The Positive Thread

As we're unlikely to see terraces again at football, this is the virtual equivalent where you can chat to your hearts content about all football matters and, obviously, Arsenal in particular. This forum encourages all Gooners to visit and contribute so please keep it respectful, clean and topical.
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SteveO 35
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Re: The Positive Thread

Post by SteveO 35 »

Wenger still hasn't come back to the club in any sort of paid employment

:barscarf: :barscarf: :barscarf:

A11M11
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Re: The Positive Thread

Post by A11M11 »

He just hovers like the ghost of Christmas past.

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OneBardGooner
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Re: The Positive Thread

Post by OneBardGooner »

A11M11 wrote:
Sat Jan 22, 2022 8:54 pm
He just hovers like the ghost of Christmas past.
:lol:


More like the Ghost of Halloween I think mate! :wink:

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Nos89
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Re: The Positive Thread

Post by Nos89 »

The media will have people believing that Arsenal are a club in decline. Just looking at our achievements so far this century, we reached 23 semi finals, 14 finals, winning 8 of them. In addition we qualified for the last 16 of the champions League for 13 consecutive seasons, something no other English club has done. In the league we have finished in the top 4 for 16 consecutive seasons, again no other English club has done that, so far this century.
The last four seasons have seen us drop out the top 4 but still make it to a semi final of a cup competition in each of those season's. Clutching at straws maybe, but it's still a remarkable consistent performance.

Gunner Rob
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Re: The Positive Thread

Post by Gunner Rob »

18 days until the next match - good. I’m going to forget about football for now

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SteveO 35
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Re: The Positive Thread

Post by SteveO 35 »

Gunner Rob wrote:
Sun Jan 23, 2022 3:53 pm
18 days until the next match - good. I’m going to forget about football for now
Beat me to it Rob !

The only saving grace is not having to watch Legohead's 1930s wonders bore the fuck out of everyone for almost 3 weeks

A11M11
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Re: The Positive Thread

Post by A11M11 »

8 home matches left and then we can all go away for a bit.

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Nos89
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Re: The Positive Thread

Post by Nos89 »

Whilst disappointed with our last 4 matches being out of the cup competitions by January means there is now no place to hide.
Over the last 3 seasons getting to finals and winning the FA Cup had always led to statements like "papering over the cracks", mainly from posters on here. Now no trophies or finals to be reached there is the top 4 race, which we are very much going to be involved with. We'll have to go some but it's doable. Now's the time to get behind the manager, as he is not going anywhere, and what remains of the team.

wilson2.0
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Re: The Positive Thread

Post by wilson2.0 »

Try and smooth things over with PEA. Lacazette cant lead the line. 3 goals in 15 league games is rubbish. or play Martinelil down the middle flanked by Saka and ESR.

Xhaka isn't the the main problem. its Lacazete.

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DB10GOONER
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Re: The Positive Thread

Post by DB10GOONER »

wilson2.0 wrote:
Mon Jan 24, 2022 5:33 am
Try and smooth things over with PEA. Lacazette cant lead the line. 3 goals in 15 league games is rubbish. or play Martinelil down the middle flanked by Saka and ESR.

Xhaka isn't the the main problem. its Lacazete.
Aubameyang is past it. How does his 4 goals in 14 games strike you as being so much better than Laca's 3 in 15? Aubameyang only netted 10 PL goals all last season, Laca hit 13.

Aubameyang has looked lazy and disinterested since he got the bumper contract extension. Laca is not a goal scorer but bringing Aubameyang back is not the answer.

Again there is no evidence that putting Martinelli down the centre will work. Worth a try but to put all our eggs in that one basket would be foolish. We need to sign a goal scorer.

wilson2.0
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Re: The Positive Thread

Post by wilson2.0 »

DB10GOONER wrote:
Mon Jan 24, 2022 8:20 am
wilson2.0 wrote:
Mon Jan 24, 2022 5:33 am
Try and smooth things over with PEA. Lacazette cant lead the line. 3 goals in 15 league games is rubbish. or play Martinelil down the middle flanked by Saka and ESR.

Xhaka isn't the the main problem. its Lacazete.
Aubameyang is past it. How does his 4 goals in 14 games strike you as being so much better than Laca's 3 in 15? Aubameyang only netted 10 PL goals all last season, Laca hit 13.

Aubameyang has looked lazy and disinterested since he got the bumper contract extension. Laca is not a goal scorer but bringing Aubameyang back is not the answer.

Again there is no evidence that putting Martinelli down the centre will work. Worth a try but to put all our eggs in that one basket would be foolish. We need to sign a goal scorer.
Were not singing anyone. And PEA is still better than Lacazette, and Martinelli unknown capabilities down the middle are worth the risk than Lacazette's clear limitations.

A11M11
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Re: The Positive Thread

Post by A11M11 »

Lacazette is not being asked to play a traditional centre forward role . The system seems to be that he drops deeper and plays a forward midfield role to bring Saka , Martinelli or our full backs who are out wide to either cross or or cut inside to float the ball to the far post or go back to the midfield , fullbacks and even our keeper.
The problem is that with this system we put the ball into the box and two or three 6 foot plus defenders clear it out or two men go to the "winger " and close him down .
If you want Laca to play forward then get a midfielder to be more efficient at breaking up play and to move the ball quicker . If you want to play Auba then get a midfielder that takes the ball forward quicker and releases the ball for him to run on to.

While we are at it how about getting Tierney to look as he crosses and ask him to try avoiding the first line of the defence and also to try taking his man on occasionally as he used to instead of going back 9 times out of 10.

The answer is as it has always been is to win the game in midfield , to get a midfield that can Protect the back four and prompt the forwards , and it would be an idea if they could make efforts to read the game better , not make desparate tackles and stay on the pitch for the duration of the match.

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OneBardGooner
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Re: The Positive Thread

Post by OneBardGooner »

E . S . R

Forget the intro by Spit the Scouse... Just ENJOY ESR!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pV5-DxL_LKs
Last edited by OneBardGooner on Sat Feb 26, 2022 9:50 am, edited 1 time in total.

wilson2.0
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Re: The Positive Thread

Post by wilson2.0 »

ESR 9 goals just over halfway through the season is amazing. He has come of the bench quite a lot too. I wonder if both he and Saka can be 15-20 goal a season players from outwide. ESR even has false 9 potential

It really pisses me off how these two are not given the respect they deserve. Grealish is a 100m player, Sancho 70m pounds. Supposedly it could take 60-70m to buy Jarod Bowen who is 25 and scored 8 goals this season. But for some reason, the dickheads linking Saka and ESR away from the club lowball them to shit offers below 50m.

Saka and ESR are both 100m players given they proving to be more than potential and are showcasing an increasing ability to find the net. Not to mention they aren't mid twenties, but 20, and 21. They will have 5 years more experience before the reach Bowen and Grealish's age. I actually think ESR can hit the 20 mark this season. He has that vibe about him where if he plays you back him to score.

ESR, Saka, Martinelli are sensational footballers, and they are not going to want to play of the bench too. They need to be the front three. Im all for signing striker & if they are good enough to play one of them out of the front three, fair enough. But lets say we sign DCL, Morata, or Isak. There is no way we should give up the Martinelli striker/ESR false 9 experiment for 'hold up play'.

Saka, ESR, Martinelli front three - you have three players who want to attack the goal and drive forward. Hold up play is overrated, its not hard too, generic limited footballers are known for their 'hold up play', its a low level skill. I bet Martinelli could play down the middle and bring others into the game. Klopp is preferring Jota to Firminho so thats Salah, Mane, Jota - whose the big man in that line up? Then the gold standard Suarez, Neymar, Messi. When you have those three your not crossing the ball into the box.

Three forward players capable of scoring 60 goals a season between them (league goals).

BobbyPires7
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Re: The Positive Thread

Post by BobbyPires7 »

Anyone feeling a bit more positive?

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