Is this why Arsenal are not playing Torreira, Leno, and Mavropanos yet?

The reason why Emery hasn’t dropped any of the current faulty stars by Kandy

Over the past four games, some of our senior first team players have been making errors that would have arguably caused them to be dropped, Petr Cech, Granit Xhaka and the centerback pairing to be exact.

There is however a theory as to why it has not happened yet, and it could be that Emery is looking to see his defense settle and be consistent before introducing Leno to the starting eleven, who, compared to Cech, is less experienced in the EPL and although he is much better suited to the current system considering his ball playing skills, he does not have the leadership skills that the veteran goalkeeper possesses.

The Premier league can be very cruel, teams take advantage of any misunderstandings and mismatches. By starting Cech, the manager hopes that his vast Premier league experience and leadership will help his backline settle, or at least show signs that they can play alongside each other, and reduce the leak of goals before introducing Leno and either Holding or Mavropanos. At the moment, it would be a risk to start either one of them under the current defensive circumstances at the club.

With Lucas Torreira, I believe that it is the case as well, plus his lack of communication in English also playing a role, that’s why his integration into the starting eleven has been slow and a rather cautious one, therefore prompting Emery to start with Xhaka and Guendouzi, who, compared to the Uruguayan international, he probably felt that they are much better suited to starting alongside our shaky defense at the moment with Xhaka in particular boasting lots of EPL experience.

I’m not saying this is the case, it is just a theory, which I’d say makes sense but if it’s really the case, it isn’t settling any of our nerves as we’d like to see those fellas in the starting XI. Torreira in particular has had impressive cameos and I hope Emery is done starting him on the bench! In a nutshell, all hopes of seeing Leno or Torreira start hang on how well our backline play with each other, or at least that’s what I think, otherwise Emery will have to drop some of the defenders and push from a different perspective.

Kandy

58 Comments

    1. From what I see Emery is copying what Wenger was doing for years. The only improvement I see is Emery does not wait till the 70th minute to replace players, but I found his game management weak. Let me give you an example, Chech is out of shape, sluggish, and reckless at times. Let alone starting, he should not even be on the bench. It beyond belief why he keeps bringing Xhaka in the holding mid-field position. He is a one footed player with speed or ability. unless there is something we don’t see, how could one chose Xhaka over Toriera. Elnany is a much better player than Xhaka. Another dead wood in the team for many years is Ramsey. Why he does not sell this guy is beyond me, if any club wants to spend any money on him. Welbeck should start in his position. Welbeck will be an outstanding player if the manager knows where to use him. He could be a goal to goal player with speed and he could stop any attacker with speed and strength. Don’t west winnable games bringing in Ramsey & Xhaka.

      1. I agree with you regarding Welbeck but on the left wing, he is realy good with helping defenders he is fast and has a great dribbling ability on the line he just needs to cross the boal instead of tring to finish it himself

      2. Your wrong about Xhaka, it should be Matteo Guendouzi who comes off for Toriera.
        The one player who can replace Xhaka is Eleneny at No.6, Toriera is more of a replacement for Matteo Guendozi whose primary role is to link defense and attack like Carzola was doing
        and emery will strike Gold if he can make Eleneny come in for Xhaka because he can pass,
        and also is better at playing out from the back and can even work as a makeshift Centerback,
        Xhaka should be a No.8 Not No.6. Add Toreria has the Physique and energy of legendary No.8 liike Xavi,Carzola,Modric. He has the dribbling skills and speed and tempo to run or midfield but cant work as N0.6 , It requires more physique and energy and He is nt suited for that.

        1. Xhaka is awful, he slows the team down, causes more problems through awful passes and doesn’t put a shift in…. He is always just jogging around. He doesn’t belong in the team in any position.

          1. Agree with you. He can’t be seen in a game only see him with a blind pass or yellow card. He is so forgetful

        2. I agree,Xhaka is making unnecessary mistakes and this is becoming consistent.I am afraid he has the same problem similar to Elneny.They hard working in their own way but has not got the savy.You cannot make a racehorse out of a donkey.

      3. Cech is “out of shape, sluggish and reckless”…Really? Are there two different Cechs playing for Arsenal? Cos the only issue I see with Cech right now is his struggles with using his feet. I mean playing out of the back. He’s made the most saves so far, I wonder how an out of shape and sluggish goalkeeper can do that.
        Leno will definitely get his turn soon, but I think the coach sees both goalies everyday in training, so he must have his reasons for sticking with Cech thus far. As for Mavropanos and Torreira, I think Emery is trying not to change too many players at the same time. The team may lack cohesion. Let’s be patient and let him do his job.

        1. I expect a very nice own goal from Check…and to make matters worse players don’t realise Checks legs that can cause problems by giving him silly backpassess. Also RB position is in danger as well as LB.

      4. I believe we are all Arsenal Fan but we don’t have same understanding of the game.
        How can you tag Ramsey a deadwood.
        Ramsey remains Arsenal’s most industrious player. You need to get your emotions intact before you drop your comment.

      5. Agree about xhaka, liability and no end product…. Just passes it backwards and sidewards.
        Cech is another liability, modern goalkeepers need to be good with their feet, cech looks like he had never dribbled a ball before, and his distribution is awful…. The man is a dinosaur and not fit for the modern game.
        Ramsay is overrated and always tries to do the most complicated thing, he also seems to be tripping over the ball most of the time…..a Shadow of his former self…. Needs to be sold and not get a huge contract.
        Welbeck has pace and is direct, but doesn’t have that class, ability or final product. He is essentially another Walcott. To many times he had fluffed his lines or makes the wrong decision.

  1. Emery is acting strange about this. We can only wait and see what future will bring.
    Maybe he has a plan for every game to make aditional preasure in a 2nd half by putting Torreira in, but I have no clue about keeper situation. Cech is risking to finish his time at Arsenal simulary as Wenger… cos he does not look he will learn new tricks at the age of 36.
    Patience…

    1. that makes no sense to me. Why not get your best group of players used to your style?

      Xhaka, Cech, Ramsey should not be in our starting 11 IMO.

  2. I think he just wants to make it that hey can never return to their position once they have disgraced themselves.

    Cech, Mustafi, Bellerin, Xhaka and Ramsey can all leave.

    If Torreira has english issues get him schooled quick.

    LENO
    LICH – MAV/KOS – SOK -Mon
    TOR – GUEN/AMN(when back)
    IWO/WELB – OZIL – AUBA
    LAC

      1. I agree with benlux that Xhaka is a #8 definitely not a #6 DM. He plays much better when played slightly in front of Torreira in the #8 role and is a good option for his height, physicality and long passing range. Otherwise Arsenal Androids lineup looks good.

    1. For now I have seen the real gunner…the mentioned players can’t add anything. Wenger gave them enough playing time and let others either being benched forever or sold…they can’t add anything. The same players today doing nothing apart from tattooing their bodies..

  3. Because 1.if he gives a new player a chance there will be disharmony in squad.
    2. It will keep the existing player on their toes, put pressure to perform, if not performing well he can give reasons for removal from starting 11. That will also make others to perform. 3. Moreover his system is new, so as there can be a revolt against him. 4 Wait for the next transfer to make some more changes.

  4. The reason that they are not starting is due of the manager seeing things which do please him anough. Toerriera is not starting bec of Mateo not Xhaka. You can all hate on Xhaka but he wont be the one who is going to see the bench under Emery any time soon so get used to this.

    Leno is still a mystery player to us all and to want him bench Cech bec we dont like his footy work makes no sense.

    Ramsey is starting bec we need to sugar coat him and till he sigs da thing. He is bluffing big time. Arsenal is the best place for him to be.

    Bellerin is also playing bec Emery has no options. Lichtenchteiner is here for back up and not competition.

    We lack quality ar Arsenal. Wenger has trully cripled this team and as for now ending up in 4th place wont be easy. Winning the uefuea leauge is the best we can do. Looking forward to these games.

    1. Speak for yourself.Lol. I have watched Cech play for Arsenal for what, 3 seasons now and he has declined more and more each season, saving only one penalty since he has been with us. Troy Deeny, if I recall. I have seen enough of Leno to know he would be an improvement over Cech based on Cech’s current form. The problem with complacency comes when you know you’re walking into the starting 11 each week. A problem we had when Wenger was playing under performing players. Bellerin and Cech have their spots in the team by default. That’s a big problem. Even Lacazette got benched for Aubameyang last season, though I felt Wenger should of played them together. Bellerin needs to be benched every now and then for Lichtensteiner who was brought in for competition and Leno should be brought in for Cech from time to time. Cech would not be disgruntled if he is dropped just for the sake of giving Leno some game time if he has the leadership qualities and mentality Emery sees in him. Even Aubameyang allowed Lacazette to take a penalty last season, giving up his chance for a hatrick to help Lacazette get his confidence up by getting on the score sheet during his drought.

      You don’t spend 25 mill on a GK( our second from most expensive summer signing) to just use in cup games. Lol. If he wasn’t going to use Leno he could of used the money on a versatile defender or winger and kept Ospina as back up GK.

      1. Ramsey should not be anywhere near the first team until he signs his contract. If he doesn’t sign soon he will be sold and if he gets injured he will be worth nothing in January.

  5. The reason why Unai Emery is the Coach and not any of the contributors to this website is because he knows what to do. Hence the arm chair coaches on this site should give him a chance to do his job. Criticise him for a poor job but don’t purport to know better than Emery when it comes to tactics and team selection. He stays with these players and knows who fits where and what problems each player might have. It is extremely unfair for any fan no matter how long he has supported the club to pretend that he knows matters of football better than the coach. The job of Arsenal coach was advertised and whoever thought that they had the requisite qualifications should have applied for it. There can only be one coach at a time. it is very inconsiderate, arrogant and unprofessional to start judging a manager even before he has gone quarter way through the season. Let us give him all the chance he needs to stamp his authority on the team. As supporters/fans of the team our major duty is to give moral, financial, psychological and any other off the field support to the team. Let us all unite behind our team.

      1. David, don’t disagree with you, but it has always been a given for football fans, whatever the code, to comment on the coach, players and performance of THEIR team. Otherwise what would we talk about on “justarsenal”?
        It will be interesting to see how it all pans out over the next few seasons. Only a person lacking in football knowledge would expect great changes over 4 games. One thing for sure is that Arsenal are showing fight and determination to come back from dire situations. It will be an interesting ride!

      2. David Rusa, to quote you ….”As supporters/fans of the team our major duty is to give moral, financial, psychological and any other off the field support to the team. Let us all unite behind our team.”
        You sound like a typical boot licker and a sycophant who bows down to authority, accept the status quo and live your life in fear and subservience. Precisely the example of slave mentality why Wenger was allowed to keep his job for 10 years longer than he should have. None other than the CEO of AFC, Ivan Gazidis concedes to this.
        Unai Emery is the coach and hats off to him for his philosophy of players being protagonists and the high press and quick one touch forward passing to feet, keep possession and attack, attack, attack If/When you lose the ball then 2/3 players to close opponent with ball and close his options and get back possession. And at the same time as trying to get back possession, the back line has to be protagonists in getting back to position to defend any ball that may come over the top or through channels to behind the defending line who were on a high press themselves. As caught out by Chelsea and Man City and West Ham.

        Unai Emery’s mistakes;
        * He has not got the players in defence who have the pace to hold a high line and then get back to position in defence to cover any runs by the likes of Sadio Mane, Salah,Sterling, Aonso and Hazard. Thus and it appears now Emery has instructed the back line not to press too high as was evidenced in the game against Cardiff. Emery should use Lichtsteiner as RB and release Bellerin to be a winger which he is. Emery failed with his tactics/team positioning/ team selection/ instructions here.
        * Emery failed to use the full power/force available by not using Lacazette, Aubameyang, Ozil and Bellerin in his 4231. Yes Bellerin with his blistering pace (same as Aubameyang) is a winger and plays wide, the width that is absent when Mkhitaryan is used (he is a MF). You don’t a V12 Ferrari with fuel lines removed from 3 cylinders! Emery has been incompetent and a failure here and cost Arsenal the 2 games against Man City and Chelsea.

        Emery has partially woken up now and played both Aubameyang and Lacazette in the game against Cardiff. Emery is being paid a salary of £6m+ by all the fans from around the world and each and every fan has the right to get their moneys worth .

    1. Then by your argument there should have never of been a Wenger out brigade since he was manager when people were calling for his head.Lol. Dude he is manager because he was appointed the role, a role that could just have easily of been appointed to Arteta lest we forget. Just because he’s manager doesn’t mean his judgement will always be best for the team and fans won’t see things he has missed. I mean, he was hardly prepared for the City and Chelsea games was he? Not to mention that we got through Westham by the skin of our teeths. I’m pretty sure many fans on here just like the pundits on match of the day would have been screaming at the screen pointing out that you don’t play such a high line against City. We invited rape like Jodie Foster in the accused. So yeah, some times the fans get it right and the manager gets it wrong. Emery is manager because he was the best for the budget the board were willing to spend. Let’s get it right. As I mentioned early we could have just as easily been looking at Arteta in the dugout.

    2. You definitely have a point. However, when players come on and do a better job they deserve their chance…. which isn’t happening for Torreria

    3. Bravo bravo…, this is the way to go. Look at teams who have failed to give their coaches the needed time and you’ll see how unstable they’re. just 4 games we supporters/fans have already started directing on what must be done.., oh Gosh! Let’s give Emery and team the needed time for any new system/s they’re trying out and see what comes out. For me am looking towards the next season when everyone is so much used to the English style of play to start judging or complaining.
      Vincent

  6. What you say about Torreira would be valid if he was not improving the midfield every time he comes on as sub. His communication can’t be an issue when he is one of our best performers when he is introduced at the 50,60 minute mark.

    I think Emery is just giving certain players chances to come good. The problem with this is that players like Lichtensteiner, Torreira and Lacazette have extra work to do, trying to bail us out in the second half.

    He needs to be playing our best 11 in premier league games. Plain and simple. He should be playing Lichtensteiner in RB because he is better defensively and has the experience since experience is the reason you think he is selecting Cech. He should be starting with Torreira in midfield to minimise the goals we have been conceding and he should be playing Lacazette with Aubameyang. It’s already been established that the two are not only able to play together but they have a good understanding and chemistry.

    There is no acceptable excuse for giving the opposition the advantage. Especially when the opposition is Chelsea, United,City,Pool or Spurs. Play the best team and give us a better chance of winning.

  7. If emery wants to play the way he does he should be looking to sell Cech and Kos in January, bring another ball playing keeper, a quicker centre back to play alongside elneny and probably a quicker left back than the also ageing Monreal. Additionally he should give the back 4 more protection and play 3 in the centre with ozil playing as a genuine no. 10 just behind the front 2. Using a 4-3-1-2

    I would also look to sell of Jenkinson and sign a proper winger who can play either flank

  8. Disagree with me but with xhaka Ramsey ozil belerin Mustafa Socrates in the starting line-up we are 1-0 down before the kick off.these guys are an accident waiting to happen. We know Emery wants to win 4-3 not 1-0 hence don’t expect any changes to the line up and Emery cares a sh*t about defence and so dudes don’t bother about defending. It’s only a matter of time when there will a goal from this stupid playing from the back thing. This is going to be a long scary season with Wenger version 2.0

  9. Bellerin is another mediocre in that team. I mean he is of such a very low mediocrity. Xhaka can only use his left leg, he shouldn’t be a starter. He is slow also. I believe torreira’s major problem for now is the language. Remember Gabriel struggled because of this. Cech so far has done his defensive duties well as a goalkeeper but he has been a bad distributor so far. There are cup matches to test Leno and others i think.

    1. Let us wait and see what the coach is going todo in the next game
      but from the Cardif City experience we are still very fare from solving our issues

  10. In all my years of watching football I have never seen what Peter Cech does. From the first minute he rolls the ball to pressed, covered and marked players and immediately invites nervousness and pressure on the back four. All other teams, even Barcelona, wait a while until the game settles (except if the other team does not press at all). The better teams then gradually fall into their ‘building from the back’. The suicidal tactics Cech is using directly at the beginning of matches is crazy. No team could win in the long run playing that way. It would be more intelligent pressing the opponent and not putting our own defence under pressure until the game takes shape. if Unai Emery is the one insisting on this weird deliberate technique of putting the defence under pressure from Cech’s bizarre early distribution method, I would find it hard to believe. No team immediately starts a game like that unless they are playing against another team who are playing deep and defending against you from the off. Most bizarre tactic I have ever seen. Suicide football.

    1. Exactly right, the goalkeeper can still play a long ball out from the back and keep possesion if he finds a player, you don’t always have to play a little short pass to a defender who is marked. Also, just wait and see how the opposition are playing before making the decision to play out from the back every time, sometimes a long ball from the back catches the opposition out if they are playing a certain way. Even Man. city keeper kicks it long sometimes !!

  11. Won’t 4-4-2 make a whole lot of sense for us? I think it can give us balance:

    Leno

    Stephan—Holding—-Sokratis—Monreal

    Mkhitaryan–Torreira—Ramsey–Welbeck

    Lacazette—-Aubameyang

  12. The real reason behind Emery average start is because he doesn’t have the right players like in PSG. firstly, we do not have a natural winger who can drives in, in PSG he had neymar mbappe but in arsenal iwobi but his end product is not good, miki ozil Ramsey are not wingers but 10 & 8. secondly bellerin is not Marcelo kimmich alaba or alba ,considering the system of emery he want his full backs to be like wingers to add more quality going forward which monreal is trying to do but bellerin even his crosses are not good. thirdly, Leno and torreira must start no excuse,torreira have proved worthy to be in the first eleven along xhaka not guendouzi or Ramsey. Another reason our center backs are not fast and physical enough a typical example is morata goal against arsenal,holding kos mav are not the solution either use a three back or get a world class center back like hummels varane etc. If arsenal can give emery the financial budget to bring in the right players then the barca philosophy which emery want in arsenal will be a success. Emery want every player to be involved including the GK .

  13. Personally I believe his number one priority this season will be the europa league, as he knows we are probably not close to being a top four team at the moment..thus making the europa league our best and most likely route back to the champions league…I believe he will start the four in this competition and not risk serious injuries to any of them by putting them full time into the premiership games.
    This is just a personal opinion and time will tell.

  14. So many management experts. Why did Arsenal go for Emery when all the people commenting know so much better how to run a football club than highly qualified, experienced professionals………..

  15. Given the substantial costs involved in supporting Arsenal and indeed any Premier League team, surely paying fans are entitled to have their say providing they focus on the footballing side of the debate and do not become involved in personal vendettas against players and the use of bad language.I am not a fan of Mustafi nor Xhaka on the playing field but I respect them as professional sportsman who are trying their best for Arsenal..

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