₦airaland Forum

Jodera:
I agree I might be impatient with nketiah, but as a top club, there's a limit to patience esp to players.

Look at saka, martinelli and esr performance.. That's what we're at least expecting from Eddy, and if he's not producing that, is it not better we sell him?

Well, it's just my opinion tho, but I do know over patience have dealt with us as a club

OK. But he could even turn out a better player than the ones you have mentioned. That's life.

I am not saying he will but let's give these lads some time to prove themselves. One more season for Nketiah is not too hard.

Jodera:
I swear... I've even forgotten about John-Jules sef.

Yet we're pampering nketiah as if he's some kind of Ronaldo wannabe

Sometimes we can get too impatient with development. But whether we like it or not Nketiah is highly rated by both Arsenal and England (he is U21 captain and record goal scorer). The plan is for him to be our main striker next season. Lacazette is nearing the end of his contract and he is 30. The wise thing for Balogun is to wait till next season when he can challenge Nketiah for that first striker position.

MSGAMBLE9:
Elneny game today reminds me of Gilberto ( i mean Elneny was that good). He really distinguish himself and you shld be proud.


Local man in Awe of Shock!



P.S Arsenal is back at the wrong side of the table.. Villa still with two winnable outstanding.


Local man is Pleased!

We are not competing with A. Villa.

Sorry Local man...

Jodera:
Me too, I believe Arteta have been very very fair to him, and anything he does now, pepe should know it's his fault.

I was skeptical about his signing at first tho, just 50/50 convinced (after watching few of his clips), but I was blown away by his performance against Liverpool (even tho he missed goals in the match, I was of the opinion that the goals will come). Since after that match, my expectations from him have been dwindling each matchday that comes.

This season I gave him a clean slate, but now I can fully say I'm really disappointed in him.
To me him no try and it seems to me he doesn't even want to put the effort to try sef.

I do watch him keenly anytime he plays and he doesn't show any improvement or change in his game

Pepe is still the guy he is but language and change of tactics has affected him. He will need to adapt his game to play for Arteta's new look team.

When we were defensive in formation (3-5-2) it looked good for him because in thrives with enough space. But with more bodies in midfield (ESR) it means he has to work on his off the ball movements and be able to beat his man at close range, something Saka does effortlessly.

I believe as a good player under a good coach he will come through with time.

As for Balogun, he must know that Lacazette may likely leave in the summer which will create space for him to play. He may look like the more talented between him and Nketiah but he cannot beat Nketiah's experience at least for now. Both him and his supporters should have some patience as this club is the best prospect for him. All these... 'I must play' 'I must play'...hope if he gets his chance he will be scoring braces and hattricks, if not we will roast him.

Jodera:
Make you dey calm down sometimes. It's not as if we're not the current champion of this same cup. You think anybody trolling us cos of fa cup will have any effect?
Most of us even want us to exit it if need be as long as they won't use the main premier league boys, and yes, we've exited... Fine. Fa cup wasn't a priority (at least to me and some of us), esp as we have some kind of stupid attack in 2nd 11.

Anytime we lose, be it cups or sort,you're always quick to call hleb, van persie, fab, nasri and all.... Yet most of them no too see trophy for arsenal.(let's learn to move on from these guys, they're our past tense)

Let's just calm down bro...
Our aim should aiming for Europa trophy and a possible top4 challenge/slot .

Any other things now na luxury that we can't and don't afford for now(this season).

Kokanepyramid this is the consensus and general acknowledgement for today.

BlackSheep10:
You saw his post about an attacking midfielder.

This one has been put to bed.

The consensus was that it's not a matter personnel changes but tactical. A defensive approach was adopted which improved our defense and also enabled the attackers to be more effective going forward.

Also there was a general acknowledgement of the contributions of new signings - Gabriel and Partey and the emergence of academy graduates ESR and Saka.

Roland17:
According to Fabrizo...Odegaard had a productive conversation with Arteta and has chosen Arsenal ahead of R. Sociedad. R. Sociedad have accepted Odegaard will not be joining them. It will be a 6 month loan without an option to make it permanent.

I expect things to move pretty fast in the coming hours and hopefully he finds his way to London.

The strategy was clear - offload deadwoods and get the exact players we want. Despite our poor state, we seem to still be an attractive club.

We will definitely do a LB according to Arteta. Let's see...

Jodera:
I thought they wanted to increase it to 25k?

Anyways, odegaard on loan is good.
He stint at sociedad was great and I like his kind of play too. Quick, direct and creative

I was hoping we get someone who will provide adequate competition for ESR but not too 'superstar' thus hampering his development.

Odegaard here is a good fit. Both are within the same age level and development stage and can challenge each other. Hopefully we get to keep him permanently if he
does well.

Let's talk better thing.


Arsenal have made an approach for Real Madrid and Norway midfielder Martin Odegaard, 22. (Sky Sports)

However, Odegaard is said to be nearing a loan move to Sevilla. (Cuatro - in Spanish)

Arsenal are to offer English midfielder Emile Smith Rowe, 20, a new £40,000-a-week deal. (Mail)

kokanepyramid:
Is like saying Mikel Obi is up there as an elite midfielder just cause he was brilliant in the youth tourney and ended at Chelsea

Or even Chrisantus...

MSGAMBLE9:
Goofed? A lot of people here lacked comprehension skill. Isco at U17 level then had inmense potential in a relatively bad spainish that didnt do well in the tourney then and he distinguished himself by playing at highest level at Real madrid winning the biggest competition and League trophy for best part of last decade.


Do you think his current blip robbed him of his quality? You can always tell a player made for greatness.



Goofed indeed. Fanboyism at it peak.. I leave you to it (Chuckling!).


You want to mock Isco like MG? You need to try harder.


Yeye dey smell!

It's you who can't even comprehend yourself. First you call 20th century 'latest', now you call someone who you confess to be having a 'current blip' world class, just because you had TV when he was 17.

Lick my ASS

MSGAMBLE9:
Maybe am a bit too hard on him.

It just an opinion.


The first time i saw Isco at 2009 Fifa U17 in Nigeria, i knew he will be up there.

Where is the up that Isco is?

I was almost going to take you seriously until you goofed here. I will take this as a confession to poor foresight. :x

MSGAMBLE9:
Playing well now? Or more like "stringing result" against rumped up side. Like i said the Devils, Foxes,Citizens and that would be a test of their credentials not fanboy Emotions.

Any Arsenal fan that have seen better days would be sober by this Comical performance.


I will be here to laff una.

I will be here to watch you disappear like mess...

MSGAMBLE9:
I dont care... I told my brother and friends when Man utd was below Arsenal earlier in the season and they were shouting " Ole didn't have Utd DNA", that atleast United setup, playing rythm and style then is a course for Optimism now look at them now.


I don't deal in illussions. Anybody that is having thought of Europe with these clueless Arteta is DAYDREAMING.

Leave us with our daydreaming Biko. We are not complaining.

MSGAMBLE9:
Abi now? I hope the "Rave of the moment" worshippers can...cos the winter is coming for them ALL.


I need one of those Gorgeous Lady, abeg!

They all want you...

MSGAMBLE9:
Aye, the joke will be Soothing and Sweet when he help us claw out point from that upcoming testing fixtures or watch as they revert to where they belong at other half of the table.


While i laff in Pallaitive!

We dey here...

kokanepyramid:
It only buttresses the point that signing Gabriel wasn’t a necessity

I would say same of Partey if I go by your assertion. Partey has hardly played since he signed. Last match was his only start in the 5 games we had clean sheets. What changed?

Even ESR wasn't signed. He has always been in the first team. So what changed?

BlackSheep10:
about the gab issue, i think he is saying his signing didnt have much influence on the defense because we still had the same midfield. He is saying the moment the midfield chnaged, it affected and complemented the defence. he is just saying even with ramos and vvd as how cbs we would still chop in goals.

What changed in the midfield?

kokanepyramid:
How May matches did we win prior to ESR? what was our win rate prior to ESR?. You’ve forgotten so soon we were breaking terrible records. We were sinking so fast it took ESR to prevent us from touching the Mariana Trench.

We have not been conceding stupid goals even when we were not winning matches pre-ESR. So while ESR brought the creativity, he did not make our defense better. The defense has already been good all season.

I was the one on this thread not you who said an AM, any AM will make us win games. ESR despite being not exactly what we wanted proved me right. I said so having seen our defensive strength. A strong defense makes a team difficult to beat and gives them the impetus to win matches. Our strong defense has not come from any individual player but Arteta's tactical approach. This is straightforward.

kokanepyramid:
No! My statement was buying a defender wasn’t more important than buying an AM, irrespective of who the defender is, that’s the difference. If I was propping another defender against Gabriel then your point would have been valid. Buying a defender wasn’t as important as solving the AM issue results have proven this, it’s not theory it’s practical. Happening before our very eyes.

You are talking 'AM' now because of ESR performance. What has been your view all these while? It is not DM? Chai!

kokanepyramid:
My assertion has always been that the midfield Emery paraded made our defence look terrible and defence was always scapegoated for the deficiencies of that midfield. Or why do u think I was hammering Guen instead of them Mustaffi and Luiz most peeps kept cursing game in game out. The defence looked better as soon as Arteta took over and made some changes in the midfield. We won Man-U in January and narrowly lost to Chelsea. If the video is during Emery era then it’s void based on my argument.

As u can see this season that without ESR in the squad and Partey getting injured the midfield was abysmal and there wasn’t much Gabriel could do in stopping goals from reaching back of the net. I’m sure if it was Mustafi and Luiz in same situation they would have been scapegoated, instead of pointing at the main culprit, MF.
Since ESR and the midfield being complemented by Partey we’ve kept 4 straight clean sheets without Gabriel. If this doesn’t point that defence wasn’t the main culprit I wonder what will.

Try and understand my point this is not about Gabriel.

Neither is it ESR or Partey. How many games have Partey played for us? Probably Monday was his only win. How did ESR's one touch football made Holding world class?

It's not about the personnel but the overall approach Arteta has instilled on our play. Good players helped but as we have seen no player can hold the mic as the one responsible for our recent performances.

Arteta gave priority to defense. He understands that giving attention to strong defending will definitely give you the chance to win any match by the lowest of margins.

Jodera:
Ok, I get your point now perfectly, and I wholly agree with you.


So do you agree with kokane especially with your explanations that we didn't need Gabriel signing since the structure is already there it'll make any good defender thrive?

We needed to do away with the likes of Socrates and Mustafi. They were no longer good enough to play for us. So we needed replacements. Mari was injured, same with Chambers. It was urgent. Gabriel came for 20m at his age. Good defender, such a bargain. He fitted in well.

But it's the tactical approach that made the difference. We won the FA cup with that approach and without Gabriel.

Jodera:
but is it not the same defensive approach and tactical plan Arteta was using pre ESR, yet we dey collect?

Even tho the scoreline then wasn't bad(I think it's only Aston Villa and Tottenham that scored us goal difference greater than 1), yet we never looked like scoring. Even the holding that was branded average is keeping clean sheet week in week out presently, same with either Mari/Luiz.

That's to tell you the tweak in a good Am worked, which was change in midfield, cos the defensive approach was already there since.

Maybe you have a different idea of defence wins you league/game from the way we (myself, kokane and sod) understand it. Cos I think that's where the issue is stemming from

This is not what I am arguing about. I have already stated that ESR as an AM have kind of completed the puzzle, and that's why we have been creating chances and scoring goals.

But the other side of things for me has been the biggest achievement of Arteta. Making us defensively solid. That defensive solidity is what served as the foundation for the impact ESR as the AM or any person for that matter has made. It's the reason we are ascending fast.

This is as a result of tactical approach (defensive structure) not personnel involvement.

You can see that I was spot on when I speculated that any AM will change the fortune of this team. But I was able to see that then despite our poor form because I saw how good we were defensively right from the start of the season. Its so difficult to score against us now.

So it's our defensive strength that has made us strong and able to climb up the league table.

kokanepyramid:
How’s this different from what I’ve been saying, was it not a change in midfield that propped up the defence?

What change in midfield? Please tell.

What's different is the defensive approach and tactical plan by Arteta.

You could see it from the way we press from the front and the shape when not with the ball.

kokanepyramid:
so what did we do differently

Our attack has always been fair. It's the defending that got a massive improvement. Defending not defenders mind you.

olabode89:
This season is very open, a run of 7 wins in 10 games can make an immense difference. United went from 15th to 1st based on an 11 game run of 9 wins and 2 draws.

Man City too. In fact teams those guys are cruising. I hope they meet each other soon.

ChelseaArmy:
pls which among them are free now, I already shift from that sat.

Just blind scan

kokanepyramid:
Don’t be deceived This our position no pure at all.

We’ve played 19 and we sit 10th, some have played 18 others 17 while Villa just below us has played just 15. 4 fcking outstanding matches to play. How did that happen.?

Together with Man City and Man Utd, we are the best performing team since the Christmas. We just need to keep the tempo. Remembering where we are coming from, without any external input in terms of player acquisition, I think the team deserve some praise.

kokanepyramid:
Our CMs have a great impact on that defence o, the match against Palace Xhaka was making some terrific tackles and interceptions even in the box. Partey partnership with Xhaka yesterday was phenomenal man, they were always there for the defenders and supported the attack as well.

Expecting Xhaka to tackle is like expecting Aki and Pawpaw to play basketball. They may bounce the ball but can never compete. Xhaka is not in the team for tackling but for ball distribution. That's why Partey is highly valued because he does both well. But I won't want Xhaka to kill himself tackling.

kokanepyramid:
For me I still want both be kept as squad players as long as they ain’t requesting for huge contract renewal. Adding an AM to that midfield should be the priority now and not plans to sell anyone in that department. If Guen comes back stronger and better we could decide to let one of them go perhaps in January that’s after assessing Guen’s abiliity.

It's a good thing you've opened a fresh pagevfor Guen. I hope he doesn't mess it up because you are hard to please.

kokanepyramid:
That’s the power of a good midfield, peeps really underestimate that department. A very good midfield will paper the cracks of a bad attack and a bad defence. The competition at the back is a good thing too, imagine having a bench of Bellerin and Gabriel as unused subs and Mari not even making the squad, it’s been long we had that kind of quality at the back.

The club needs to splash on AM. also what are we doing about Pepe and Willian? sit down look and watch them waste space? Those two are vampires.

A solid defence please.


It will always take you to the league top. 5 clean sheets in all competitions showed how much effectively Arteta has worked on that area. You could see the way we press from the front and how coordinated the CBs have been.

The idea is what has always worked since antiquity. Fix your defense then your attack will yield extra.

Jodera:
4 consecutive clean sheets..

Arteta has improved our defence no doubt.

Our next matches will see how far, improved or ready we are.

We have Southampton Man u and wolves consecutively

I remember when we analysed the team and concluded that our defense is solid and that we only needed an AM to make this team gel. Here we are...

If not for Arteta's brain fart in the last match, we would be close to 4th place. Like you pointed out rightly some days ago, top four is still very much within reach.