Elneny Replacing Ceballos? By Dan Smith
If I said to you back when we were lifting the FA Cup that Elneny would be starting in the Community Shield, you would worry.
He seems a nice guy and his effort can’t be doubted, but he proved over a long period that he isn’t good enough to take us to that next level.
We played as strong a team as possible at the weekend apart from the Egyptian. It seems odd to me that Arteta would waste an opportunity to boost someone else’s fitness, or not take the chance to try something new.
For example, if Maitland Niles can’t get into a midfield over Elneny, he has to accept that’s never going to be his role at Arsenal. Willock equally could have started next to Xhaka.
Our manager wouldn’t care about the sharpness of a player who wouldn’t be his problem after October, which suggests the Egyptian might be here to stay?
In his own words, our head coach is giving all talent a clean slate, apart from it seems Guendouzi and Ozil. Going by that logic, the midfielder impressed on loan in Turkey and was good at Wembley, so based on form, he could be starting at Fulham on the opening day?
From day one, our new boss has said lots of positive things Gooners want to hear. I like the Spaniard but can also see through a lot of things. The Spaniard’s ambitions are real, but he’s equally smart enough to know he has to tolerate certain things from his employers.
Mr Wenger was used to this. He was so respected that for many years we trusted what came out of his mouth, when in fact he was simply taking the bullets for the people he worked with.
I stress I will wait till the end of the window until I judge, but I have seen the Kroenke family do business like this for a decade. Would I put it past them to sell a Torreira, keep the money and try to make out that Elneny is ‘like a new signing’?
Is that when they reveal Aubameyang has signed a new contract? Our fan base gets so excited over that, that they will ignore how quietly we are not improving our midfield. Keeping our best player shouldn’t be celebrated, it should be a minimum requirement.
Don’t be fooled, our striker is good but he’s the same one we had when we were finishing in our worst position in 25 years. In other words, let’s get quality around him.
Meanwhile Chelsea have brought Ziyech, Werner, Chilwell, Silva and Sarr. They have an owner who won’t tolerate 4th and is giving Lampard backing.
It’s not Elneny’s fault. He was given his chance against Liverpool and took it. If that earns him a chance to relaunch his Gunners career, then great …. If it convinces us there’s no need to activate Partey’s release clause, then that’s us again prioritising money over what’s best for the squad.
Is Elneny Staying?
Does he deserve a second chance?
Am I reading too much into it?
Be Kind In The Comments
Dan Smith
I used to say that Elnerny is better than Xhaka. And most fans thought that I’m out of my mind. I still say so. Elnerny and Maitland-Niles can do a better job than Xhaka and Torreira.
Better than Xhaka at what exactly?
I do believe every midfielder at arsenal is a better ball winner than Xhaka. And now you can see that since he’s been given the liberty to concentrate more on being a ball progressor, he’s looked better. Want to know what Xhaka does better than both Niles and Elneny? Go back to the Liverpool game and see how many times Xhaka chooses just the pass that causes Liverpool to have to re-adjust their line of press. That’s why he starts.
Joe people will never agree with you on that, it’s why people still call Xhaka poor and all that. Like some of us were pointing out right from the Wenger Era, Xhaka was never a ball winning midfielder and will never be.
Yet our coaches all gave him that role and we all complain.
Now comes an actual coach who knows what he’s doing and player duties and Xhaka has been performing very well, still he gets disrespected.
This is another one disrespecting Xhaka by comparing him to Elneny.
I once made a comment on Arseblog and a lot of people agreed with me.
I want to ask the same thing here right now to everyone.
Do we really disrespect our players far too much and overhype other team players??
The average Arsenal fan would tell you that everywhere on the pitch City has better players than we do, but if you look at it is it true? Individually, are our players that terrible?
The media has fed us so much bûllshît that we bought into it and tear down our players every minute.
If you watch City’s game for the past 2 seasons, tell me what is it Gundogan does better than Xhaka?
The same midfielder who does what Xhaka does, recycle ball and play it upfield to the better players, also consider the fact he plays with people like De Bruyne, Silva and others, so everything he does always seem like genius because other players makes it successful.
Will Xhaka be disrespected if he’s playing with the likes of De Bruyne? Doing his simple job and recycling and making progressive passes?
Is Mendy a better LB that Tierney?
Is John Stones a better defender that Mustafi? (Mustafi who we all know is a proper defender, except for his error and lack of concentration, but will you pick Stones over Mustafi?
What about Otamendi?
Is he better defender than a fully fit Holding?
Yet the media has fed so much agenda and bûllshît that us as fans would lick áss and believe whatever we’re fed
I share your sentiment bro. We’re so quick to big up everyone else and lower our own.
Exactly thats why ever since xhaka started playing for our mid regularly is the reason we have never played in champion league, is the worst player we have and that’s a fact
No shît Sherlock, Xhaka is responsible for us not being in the UCL.
As PEA is responsible for us not being in the UCL right?
Or as Leno is also responsible for us not being in the UCL.
Learn to watch football and not just look at the TV screen
You should blame Emery for that and for the record which DMF do we have better than Xhaka for now, how often do we win matches without him, how well do we play without him. Pls he’s a human like us and not a robot even a robot Doesn’t have an 💯 efficiency. If you were better than u could as well be playing by now
City have better players then Arsenal mate lol
Dan kindly answer my question.
Is Gundogan any different progressive pass than Xhaka?
John Stones Vs Mustafi, who is the better defender?
Mendy and Tierney who is better.
Otamemdi vs Holding who is better?
Please just answer me without sentiments
So what, and yet they were beaten by Lyon in the champions league. Enough of this sentiment pls and let just be hopeful and not spoil the fun of the game by talking bad about what we have
Well said and i strongly believe that with these coming signings if they do come CDM and CAM along with Gabrielle from Lille Arsenal will become a very tricky team to face no matter what opponent we would be facing
Great again and Xhaka improved under Arteta, passing the ball, covering area well making interceptions on crosses, tall enough for Aerial duels. He is not a natural tackler but he improved.
And I agree with every word about fans being negative towards our players.
When comparing city players to our own why did you pick players that barely start for them. Why not compare Laporte, Fernandinho KDB, Aguero and co? If you’re comparing cities subs then compare them to ours
Truth is city as a team is miles ahead of arsenal they finished 2nd we finished eighth. To compare them as a club and their realistic targets to ours at this moment in history is as shambolic as our defence over 38 games. Stop, JUST STOP!
elneny xhaka and torreira Wouldn’t get into any top 4 team and we are miles behind them hence why we are sorting out loans for cebellos and pursuing Aouar and partey
Joe please ignore top gunner….
People don’t see the work Xhaka brings to the team. They only dwell on his weakness forgetting his strengths. I applaud his professionalism. We all thought he was gonna leave but Arteta have done magic managing him and making sure he plays to his strength. At the moment he is doing very well in my book.
Once we sign a proper ball winning CM/DM to play alongside Xhaka, I’m looking forward to seeing him improve even more, especially in terms of fast transition with his passing. 👍
Granit is never as good as when he’s not tasked of being the primary ball winner and can focus on orchestrating the midfield. 💪
zTom, I agree; Xhaka does it for Switzerland.
As for Elneny he has improved himself in Turkey and will be a solid backup midfielder for Arsenal.
Arteta has only been at Arsenal for a short while and we are playing as a team which we haven’t for as long as I can remember!! He’s not stupid and knows that it’s going to take time to get us into the top 4 but when was the last time we beat Liverpool twice city and Chelsea Arsenal fans stop the negativity that the media generates and has Arsenal fans arguing with each other it took knoll 5 years so come let’s stop comparing and just back Arteta and his vision ignore the media
JA – AMN has had exactly how many chances from midfield to: “choose just the pass that causes Liverpool to have to re-adjust their line of press.”
Answer – NONE.
So how can you say Xhaka is better at it?
There is no logic in your argument.
xhaka gives away possession far too often. a simple but strong reason.
Elneny and Xhaka are two different types of Players. AMN is not good in a midfield duo. Stamina Yes, But not a good passer of the ball.
AMN is a poor passer of the ball. His end product won’t help the team. We need a proper holding midfielder who thinks on his feet and makes right decisions. AMN is way short in this.
So, Skills1000, ‘AMN is not good in a midfield duo.’
Please tell me how you came to this conclusion.
When did you see him play in a midfield duo?
I eagerly await your answer.
One game where Elneny is average and he’s better than all our midfielders?????
Yes, you are very right. That is the reality which has been showcased
Was the title just meant to be misinformative on purpose? How are Ceballos and Elneny related to the number 10 position? Most especially since our move to a back 3, what made you even think the two players should be mentioned with number 10 in mind?
Looking at the pitch and pattern of play, the two have occupied the deepest midfied position. I do remember writing an article maybe a few months ago where I stressed that positions on the pitch are roles. Not names. This should be elementary knowledge for anyone who wants to put forward an opinion especially from a position of knowledge whether analytically or factually. I’ve honestly seen nothing to suggest that Arteta even wants a sophisticated creator down the middle. The role of the creator is very clearly the domain of the right sided attacker. Honestly, unless I misunderstood what you meant by 10, I feel like these sorts of articles intentionally mislead and infuriate the fan base.
Dude, I’m just seeing this comment now and I wanna say you’re doing very good.
I pointed something like this out yesterday and I was told I was making decisions for Arteta and I was playing coach.
I might not be a football coach or manager but I’m a passionate football fan who studied everything he can about football, be it as a player or manager.
I spend a lot of my free times going through educative articles about football on every proper football site. I’ve done so even from Budensliga official page.
Now I’m not saying I know this and that or that I know more than anyone, I really want to know more and will always be open to knowing more.
But it’s baffling I keep reason people talking about number 10 and CAM in this team and formation we all know our coach prefers.
It’s not rocket science to know any player can be creative but not every player is or can be a proper CAM if you really want to stick to that name and its actual role.
Lately people just throw terms anyhow and push it.
We have players who can create chances in Pepe and Willian, but none of this CAM/number 10 bûllshît is real.
The only proper CAM we have is Ozil and we know how that situation is.
Yesterday it was Willian will be our CAM cause Arteta said he’s creative, today it’s Elneny. Who will it be tomorrow? AMN? Or Joe Willock?
It’s plain annoying mate
Eddie, in answer to your question about our fans versus the players, of course we do.
Ever since the Invincibles, it has been expected,, nay our right, to have that kind of squad.
Forget the fact that it was over a century before, that any other club managed it – it was our right to expect it year after year.
Players were classed as dross etc etc with no thought as to what was happening elsewhere.
In my opinion, since the Invincibles, we have a section of our fan base that really do not support the club, but rather, are simply just glory hunters.
We should give Elneny a chance. that game against Liverpool, he was fantastic. He has the experience and maturity also. A good passer of the ball. Height and strength. AMN should be playing at the wing back role. With The 343 formation, we defeated Chelsea, Man City, Wolves and Liverpool (twice). The midfield 2 should have energy, stamina and good passing.
Elneny is actually a good player, nothing special or extraordinary, just a good player. Good carrier of the ball and good long passer of the ball. His weakness I guess is playing too safe, you’ll hardly catch him misplacing a pass or wasting a pass, and he hardly attempts taking risks that could result in goals.
That being said, I think he’s that way because of instructions from the coach and now Arteta is the coach, Arteta will definitely help him take his game up a notch like he did with Xhaka. He’ll be useful, but shouldn’t be a starter unless he earns it.
Good player to have on the bench.
I still fail to see why everyone is linking every of our possible midfielders to the number 10 role.
Our formation has no room for the number 10 role except you give the player another role actually. I read the same stuff bout Willian being our number 10 or CAM.
So far we’ve seen we’ll play with 3-4-3 or 4-3-3. Both formations leave no room for CAM, they only fit wingbacks, Center Midfielders and Mezzalas (Half Midfielders/half wingers).
Unless Arteta is going back to Wenger’s famous 4-2-3-1, there won’t be a role for a number 10.
The top team still playing with a number 10 is Bayern Munich and that’s because they stick with 4-2-3-1, they have a player in Muller good enough for it and they had Coutinho.
Do the maths, check all top teams, everyone’s nearly switched to 4-3-3 and Wingers gameplay, not all these number 10 player stuff. So I wonder why people keep saying we need number 10 or CAM. Players don’t have to be CAM to be creative.
That being said, Elneny would be a good squad player, but it shouldn’t stop us from bringing Partey,Ceballos and Aouar if we want to get back to the top four.
Man United got Van De Beek, reports says they want to hijack Thiago from Liverpool, and today they want Upamecano.
We need good players and its scary we might not get our three midfield targets
Eddie, I agree with you, Arteta wants the attack to come down each wing with the fulbacks/wing backs driving forward down the right and left and a midfielder driving through the centre to support the forwards. The other two midfielders will drop into the gap to break up any counter attack, should the ball be lost.
@Dan Smith Elneny playing in midfield over AMN could that have anything to do with us playing Tierney as CB and Saka as RW and Kolasinac being unplayable as a WB?
No , he never plays him there.and there were other options he could have picked
@Dan Smith But are you sure he will not play there when everyone is fit? Or do you think Arteta plans to use him as a second choice left back? Because Tierney will play as a left back witout a doubt when we have enough fit centerbacks. And where will AMN play then? Better to sell him if he, ackording to you, will newer play in midfield and if he is second choice left back. Hard to know how Arteta will decide, but I would not rule out AMN in midfield quite yet.
I think Tierney is likely to stay at CB in a back 3 even when everyone is fit. He provides assurance in the tackle as well as an option in attack. The moment he moves back to left back however, I tell you this. AMN will be in a bit of a pickle. If we sign Partey, then he really can’t be a starter in any position. You can’t really drop anyone for him.
I’d say that’s quite possible… during the transition phase where Gabriel/Saliba acclimate to the Premier League as I very much doubt that Arteta WANTS to play with 3 CBs.
He just sees that he doesn’t have yet the CBs strong enough to safely play in a back 4.
Eventually Tierney will go back to his favoured LB position, at the possible exception of the clashes against the very best teams where the 3 at the back has been so effective lately.
We are not signing Partey full stop
I would sell him myself but maybe long term he could our first choice right back
Can’t see the midfield though
Dan, Arsenal are competing in four competitions this season; therefore a versatile player like AMN will be a major asset for Arsenal and Arteta. In any case in my opinion and many others on this site, AMN is a better RB than Bellerin, particularly in defense.
I would like to see a midfielder in his position who will play at least 30% of his passes forward.
Those two play safe passes on instruction. I didn’t check the pass percentage for the Liverpool game , but Granit Xhaka usually has about 60% forward passes. I however think the coach instructs the midfied two to play a safe pass most of the time to break down the opponents press. Look at our goal against Liverpool and against city. Moving the ball further back invites the opponents to press giving us more space to attack upfront. Playing the ball forward would just push them back and increase our chances of loosing the ball.
As much as I’ve been pleasantly surprised by his performances against MK (superb goal) and Liverpool… I still want us to go for Partey and Ceballos..
Fair play to him though for putting in a decent performance and picking up a medal… I did say he was the King of Egypt on Saturday.. sod Salah…. wait, did Salah even play?! 🤣🤣🤣
Hahahaha..
Sue, I was asking myself the same question after the game. Cos Salah was MIA.
AMN and Tierney really Legcuffed him 😂😂
MIA…. 😂👌
I totally agree with you Eddie about the No 10 position becoming redundant in most football teams..
Especially based on the 433, 343, 541, 352 formations.
But city play with a 433 also.. I’d like to know what role or position De bryune plays.. Cos it seems like a 10.
Maybe it could be due to Pep’s tactics, but i’ll like clarification on that.
Thanks
Debruyne refers to himself as a box to box midfielder for City. He doesnt play 10 . Look up an interview on YouTube where the athletic quiz him on what he thinks his role is.
Guardiorla plays 3 number 8s . That means all 3 in the middle are B2B . Debruyne just happens to have the creative role of the 3.
👍
Khadii, Joe has explained it to you already.
De Bruyne doesn’t actually play 10, neither did David Silva. Using a 4-3-3 doesn’t leave room for a number 10 player.
Pep started with a proper DM at the base (Fernandinho) and De Bruyne (Who can actually be a mezalla, meaning he’s free enough to be a half midfielder and be a winger when the role comes up. Like Joe said, he operates in the B2B role but excels so much because personally he’s a very creative midfielder.
It’s why he’s the best midfielder on the planet currently, even Xavi said so.
City were blessed to have another similar player like him in David Silva.
I think that’s what Arteta is trying to build with Partey/Xhaka and Ceballos, Aouar.. It will work out if he actually gets these Midfielders in.
We don’t really need a CAM.
The only one we have is declined
Ok..
Now I get it..
Thanks guys
Eddie, Silva played the 10 in his early days at city. One of the best without doubt. If you recall, Toure and Fernandinho played behind him, prior it was Milner and Gareth barry behind him. Watch that game city played against united and won 6-1. Later on he got shifted on the wings and as deep lying midfielder. I dont remember seeing him play cover for De Bruyne.
There is currently only one ligit #10 at Arsenal. Unless you spend good money to sign a new one, deal with it,
Elneny certainly played well and surely deserves another chance at Arsenal. Whether he starts or not depends on Arteta’s game plan but surely Arteta will turn him into a reliable player. I agree with the fact that in our system of play we dont need a specialist no.10 in the mould of Kevin debrynar or Coutinho, but I still feel we should sign at least one of Partey, Diawara or Aouar.
IT won’t be Partey
I laughed after reading all the comments.
I understand most times we do not make the right judgement when we are disappointed with results. however, we must be rational in thinking.
Xhaka is a Toni Kroos, Sergio Busquets or Adrien Rabiot type of player.
Their skills speak for them.
Xhaka would flourish in a team like Barca or Real Madrid or even PSG.
His skill should be complimented with that of a rugged defensive midfielder playing alongside him and not Ramsey or Elneny. Coquelin could do for now.
Ozil, Ramsey and Wilshere should be fighting for same spot, or interchange in matches
All these years, we cry for quality and now we have it we, we want to go back and look for a Robbie Salvage.
You never know what you have until you are missing it. Wait till you play Elneny and Ramsey in crucial matches and then you’ll see the effect.
Watford’s game, the 2nd half showed how difficult it was to move the ball from the midfield to the forward line. Watford shut down the delivery line, which was from Xhaka and we suffered.
And do you wonder why they did that? Because they recognize our attack emancipates from. We should have been 2 to 3 goals up in the first half. Watford shot the delivery line and went aggressive on our defense. They need not worry about Elneny.
So in answer to your question, NO.
Elneny does not have and cannot provide to Arsenal what Xhaka does.
Get a rugged defensive midfielder to augment the work of Xhaka and play alongside him or facilitate the opportunity for one of the boys to step-up
The above was a comment by Adeeyi on this very site in 2017 . Arteta asking Ceballos and Elneny to be ball winners next to Xhaka just proves the gentleman’s foresight.
xhaka is the most understated and least appreciated player in the line up. Only very few players can do what he does.
Elnerny has proven against Liverpool that he deserve a second chance at Arsenal .Also he is very versatile just like AMN .So we should keep him. The confidene with which that Guy glides with the ball will make us stronger and more creative in the midfield.
Well said Eddie. Elneny and Xhaka are not pacey dynamic midfielders but they can be effective in a holding role in a 3-4-3 system which Arteta has been obliged to deploy for a number of reason.Neither Elneny nor Xhaka are suited to the BtoB roles which are required in a 4-3-3 system and which does not require a highly creative midfielder to function successfully.Liverpool are a prime example of this system.The call for a number ten is only relevant if the Manager intends to adopt a 4-2-3-1 set up, but this does not seem to be favoured by Arteta, hence the reason why Ozil is no longer part of his plans.To those who feel that Willian has been recruited as a number ten, you are mistaken.He will I am sure he used as a winger where he has always played for Brazil in his 37 appearances..His recruitment is all the more welcome given the long term injury suffered by young Martinelli who I do hope recovers fully.
@Grandad, in a 3-4-3, it’s highly likely Willian wouldn’t be a starter. However in a 4-3-3, based on what Arteta said after his signing, I think he’ll play as one of the 3 in the middle. It makes no tactical sense to drop any of the front 3 when you can just add Willian to join them from the middle. Think of the kind of role Debruyne plays for City. CM without the ball, half winger in attack.
I agree to this to an extent.. Arteta is likely to play 4-3-3 if he gets all his transfer targets. Where I disagree is that William will be a starter in a 3-4-3. @Joe, you’re not the coach, and neither am I… If it comes to 3-4-3 who says we can’t have a front 3 of William, Aubameyang and Pepe.
Grandad, like I said yesterday… Though Willian is a good piece. I doubt he’ll be our starter long term, and like I pointed out yesterday, if Arteta gets his choice of Midfielders, Willian will battle it out with Pepe and maybe give Saka a push on the wings.
Willian will mostly play the wings, i believe that the situation will only change if Arteta doesn’t get his players and we stick to the 343, 352 formation or he decides to use Willian as a Mezzala like DeBruyne
@Eddie , I actually think that unless we play a 3-4-3 for most of the season, he’s likely to start alongside Xhaka and another midfielder as a midfied 3 . More like how you stated, he’d be a perfect Mezalla in attack. He however perfectly fits the role because he can put in a defensive shift too. Also, let’s face it, he’s the only kind of player in our squad that can play that role. Another would be Saka, but I wouldn’t get too carried away with that imagination. Key in Arteta’s welcome speech was pointing at his ability to create attacking overloads. you don’t create attacking overloads using wingers. You create them when non-wingers gang up with a winger against an opposing fullback. Think of how Milner joined Robertson and Mane to create 3v2 against Bellerin and Saka, or how against city Debruyne Joined Mahrez to create 2v1 against Niles.
Joe I doubt he’ll start in the Mezzala role, remember we are putting into consideration the fact that Arteta wants and his interested in three midfielders. Remember we all talking about what will happen if Arteta gets them completely.
In a 4-3-3 formation, it’ll be hard fit Willian to start in the Mezzala role, I think long term, Arteta’s midfield will be Partey, Ceballos and Aouar… And still there is Xhaka also who’ll be pushing for a spot.
Now like you and I know, we can’t sign Aouar and Partey for a combine 100 million then bench one of them for Willian to play number 8 when he has more chances playing on the wings.
Except Arteta will sacrifice Ceballos or Xhaka to accommodate Willian in the midfield 3, even if we don’t get those Midfielders, it’ll be hard for Willian to start if he’s not starting as a winger
@Eddie, we need to understand that William didn’t sign for Arsenal to be on the bench. He is a sure starter this season(20/21) whatever the formation.
Debo I’m not saying Willian would sit on the bench, but I’m telling you he surely ain’t walking into the team if Arteta gets his choice of Midfielders.
I’ll bet it on it, any amount you want.
If, strong IF we get Aouar, Partey and Ceballos back.
Willian won’t walk into the team, he’ll have to fight for it.
And he’ll rotate with Pepe/Saka/Nelson on the wings.
Surely he has a role to play, we’ll need him, but he’s definitely not benching Pepe, and if Saka stays in form, he’ll be battling the left wing with Saka too.
There’s a reason we offered him lower wages compared to the other offer he received.
If he was going to be important, Arsenal won’t bother risking losing him to other teams and they’ll just increase his wage instead of reducing it.
Willian will either play as a winger or as a Mezzala.
I’m not having none of the Center or CAM crap from anyone
Granit xaka is better then elneny all I want from arsenal is to sign Thomas party and aoura
and I want to win the Lottery get a life please
Don’t you mean Elneny could be a 6?
On Saturday, Mo’s job was to protect the back line not be a creative player at all.
On one hand, it’s well possible that Elneny might be a lot better suited to an Arteta team than a Wenger/Emery team thanks to his amazing engine that allows him to run all game long and keep pressing the opponents and support his back line.
On the other, I can’t see him being anything but a squad player. It can have its use, sure, but I’d expect more to see him sold anyway.
With a bit of luck, last week’s performances added a few millions to his pricetag! 🙂
elneny xhaka willock maitland niles nelson guendhouzi torreira … difficult to find a decent one man midfield from that list even if you combined all their skills … at this moment without a clearout and strengthening its an EL place for arsenal despite the strengthening elsewhere … torreira will leave and do well in serie a guendhouzi could flourish in spain where he has a bit more time to dwell on the ball .maitland miles should be kept as he still has potential and can play various positions the others are championship level and should go … the talk of xhakas incisive passing in the above contributions would be hilarious if it wasnt so delusional ..
In Edu and Arteta.. We don’t need to be anxious or worried. I’m sure we will get it right. And whatever seems to be the case, come October 6, We will be good to go. The good news is that Arsenal is still very much interested in Partey… That’s our no 1 objective. This thing takes time and we have to be patient. Till then.. Let’s focus on the team spirit and new culture of winning. Arsenal is selling sokratis to Napoli today.. Toriera with forientina deal far from being finished.. Kolasnic to shalke 04 is 20% loading.. I also heard shalke 04 is interested in our keeper Martinez. Why is PSG not putting much power in taking Guendeuzi or is he on his way to Laliga? Ozil case should be settled before October 6. Holden loan deal to Newcastle will only be confirmed after the announcement of Gabriel.
The way I see Arteta, he can use any player to achieve his aim, he may use Leno as a striker in our next game and he will still perform well. Lolzzzz
Can some anylyse the attributes of these two players Aouar, and Partey, what can they add to our team and lastly do we need both of them or are we choosing one from them two??? Thanks
Posted earlier today….
https://www.justarsenal.com/arsenals-great-dilemma-partey-or-aouar/256356
Aouar alone will not flourish in the EPL due to his size, unless he plays along side a physical commanding box to box midfielder like Partey. Arsenal need to beef up its midfield with Partey (first choice), Decoure (Watford) or Morgan Swanson (Olypique de Marseille) and a DM like Diawara (Roma), Marc Roca (Espanyol, who may go to AM to replace Partey) or Soumare (Lille).
Can someone analyse the attributes of these two players Aouar, and Partey, what can they add to our team and lastly do we need both of them or are we choosing one from them two??? Thanks
I know very little about all of the players associated with Arsenal as I don’t get the chance to watch European football other than against the teams we play, so will restrict my judgment to the Premier League players that I’ve actually seen in action. Our own choices seem to be limited to Xhaka, Torreira, Elneney, AMN, Chambers (when fit), Ceballos (if he returns), Smith Rowe, Ozil & Guendouzi. Strike out the last two & Chambers. If we are to play with a midfield two then
the best performers there were Ceballos & Xhaka. Torreira was OK as a squad player and wants to leave anyway, Ainsley has not been tried in the midfield position even though he says that’s where he wants to play, so Arteta probably doesn’t rate him as a mid but could use him if required, but for me personally If we go to a back four eventually then a midfield three of Ceballos, Xhaka & Elneney is the best we’ve got with the players at our disposal and Elneney has great hair and gets my vote for that alone.
…add Willock, but he doesn’t get to start many games anyway
So, Dan Smith, here we are yet again with the exact same subject I’ve explained to you so many times.
You appear to have learnt absolutely nothing from the previous (roughly half a dozen) explanations I gave you before, regarding why AMN is played in certain positions. Or you choose NOT to understand them.
Instead, you cannot help yet again revealing your incredible dislike of AMN with the disparaging comment:
‘. . . if Maitland Niles can’t get into a midfield over Elneny, he has to accept that’s never going to be his role at Arsenal.’
This is a typical comment of yours – much akin to your oft quoted comment (7 times to my knowledge) that ‘AMN is just a makeshift fullback.’
So, yet again, here is the explanation of why AMN played down the left.
Are you ready? Are you sitting down? Are you comfortable? It’s so very simple that even you should have been able to ‘get it’ all those previous times.
Here is the explanation – AGAIN:
“AMN played down the left because MA knew he was the best person in our entire squad to do that job.”
And he did. Wonderfully. Man of the match performance someone said. Many agreed. Not you, obviously.
Did that seep through? Finally? To make it easier for you and illustrate the point more, let’s switch the players.
How would Elneny have fared down our left wing? Not well I think.
How would AMN have done in midfield? VERY WELL I think. So, while AMN would have much preferred to play in midfield (he’s said so several times) he was very happy to play down the left FOR THE GOOD OF THE TEAM! Get that? For the good of the team – not because Elneny was better than AMN! Am I any nearer to making contact?
I’ve told you this explanation so many times I’m sick of having to repeat it. Yet I will carry on doing so, much as you will no doubt carry on telling us all about how useless AMN is – well, at least in your mind that is.
If you have still not understood this time I’m afraid there is little hope for you.
Arsenal have long needed a holding midfielder who will first and foremost protect the back line. Elneny could possibly do that job very well, but no one can be certain if he is never given the opportunity.
The club has had a habit of signing players and then not playing them.
The fans have a habit of becoming fixated on a player’s weakness and ignoring their strengths.
In other words, Gunner Jack, let’s have faith in what Mikel Arteta is doing and how he evaluates each player… sounds like a very sensible / reasonable way of summing up AMN and Elneny to me.
Ken I am now beginning to have more faith in MA. He’s transformed some players, come to a realisation of what they can and cannot do, and so made the excellent switch to a counter-attacking method of playing.
Of course this would not work against teams who pack their defence and also try to hit on the counter. This is why I put the capture of Aouar as the most important signing. He would take the fight to their defences. With him on the left and Pepe on the right perhaps we could rival the Liverpool pairing of Mane and Salah.
I’m not too bothered about Partey and Diawara etc.
For EL-Neny, I am an Egyptian, he is an okay player but I would still sell if I have the chance.
If someone sees Arteta’s tactics, when we are in Possession, AMN does drift towards the middle. This situation happens when we see Auba racing ahead on the wings, Tierny as an Lb while AMN drags his marker infield. Usually in recent matches we don’t have much possession and even when we do, the LWB also has to act as a pure winger at times. So to summarize my statement, in possession- AMN as a player who plays kind of attacking left mid who drifts in or goes wide. He usually covers the are from mid to left side. While defending we switch to a back 5.
So, in Arteta’s formation I think there are very rare fixed roles- Xhaka was doing double roles pre lockdown and only now has seemed to get a fixed one. Similarly the striker too seems to have a fixed role. Other than that I would say the sweeper seems fixed, but rest have different roles in different formations.
So in a way, AMN kinda plays a Midfield role whenever he plays LWB, as he showed against Liverpool and Chelsea. The RWB also has a specific role and I think Bellerin is best suited for that role in the current setup.
This assumption is purely my take on the situation. It maybe wrong and I am open to corrections.
COYG!😊
Although this does pose a question in my mind. If Gabriel makes the Lcb position his own(assuming he signs) Tierney will play LWB. AMN can in this scenario play as a ball winner in the middle or as a more traditional rwb. In the second case I don’t know what happens with Bellerin, or if Bellerin plays what happens with AMN? What happens with our supposed Midfield target who signs? All this is based on a 3 at the back formation with my interpretation of our boss’s tactics, which can be, in all honesty, totally wrong!😅😅
I think he did a good job although sometimes he seems to be lost and wasn’t creating any chances when needed with the exception of the last 10 minutes, maybe MA asked him clearly to stick to his defense role on that day. However, I can’t see him improving our squad or being here instead of Ceballos so my answer will be no if he refuse to stay on bench as we need more dynamic player.
Elneny the back pass king to play number 10? I am having a laugh….hahaha. I was wondering what made us loan him out in the first place and during the Community Shield game, I remembered it was his excessive back passes and nothing to offer going forward because of his slow pace.
I think the one player who has been really neglected and went in notice is Xhaka. What a turn around he has had. The current Arsenal I think will not survive without him in middle. I was one of the biggest critic of him but his performances have changed my mind I can see now what 3 different managers see in him. He gives us that physical strength and positional awareness in the middle plus in current squad he is the only experience player who can decorate the tempo of the game some what. We need a CM…..we need Santi
What has impressed me most is Xhaka’s workrate and commitment and the fact he can take ball out of defence – he can play alongside Elneny in midfield – admittedly neither of which are gonna be the most creative but with a creative midfielder further up to back them up such as Ceballos, this bloke from Lille or Ozil if he put some effort in and showed his true potential and with the front 3 – Aubameyang, Pepe, Willian/Saka and a decent back four we shouldn’t be far off – I like AMN but would he OK in a back 4?
Meant to say Aouar from Lyon – rather than bloke from Lilles 😉
Arteta has still be tinkering with the midfield , I think he does see a lack of balance. in that area. As you all pointed out, we probably need that mixture of strength , stamina, positional awareness and creativity. However over the last few months, we have seen a lack of balance there, we lack creativity in some matches because we compensate too much by having players less creative but more dynamic. I believe once we find the right balance or some kind of balance in the middle of the park and with the defensive signings, we will improve considerable. Maybe enough to challenge for the tittle.
El Neny has always been average at best. He should be sold ASAP.
With the now likely hood of Ceballos returning I think we’ll revert to same central midfield as last season with the first choice pairing of Xhaka & Dani and Torreira ((if he stays) rotating in but perhaps not as often as he’d like. Elneny looks much improved following his year on loan and now looks to get the ball forward more, although I doubt that he’d make a number ten as the article suggests as he’ll need to see the runs of his forwards, and we’ve not see that from him. I don’t want to fall out with others here, but I like him and hope that in the event of a return to the back four he will come in as a third central mid. And I’m not overlooking his hair…
Going forward I don’t honestly think that Elneny is a decent squad player. If Arsenal want to challenge for trophies you need better players than Elneny. You are judging the man on just one game. Yes, he had a great game in the community shield, yes he held his own against the Liverpool players, but he didn’t make any sparks. There are hundreds of players like Elneny if that’s what you want. But if you want players who drive the team forward, who create scoring opportunities for their teammates, who can make a difference at any time, I am afraid that is not what Elneny is good for. Arteta played with him and he knows him and what he can do and he has not committed himself on keeping Elneny at Arsenal. That’s a statement of intent.
Elneny played for 4 seasons at Arsenal, a total of 46 games in the PL (average of 11 games per season):0 goals. At Besiktas he played 27 games in the Turkish league: 1 goal. This is the guy you want in your midfield? Let’s be serious. He may be good for West Brom or Stoke but definitely not for Arsenal. Arteta knows it.