The CM position next to Xhaka is a massive weakness, in fact I would say it’s the biggest problem in our team. I like Ramsey and what he offers but I think he should be occupying one of those advanced positions (Ozil’s place who I think is causing a massive problem with balancing the team).
I’m not sold on this 3-4-2-1 formation as I think Wenger was forced into some sort of change during last season because he lacked the personnel to work the previous formation, namely a solid CM partnership.
Too many times you see Xhaka left exposed and isolated in the middle with no support as Ramsey goes on his runs, which he’s fantastic at. But we need a player who is defensively aware and has the ability to carry the ball, who commits players and frees up Xhaka to either play a long pass, or free’s up the boys up top.
We’ve been linked with Goretzka over the summer, so has Bayern but this is a deal I believe we can get done if Wenger goes in for him. Kolasinac is known to be a friend and was out for a meal with Goretzka last night (on his Instagram) so lets hope he’s having a word with him about that!!
Cech
Bellerin Mustafi Koscielney Kolasinac
Xhaka Goretzka
Ox Ozil Sanchez
Lacazette
Or a 4-3-3 which I think would bring the best out of Ramsey and provide a better balance to the team:
Cech
Bellerin Mustafi Koscielney Kolasinac
Xhaka Goretzka
Ramsey
Ox/Lemar Lacazette Sanchez
Let me know what you think our biggest weakness is and what would be your ideal team to challenge for the league.
Agent Kolasinac - Mission Goretzka
posted on 13/8/17
You had a point and I agreed with you til you said "(Ozil’s place who I think is causing a massive problem with balancing the team)."
Ramsey is horrendous in his own position, and shouldn't even be starting for a club like Arsenal, yet you think we should drop Ozil (who's a world class player) for him?
Strange. Strange.
posted on 13/8/17
Calm down immediately Dubbed, we'll have no trouble here.
posted on 13/8/17
He gets bought a lot on football manager, apparently
posted on 13/8/17
comment by Real_Aus_Gooner (and of course his resale value) (U9471)
posted 4 hours, 14 minutes ago
my understanding is that his signed a pre contract with Bayern for next season. Maybe GT can confirm this???
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Well....it looks like Goretzka to Bayern next season is inevitable....according to the German media.
posted on 13/8/17
One thing is for sure ....Goretzka refuse to sign a new contract at Schalke. Wouldnt even exclude Real Madrid making an attempt.
posted on 13/8/17
I think you have it wrong. Xhaka is the deep lying midfielder but does not do enough to stop opposition attacks. Ramsey is a box to box midfielder and as such needs his partner to do some of the work when he goes upfield.
So you have to ask yourself what you expect from each of your players. If you want Xhaka as a depp lying midfielder you need his partner to get up the pitch to add numbers to the attack. But that means he needs to do more defensively. I saw on another forum that someone compared Xhaka's passing to Pirlo, which I wouoldnt argue with but the difference is Pirlo will do far more defensively. One area that Xhaka is good at and it makes his stats look better is getting back after the defence has stopped the opposition attack and picking up the ball or taking it off them from the blind side.
So I think the question is do you have Xhaka and a DM which means you sacrifice a midfielder joining the attack like Ramsey. Or do you have Xhaka and a box to box player like Ramsey which means midfield will be weaker defensively. 3 CB's helps cover for this but you need to consider how the rest of the team are set up. It really is a question of the whole team being set up to counter this weakness, not just the CM pairing.
So the statement of "The CM position next to Xhaka is a massive weakness" is a massive underestimation of the reasons for the midfields weakness and how to address it. Now if Xhaka could defend like Pirlo as well as pass like him....
posted on 13/8/17
comment by Darth Stan Kronke the Sith Lord turned Darthen Wenger to the dark side (U16927)
posted 44 minutes ago
I think you have it wrong. Xhaka is the deep lying midfielder but does not do enough to stop opposition attacks. Ramsey is a box to box midfielder and as such needs his partner to do some of the work when he goes upfield.
So you have to ask yourself what you expect from each of your players. If you want Xhaka as a depp lying midfielder you need his partner to get up the pitch to add numbers to the attack. But that means he needs to do more defensively. I saw on another forum that someone compared Xhaka's passing to Pirlo, which I wouoldnt argue with but the difference is Pirlo will do far more defensively. One area that Xhaka is good at and it makes his stats look better is getting back after the defence has stopped the opposition attack and picking up the ball or taking it off them from the blind side.
So I think the question is do you have Xhaka and a DM which means you sacrifice a midfielder joining the attack like Ramsey. Or do you have Xhaka and a box to box player like Ramsey which means midfield will be weaker defensively. 3 CB's helps cover for this but you need to consider how the rest of the team are set up. It really is a question of the whole team being set up to counter this weakness, not just the CM pairing.
So the statement of "The CM position next to Xhaka is a massive weakness" is a massive underestimation of the reasons for the midfields weakness and how to address it. Now if Xhaka could defend like Pirlo as well as pass like him....
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I agree with the fact that you need a player next to
Xhaka who will support the attack but there are many ways to support an attack.
As soon as we retrieve the ball, ramsey does not look to take the ball forward, he runs off it. This applies pressure on someone like Xhaka who can't/shouldn't carry the ball forward. It essentially leaves him having to pick a forward pass, with the likelihood that our forward players being marked.
Xhaka needs a CM partner who offers defensive support when needed, but also carry the ball forward in transition which will commit the opposition and free up space and allow Xhaka to dictate play from deep.
I said Goretzka as an example of someone who is box to box carrier .. not a box to box - off the ball runner (Ramsey).
posted on 13/8/17
The imbalance in MF is because of Ozil in the side. We are one man short in MF if we haven't got the ball. His non existent defence overstretches the two behind him. He's just not the man to have as your first line of defence when being countered.
It's got to be Xhaka and a DM for me. Because Ozil is so weak the CM IMO has to be one with more defensive presence than Ramsey. I can't see Xhaka ever looking defensively sound at DM in the PL. The slightly less defensively demand CM. For sure, he already looks comfy pinging it around from MF.
However this presents an attacking problem caused by, yeah you guessed it, Ozil again. He's a CAM who doesn't want to take players on and drive the ball at his feet. Sometimes that's the only way to get the ball through With two deep sitting mids we don't have a CM to be providing that drive the way Ramsey would. It's not ideal to have it coming from Kolsinac even of it does look cool when he does it.
Summary, Ozil needs to buck his feckin ideas up or do one because his lazy ass is a liability in both attack and defence.
posted on 13/8/17
comment by Pep The Final Straw!! (Formerly WB2) (U8276)
posted 28 minutes ago
The imbalance in MF is because of Ozil in the side. We are one man short in MF if we haven't got the ball. His non existent defence overstretches the two behind him. He's just not the man to have as your first line of defence when being countered.
It's got to be Xhaka and a DM for me. Because Ozil is so weak the CM IMO has to be one with more defensive presence than Ramsey. I can't see Xhaka ever looking defensively sound at DM in the PL. The slightly less defensively demand CM. For sure, he already looks comfy pinging it around from MF.
However this presents an attacking problem caused by, yeah you guessed it, Ozil again. He's a CAM who doesn't want to take players on and drive the ball at his feet. Sometimes that's the only way to get the ball through With two deep sitting mids we don't have a CM to be providing that drive the way Ramsey would. It's not ideal to have it coming from Kolsinac even of it does look cool when he does it.
Summary, Ozil needs to buck his feckin ideas up or do one because his lazy ass is a liability in both attack and defence.
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That's probably the most amount of sense I've seen on here in all the years I've been reading through articles.
Ozil doesn't take the game to the opposition (someone like Coutinho), which makes our midfield stale and out of ideas when there isn't anyone to pass to.
Combinations are key in midfield which has been further complicated as Xhaka is not your typical no nonsense DM.
posted on 13/8/17
Xhaka is not a DM. He is not defensive at all. He is a deep lying midfielder who can pass the ball. Nothing else
With Ozil and Xhaka we have 2 players who dont do enough defensive work. In these days of modern footballers being athletes being paid millions I dont think either of these two do enough to warrant being at a top team atm.