I like Partey and think he will become a fine signing. But I think it’s necessary to be realistic about his performances so far, rather than pretending he’s hit the ground running. Well if that’s hitting the ground running, I’ve seen seen 90 year olds on crutches outpace him. In addition to his injury problems, his outstanding performances have been relatively few and far between. Manchester United away perhaps? That day he was outplayed by Elneny, who few here seem to rate.

Elsewhere I saw Partey described as a watered down Vieira when he signed, meant as a positive. Well if he’s a watered down Vieira, I’m sure people will have drowned in less water.

I don’t mean this to come across as being too critical of Partey. I am genuinely pleased we bought him. I’m just suggesting a bit of realism about how he has played so far. I remain to be convinced he’s been as good as Xhaka since in the same period since he joined.

I’m more comfortable about City winning the title again than some here. For every year City do it, it means Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea and Tottenham won’t.

Hi Bernard,
Possibly add Arsenal to that group as well. Irregardless of getting into the top 4 at some future season. Fingers crossed we get through the rest of the EL.

Artificially infused with cash or not, City's run is incredible. Liverpool threatened that kind of run once I recall. This is the world we live in. What I fear is that eventually there will be more teams bought up by the uber rich and we'll have a quasi permanent class of clubs always at the top. Or even always in the league. Too rich to go down and by that I mean being able to buy players that will pretty much guarantee them EPL football. They may not be at the top but they won't go down.

I looked up Milan's great 58 game run in comparison. A fair amount of draws but we got a lot of draws as well. Although it must be said when we had the season locked up we were trying not to lose rather than trying to win. There were a few games I recall where we could have 'pushed the issue' and beat clubs but we just wanted to play prevent defense as they say in the NFL.

This City team sees a draw the same as a loss almost. They know they have the title locked up, they are just playing football to see how long they can win.

I haven't watched United enough to comment on Fernandes, but DeBruyne deserves to be remembered as one of the all time greats. He is a joy to watch.

I think you make a very good point, Zed.

£22m was the last valuation I heard for Ceballos https://www.football-espana.net/2021/02 ... i-ceballos. He may be worth that to another team but don't think we need another squad player for CM and so should be aiming to get higher quality.

Like you, Decaf and Rich have mentioned there are still a lot of adjustments required in midfield with some being let go and more quality coming in but there are also a few that I'd keep as they are good squad options as long as we don't overpay on salaries. In reality we also can't afford to have full strength 11's with massive salaries sitting on the bench for every position like City.

Only just watched the replay today but I'd really like to know what Arteta said to Willian and Pépé before the match as they were right at it for the full 90. Could be coincidence as it's clear that a lot of competition has been created for positions all over the pitch so maybe that has created an environment for self motivation.

I think one thing that was noticeable for Willian during his run of terrible form was that he hadn’t really lost his speed or quickness, he could still take players on so it didn’t look like his legs had simply gone. It seemed more like some sort of mental block and hopefully he’s over it now.

Hi Zed. Sure thing. Without a doubt. If Arsenal were competing for the title there’s only one side I’d want to win it. But we’re not and Manchester United in particular, but even Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham look more likely than us. Of those, I’d rather City win it.

I’ve nothing against Leicester but they’re not going to win it either. So in my view with Arsenal completely out the running for the title (I value realism more than a mathematical chance), it’s City for me rather than the others I mentioned in the first paragraph or the post you quoted.

I think with our central midfield we should start with the idea that Partey and Xhaka are the first choice two and we build from there. Xhaka isn't versatile he's always going to be the deep lying playmaker style player so if you're partnering him with someone they need to cover his weaknesses. Partey's athleticism, mobility, aggression, speed and greater defensive awareness on paper does that.

We need another player who can come in and play in a 2 with Xhaka or a 2 with Partey. With Partey you have the option of having someone purely defensive minded (Bissouma) so Partey can have more freedom to drive forward, or you could sign a more expansive central midfielder (Aouar) and get Partey to sit in front of the defence. Put both Bissouma and Aouar in our squad and you have an incredibly well balanced midfield that can play as a central midfield 2 or a 3 and can be attacking or defensive depending on the opposition. The idea of getting both of these players in the summer is far fetched but that is the profile of player and balance in the squad I think we need.
1. A destructive central mid, tall, powerful and mobile with a good simple passing range and who is 'press resistant'
2. A more creative box-to-box midfielder who can play in the hole but also in a midfield 2 when we want to be more attacking or expect to dominate the ball
Elneny, Ceballos, Guendouzi, Torreira, Willock don't really fit in to either of those profiles which is why I think all should be sold (or not bought in Ceballos case)

Even if those are the only 2 positions we buy next year, and keep the rest of the squad the same I think we'd have a decent top 4 chance.
Or, if we sort these two positions and any other transfers are like-for-like I think we challenge top 4. ie: Bellerin is sold and replaced by a £20m right back, or Lacazette is sold and replaced with Edouard from Celtic for example.

https://www.arsenal.com/news/arteta-lac ... a-and-more

A few interesting quotes from Arteta in here

Your plan isn’t going to work.

No good relying on Partey’s athleticism if he’s being overtaken by 90 year olds with walking sticks (we have that on good authority )

Interesting analysis Rich and its this kind of stuff that makes this forum fun at times. Even if you don't agree, its interesting if not fun, talking about strategies, tactics, formations, etc.

My two cents...if we get a strong central defense, and back 5 we can do the playmaking Aouar type. If we are going to go with what we have now, then we will need a Bissouma type to make up for the weaker back 5.

Partey, Xhaka and Smith Rowe aren't bad. We won't be challenging for the title but we will do okay. Ødegaard in that mix isn't bad IF he gets better. I would expect to see a much better Ødegaard in May than I do in March. He's got a lot of adjusting to do, like Gabriel.

Saka centrally still excites me.

City win a 21st straight game, unbeaten in 28. Their performance level has gone through the roof.
I read an interesting article about tactical adjustments for this season in particular due to the condensed nature of games, no real pre-season and the possibility of players missing training. All of this has lead to more injuries and a lower level of fitness/inability to stay at top fitness levels due to condensed games. The upshot was that the fashionable all over pitch pressing games just can't happen anymore. There are fewer goals per game than at any point in the last 10 or so years because teams are being far more cautious because of lack of fitness. At the start of the season the theory was teams hadn't cottoned on to this and lots of teams still played the high press but when the fitness levels couldn't keep up with it we were seeing loads of goals in games. The article ended by saying that this affects the bigger teams more than the smaller ones and is why the games between the top teams have been very low scoring and why the smaller teams have been able to close the gap to the bigger teams.

I'm not sure I totally agree with the conclusion as the bigger teams have bigger squads so can rotate more, you can see the effect injuries are having on some teams. However, with City in particular there was a lightbulb moment after they got hammered 5-2 at home by Leicester that they couldn't approach games the same way and had to become more pragmatic

I think City's performance is in some part due to the level of play in the PL going down across the board. West Ham is playing out of their skins, but Leicester, Liverpool, Chelsea, Man Utd, Wolves, any club that could nick a win or point have all gone down in form for the season.

The big risk with all that money is that the PL starts looking like the SPL.

The big worry is Liverpool or City will come calling for Saka...or possibly even a top foreign club (BM, Juve, etc.). I'm curious to know how much his head can be turned and what is the club willing to do keep him. To a lesser extent Smith-Rowe. If not now, in the future as he improves.

I think Tierney is good for now. It seems he loves the move up and is enjoying his football and the big stage that playing for one of the biggest clubs in England, globally known and in the biggest city in the country. If we don't improve or seem competitive in a couple years, I can see him open to a move if someone comes calling.

I am also worried about Martinelli. I think the guy can be a huge player for us. His potential can't be lost on other clubs. Especially Spanish clubs, but also obviously domestic clubs just below the very top eyeing him.

I can’t explain anyone not seeing Thomas Parteys quality

He was outstanding againest United and rapid Vienna plus other games.

His season has been stop start through injury but he’s easily in our 3 most important players.

Advance warning for the hypochondriacs that walk amongst us

He’s not going to start Martinelli at turf moor either.

He’s coming back from a repair of his knee cartilage and they always try and kick us off the pitch at turf moor.

Just thought I’d flag. Feel free to start the hysteria

Hi Bernard,
City have a better chance of being closer to a title win on Sunday if they beat MU, which they could do. It's a tight squeeze in points within the 9 teams below City. So far can't see if any catch up to City before May, actually. More to battle it out as to which team is in the top 5, wherein Arsenal might get there.

Especially the ones about Balogun. It wouldn't be the first time a player gave positive signals to his club while his agent worked on a move away. On the other hand, many thought Aubameyang was leaving when it took him so long to extend his contract, but Arteta always maintained he thought he would stay and was proven right about that. If Balogun lives up to the hype, it could be huge for the team re-build - basically a free replacement for Lacazette down the line.

I do find Arteta's constant positivity over the Balogun situation at odds with everything else we've seen and heard about it. I think of Balogun does stay and both Lacazette and Nketiah leave then Balogun will be Nketiah's replacement rather than Lacazette's

Has anyone denied Elneny’s quality? Accepting he’s made a slowish start is not the same as denying his quality. He played well at Old Trafford but was still outplayed in that game by Elneny, a player many don’t rate that highly. On the basis of his form so far it’s debatable whether he’s easily one of our three most important players. Shouts can also be made for (in no other order except alphabetical) Leno, Saka and Tierney. Aubameyang hasn’t been at his normal level this season, but despite that I remain to be convinced Partey has shown himself as easily more important than him.

The schedule this season is really playing tricks on teams; since we faced Leicester three days ago, Burnley have now played twice. We should have the fresher legs on Saturday at least!

By Sat, March 6, Burnley will have played 3x. We should have fresh legs.

Maybe he got some feedback from Lampard that he wasn't good enough anymore which left him a bit disillusioned at the lack of loyalty and dented his confidence. But when Lampard got sacked he thought "well that guy didn't know what he was talking about"

Pretty good summary Rich and agree with the ins and outs required. I'd keep Elneny as a squad player though as he's reasonably versatile and can provide cover for injuries. (although if his contract is nearing an end then probably best to move on as he's 28). Where we end up will likely depend on the logistics of how many can be moved out / in during one window.

After Burnley there's a tough few matches against Totts, West Ham and Liverpool and from there on, apart from Chelsea and Everton, we should normally expect to win most of them. What will make it really difficult though is that nearly all of those opposition are either in the relegation or very close to it, so 100% focus and effort will be needed for every match till May 24. Tough ask but it does make the end of season a lot more interesting in what has been a very erratic season (and not just for Arsenal).

How many strikers do we need? Lacazette goes, we have Aubameyang who will need to be replaced at the end of his contract. Martinelli is good enough to start in mine and some people's opinion. Okay, Lacazette goes we'll nee another. We have some goo young strikers but no out right lead strikers. Pépé can play up front and I think he's better there than on the wing. I think he's more dangerous running straight at a defender than coming in on the wing. He's got quick feet. He can throw defenders off balance fairly easily head on from a bit deeper in the midfield or running off the line.

https://www.dailystar.co.uk/sport/footb ... s-23602936

It’s great news that you have been in contact with Arteta and have such inside information. What a cult leader you are.

Am I missing something? Mavropanos?

https://tbrfootball.com/has-to-replace-luiz-better-than-holding-some-arsenal-fans-want-23-year-old-to-get-a-chance-next-season/

Sorry. In my first sentence I’d put Elneny instead of Partey. Changed it above to what it should have read, as a response to a previous suggestion that Partey’s quality had been questioned.

Hopefully my third sentence had made it obvious who I was talking about in the first sentence, as otherwise I’d be saying Elneny was even better than Elneny at Old Trafford.

Arteta is fairly direct which is nice. No reading the tea lives types of interviews like some managers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Wc6kvL ... reload=101

Just saw this on a cousin's feed. He wasn't even born at the time of the recording so surprised he had this or knew about it. This is cool as hell! No idea who she is, but know the tune. Cherry Wainer?! Transporting myself back to 1966 in a time machine to be my crush.
...and Don Storer on drums. First time knowing about him too.

More talk today of Bellerin leaving. The right-nbacks I've seen linked are Lamptey and Aarons as young english prospects, and Denzel Dumfries (great name), 24 from PSV and Nordi Mukiele, 23 from Leipzig.

I don't know anything about the last 2. Transfermarkt website seems to place them in the £20m category. I thin the two english lads would cost closer to £30m.

One thing that I do know is Lamptey is 5ft 5.....and Dumfries and Mukiele are both 6ft 2. Lamptey's height is easily masked in Brighton's team of giants who play with a back 3 and also we haven't seen what he's like in a back 4, only as a wing back. I like him but for the price I don't think I'm convinced Lamptey is the answer

Dumfries isn't good enough, he's all pace and power but little skill.

few years earlier:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIekZvhyrsk

I'm a bit embarrassed I've never heard of her. I like this one. Going to have to find more of her music. I had to look her up on wiki
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherry_Wainer

So, she married the drummer! Influenced by the great Jimmy Smith. Smith is from Philadelphia (or precisely a suburb), where a cousin of mine went to...oh, so that's why that same cousin had it on his feed? I've sent him a message. He went to the HS of that town. Can't wait to hear back from him.

I only realised last night that Burnley had a midweek game so much less rest than us before our game v them at the weekend.
Having so many fresh players really helped us overrun Leicester who had to pretty much play the same players from their midweek European game.
We need to make this count v Burnley, we should have the legs on them so need to press high and force mistakes