Prior to our recent 3-2 victory over Crystal Palace in the Carabao cup quarter finals, I wrote a piece about a potential combination Arteta might use to unlock our left side. This was the utilisation of fringe players, Raheem Sterling and Kieran Tierney on our left side.
Though we got to see the pair starting the game, they lined up on opposite flanks with Sterling used to deputise for the rested Saka. Regardless however, it was the pair that combined for arguably our best chance of the entire game and certainly the best at that moment. This is in reference to the chance that the Scot put on a plate for Sterling to score early in the second half when we were still trailing. That is a type of chance we rarely create in this Arsenal side and it has been largely because of the absence of a traditional left-back.
Regarding that particular chance, it was how we set him free with acres of space that I found fascinating. He operated as the player bringing the width to our left side, most especially in the second half ,which meant that our left-winger on the night (Trossard) operated more in the left half spaces as a result. He was found in that space in the build up to the chance before releasing Tierney on the left to put that lovely ball in the box for Sterling. That type of move has been what we’ve been crying out for in our left side of attack and it offered a glimpse of how we’d look like with a more traditional fullback in that area.
Though he also had a good performance overall, it will be highly unlikely that Mikel Arteta wil have a change of heart about him, he certainly doesn’t fancy that profile anymore and furthermore, him coming off the pitch seemingly due to an injury will not help his cause either. His injury record was a telling factor to him falling out of favour in the first place so I doubt if he will ever get a run of games with the side. He might have gone off due to a lack of match sharpness after being out for such a long time, but his injury record is still an Elephant in the room.
Considering the option he brought to our style of play against Palace, one has to wonder if Arteta should revert to the use of traditional fullbacks on that side, it will be highly unlikely but do you see this happening?
BENJAMIN KENNETH
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It was an emotional return of the former Celtic man, in all fairness he did himself justice,
Going forward, maybe the gaffer could use him as a Trump card in certain games, mixing things up a little.
Such a shame he’s built from glass, he epitomises what a leader should be in his hard work and dedication
Tierney showed there is still a place for an orthodox full back, although I don’t think MA will revert to that tactic with a fully fit squad. That said, the same would apply to wing play as well, we need to change it up from time to time.
It looks like the “Kieran Tierney” fetishisation is truelly up and running.
Might get some respite on the constant “We need a top / clinical 30 goals a season striker” fetishisation for the time being.
Something different to take peoples’ minds off the “Striker” talk for now.
😊🤞🙏
An actual overlapping full-back who can cross accurately.
It looked like he was feeling his hamstring on Wednesday.
cramps having not played for long.
Ownership is pleased because we may have a chance of getting something decent for him in the January window now. I so hope he doesn’t have any more significant injuries neither before or after he leaves us. He is such a hard worker (too hard?) with a good attitude and still a very good LB when healthy who has come through so much already.
The only LB performance that I can think was on a par with what Tierney produced against Palace, might be Califiori’s game against city115.
Arteta has said he wasn’t substituted due to injury, but rather cramp, so I fully expect him to start against Palace at the weekend – why not for goodness sake!!
Sterling was so unfortunate not to get on the scoresheet, as two excellent saves denied him that confidence boost.
For me, Tierney is still the best defensive LB we have and when discussing his injuries, one must also take into consideration the time out that both Califiori and Zinchenko have had this season.
Forget about all this “inverted” rubbish, it’s now a dated format – let’s have a backline of Timber Saliba Gabriel Tierney for the Palace game and see Raheem on the left wing.
Definitely not better defensively than Tomi or Timber – he’s good but those two are much better defenders (quite a high bar imo). He’s well rounded, though, and offers something different going forwards. If he can stay fit, it’s worth giving him a chance imo.
I’ll take the middle ground here and suggest that he is better defensively than Timber and on a par with Tomi. Tierney would offer different offensive skills than Tomi or Timber (but only if they are playing on the left rather than the right) in a standard use of LBs. Timber should stay on the right in almost every circumstance imo.
Timber and Tomi are indeed excellent defenders but unfortunately neither offers much going forward on the left flank as they are incapable of crossing on the run with their weaker foot.They are obliged to turn back on to their right foot to cross the ball by which time the opposition defence has invariably regrouped Because of his record of injuries I can understand why Arteta will not extend Tierney’s contract, but we are clearly not functioning down our left flank with the Manager’s inverted tactics and I very much doubt if we will unless we revert to conventional attacking full backs.Liverpool are apparently keen on Robinson of Fulham as a long term replacement for Andy Robertson who is showing signs of being past his best and Robinson is certainly a LB who could energise our left flank if only our Manager would recognise that his inverted thinking is not working.As a conventional RB, Timber is excellent as is White and both are capable of linking with Saka and are entirely comfortable crossing with their stronger right pegs.As it is ,even if he is fit, I expect Tierney to be on the bench against Palace tomorrow.
I agree with all of your comment Grandad. Tomi is actually more effective at least offensively on the right. You may remember how he was the unexpected sensation when he was playing on the right so well both defensively and offensively after first arriving from Bologna.
Agreed mate. People seem to forget how good Tomi was before the injuries. He is an absolute monster at cb as well for Japan. If he could stay fit all season I think he would take the rb spot with timber at left back. Then Cala and white being able to step in two positions each when required.
right defensively Timber and Tomi clam that LB position. these players have different aspects which suit certain fixtures
Ken
Tierney showed he can still defend and produce offensively, and what a fantastic option to have on the left side when the left has been on life support for a couple of years now.
Versatility among players is great, but versatility and options with tactics is also great. Not sure why one would exclude such an option when we have faced difficulty in some games.
Durand, some suggest that MA only wants to work with the players he has (re)signed, but I think that’s nonsense.
What I do think, however, is that he is so into this “inverted” style of playing, that he doesn’t recognise what a fully fit Tierney can offer.
We talk about plan B, the weakness of our left side and the, supposed, regression of Martinelli….all of this could be solved, if only he would use the best LB on our books.
Timber, White and Tomiyasu are all at there best on the right hand side, while we have Zinchenko, Califiori and Tierney on the left…. all three of them having injury issues.
But tell me, of those three, who is the best defender, the best crosser of the ball and the best link an to Martinelli / Trossard?
In my opinion, Tierney proved himself far superior to the other two, as was seen when he presented Sterling with that wonderful cross that, if not for their keeper, would have given him an assist and Sterling his first goal in the famous red and white shirt.
Jesus.
Sterling. Odegaard. Saka.
Rice. Partey.
Tierney. Gabriel. Saliba. Timber.
Raya.
He won’t start another game for Arsenal, unless Arteta has no option. He doesn’t rate him.
Sad for the player, the fans and the club. That was a gold standard of LB. Will not see that standard with any/all of Mikel’s LB signings. Even Sterling looked lively. We need points on the board, not massage someone’s bloated ego who is an employee earning his wages from the proceeds of TV rights and gate collections. Arsenal fans deserve their moneys worth!
he should rotate him . some minutes will do considering injury record of Cala
Rumours on the tv that he might be off to Celtic this transfer window. Mind you, rumours are just that
Although I doubt it will happen, I’d love to see Tierney get a regular run in the side for a period of time.
If he does and stays fit a big if I know, then just maybe Arteta will remember what Tierney offered him when Arteta first joined the club.
Please let us do away with all this inverted nonsense, what’s wrong with good old fashion left back charging down the wings and providing crosses from both sides.
Because I don’t know if Arteta is aware of this, but there are two wings on a pitch. (Just Saying).😉👍
But we’re better as a team with this inverted nonsense than the glorious conventional full back….
What with Calafiori, or Kiwior, Really!
This inverted left back is really setting the left side alight this season isn’t it. (Not). 🤦♂️
Arsenal have used inverted FBs as part of the approach to mount a credible title challenge for the past two seasons.
The use of traditional FBs versus inverted FBs is a debate to be had but rigid positions stating that we must stick to a traditional FB system is narrow minded.
The fervour for KT is understandable but the reality is that he is not a fit for the system Arteta prefers.
One could argue, David, that, despite two seasons of nearly winning the PL, we haven’t been successful enough with the inverted LB system…. whereas, with Tierney at the orthodox LB position we were.
Our left flank looked so much better don’t you agree?
As Grandad has pointed out previously, the big European clubs are reverting back to that system, so perhaps MA will follow?
I have pointed out before that both setups have strengths and limitations.
We have used traditional FB before (including KT) and were nowhere near winning the league. However, we have come close using a system with inverted FBs.
A one-off game against a middle level opponent is insufficient reason for changing the system. In the game against Monaco we used an inverted FB and won the game impressively.
I was replying to your message that we had nearly won the PL twice, using inverted LB’s.
As we have failed to will it, however, perhaps the time has come to try a traditional full back system?
Against Palace our left side looked better than it had for quite a while and I sincerely hope that your “middle level opponent” jibe doesn’t come back to bite you up your bum!!!
Correction to my recent post, Tierney only has to bomb down the left wing.
The way I put it, made it sound like I expected him to do it from both sides.
With his injury record, I fear I would be expecting to much. (My bad). 🤦♂️👍
DEREK, check out the availability of Tierney, Califiori, Tomiyasu and Zinchenko this season and tell me why the former is such an issue?
Tierney has been ready to play for weeks now, having been on the bench twiddling his thumbs.
The formers injury problem is such an issue!!
Ken,OT not sure if you know, but Man Utd have been given the Blocks from 20-32 for the FA Cup game. Not sure if it affects you. A lot of our fans are up in arms over it.
Yes, it does affect me HD, but, as you know, the fa cup tie is not included in this seasons price, due to the number of cup games already played in the CL.
I think the clubs arm was twisted by manure, as they threatened to take us to the FA for not giving them their full allocation.
I was intending to buy a ticket, but as I’m away anyway, it doesn’t matter to me personally.
It seems that their fans will have all of the clock end – hopefully full of disgruntled fans come the end of the game.
Yes Ken, all the Clockend lower and lower West blocks upto the players tunnel.
I really hope the club will sort the away section out, if we can increase the capacity at the Emirates.
When I think of how clubs like Newcastle and United put us up in the God’s, I think we should treat them just the same.
I think we get to worried about injury’s personally. Injury’s are part and parcel of the game.
And while some players seem to suffer more than others for whatever reason, I believe that when said player is available for selection, we can’t be scared to use them.
If were going to be scared to use said players, what’s the point in having them.
The other nights game against Palace was the best we’ve looked down the left all season in my opinion. The inverted full back maybe Arteta’s preferred system, but it clearly hasn’t helped down our left side all season, regardless of whos been available for said game.
A final thought on the Tierney situation, I read that Arteta said that Tierney is fully committed to the club, which I don’t doubt.
But what I do doubt is Arteta’s commitment to him. (Prove me wrong Arteta).
I like Kieran Tierney. It wasn’t that long ago he was being touted as being the next captain of Arsenal! I think his omission from the team has seen Martinelli’s own form falter, as the two had a good relationship down the left, which saw Martinelli reach double figures for league goals. He really struggles without the overlapping fullback to assist him, and he just doesn’t get that support from any of the other options at LB, even if they are objectively better players than Tierney.
In any case I think it’s a moot point. I think Arteta played him just to prove a point and it certainly seemed that he got his way with Tierney yet again going off before the end of the game. If he can stay fit, I think he’s a great option at LB with Calafiori and I would certainly feel better about him playing there than I do about Zinchenko. It would also allows Zinchenko to operate in midfield where he wouldn’t be so susceptible to 1 on 1s.
But I don’t think any of this will happen and if Tierney isn’t sold in January he will leave at the end of his contract.
Funny enough, Martinelli best season was with Zinchenko, an inverted full back, and Xhaka who plays the under lapping role not Tierney.