I agree, but it might be a bit different at the Etihad. Still they look pretty vulnerable in defense when they go full on attack, so I think we can beat them there.

That’s not a clear and obvious pen and if it is, then it should be a red card.

I think he’s been pretty good tbh.

I love that this happens to Newcastle, but that’s not a pen

Another flashy player with no end product. Good finishing is such an underrated attribute for wingers.

Onana or Fofana are my preferred realistic options. I’ve wanted onana for a while, but this sub didn’t rate him for whatever reason. As a Belgian I can say that he is already one of the most important players of the national team and likely future captain. He’s slowly becoming a rolls royce in the midfield, just needs to refine his passing and add some goals. As for Vermeeren, I’m afraid he’s being hyped too much. He’s not ready for Arsenal yet.

Thought he was kinda poor this game. Gave the ball away a lot.

Bissouma would have been a great Partey replacement.

I’ve been calling for this for a while. If Vieira is considered an option in midfield, then Leo should be as well. He has the skills to be very effective in those central areas and he loves to carry the ball from deep, weaving through players, which is something we lack in those areas. Obviously I wouldn’t start him there vs Newcastle or City, but there are a lot of match-ups where he could excell in that position. Contrary to this sub’s belief he’s actually a very competent presser, he ranked third in final third interceptions last season when we bought him.

We’ve already seen him play there a bit last season vs Southampton and in preseason it was his most played position. Recently, because of the Kdb, he’s been starting in midfield for Belgium and has looked really good.

Matches the eye test. He doesn’t take risks. No wonder we aren’t able to build up through the middle.

Caicedo is a great talent, but he could never do what Rice does week in week out. On track for POTS together with Willy.

I really hope arteta gives Leo another chance in midfield. Obviously it would need Rice at the 6 and tomi at lb to balance things, but we can see how he can help unlock our attackers. He’s been playing in the midfield for Belgium and been really good, so I’m looking forward to watch him this week.

Can’t say I agree with this article. He’s comparing us to Liverpool and Man City and suggesting that they have more options on the wing than us, which is just not true. Man city has only one pure winger in Doku, all the other ones are not 1v1 speedsters and arguably Foden and Silva are not wingers at all, as even Pep has mentioned before. Liverpool on the other hand only has Salah and Diaz as pure wingers and their backup is basically Jota and Gakpo, which is very similar to our situation.

I don’t see the point in getting another winger, when we have 5 players who can play those positions, whereas we are very thin in the striker department. And again the discussion about Saka’s playtime, which is becoming really tiring. How often do Salah or Vinicius get rested?

He’s my go to man in tough games. I lovee him. Still think zinny is better against low blocks.

He tried and worked hard but Gusto had him locked down and he didn’t get a shot on target, a 6 is fair.

As he said last time, the links with all these players was mostly agent talk. The way some fans want to constantly buy new players makes it seem we are having a bad season. We are joint first with eddie starting and Partey injured for most games. I can only imagine how much better we will be with Jesus up top and partey/rice/ode midfield. We have plenty of options in other areas, but some fans need to allow players to have bad games without wanting to replace them. Barring any major injuries, I think we should not do much business in January and save up for the summer.

I question the accuracy of these stats. Mixing per 90 with total stats is also very confusing.

Either way Rice is a beast and is carrying the rest of our midfield. Odegaard has been very underwhelming this season, but somehow he is escaping criticism. I suppose because Havertz is getting all the hate. Both of them aren’t offering enough at the moment.

How was De Ketelaere? Miss the lad, hope he’s doing well.