What sort of midfield will Freddie select in his final game as interim Arsenal manager?
Freddie Ljungberg will be desperate to get a result against Everton tomorrow in his final game in charge and getting the midfield right is crucial to that.
What Freddie will not do is to make any rash decisions or antagonise any of the current squad because he is staying on to assist Mikel Arteta.
So I am expecting the Swede to more or less go with the same sort of team he leans towards, an attacking sort.
Therefore Mesut Ozil will retain his position in my opinion. Granit Xhaka will probably be brought back into the team and Lucas Torreira will most likely keep his position.
So it is a midfield three of
Ozil
Xhaka
Torreira
Obviously, they will be assisted by the two wing-backs and one of the front three.
If Freddie decides to be a little more pragmatic he could also bring in Joe Willock but that would mean surrendering one of the three expected attackers and I do not see that happening.
I am sure that Mikel Arteta will have a word with Freddie and some influence on the lineup so there is a chance of a surprise.
However, I am fairly confident that Ozil, Xhaka and Torreira will all be selected in the middle tomorrow.
I thought Ozil had injured his foot (& no, not by kicking his gloves!!) He’s to be assessed.
I think Ozil is out with a broken thumb nail. My mid three woild be torreira Gouendouzi and chambers.
Great. This means we can play with 4-3-3 or 4-1-4-1
I also predict the same midfield. But if Ozil plays as no 10 again, he would most likely let our two DMs fight Everton’s midfielders alone
So I hope Ljungberg grows some balls and start Guendouzi, Chambers or Luiz in midfield instead, to help Xhaka and Torreira
“Slowly you will see some changes and where we want to head on. The direction’s going to be very clear and it’s not going to be negotiable. I will need the players to be on board with the right attitude, with the right passion and commitment. Step by step, we will be improving and reaching to find the right identity for us.”
Hear that folks? That sounds like a man who knows what he wants. The picture of this club he has in his head to build, the plan and the way we head on is nonnegotiable and the players are needed to be on board.
Any player who’s not on board and thinks he’ll be allowed to scupper the man’s plan should be ready to get kicked off
And what if they refuse to leave again, like under Emery? Ozil, Mustafi, Miki, etc. They’re all on huge wages, so why would they give that up?
Then we will see if Arteta is the man Eddie thinks he is…unlike your UE!!!
If any player refuses to go, he relegates them to gardening leave or even gets kronkie to buy out their contracts.
As all our senior players are on huge contracts, why not just say that, along with the overpaid younger players as well.
While players have the upper hand, there are always ways to skin a cat – let’s see who ARTETA wants to get rid off, rather than the fans shall we?
This is the opportunity to support Mikel over any single player or preconceived ideas by all of us – that’s what I am going to do anyway, a level playing pitch for everyone and rely on the coach/manager to make the decisions.
My UE? Haha! Good ol Ken with his fake news. You should have worked in politics.
Sorry TMJW, wasn’t you supporting him until it was impossible to do otherwise?
if I was wrong about that, I misread your posts- sorry!!
Glad you agreed with all my other points though, a new beginning for everyone!!!
Good ebening is gone, and now we welcome good ebironment
I monreal
Well we need goals and creativity from midfield, so that definitely rules Ozil out. Freddie might as well play the youth team, because I cannot see the first team doing anything!
So what your saying is, the whole squad is rubbish?
After Sunday, I agree with you, but let’s give a special mention to your favourite player, so that takes the pressure of all the other overpaid, underperforming, lazy, uncommitted players who can disappear under the radar.
Then, when we give them ratings, we can do it all over again.
Yes, the whole squad is rubbish. Even a blind person could see that! Forget the top teams, you would struggle to get any of our players into Leicester or Wolves starting XI.