₦airaland Forum

germaphobe:
the main thing is for us to focus on ourselves and continue getting maximum points. But you can't remove that thought of seeing your rival drop points. Newcastle is not a team you can just write off on paper against big teams, the won the first leg after all, and almost won us too. Let's see how it turns out, regardless winning our matches is the goal.

You're right. I'll be happy if they drop points sha.. We have been unlucky for sometimes. We need every luck we can get now.

MSGAMBLE9:
We are saying same thing that is what being non-committal means, Arteta said when asked after Sunderland match about shooting outside the D; "if the space is not in one place, it will be somewhere else" that is finding a player in best position to pass to is the 1st and best option for him...

Comparing him to Wenger just nailed the point....

I get now.

Wenger also said the same thing..

Shegzdave:
That man Na real weapon fashioned against Teta

🤣🤣🤣

He sure me say he go dey see Pep for dream.
I hope Arteta is psychologically tough sha. Klopp chased Pep for years, he won once and Baba had to retire temporarily. Now imagine Arteta wey never win anything eh

Tessyy1701:
Femi Falana

You forgot to add 'from Temu'

Femi Falana from Temu. 🤣🤣🤣

@thegoodjoe,

Seems Arteta might be the next 'Pep' in the context that he's going to change something about football. 🤣🤣

I watched the highlight of the falconet today and I was wowed. Their two goals look like proper Arsenal goals 🤣

Oga Bascovanveli, I lie?

femi4:
Nigerians and the kain brain they use sha

No wonder we keep getting it wrong every 4yrs

You no be Nigerian?

Small argument, you don dey throw jab. SMH
Where's the fun when everybody agrees all the time

TheSuperNerd:
This is Marseille shamelessly farming engagements, using Nnadi's OM jersey, from the Nigerian social media audience and it worked.

Nnadi did not make the matchday squad again yet this post has more engagements than all other posts made on their game and even first XI for the strasbourg game. Even their Goal tweets no gather engagements reach this Nnadi post.

Like I said before today, the Euro clubs have caught on to the Power of Naija social media presence.

I hope Nnadi can get his chances soon enough. Marseille should stop dulling abeg. Naming him to the squad for two games in a row but omitting him from the matchday squad is not nice for his growth abeg.

Don't mind them Nerdy. One thing they have not realised yet is that na teeth wey dog dey use play with hin pikin, na im e dey use bite them.

germaphobe:
Newcastle needs this confidence boast heading to etihad next weekend. If they can match City's energy, then they can get a result there.

Newcastle wey go open yansh for City. Let's just win our matches biko. Although I'll be happy if City lose.

Shegzdave:
I want Pep to win the next one

He fit no affect him sha. That man get some football demons inside him 🤣🤣

He has been playing with spittle lately. Maybe na otumokpor

This MOTM curse eh... Villa just dey suffer unnecessarily.

Who won last month own biko? Be like na Carrick. Poor fella

Gucciboy:
So Saka decided to marry before winning trophies

Baba no dey same again. Be like bedroom matter don overstretch his waist 🤣🤣🤣

Madam, wetin you do our star boy

Spy360:
It is easy to say from hindsight. But these situations happen in split seconds and one has to make the best decisions.

It is clear that the problem Odegaard and Saka has with passing to Gyokeres is his poor movements.

From the pictures above, you will see Gyokeres running towards Odegaard thereby bringing the two defenders together, reducing the free space and making it easy for them to defend. In such a situation, someone like Odegaard who is confident holding the ball will hesitate to give the pass knowing that it won't yield much.

The correct movement should be to move in the other direction giving his marker a decision to make to either follow him thereby opening up space or close down on Odegaard and leaving Gyokeres unmarked.

Spy, I still remember this particular scenario and right now, I could still picture it. A simple right footed pass was all Viktor needed. Yet, Odegaard chose to dilly dally till the chance wasted.

A quick pass to Gyokeres would set the ball at his strong foot (right). We all know how powerful his shots are.

MSGAMBLE9:
On this, I remembered the last time Zubi scored from outside the box Vs Sunderland and Arteta was asked at press conference afterward if his players now had fredom to shoot more from outside, he was non-committal saying stuff about space and others being in better position to receive passes 🤣🤣🤣🤣....

Am seeing panic everywhere online, God abeg ...

Nah.. I don't think a coach would tell his players to stop shooting. Everything still boils down to decision making. Wenger was asked same question years ago and his reply shed light on this.

germaphobe:
of course he will turn up. We just need Kai back more than anyone else now, I feel like kai upfront would have offered more with Brentford setting and pattern.
Ps: Trossard needs to up his game, this isn't time for that kind of ball play.

Trossard is beginning to be overconfident. He need to be decisive. All these atilogwu dances on the wing no go put ball for net

mostob:
He didn't make the squad. Be like na to dey pray make Marseille dey lose match now

damn! I don jinx them. Imagine what Nnadi could have done to defend their lead. All these European clubs go rate my guys by fire by force.

TheSuperNerd:
Tochukwu Nnadi again named in the Marseille squad for the strasbourg ligue 1 tie later today. Squad of 22.

Time will tell if he makes the actual matchday squad.

He didn't make the squad. Be like na to dey pray make Marseille dey lose match now

TheSuperNerd:
Finally!!! Nigeria's best U17 midfielder from the Class of 2022-23 that won the 2022 Wafu B tournament that had Emmanuel Michael (Nigeria) and Yan Diomande (CIV) has made it to Europe.

Ebube Okere, 19 signs with Macedonian Topflight side, FK Tikvesh from Joseph Dosu Academy.

Another one from the Golden Eaglets Class of 2022-23 that has made it to Europe. Over 12 of them now.

I was thinking top 5 league when I read that first paragraph. Anyway, all the best to him.

germaphobe:
Gyokeres has improved but his positioning is still debatable. For instance, when madueke had the ball and two players in fron of him with Gyokeres in the midst, instead of Gyokeres moving to the left to drag one of the players out and create space for either Madueke to shoot with his strong foot or pass to him to finish with his own strong foot, he choose to run to the same left side that is already congested thereby limiting Madueke's chance of taking a shot or him doing something meaning when the ball was finally passed to him.

With what I saw yesterday, he will definitely improve on that too. Yesterday's showing implied he has been working really hard.

germaphobe:
we can argue about odegaard not passing to Gyokeres one touch, but the pass to Rice was a perfect goal scoring opportunity that he has scored from couple of times. Him choosing not to shoot but touching again and even passing to Gyokeres was the issue, not the pass.

The ball was on Rice' weak foot so he had to lay it off for Gyokeres who was in a better position. Unfortunately, Kayode cleared the ball.

But in the scenario I shared up there, Odegaard should have made that pass quickly.

Make we sha wobble and hobble and win this EPL first. There are some frauds we might need to let go in Summer.

Like the one below

When we need Havertz the most, he got injured. Such a shame.

Coming from Trey

Fkforyou:
We were rubbish but you see that Martinelli miss? That’s what cost this game. He should be scoring that and not playing it like an amateur.

Na Wetin Dey vex me with Martinelli be this. Letting the team down when it matters the most.

If Eze doesn’t work on himself, he would be sold by next season. It’s that simple.

Saka had zero impact and Madueke should have stayed on.

Bro.. I was so angry. He did that rubbish against Forest too. Just chip the ball or dribble. Keeper was already sliding to your left ffs

MSGAMBLE9:
I swear Madueke should have been left on with Saka no show since coming on, Ode failed to do the basics and that led to the equaliser ( simple eye on ball defending) and you only need to see the way Thiago conduct himself today to know that this Gyokeres na confirm Otu ( can't hold up play, to complete simple pass na wahala)...

Only Rice and Gabriel showed up today even Raya couldn't control his area always looking shaky..

We are very lucky getting away with even one point sef....

Madueke can't last 90 minutes bro. He was already tired which is why he was substituted.

I am a big critic of Gyokeres but he played his heart out yesterday. A big improvement from recent showings.

My own na why Rice and Zubi no dey shoot. Frustrating lads

A sitter against Forest
A one vs one against Brentford

Issokay

Nooooonnniiii

mostob:
MRSAleroELEFAN

You have shared all the posts I've made in the last 48 hours or so. Should I be afraid? Seeing that your moniker is a new one.

Yes... Here!

BlueRayDick:
This thing u dey do so, no be live u dey live o. You are on a straight path to destruction which will happen sooner or later.

One day u will get caught and u will be treated like the criminal u are.

His moniker looks familiar. I can't forget that 'Elefan'. E sure me say he get like 20 monikers. He used to stalk me back then on this forum.

Why Profile Balance In Attack, Not Talent, Will Decide Arsenal’s Season

·
1h
With Arsenal now boasting a large, high-quality squad made up of diverse player profiles, the most important task for Arteta now is selecting complementary profiles in the starting XI, not just the “best” players on paper. Balance and synergy matter more than names.

Below are some key profile combinations that do and don’t work.

1. Two-Striker System: Profile Matters More Than Personnel

If Arteta opts for a two-striker system, the pairing should always be:
•Havertz–Gyökeres or Havertz–Martinelli
•Not Havertz–Jesus

Why:
In a well-functioning two-striker setup, one striker must:
•Stay high
•Stretch the last line
•Attack space in behind
•Act as a physical focal point

The other striker should:
•Drop deep
•Link play between the lines
•Ghost into space late

Havertz fits the second profile perfectly. Gyökeres and Martinelli fit the first.
Jesus does not.

Both Havertz and Jesus prefer to drop deep or drift wide. When paired together, they vacate the box, leave centre-backs unpinned, and create space congestion rather than space creation. The result is an unoccupied penalty area and a suffocated attack.

2. Saka and Ødegaard: A Tempo Issue

Saka and Ødegaard should not start together in attack.
•If Saka starts at RW → the AM/SS should be Havertz or Eze
•If Ødegaard starts at AM → the RW should be Madueke or Martinelli

Why:
Both Saka and Ødegaard are elite small-space operators. They naturally slow the game down, prioritise control, and prefer structured possession, even when the game state demands speed and verticality.

Starting both together:
•Slows the tempo of Arsenal’s attack
•Allows opponents time to settle into a low block
•Forces Arsenal to face compact defenses even when the opponent didn’t initially set up that way

Arsenal need contrast in profiles, one controller and one accelerator, not two players occupying the same rhythm and spatial tendencies.

3. Avoid Front Threes Made Up of Identical Profiles

Arteta should avoid selecting a front three made up entirely of runners or entirely of ball-to-feet players.

Examples to avoid:
•All runners: Martinelli – Gyökeres – Madueke
•All ball-to-feet: Trossard – Havertz/Jesus – Saka

Why:
A functional front three must contain contrast in profiles. When all three attackers want the same type of service and occupy similar spaces, Arsenal’s attack becomes predictable and easy to defend.

All runners create issues because:
•They constantly attack space in behind with minimal presence between the lines
•There is no natural tempo-setter or ‘pausa’ attacker to control possession
•The attack becomes rushed, vertical, and disconnected
•Against deep blocks, there is little capacity to manipulate defenders before running beyond them

All ball-to-feet lineups create a different set of problems:
•Attacks slow down excessively
•Everyone wants the ball into feet in similar zones
•Penetration and vertical threat are reduced
•Opposition blocks stay compact and comfortable, with no one consistently threatening depth

In both cases, Arsenal lose rhythm, spacing, and unpredictability.

The ideal front three should include:
•One vertical stretcher / in-behind runner
•One link player/tempo controller
•One hybrid profile who can both run and receive to feet

Without this balance, Arsenal either run out of space or run out of ideas, regardless of how much quality is on the pitch.

This squad is stacked. The margins now are about fit, balance, and complementary roles, not individual quality.

#copied
#SEB

Hmm.. The hour is upon us..

mostob:
I know we're all fixated about our national team coaches appointment but the medical personnels of these teams need to be reviewed. We're risking these players health if 'quacks' are the one in charge.

I watched a short clip of Janet twisting her ankle yesterday and shame wear me beret. Two clueless supposedly medics couldn't and didn't do anything to relieve that girl of the pain. They're just standing beside her and beckoning for stretcher. I was not surprised though. Wetin you expect when two 'dokitas' are wearing track suits inside the hot sun.

The injury... Quick recovery to Janet