Arsenal’s summer business has vastly improved Arteta’s squad and made the Gunners stronger than last season.
Seeing Declan Rice start at midfield, playing the No. 6 role, Jurrien Timber start at left-back, and Kai Havertz playing the No. 8 role, It is obvious so far that the recruits have all settled in and have reinforced the positions they ought to have, as was widely expected with their arrivals.
Timber (before he exited the field due to injury) and Rice excelled; if you didn’t know anything about Arsenal or their acquisition but watched them yesterday, you would have thought they were just at Arsenal all along, considering how in sync they were with the other players. Kai Havertz wasn’t remarkable, but he will no doubt grow from strength to strength, one game at a time.
We may have seen the three in clearly defined roles on Saturday, but remember how versatile they are. Timber can play almost everywhere in the backline; Rice can switch from playing a holding midfielder role to a box-to-box midfielder role when called upon, and Havertz can play as a false nine, a winger, or an attacking midfielder.
Last season, Arteta opted to be rigid with his line-up and formation, which got him back to contending for the Premier League.
This new season, with someone like Thomas Partey being played at right back and Tomiyasu being played at left back, squad rotation could now be the foundation for Arteta’s tactics this season.
With the squad Arteta now boasts, it will take time for teams to break down what he’s trying to do, just as much as us Arsenal fans were confused by his starting line-up on Saturday!
Daniel O
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Havertz tho!!!
What about him?
I know it’s just one game, but I don’t think we have improved yet, the defence was caught out so many times it’s a good job we were not playing a decent team.
Yes but have seen elements of square pegs squeezing into round holes again and we have been down this road before.
Wheres the evidence? Its far too early to say. What improvements did we see in the only game played so far? I dont get the article at all.
From my point of view there were no doubt about Rice and Timber, both have potential to be world class players.
Regarding Haverzt, I’m not convinced he will be a success story, but Maestro Arteta believes he can show us the very best Haverzt version, and I believe he is capable of doing it.
Now we must be patient and wait with the saw, until they have played at least eight or ten league matches 🔴⚪️
It’s only one game, let’s hope we never see a repeat of some players in those positions.
Partey at RB? Disaster waiting to happen, he will get skinned by a fast winger.
Rice, Partey, and Odegaard is our best midfield setup, would anyone disagree?
Why shoehorn Havertz into midfield and Partey to RB, and White to CB?
White is a great RB, but suspect at CB. His pace saves him and he’s not great with aerial duels.
Partey is top DM why move him? Havertz is still very suspect as a CM. Sometimes overthinking is negative and playing to players strengths is actually the wiser choice.
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