The ex-Arsenal prodigy Cesc Fabregas, who went on to win many titles with Barcelona and Chelsea, has been giving his thoughts on the new season, and he thinks that Arsenal will definitely be stronger than last season, but he doesn’t expect Chelsea to start being competitive until the next season comes around, once Pochettino has had time to groom his brand new signings together.
On Chelsea’s progress he remarkerd: “I can see what they are trying to do. A young, dynamic, powerful team. The players they have signed are top quality. It is about putting them together and letting them grow.
“For example, Enzo Fernandez has had some time to adapt, and Moises Caicedo is a top player. He is strong and with quality, having been coached by a top manager like Roberto De Zerbi. Maybe not this year, but from next year they will be ready to compete.”
On Arsenal’s title chances, Fabregas told SkySports: “Arsenal will compete for the title again; they are stronger than last season,” he said. “Declan Rice is fantastic. His personality brings a new dimension to the team, and he doesn’t really need too much time to adapt because he is so smart. He could be a big leader for Arsenal.”
That is a big praise from Cesc, who was considered one of our smartest midfielders back in Wenger’s day, and if he is impressed then I am as well. I mean we have already seen how dominating he can be when in defensive mode, and his pinpoint long passes up the wings to Martinelli and Saka seem to be getting better every game.
Rice was definitely our Man of the Match against Crystal Palace as had to defend our lead against ten men, and Arteta remarked about him after our 1-0 win: “I thought he was fantastic. He really dominated the game.”
“He bossed the midfield and dominated the game. He was very influential, both attacking and defending. Today he played a different position to last week because of what we expected from Palace and what we needed today, and I think he was really good.”
So, just as a change from the usual Kai Havertz bashing we normally get on here, can we all agree with Cesc that Declan Rice will probably end up worth every penny of the money we paid for him?
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Yes but somthing has to change, Wenger change from a 4 : 4 : 2 formation with the legendary Patrick Virera to a 4: 3 : 3 to accommodate Cesc Fabregas, that did make sense.
Now Arsenal has switched to countless formation to accommodate Havertz, when the team should be building around Rice.
I am not so sure we will. Our rivals are stronger, City look just as good despite their departures, and our injury crisis is already in full swing with Timber out for the season.
And if Gabriel leaves, then that would be a devastating blow!
Rice is very good at defending, but I’d prefer Partey for the CDM role
I haven’t seen Rice dribble and make risky turns in tight spaces, as Partey often did. I think Rice prioritizes defending more than attacking in that position
But Rice was quite good in Xhaka’s position. Maybe because he’s been watching the games from deep-midfield area, hence his good positioning and tactical understanding
Yea Gai, Rice combination with Pathey in midfield against City in Community shield was quite good. The stats was very close with City. The competed well. Oh I miss JTimber quite better than Zichenko defensively in Left side.
If Zichenko is to play then Gabriel will be needed in defence. With what I saw in CPalace game, Tomiyasu with time will compete with Zichenko. Tomi is improving fast.
If Rice plays in Xhaka’s position and Havertz replaces Jesus/ Nketiah, Odegaard and Saka could send long diagonal passes to them more often
If Jesus is fit I think Arteta would prefer him to disturb ManU defence with his tricky moves. But personally, considering Nketia performance against ManU last season at the Emirate and his current form, it’s only fair that the gaffer should chose him to lead the line. Jesus or Havertz can always come in if needed.
We good as long as Harvetz doesn’t start
Nketiah.
Trossard. Odegaard. Saka.
Rice. Partey.
Zinchenko. Gabriel. Saliba. White.
Raya.
This is going to be a tougher season than last. Man U, Liverpool, Chelsea and even Tottenham are going to be tougher nuts to crack, not to mention Newcastle, Brighton, Aston Villa etc. etc. With the loss of Timber are we really stronger than last season? I don’t know, losing Xhaka was a big loss in my view and we haven’t replaced him like for like. The addition of Rice to our team is hugely positive but I still feel that we overpaid for a player in that position. City pulled out at the £90m mark which was probably right. Water under the bridge, let’s hope Rice proves value for money.
With deBruynne out and Gundogan gone City are probably under par at the moment but they are continuing to strengthen the team with quality players and are only going to get better. My opinion? Tough ask for us to win the EPL title given that we are in the UCL and the two domestic trophies. Not impossible though but we need a good start like perhaps winning the nex 5 matches!!
@Andrew I agree with you. Arsenal strength in depth is better than most of our rivals now apart from MCity. That’s the edge I think we shall have when approaching mid season and injury begins to set in for many clubs. That’s why important players like ESR should not be sold because of his skill set nor Gabriel magahaes. We need this players. It’s now up to the gaffer to rotate well so that the bench don’t become rusty.
Agree with you Sylva especially about ESR. I would hate to see him go he’s Arsenal through and through and imo a more dynamic player than Havertz. It would be criminal if he went to Chelsea.
I don’t know MA’s advicer that told him to buy from Chelsea and sell our playes to them. Can’t he see that their players coming to us are flops and ours going to them are gem.