Wins against Wolves and Chelsea and with the NLD looming on this week-end, it seems that we are in a good place to finish the season. Top 4 is more less secure and we may be able to aspire for more if we win our remaining games but let us not get too far ahead of ourselves…
Against Chelsea, we played a strong line up and watching this game, I was trying to think which players are just too good to omit from the first squad…I thought I d make a post out of it and ask you to create a top 8 based on the instructions above…so create your Top 8 away. Here is mine:
Raya (no choice) – White, Saliba – Rice, Odegaard – Saka, Havertz + Trossard (almost picked our CB Gabriel but in the end, I went with the Belgian ace).
Raya, there is no choice here because Arteta loves him…I am still upset for Ramsdale
White is a strong contender for Player of the Season for me and he is definitely top 3 performers
Saliba, a solid player but he did struggle lately and also and especially against Bayern but still, he is too good to omit
Rice, if not Player of the Season for us, he is definitely Recruit of the Season for us and maybe for the whole EPL. What a player! Outstanding defensively and getting better going forward and great leadership skills! He should definitely be part of the Captains’ team.
Odegaard, our playmaker and the one who pulls the strings but also a hard workder. A good captain too! Another creative season this year and with maybe a better player upfront, he may have more assists.
Saka, our gem 🙂 Solid season again. We can’t play without him.
Havertz – after a lousy start of life at AFC, he has demonstrated resilience, hard work and effectiveness – doing much better in front of goal and still industrious defensively. What a turn around!
Trossard – for the last spot for me, although Gabriel (CB) was hard to omit…Trossard, our impact player from the bench is now being an impact player from the starting XI. Important goals, brave player, happy to work defensively and creating chaos in defenses. What else do the people want?
So let us give ourself the chance to also pick Gabriel (although I am not against bringing a better CB to the club), we are two players shy from a starting XI:
- Timber at LB and;
- then another CM to replace Partey/Jorginho in the middle of the park. I am thinking Douglas Luiz, Fofana, Guimares but I am sure Edu/Arteta have a player in mind to make a magic trio in midfield with Ode-Rice…
Looking forward to your Top 8 teams…
COYG!