₦airaland Forum

Jodera:
In arsenal site, he's a Midfielder
The transfermarket that we used, he played as midfielder (LM/RM). I showed you Saka positions in all the matches he played this season in transfermarket, and you're still asking me he many matches he played as a midfielder?
Haba na!

So if you agree that Saka and ESR are midfielders, it means we have no Wingers na. It also means we have no attackers except Lacazette.


Deep inside you, you know that Saka isn't a midfielder but let's just disagree with our eyes and what we're watching and agree with transfermarket because transfermarket says so

In all your brilliant knowledge of football I sincerely doubt you understand names of positions.

Jodera:
Wrong.
Even Pepe isn't regarded as a midfielder yet he isn't a CF.

He said forward not centre forward.

@Jodera and 50d33q

The argument you are having is what I have tried to point out long before now.

We must understand that there is a difference between defenders and defending, same as attacker and attacking.

Also we must understand that in today's football tactics, you are either an attacker or a defender. There is no more term as midfielder unless you want to be specific.

In other words, a player is either an attacker or a defender. A midfielder who attacks is an attacker. A midfielder who defends is a defender.

If what you are talking about are forwards then it's the front two/three/four as the case may be. If you are talking about centre forwards or striker, then it's the guy playing top.

In summary,

Attackers include strikers, AM, wingers, etc.

Defenders include CBs, FBs, wingbacks, DMs, CMs etc.

Forwards: Strikers, wingers.

50d33q:
Guy have you seen Salah, saka, mane, auba play midfield
You know ESR is a midfielder and not an attacker, the only players EPL regard as forward are the cfs

This is correct.

50d33q:
Defense is okay too attack worse

So it's defense and midfield that's helping us na.

50d33q:
If you want to fight for top6
The midfield is okay,so pick your poison carefully
Are we top6 club or title contending?

Our midfield is Ok. What of defense and attack?

Jodera:
I tell you bro.
Na the main reason I'm always emphasizing on midfield first. Imagine we having this array of attackers in osimhen, Dennis and iheanacho(at least to Africa standard), but they couldn't even create chance after chances for them due to us not dominating games. Just pumping it up to osimhen and attackers like say dem be drogba incarnate.

It's just so bad

The problem with the SE is not midfield. It is game management and that was the fault of the coach. I don't see how any one who watched the two games will oppose this.

It was the same problem when we lost to Tunisia in AfCON. Our coach has F9 in game management.

50d33q:
When the season first start that I was clamouring for better midfield you think say na joke
Midfield will give you better balance and easy integration of defense to attack, that is what we are reaping now even when we ain't playing too well we manage to get result

Is our midfield now good? As in that there is no urgent need for upgrade?

I am asking because I am countering your opinion.

Jodera:
If this is true, then that's really great

Make we just see out this season with top4 abeg, summer transfer window will be interesting

I too can't wait. There will be many young prospect hoping to convince us to sign them. We will get two more strikers, one from South/Latin America is a must, another from mainland Europe, or British (especially the African breed- we have Nketiah)

Jodera:
Rumor is happening that arsenal is looking towards Rashford.

What do you guys think?
Wise choice or not?

The only problem I have with signing Rashford is his salary. He is a big earner. With his salary we will have pressure on him to perform, to start games etc. We do not want another Pepe really. It's better we have a low pay striker aiming to get to high pay than vice versa.

Jodera:
You mean he is good at interplay with midfielders and attackers, have high work rate as well as scoring goals??

Exactly. He is very good aerially and can dribble very comfortably.

Aystarz:
Musa could be a game-changer in this make-or-break qualifier. Let's not look past him.

Musa is providing leadership and I am happy with him so far. But he is not in the quality of those playing now.

I praise his leadership though, he has really brought patriotism and discipline to Eagles

Osek:
Nig 0 : 2 Gha, if Moses Simon starts that will be the scoreline
Without Moses Simon
Nig 3 : 1 Gha

Moses Simon should be coming from bench and that is if we are leading by at least two goals. His role should be confined to wearing down the opponents when they are tired.

If we need goals and play Simon, I don't see us winning. He spoils attack to too much aimless dribbling with zero ability to cross or shoot.

Emmanuel Dennis should start

RaymondJohnson1:
The super eagles must be keen to play at the world cup. Playing at the world cup and showcasing their talents will boost their careers. And it will encourage scouts to look for young Nigerians for their clubs.

I did not see the drive to want to be at the world cup in their first game. Even towards the end of the match, Uzoho no quickly release ball. Most of them played as if nothing was at stake. Was it Eguaveon that made them play in a lackadaisical manner?

Our players can put up a better performance .

Good observation. I believe it's the team's game plan to play a goaless draw and leave everything to the second leg.

I think this pattern is outdated and risky because players these days have overcome the pressure of home and away. That's why UEFA scrapped the away goals rule this year.

BlueRayDick:
I've not watched this guy play any match before now, but as I saw his name here in Ur post I went over to YouTube and a particular video I saw was showing all his 32 goals and assists for 2021.

I had to stop at goal number 10. All 10 of them were practically tap-ins o. Well, I don't know what's in the remaining part of the video but I hope whoever is recommending him has seen something I didn't see in the video I just watched

I don't usually hype potential signings but if I do just take it.

This guy has a similar playing style with Dusan Vlahovic who we missed when he chose to join Juventus instead. Why I am particularly for him is because he is right footed unlike Vlahovic. We need a right footed centre forward as most of our attacking players are lefties.

He is a very good striker, can dribble, can run with pace on the ball, can shoot.

He can ginger and do all those Lacazette stuffs that makes Jodera love him, plus he scores

Darwin Nunez may have agreed personal terms in joining Arsenal next season.

Jodera:


Does that count too?

All join ..

Jodera:
Wow.. Yeah!
I just saw it too. His goal against Watford

I tip him to win it to be honest. That goal too sweet

I hope he wins it because it's a team goal which also involved the manager.

Jodera:
Saka Nominated for EPL player of the month for March

Arteta nominated for EPL manager of the month for March.

Congratulations to the duo.
Aside Liverpool (our outstanding), March was a great month.

Hopefully one of them nicks something
Coyg!!!

Arteta nominated for coach of the month at the same time Ozil gets suspended.

Good riddance.

Jodera:
Maybe someone said it that I did not see, but I've not advocated for his contract extension. I'm very very sure of that.

As for the receipts I won't deny that. You talked about him bringing Ginger ONLY, which was what I countered. I brought you other facets of his game but you went on and on about him not scoring. I remember one of my quotes here asking you weda ginger is an attribute of football. You told us how he is useless without his ginger cos he doesn't score goals which I countered you that the team don't solely rely on goals from him. That's the origin of our back and forth argument regarding Laca. Even at that I still maintain we shouldn't renew his contract (I've always maintained that)


Anyways, let's just call it truce on this argument after all is the best for the team we're giving our opinion on.

Since you accept that his contract should not be renewed, I take it that you have accepted my claim. Thanks.

Jodera:
I just saw that news this evening.

Ferner suspends Ozil indefinitely
Na wa oo

We are waiting for Barca to cancel Aubameyang's contract.

Jodera:
This is the issue I wanted you to see since which you refuse to acknowledge. I have already known Laca is not a good goalscorer so I'm looking at the other aspect of his that will improve our game, I am not even rating him as one of the best player in the team. On the contrary you are not. Nobody is even rating him anyhow. Nobody here is advocating for his extension, everyone here knows he isn't the future, nobody says we need him even for next season.

But you will look for anything to criticize him even when the team is winning, gaining maximum points and playing well

This is not true. I have seen posts if not from you self that he should get a year or so.

You see, I am not the type that condemns players, people here know me for this. I defend our players a lot. For example Giroud.

I can also defend Laca, but not that he is good enough but that he is doing his best.

This argument started when you said he offers more than ginger, that's where I took the matter up.

Jodera:
This is the crux of the matter. He misses chances, fine and he should score more goals. That's different from you saying he brings nothing aside ginger and an out of form auba is better than him.

It's amazing how you bring other facets of his game then turn around and said he brings ONLY ginger. Except of course thev ginger you know is different from what I know.

And no, even if nketiah starts scoring goals, Laca will be paired with him upfront (na martinelli go suffer am). You think Arteta style of play don't rely on dominance?

Spy360:
I did not say he is entirely useless. I said apart from his ginger or his fighting spirit.

The only contribution he brings is that fighting spirit, which is good but not enough.

Some say he drops into midfield, but that's not his job. Honestly I prefer Nketiah because he sometimes drops deep and sometimes makes good runs, Laca kills attack simple.

In summary, I appreciate his efforts but there are not enough, he will not get a contract extension.

Jodera:
So you know all these things
Instead of you to allow us bask on the team's victory and coach success, you're always attacking lacazette(as if he's the key to our success) and the DWYL mantra

I am not attacking Lacazette. A man cannot do beyond his capacity. I am attacking those who rate him like he is what we need when in fact he is not.

BlueRayDick:
You are right. Our defenders keeping high line especially someone like Ben White are part of our attacking play.

The same way Our attackers are saddled with the responsibility of pressing from the front to force the opposing team to concede possession.

In all of these Na coach we supposed praise but I know most people no wan gree swallow their pride to accept that the same Arteta that has been referred to intern , Nysc coach , school boy coach etc has turned things around and getting it right with his tactics and approach to games now.

The good thing is while we may hold on to our biases, the players are happy playing to his instructions and it’s showing on the pitch . Imagine somebody like holding coming on for less than 10 mins always smiling when giving the next formation tactics to the other players with his fingers . I’ve never seen a player in his mid 20’s coming on to just play few minutes that happy before

Exactly. It's the manager who should be praised. The fact is that our team is actually weaker than when the season began. We have lost some quality either due to a bloated squad or indiscipline. Nevertheless, the coach has somehow made something out of the little leftovers. This is huge for me.

More importantly, as you also pointed, the team bond is so great that even fans have become infected by it and everyone is catching the bug. The atmosphere at the Emirates has been so lifted that coming there is a joy for everyone including the fringe players. You see how the team and fans celebrate each win as if it's the final. As it stands now, if we eventually finish top 4 by God's grace, Emirates will be the place to be, the major attraction for many players who will be moving in the summer.

BlueRayDick:
The truth is both defence and attack+ midfield have been essential in our recent rise in form, but defence has been really outstanding above every other department .

We’ve had Cedric casually slot into our back 4 in the absence of Tomiyasu yet no real threat from that side of defence .

We’ve seen us conceded over 130 corners and conceded zero direct goals from the resultant corner kicks , that’s our defence marshaled by the keeper doing its work.

We’ve seen our defence fight hard for victories in the last 10 minutes of matches in recent games.....that’s our defence ensuring we keep the lead and eventually win the match. Just this last match we saw how spirited everybody on the back line and even the midfielders were towards the end of the match in a bid to ensure we come out tops following the first half goal.

Yes , of a truth we we won’t win games if attackers and midfielders don’t ensure we get get goals , but we could equally lose such matches if the defence reverts back to the time of Papasthapopulous, Luiz , Holding and Mustafi as mainstay CB’s

I don’t think defence or attack wins u leagues , I think both wins u league. Like Spy pointed out using examples like Man city and Loserpool they both have good players in all the departments that have mastered their coach do system . Let’s allow these boys to play together and learn Arteta’s system , let the board bring in more quality signings and maybe we will have a team that will bring back the lost glories for us .

The emboldened is a rational point of argument. This is very correct. This is what I expect everyone here to say. This is equally my personal view.

But taking this discussion (no longer an argument) now a bit further...

We should now know that defending starts from the pressers in front. That is to say that good defending (I am not saying defenders) is inclusive of every player, so also attacking (not necessarily attackers) as many teams start attack from their back men, some even from their goalkeepers.

Our strength in defending set pieces should not be attributed to the defenders alone but also to the front guys that do the man/zonal marking.

In essence, our attacking and defensive solidity is the summation of the contributions of the entire team.

Back to DWYL...

Our defending has been our strongest point so far this season compared to our attacking. That's is the point I make when I say DWYL. This is an opinion and may not be absolutely correct. What is absolutely correct is that, a good defense ensures you don't lose matches, which gives you the foundation of actually winning them.

Jodera:
Lol.. Na during the early stages of this season I'll give kudos to our defence wen we were scrapping wins/draws while playing badly. While I will never deny the fact that our defence have improved drastically but you see the confidence guys now have here and opponents/rival fans are tipping us for top 4? It's because of our midfield and attack.

I mean, we outposses teams, outshoot teams, create more chances than teams and outscore teams, have more touches in opposition half and opposition box than our opponents, yet na defence dey help us .
Na for our box 18 we dey do all these things?

When defence was helping us and our midfield and attack wasn't balanced esp first half of season, no be here we dey cry and gnash teeth even while we were winning?

I asked you a question last week? How many clean sheets have we kept prior to Leicester game wey you dey claim say no be our midfield and attack dey help us?

As for the bolded, even the best teams replace a player(s) for improvement. I didn't say this is our final bus stop, but as far as this season is concerned, our midfield and attack are balanced (and is open for improvement). Example is Liverpool. The season they carried league, they won it as early as late Feb or early match(if I'm not mistaken). Did that stop Klopp from buying Jota the next season? No. Guardiola have won 3 league trophies out of 5 seasons, does that stop him from buying players after every of his triumphant season?

You deceive yourself if you think our main turnaround in results and performance is not from us dominating teams and creating chances. Go to different thread and see people raving about ESR, martinelli, odegaard and saka. I guess those are our back four

It's a known fact that anytime a team dominates another team, pegs dem backs to their opposition half and create chances, it's the work of the understanding between the midfield and attack. Most of the time, defence and keeper have little to do.

I will understand if you think it's the midfield or attack that is making the difference because that is where the goals come from. That is what is called the illusion of fanaticism. It's the reason why attacking players win the ballon for always.

If you have ever played football you know that the psychology of attacking players is largely dependent on their defensive colleagues. Take PSG for example, their recent debacle is a case of poor defense despite boasting about the best attack in the world.

Like I said, which you bolded but ignored... There is at least one player we MUST replace in both our midfield and attack. But there is none in the defense. This is enough point of argument to make any rational mind succumb. I would if this argument is put to me.

The reason why we dominate teams is because our defenders press high. Also when we lose an attacking player to red card, that ends our attack but the defense stays firm. Put that the other way around and you understand what I am saying.

And please stop all those Liverpool and Man City rubbish examples. They have the best defenses in the league. At least if you want to make examples use proper ones that portray your side of the argument- a team with a weak defense.

You are asking for clean sheets prior to Leicester. That's funny because the league position we are in was not in effect prior to Leicester.

I need you to argue better than this. You know that I enjoy arguing with you.

Jodera:
Because it's only Lacazette that scores our goals shey??

For your information na midfield and attack dey win us games, reason why we're always dominating teams and creating chances which yielded goals.

The belief we have now is because of the creative balance the midfield and attack have been. Reason why we've been scoring more than one goal per match averagely

Na lie.

In our midfield we need to replace at least one player. Same with attack. It's only defense that we can confidently go into next season without any form of replacement.

Your 'more than one goal per match' even proves defense is the main key to our recent success.
Our strongest department as it stands now is the defense. And they are the reason we have so much confidence chasing the top 4.

Jodera:
I think 2weeks ago, Sod09 talked about arsenal having 118 or so corners and yet having conceded zero goals

Update: Arsenal have conceded 133 corners and still haven't conceded any goal.

Credit to Nick Jover cos I don't think arsenal have had such tremendous success as this by this stage of the season.

No wonder Cedric and Tierney just dey carry ball go corner with little or no pressure against Aston Villa. E don sure dem say nothing dey enter net

I believe you can now see how a solid defense ensures you win games even if you have Lacazette (4goals in 28games) as your main striker?

Jodera:
wetin DWYL mean abeg?

Defense Wins You League

At age 12 any girl can beat her age mate who is a boy. That is caused by puberty. By the time they are 15/16, the game will change.

andrewbaba44:
Just the way he brought into arsenal dressing room nah and took saka and smith Rowe clubbing

You will not understand. Just ask Gabon NT and Lemina.

kodded:
£100m to £120m at most but I think that if arteta really want him, the board will sanction the move especially if we get the champions league ticket

Which board?

E be like say you nor dey receive internal memo for here bros...