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Jonathan_Kerr

Jonathan_Kerr

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Just a bit on the (pointless) Jack v Rambo argument. If you could only keep one, who would it be?* I mean, can anyone see Jack scoring 16 goals in a season before Dec like Rambo did?

Has Jack even scored 16 goals for the first team?

(Yes, I'm aware that we no longer need to sell either).

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The Fox

The Fox

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Just a bit on the (pointless) Jack v Rambo argument. If you could only keep one, who would it be?* I mean, can anyone see Jack scoring 16 goals in a season before Dec like Rambo did?

Has Jack even scored 16 goals for the first team?

(Yes, I'm aware that we no longer need to sell either).

Depends on the type of holding player we're gonna use IMO. Let's say we have five players for the two deep midfield slots - they basically have the following traits:

Coquelin: Aggressive, terrier-type ball winner. Excellent at tackling/intercepting, so good against stopping opposition counters. Good in the air for his size. Limited technique/passing ability. Tends not to be involved in transitions from defence to attack, instead off-loading the ball to his more technically adept partner. Suspect to opposition pressing.

Arteta: Decent enough at tackling/intercepting/heading but doesn't harry for the ball like Coq does. Technically proficient. Adept at transitioning the play from defence to attack using his intelligent positioning and good passing range; these traits also mean he's decent at facing opposition pressing. Slow as fuck so his partner cannot leave him isolated. Suspect vs quick counters, especially if people are allowed to run at him 1 v 1. Fitness and age mean his game time is likely going to be limited going forward.

Ramsey: Unreal stamina to get up and down the pitch. Smart positioning off the ball, both in attack and defense. Biggest scoring threat by far of all the options. Good synergy with Ozil and Giroud. Second-weakest on the ball, after Coquelin, and thus vulnerable to pressing. When we win possession, his first instinct is to get into a scoring position, and prefers to leave the build up to his partner.

Wilshere: Good technique. Good passing range. Excellent ball carrier, which allows him to burst past opposition pressing and leave them vulnerable. Needs to improve on releasing the ball at the right time, as he can get caught high up, leaving the team vulnerable to counters. Positioning off the ball often isn't great, particularly in defensive areas, so needs a mobile partner who can tackle well.

Cazorla: Similar to Wilshere. Pros compared to him are ambidexterity, giving him even better control in tight spaces, smarter positioning off the ball, and a better injury record. Cons are his age, and comparative lack of power/acceleration.

So broadly speaking you have Coq & Ramsey who don't like to take responsibility of build up play, and don't like being pressed; and Arteta/Santi/Jack who are comparatively ok with moving the ball from defence to the attacking players, and have traits to combat opposition pressing. So putting them into pairs that function...

I don't think Coq & Ramsey works as they share weaknesses, which is why Ramsey is currently not playing in CM.

Similarly, Arteta & Wilshere has been shown not to work; Jack likes to carry the ball forward but if he gets dispossessed high up, Arteta is particularly vulnerable to pacier players running at him. See Anfield 2013/14 for the most obvious example.

A pairing from Jack/Aaron/Santi together would only work against weak opposition, as none are defensively skilled enough to cover for the other against a good side.

Arteta & Coq would probably work ok but it's too negative for Arsene to use on a regular basis: he's always going to want at least one of Ramsey or Wilshere in the team when fit.

TL;DR: That leaves us with Coq & Wilshere/Santi, or Arteta & Ramsey/Santi as complimentary partnerships. Therefore if Wenger believes we can win the league/CL with Coquelin as first choice holding midfielder for years to come, then I think Ramsey becomes the odd man out.

If Wenger doesn't think that's feasible, however, and wants a holding player with more technical/passing ability (ie Busquets, Kroos, Arteta, Alonso) with Coq as more of a rotational/squad option, then he needs to buy a replacement for Arteta. Ramsey should in theory be able to dovetail very well with such a player, so the onus will be on Wilshere to show he can do the same.

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The Fox

The Fox

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Well personally I'd be trying to buy a replacement for Arteta this summer, with a similar skill set. He's been a great influence on and off the pitch but it's probably fair to say his involvement next season is going to be patchy.

Without wanting to open that can of worms again, I've talked about why I think we need something complimentary to what Coq offers; someone who can contribute more in games where we're looking to dominate possession; games when we're ahead and trying to protect a lead; and games where the opposition presses us heavily. Since Christmas only two teams have pressed us with any real effectiveness: Southampton and Spurs. We lost both games.

The identity of that Arteta replacement though, I dunno. There aren't loads of good young midfielders of that type about, since as well as good distribution it also takes excellent positioning, and that can sometimes only come with experience. EDIT: Weirdly there's an article on the Guardian today about just that issue

Schneiderlin is comfortable enough on the ball but I don't think he truly excels in that area to be honest. He seems more effective on the front foot to me, same as Coq. Like, he was really good vs Chelsea for instance, but it was all hassling and harrying and aggression. I'm not sure he's got it in him to play that controlling, Xabi Alonso-type role.

Busquets/Kroos are obviously not obtainable.

Verratti is probably not obtainable, and currently does not play as the deepest midfielder so would need to be willing and able to adjust role.

Gündoğan might be gettable, but like Verratti he's not a holding midfielder at present, and there are also still question marks over his back injury.

The only other guy who springs to mind is Illarramendi. He's probably obtainable as Ancelotti clearly doesn't really rate him (allegedly more for attitude/temperament reasons than playing ability). Bit of a risk, maybe, but he does seem to suit us in terms of playing style.

Personally speaking I feel we should generally always be playing Ramsey in central midfield, as I think when fit and firing he's the best young box-to-box player in the world after Pogba. However I don't think he compliments Coq, and it seems Wenger agrees. Whether we could keep the two pairs of Coq/Wilshere and A.N Other/Ramsey happy long-term, with enough game time, I dunno. I do think that ultimately we'll probably have to sell one of Jack or Aaron.

(What will probably happen is we'll sell one, then 6 months later the other will fuck off to Madrid or something) :lol:

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Naysonymous

Naysonymous

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Cup final stuff:

Villa will be in claret and blue, Arsenal yellow and blue after Villa won the coin toss.

Villa and Arsenal were both in the west end of the stadium for the semi, Villa get the west end this time and Arsenal get the east. I'd presume that is at the insistence of BTP and the Met because so many Brummies will be arriving on the train into Wembley Stadium Station which is on the west side.

(article)

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Naysonymous

Naysonymous

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Unlikely. I'm actually due to be working on cup final day which will be crap because I'll be ferrying people between Marylebone and Wembley all afternoon. I've applied for the day off but again, I'm further back in the queue than I need to be to guarantee getting the day off. I used to have a season ticket but it's difficult now with kids and the anti social hours I have to work. I used to be able to book days off work to attend the football but I can't really do that anymore (kids) so I'm so far down the list of people eligible to get one though legitimate means that I've got to explore other options.

If I can get the day off then I think I'm just going to head down to London anyway, not sure what I'm willing to pay a tout but I'm open to the black market. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that work might come through with something corporate, we do a lot of work with Wembley stadium for every major event so maybe we get a few tickets.

Can't see us winning the game, we did beat Arsenal in the epic 1st vs 2nd clash on the opening day of last season but it's 8-0 to you guys this year and we've lost the last two cup finals we were in (2010 league cup, 2000 FA cup). We haven't won the FA cup since the year my mum was born (1957) but big games are few and far between as a Villa fan and it might be another 15-20 years before we do anything exciting so I've got to make the most of it. All hinges on getting time off though.

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The Fox

The Fox

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Go to the screening at the Emirates. The lone dissenting voice, celebrating wildly in Arsenal's own ground while Timmy parades the cup on the big screens. Fuck it, go the whole hog and do a one-man pitch invasion.

I'm actually a bit worried about the final, even though our aggregate score vs you this season is about 37-0. We need at least one of Arteta, Wilshere or Cazorla to be fit and have a good game in the middle, otherwise if you press us we'll be fucked. Also our 'good performances at Wembley' record since 2009 is 1 out of 6...

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toythatkills

toythatkills

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Birmingham, Wigan, Hull, Reading we took lightly, Villa are good enough for us to take them serious, so i'm quietly confident we should do enough on the day.

Villa are no better this season than Hull were last season, and we've already beaten them comfortably twice. I'd say it's a pretty high-risk game as far as "taking your opponent lightly" goes.

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Dude Ranch

Dude Ranch

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Anyone got any idea what this (about Fabregas) might be reference to.

.

.

"I cannot speak to you about that (reasons) now because that will not help us to win the game on Sunday," Wenger said.

"We will have to discuss that one day, with all the terms. It is not as clean as that.

"The regret I have is that he wanted to leave here. This club and myself had a very positive influence on Cesc's life, so I would be a bit uncomfortable to have to justify today why he is not here. I believe I would rather it was the other way around."

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The Fox

The Fox

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I think the last bit is basically a less aggressive way of saying "You should be asking him why he doesn't play for Arsenal, because if he hadn't forced his way out in the first place he'd still be here."

The first bit I suppose just means that the situation last summer didn't quite play out as generally reported, but that he doesn't think it's appropriate to go into detail currently.

The whole story has been put out there by Darren Dein by the looks of it, in anticipation of him getting a rough time on Sunday. The whole thing about Wenger "snubbing" him since he came back to England is pretty ridiculous. It's clearly not standard (or appropriate) practice to have casual text conversations or a coffee with domestic rivals' players!

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BlinkyBear

BlinkyBear

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Fucking nerve of them. Coming to our place with a banner about their 'history', playing for a nil all draw and then celebrating like they've just won the European Cup. Imagine having Hazard in your team and asking him to spend the game chasing long balls. Poor bastard.

Small time no-marks. They'll be a blip on the record books in 100 years.

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humdrum

humdrum

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I think the Fabregas thing was more down to the fact that the majority of fans didn't want to have any reaction to him but when the booing started it was counted with the clapping.

personally I didn't boo or clap.but that's just me.

But getting back to the game, how good was Bellerin I don't remember one time where Hazard got the better of him during the game.

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Jonathan_Kerr

Jonathan_Kerr

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Only saw the first half before going to bed. Chelsea looked very organised in defence although at times it was like watching a Stoke team with money.

Did we look like scoring at all in the second half?

Refereeing looked a bit rubbish but seens they cancelled each other out.

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NexivRed

NexivRed

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I think the Fabregas thing was more down to the fact that the majority of fans didn't want to have any reaction to him but when the booing started it was counted with the clapping.

personally I didn't boo or clap.but that's just me.

But getting back to the game, how good was Bellerin I don't remember one time where Hazard got the better of him during the game.

Obviously people pay their money and can do what they want, but I find the clapping thing absolutely bizarre. His conduct towards the end of his time with us certainly could have been a lot better, and he's now playing for a team we don't like, under the tutelage of Wenger's most disliked rival. Then to top it off you've just seen him dive to try and win a penalty! Mad.

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Rocafella

Rocafella

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Some stats on Ospina. Stats obviously don't tell the whole story, but shows he maybe hasn't been getting the credit he deserves.

"Ospina has the highest save percentage (83%) of any keeper to play more than 10 games this season. He also leads the league in saving shots from inside the box, with his 79% success rate being 12% higher than the next best performer.

The numbers do not make good reading for Szczesny. Ospina's overall shots-saved percentage is 16% higher, while the 22% difference in saves from shots inside the box must be acknowledged."

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Starbreaker

Starbreaker

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Predictions for tonight then? I'm a little unsure and to be honest not sure I care that much. We're more or less nailed on for CL obviously and I'd much prefer to not have to do the qualifying stage, it's just whether I'm that fussed about Arsenal going at it both barrels for second. The form we're in at the minute it should be fairly straightforward and with Hull beating Pool last week they may not be attacking with the all-out desperation they might have had they lost.

I'm going to be optimistic and say 2-0 but will not be devastated if we drop points.

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