Mole_Toonfan

"His best position really is in CM as a box-to-box" ^ this was said on here for years yet I can't recall ever seeing him in the role Was a few times, the game against Villa when Ben Arfa tore their LB apart he played in that role and was very good. I do agree that's his best position tbh but he'll never play there again at this point.

The me reading your posts bit completes it.

Thought they already did? or was that Cabella? i get confused by the two but i'm pretty sure we sold one of them in the summer.

Not sure why everyone is so apprehensive around him tbh, ever since Rafa came in he's been great. When he was made captain tbh there was a lot of people wondering if it's too early etc and thinking last season was just a fluke and it obviously wasn't. He's clearly very good, i would have thought that was obvious before we got relegated but it still isn't seemingly.

Both are easy enough to hide, there's been plenty of top defenders are not very good in either of those departments.

He was great under Rafa last season, i see little reason to suggest why that wouldn't continue.

I bet it's us older folks that are lower on the scale. Think we've been beaten to death over our lives following this team to take nothing for granted. If I were a betting man though, far safer bet to put money on us winning promotion rather than other bets such as Sunderland going down, Man City winning the PL or Barca winning the CL. Outside of Celtic winning the SPL, PSG winning the French title or Bayern winning in Germany , I can't think of a safer way to invest your fiver on us finishing top 2. Define older please. Also i get what happened before but this is clearly different because of Rafa, you're allowed to feel confident about this situation and ignore what happened before.

But none of the players we play in that gap do much in midfield (or up front fwiw) so we'd be as likely to control the midfiled as we are anyway. Is it a coincidence that the only time that "10" has had a good game this season is with more of a target man up front (Perez v QPR and Diame v PNE). All that says to me is that neither of the options we have are doing what Rafa wants ideally, they just happen to be the best we have right now. They might eventually but i imagine if Rafa could buy a player for that position in the summer he would.

Because Rafa clearly doesn't want to and thinks it won't work in his general scheme and ideas. I have zero issue with it personally.

Blatantly bollocks, if they need a CB they'll sign someone more high profile. Not even paying attention to it.

Another win hopefully then.

Not surprised in the slightest that Brighton are the only other team with a significantly positive goal difference, they are the only other team i feel like have genuine PL talent.

As someone who hasn't watched them since the were relegated from the PL, are they good at all?

I haven't seen him have a bad one yet, was quite apprehensive about his signing ( Yanks lerl) but he's been very impressive imo.

What's to say that wouldn't have been Mitrovic given the same games? His record under Benitez is decent. I mean it might have been, but it isn't. Gayle actually has scored 11 in 12, the rest is just hypothetical. I think it'd be daft to risk not bringing him back in*. *Obviously if he's out for a couple more games and Mitrovic carries on then I'd keep things as they are like. If he's fit next game I'd start him though. While i don't think he'll have done as well Gayle from an individual standpoint it should be mentioned he ended the PL season well under Rafa even if it was mainly from the bench and he's been a positive impact whenever he's been given game time this year. I know you know this but just saying, at the end of the day we have two very different strikers who have been performing very well under Rafa and how i personally would approach it is picking the guy based on what midfield you pick behind them. Whatever Rafa decides to do i'm completely happy with and both of them seem to have a great attitude regardless so it don't see either one kicking up a fuss.

Seemingly what has happened so far in the games he has started in, others get so much space because of him. Hopefully it continues today.

Yeah sure i read Mbemba is injured.

Oxlade despite the fact he gets a nice goal or assist now and again just isn't that good, has some talent but means nothing when his decision making is horrid. Seems to be a common theme among most of Arsenal's English players.

Fuck sake.

I would hold judgement on that, scoring goals in the championship is a lot easier than it will be in the premier. I would be surprised if we don't go for a real top class striker in the summer, we won't want a repeat of last season where we hung our hat on 'promising youngsters'. Mitro and Perez might go on to become top premier strikers, but they've still got it all to prove at that level. Gayle too for that matter. Completely agree.

Aye

Ritchie will definitely start, the question is whether Atsu will start along with him. I personally doubt it but hopefully i'm wrong.