, very unnecessary yellow card (I was really worried he was going to get a red so was glad when he was subbed). He’ll continue to be bad until he wins us a game again. Probably Sunday.
Game completely died after our second goal. No bad thing, I quite like a comfortable 2-0 every now and again.
Seeing Pulis absolutely doing his filbert on the side was the best part of the game, apart from our goals. By the way what is the point of Gary Megson?
They decided to shut the M11 so after a tour of Hertfordshire I got home about 12.30. Six pm kick off on Thursday and then 12 noon (WTF???) on Sunday. We’re certainly into it now.
Although they had a couple of chances I thought we completely dominated the game.
Finally, a penalty taker for the Arse who hits them low, hard and in the corner. I hope he takes them all as I’ve lost count of the number we’ve missed in recent years. Shades of Snouty.
UTA.
Megson exists to make Pulis seem human.
The hardest job in football.
Have we gone higher than Huddersfield yet?
More to the point, will be still be higher at the end of the season?
What about Brighton then?
If Gary Megson falls in the forest…do we give a shit?
bt8,
crushing Huddersfield by a whole
point, don’t even have to rely on
goal difference.
As for Brighton, they’re not
in our league. Oh…. alright
then, they’re 3 points behind us
but it’ll be six on Sunday.
we leave him for the bears TTG 🙂
Thank you, ‘H, for the report. Spot on as always.
The game was just above average but 3 points are welcome however they come!
The highlights for me were the Monreal goal line clearance, Rambo’s industry and freedom in a new role and Lacazette’s calm and ruthlessness.
Lacazette is a poacher and is much stronger than he looks. He also has this way of drifting into the channels that coupled with his speed, makes him almost impossible to mark.
We need to get a central midfield general asap. The reason being that Xhaka needs a partner seeing as Rambo is better suited behind the main striker ( in the Ozil position if you will).
Jack and Santi cannot be relied upon completely going forward, you never know when they’re liable to break down.
The position that has me worrying is central defence.
Mustafi will cost us points if he doesn’t wise up fast. Holding is not yet ready and who knows what shape Chambers is in. Factor in the BFG retiring at the end of the season with Kos and Nacho the wrong side of 30, and you see why we need a big signing there.
Overall the team seems to be in good shape and there’s a lot more positivity around the place. Long may it last.
Everton and Man City are the only heavy hitters we play between now and the first week of November so we should be there or thereabouts when the roll is called.
UTA
Sound Gooner.
Excellent points. But beware Watford away (Oct 14). They’re playing really well apart from the 0-6 drubbing by Citeh. Liverpool only got a point there.
Sorry Solid Gooner not Sound Gooner.
Agreed with the plaudits people are giving Monreal. What a performance!
What’s with all the stompin’ and stampin’
http://www.bbc.com/sport/football/41392831
It must be the bloodthirsty fans’ fault.
TTG @56 – ?
Our central defence and central midfield problems are closely linked. Our central defenders are regularly found out of position because they are drawn forward to try to win the ball in the midfield areas vacated by our central midfielders.
I’m not sure whether we need an old fashioned midfield general or not. The problem is that your double-hard, Vieira-like bastard is no longer allowed to tackle like a double-hard, Vieira-like bastard.
Granit Xhaka came with the reputation of an uncompromising, tough tackler, so much so that the main worry was that he would ouck up too many red cards for his “lack of discipline”.
Well, he did pick up a few red cards in his early days at the club – mostly for next to nothing – to the extent that he now looks frightened to tackle anyone at all for fear of further caution.
Regardless of how hard, or otherwise, our central midfielders are, what they need above all is a sense of developing danger and a willingness to deal with it. Gilberto Silva was the last player we had who really possessed those traits. Anyone we have had since with any defensive nous, has quickly lost or abandoned it in the quest to get forward and become some kind of ‘false 10’.
Chelsea was the difference when the players were clearly under strict instruction to stay in position – and what a difference.
3 points and the relief is palpable. Lot of poor defending seems to happen we play against team which we think we have the right to beat. There are no teams like that and unless this is not understand, we will continue to make such mistakes, some go punished, some dont.
Xhaka and Ramsey casual with the former guilty more often, Aaron nearly gifted one to the baggies with misplaced passing as well.
Mustafi just doesnt seem to get it that he cannot every tackle and cannot get infront of every attacker to nick the ball off. His lack of control and positional sense is worrying.
Alexis continues to infuriate, moments of magic and large moments of selfishness and misplaced passes. He should realize by now that cutting on to his right has become a one pony trick.
We need to win not playing well and keep in touching distance from the leaders, this way the confidence will return and hopefully a sustained effort as well.
onto thursday nights.
RM scored again. Spectacular goal really. Bale to Ronaldo after a series of pretty triangles.
Dortmund back in it with a nice touch by Aubameyang
I hate to say it but three quality goals by Kane in Cyprus.
Very good analysis as ever by Trev.
I find myself sounding like a gramophone record but almost every poster on here , my many Arsenal- supporting mates and the whole Arsenal blogosphere has identified our need for an authoritative midfielder who can boss the midfield. Vieira was an extraordinary player but as Trev says he would have to pull in his horns nowadays. Why oh why didn’t we do something in the window?
Xhaka is erratic, he has silky skills but lacks concentration which often affects his passing and his tracking of opponents. He is also inhibited by the red cards he picked up last yearRamsey is only really effective in a role where he can break into space and he did it very well last night. Sanchez failed to find him about five times in great positions.
Cazorla gave a different quality to our midfield. He was a decent tackler but he dictated play in a way that Xhaka hasn’t got the speed of thought to do. Frankly I’d like to see Wilshere given a chance in the Xhaka role although he isn’t exactly what we need and it is highly unlikely we can sign anyone in January who would solve our problems. Ornstein indicated that Wenger decided a couple of days before the window closed that we needed to do something about the midfield. He was too late , ironic then in his notes last night he indicated that the Lemar deal couldn’t be resurrected two days before the end of the window.
I sense Arsene operates very much on his instincts and they seem less reliable, much less than they used to.
No worries C100, according to the great Tuco, “One name is as good as the other”.
Watford is a team on the up under Marco Silva who I quite like.
They have also beaten us in the last two seasons at the Emirates albeit in different competitions.
Underestimating them would be to our peril.
Having said that, if we maintain our present focus and full complement of players, we should beat them home or away.
Trev
We need a midfield general not necessarily old fashioned.
My definition of a midfield general in modern day football is a well rounded player with more endurance than physicality.
One who is able to read play from deep anticipating the opponents game with an engine to get up and down the pitch contributing at both ends.
Your example, Gilberto Silva or someone with his qualities, is perfect.
He was way before his time.
Not sure we can find anyone exactly like him but there must be a few players out there who can replicate the job he did for us.
As regards our midfield being the problem of the defence, I agree that some of the woe encountered was due to a lack of positional discipline but that has been addressed to an extent as evidenced in the last two league games.
The issue is with personnel.
Mustafi to be exact.
He has these brain freezes from time to time and goes to ground too easily. He takes the most risks and is not particularly fast. The thing here is that as things stand, he’s rated higher than all we’ve got as central defenders below 30. We need an upgrade in that department asap.
That’s my take.
Problem with our back 3 is they still play as if there’s a phantom 4th player who will pop into existence in emergencies. Take the Nacho miracle save for example. The acre of room Rodriguez ran into for a free header across Cech would have had a left back waiting to contest the ball in a back 4. It seems to me that so long as we squeeze out the occasional win or draw AW is going to stick with 3 despite the players having spent their careers in back 4s and being very slow learners of the new formation.
Everyone agrees Kalashnikov has more uncompromising qualities to his play than the rest of the defence combined so, before we go spending large on yet another DMF possible, why not give him a go alongside Xhaka? If he can’t command the centre who could?
Afternoon Chris,
“would have had a left back waiting
to contest”
I admire your optimism 🙂
Chris, Osaka,
Yep, I can’t remember our fullbacks ever being caught upfield and out of position during an attack …….
A-hem ….
Good discussion above. I too wonder whether Kolasinac could, like a certain EP17, step highly effectively into the central midfield. However it would be rather nice to have yet another player in that mould in the centre of midfield.
I agree too that Kola has potential
to play in the centre but I’d have
2 concerns. First, we’re a bit short
on the left now that Kieran’s gone
so Nacho would have to push and
one of Rob, Calum or Mert would
have to come in. Just now I’d go
with Mert but they all have question
marks. This isn’t a criticism by the way
that we let Cohen go on loan – he’s a
nice story but a long shot and I
think the loan was the right move.
Second, who is the best fit with
Kola? Do we think Xhaka is the best
fit with Kola? Just looks a bit
cumbersome to me. Santi and Jack
might work but sadly they’re both
long shots too. Maybe Rambo out
of the current CMs?
Guys before we start playing people in different positions may I suggest that Kola is great as LWB and brings an attacking verve as well as defensive steel and that Nacho is having the season of his life as the left sided CB in a three.
Leave well alone and address the deficiencies in the next two windows.
Well said, C100. Combine playing players in their position with, to Trev’s point @64, the discipline to play there and you have the makings of a team that can win things.
OM@75, CM100 @76 & Ned @77: fully agreed but inadequately expressed by my final sentence:
“However it would be rather nice to have yet another player in that mould in the centre of midfield.”
i.e. we need to find another big strong fella capable of imposing himself on the opposition and surging forward from CMF.
I wonder why we didn’t try for Bakayoko.
I wonder why we didn’t also try for a full back or two.
As another Ropey League game approaches, approximately 65 hours before Sunday’s Premier League fixture, our second string will have to step up again.
I suppose Calum Chambers was intended to stand in for Bellerin – given that Holding would be used as one of our three at the back – but he is now injured – surprise, surprise.
Nacho Monreal can hardly replace Kolasinac at left back because he is now an integral part of our back three for the more important Premier League fixtures.
Once again our squad management is called into question.
Was Monreal’s redeployment at the back part of the plan in the summer, or another unforeseen move born of necessity but now an integral part of the first eleven.
If Debuchy has become unemployable, why could he not be sold or even given away in the summer, even if we had to contribute to his new wages. At least that would have freed up a squad place for someone who could actually play when needed.
So do we now rely again on teenagers playing out of their positions away in Belarus ?
Or maybe we / the manager / Kroenke (delete as applicable), is planning to put a big enough pile of cash on the pitch for Borisov’s wingers to trip over ….. ?
We made two very good signings in the summer. The ones we didn’t make are currently looking at least as important.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>