Elneny. Mo. The Egyptian. Fabulous Pharaoh. Like the hair, like the man.
I would say we played our best football this season with Coquelin paired with Santi, and the seemingly odd choice of Aaron on the right. Sure, this was complemented with pace through the middle, but nevertheless, Aaron on the right was designed to compensate for a defensive fragility in the middle of the pitch due to the presence of Santi.
The more formidable and solid midfield pairing of Coquelin and Elneny allows us, as seen on Saturday, to free up the speedsters and magicians in front of Mesut.
Elneny certainly charges about a lot, but this does not make him a Box to Boxer. Aaron is a Box to Boxer and this does make us more vulnerable against the counter. In theory, with a B to B’er you have an additional goal threat, but we haven’t seen this. Perhaps it is because of our slow build up and by the time the end to end man gets near to goal, the wretched area is clogged solid.
Perhaps also, if by doing away with the B to B’er, you replace him with a more disciplined Egyptian with long range shooting ability, not only have you compensated for the goals that weren’t there anyway, but you have added an additional string to the bow, arrow to the quiver and worry for the opposition.
Plus, a player to whom the crowd can scream “shooooooot”, which must be a worry for Aaron
Arsenal News 24/7
arsenalarsenal.net 
Micky, You highlight a problem in the coming season for Mr W. Add to Elneny and Ramsey, the magical creativity of Cazorla and the mercurial talents of Jack Wilshere and it becomes a luxury problem.
If we use the Cockeny axis and assume one of Iwobi, Theo and Joel take the attacking MF alongside Mesut role then it leaves just one place for 4 excellent players.
Can or will Mr W keep all of his midfield?
Erik
While I’m really looking forward to the remaining games, my biggest single fear is what Arsene will do with a fit Aaron ie crowbar him in.
Some may say we should play the Coq El pairing in certain games, and a more attacking pairing of Coq and Aaron or Santi in others. I disagree.
Watford at home, and remembering they had one eye on the FAC Semi, is as weak as oppo. is going to come, and yet look how it worked out.
I’d flog Aaron and get in a Yaya type
Hell, buy Yaya. He’sonly 32 and he can play the odd game to give Elneny a breather.
Another advantage of having a long-distance shooter is that it requires the defense to step out a little further, creating more space in-behind.
As yet though, we still have to see if Elneny will actually be a goal threat from distance. Will Wenger allow it?
Good point Eric. Judging by the way our players have stopped shooting from distance I would say AW will curb it. Cazorla used to shoot as did Rosicky and Sanchez (see 2014 FAC Final). but somehow they become more circumspect as they bed into the team.
Micky. Big No to Yaya. Same with the wonderful Zlatan. Too old and not able to go the full 90.
As you say, will Mr W find Ramsey a place? I guess it is that old chestnut … rotation
Great point Eric with a small c 🙂
Genuinely, I was think about making that very point, but was worried it was beyond my tactical bollocks abilities 🙂
Yeah, Wenger repeated on the weekend that his favoured game is based on movement, and let’s be honest, it’s the game we all prefer anyway. The amount of pace and mobility in that Saturday line-up was very refreshing, and Yaya certainly won’t fit that.
Wenger has been looking for balance all season since the Ramsey-Cazorla “thing” got broken up. I think he’s found it now, which is why teenager Iwobi is getting in ahead of megabucks Theo.
Erik
Rotation is good, very good, but it has to be like for like, and Aaron is not an Elneny likey 🙂
Again Eric, completely agree. Iwobi is a revelation and the kind of footballer worth bothering to pay to watch 🙂
However, it’s only possible to play him in a line up with Mesut, Alexis and Danny if you have that solid midfield.
NO ramsey in the middle. He is a potentially big liability. Play him in the wing if he dislike it, then leave.
I think Ramsey has got to the age now where “he is what he is” – there’s a period where you want to play him so he grows into his potential, but we’ve reached that point now where we know what his strengths and weaknesses are, and they won’t change drastically.
Strengths: passing range, goalscoring (when he’s in form), ball control, physique, stamina
Weaknesses: pace, two-touch speed (one touch to control, second touch to release), injury-prone, defensive security, ball security
Make no mistake, I really like Aaron for a variety of reasons/qualities, however, I see him as a 4-4-2 man. Only.
Controller and Conductor midfield > Box-to-Box
Coquelin – volante de contencion
Elneny – volante de salida
They are the team’s primary “mediocentro defensivo” /DM pairing.
Cazorla – regista (if required with additional control and playmaking in engine room)
Ozil – enganche/trequartista (attacking fulcrum between the opposition’s line)
Alexis – fantasista (unpredictability across the final third vs opponents)
Ramsey’s, Wilshere’s, The Ox’s playing style, currently involved in taking chances and risky maneuvers, are best suited at the team’s offensive 3rd and beyond.
Good Post, Big Raddy.
Although Ramsey is a very good footballer, does He fit in with our style of play?
Ramsey really does slow the game down.
Why did Wenger change such a good winning formula in the mid 2000’s for this keep ball slow build up style?
It doesn’t really work in the kick and rush world of the Premier League.
The thing is Wenger wants this passing possession style but never got the player right.
As mentioned before –
I think a 4-3-1-2 formation would be best suited for us once Ramsey is back:
Ramsey – Coquelin – El Neny
—————-Ozil—————–
Sanchez Wellbeck
No Iwobi, no Walcott, No Giroud, No Ox, No Campbell, No Santi but what a bench!
Ramsey is a good footballer and he can really take the right wing and play box to box. He is a starter for me.
Coquelin is our best DM…so he is in for sure.
El Neny has looked assured and he has a great engine but enough defensive discipline to keep things in shape so he is for sure as well for me.
This would release Ozil from some of his defensive duties – he needs to chip in some assists soon to break Henry’s records 🙂
Sanchez is BACK to good shape and level and this is massive from us because he is making the right choices and all.
Wellbeck is our lead CF at the moment.
When Santi and Wilshere are back, it is going to be interesting 🙂
“The thing is Wenger wants this passing possession style but never got the player right.”
I think it’s the third Wenger era. The first was based on power and pace, breaking the defensive line. But the Ajax loss changed everything and introduced the era of parking the bus and midfield hassling.
Wenger then went through a period of possession football, typified by Nasri, Hleb and Fabregas.
I think he accepted over the last two or three years that it doesn’t work and now he’s shifting into what he calls “movement”, creating angles and spaces by moving players around, and also by much better counter-attacks.
The mistake many fans make is to think we haven’t changed. That’s not true, Wenger has changed his methodology considerably and regularly over the years. He either got the methodology wrong, or injuries messed his plans up – it’s a bit of both.
Thanks Micky. AW seems to be favouring the attacking and pacey line up now that you and I have been clamoring for, and to boot it works.
Ramsey for me should be an understudy to Ozil. There is potentially a very good number 10 in there. All other positions tried with him have major faults.
Eric,excellent point when you said this :
I think he (Wenger) accepted over the last two or three years that it doesn’t work and now he’s shifting into what he calls “movement”, creating angles and spaces by moving players around, and also by much better counter-attacks.
The mistake many fans make is to think we haven’t changed. That’s not true, Wenger has changed his methodology considerably and regularly over the years. He either got the methodology wrong, or injuries messed his plans up – it’s a bit of both.
The problem is you can’t do this movement, angles and space creating game effectively with a slower immobile striker, which is why I really scratch my head at Arsene’s continued employment of one for so long. I think if you are right then Arsene has really shot himself in the foot in using a player that actually counters our ability to adopt this style of play to good effect.
I prefer what he is doing now, and this is the way to move forwards now, but having arrived at it so late what has it already cost us this season?
GB. It works if you consider OG as a hub for the movement around him.
IMO Giroud works best with his back to goal and playing one-touch passes onto income players.
Also, I believe AW agrees with you which is why he tried TW at CF and now Welbeck with OG riding the pine.
You might be right Raddy and I really don’t want to sound repetitive but I still firmly believe that this concept of players playing off Giroud as a hub doesn’t quite work out as well as it sounds or looks written down on paper. I know it is T.A’s favoured set up and it ay be that he is right and I am barking up the wrong tree.
I have always felt that Giroud occupies that central zone with limited movement away from there and that he actually ends up blocking that area for players like Sanchez and Ozil to ghost into. Welbeck’s extra movement pulls defenders around more and vacates the space for the others to attack from deeper without the opposition picking them up.
Walcott has not been too great since his return from injury so I will not try and excuse him, but as I have asked before, what did he do wrong when given a shot at the strikers role? If you look at the games he played at striker he did reasonably well for me and also the team played some of its best football when he played as striker ahead of Giroud.
I still feel Welbeck offers more and was never sure about Walcott at striker as a long term 1st choice answer, but as one of our options this season I feel he should have been given more time in the role until Welbeck had returned or we had bought someone better.
Lots of pundits and A.A bloggers were positive about it at the time who are now not. I really don’t see why Wenger abandoned it as an option once he returned from injury. It seems a lot of the analysis of Walcott as a potential striker option is being made by his recent performances on the wing, and not based on the games he actually played at striker.
Still old arguments and all that Raddy, that I am acutely aware get people miffed if I mention them. I just have a feeling that not utilising our pace options up top in enough games has cost us this season. Pure speculation of course because we don’t have a time machine to go back and try it differently to see if it works out better.
I did not have enough time to read thoroughly and to consider my thoughts thoroughly but having watched and enjoyed our 4 to 0 thumping of Watford this passing weekend I was disturbed by Lecoq’s dereliction of his duties which left us open at the back when Watford quickly counter-attacked. Coquelin passed a ball on the right of the field in the half of Watford in the second half. He moved forward intending to take a back-pass but the ball was intercepted. Lecoq’s main duties is to dispossess opponents and pass the ball. He is not a play-maker. That belongs to the Ramseys, Ozils , Sanchezes of this world. Lecoq must get his discipline right.
GB. I agree with you 🙂
http://www.skysports.com/football/news/11712/10219151/leicesters-incredible-turnaround-premier-league-leaders-remarkable-results-since-april-4-2015
Over the last year – Leicester grabbed an amazing 91 points in 41 games!
We grabbed 73 out of 39 games and we have the second best defence and third offence. Yet we did not win the league last year nor are we going to win this year…
It is a big matter of consitency for us over a league year – To win the league, you should aim for 85 points as then you are giving yourself a real good chance of actually landing the gong…But we have not managed in years now and it is worrying 😦
Anyways – check the table out, it is informative
So in short I think in games where we need less defensive security or are facing a high press we may see Elneny plus Santi, both are good passers and that is a major asset, also frees Santi to receive ball further forward and gives two good options out of the back which I don’t think Coq provides.
Like GoonerB I see Ramsey as more offensive and the box to box role I don’t think he does that well at, his awareness of where the danger is. I’d put Jack in the same bracket but could do the Santi role maybe as well.
I think the reason box to boxer Ramsey has not worked in an attacking sense is mainly due to his timing, he gets there far too early, I felt on Satirday our shape was far more similar to Barca’s approach to the game with a good arc to switch the play round.
Hi Exile
My concern when you say “in games where we need less defensive security” is, I don’t which games these are, because it’s not at home to a Watford or a Swansea.
Perhaps, and this sounds odd, Coquelin is the weak link when we play a Ramsey or Santi in midfield, rather than the latter two.
Haha Micky. Games that require defensive security are not on your radar. It is an over-rated concept, am I right? 🙂
GIE, I really like the secure 2 man defensive basis similar to Barca. Santi gives us another option but he is excellent at bringing the ball out and rarely loses possession which is a skill that Ramsey doesn’t quite have.
Anyway it seems we might be buying a defensive midfielder with the name Granite who is supposedly pretty useful in both his defensive duties and on the technical front. It could be an Elneny / Granit formation next year.
Cheers, Micky.
I reckon we’d have won the League if Cazorla and Coquelin hadn’t been injured.
Love Elneny so far.
Rambo has been pants since he grew that beard and started talking about Barca.
Hey we’re on ITV4 tonight
Arsenal U18 v Man City U18 FA Youth Cup Semi-Final 2nd Leg19:45 ITV4 / ITV4 HD
The most interesting and sensible thing on AA today is Chas @ 5:21, preceded by Chas @ 5:19.
I totally agree with the 5:19, and find the 5:21 interesting info.
And GB is still rotating in ever decreasing circles! 😀
Sorry, Micky, meant to add, thank you and well done for the Post!
Also interesting and sensible ……… just not so much as Chas’s. 😀
Thanks for that Chas, I will have a gander. I like seeing some of those youngsters and how they play. I wonder if that Dutch striker we bought will play. His name is something like Donal Marlen.
Cazorla has turned out to be a big loss to us this season but is not the only problem in why we haven’t done better. Both Wilshere and Rosicky were also injured at the same time who both have that ability like Cazorla to receive the ball from defenders and effectively bring it out. I still think that Arsene could have tried a different option in Cazorla’s absence though than the ones he went for that proved not to be that effective.
I agree with you about this beard thing. It seems to be the modern trend with men of a certain age now, but really is only necessary in frontier men and those that live in the north in Westeros.
Shouldn’t be allowed in professional football players though. I am sure that Ramsey is really as nippy as Messi and that beard is upsetting his aerodynamics.
Yep R.A, I will not be swayed 🙂 Actually I will be if someone gives me a good reason to be swayed, but I haven’t yet encountered the view and explanation that will turn this worm 🙂
Chas,
The Rasper would be unhappy with Orbinho’s use of the word ‘unlucky’ above — while we might think that a gust of wind moving the ball 1cm from true, and taking it out of play was unlucky for the attack team : and lucky for the defense team : or vice versa if it went in — but the Rasp man will not! 😀
RA
Rasp knows that football is full of luck.
What he doesn’t like is luck being used as an excuse for poor results, which is fair enough. 🙂
OMG, you won’t believe what happened today!!
I told you before about the nice obsessive Spurs supporter with no teeth. I met him again and again he asked to take the lead with my staffie at the other end – the Spud loves my Bambi. We started talking again and I could feel that something was not right – the man had foam on his mouth and started shouting in derogatory terms about the Arsenal!! I told him to give me my dog back and walked off. He was still shouting that this season we will be in Spurs shadow and he will meet me on Monday 16th May the same place and…..I was running at this point.
He didn’t say what time on 16th – does he bloody expect me to stand there all day long 🙂
Just sounds like a run of the mill spud to me.
True chas. I would say that Eddie was guilty of poor parenting when handing her dog to a Spud.
well never again! He always asks politely if he can walk Bambs
I didn’t know he was a proper nut-nut job
bloody hell – it was like – you arrogant gunners, who has better record in Europe, who won the double twice, who won the league first, scary man honestly
…why can’t you be humble like the rest of us???? hello, you have just bragged what a great club you were…..deaf ears….
Oops, lots of good play from Arsenal and generally the better side but from 1-0 up they go 2-1 down largely due to poor defensive positioning concentration and shape. Now where have we seen that before?
What a charming man Eddie. It’s such a pleasure to go against ones instincts to find your gut feeling that your getting to close to a wretch with disturbing mental health issues was spot on
This happened to me a few years ago. Whilst jogging I was joined by a sardined face man who asked “jog with you”
He matched me stride for stride, enthralling me with conversation about a dislike of Pakistanis and how on one occasion whilst holidaying in Bognor he experienced physical contact.
I started to get alarmed when he jogged into the pub with me, made worse when following me to the loo, banging on the door and demanding to know wether I had been to Bognor?
I was such a fool. I should have know his explanation that wearing slippers and dressing gown increased aerodynamic capability was crap. Every one knows one must run with a cape.
Great stuff Micky
I like Elneny. The man reminds me of a sober Alan Hudson. Ramsey is top player and has a big part to play but like every one else, should fight for his place.
” a sober Alan Hudson” 😀
Terry 🙂
Morning All,
7.14. Young Eddie?
6.48- Perfect handiwork. Must be made by a Zen Master.
The Fergie reminds me of this …. “the sun is the same, in a relative way, but you’re older”
@7:14 – nope, it’s Kelsey
Conte to Chelsea. He is a good manager, but no EPL experience. I think he will struggle
Eddie – Costa under Conte won’t have to go to training. Disgusting Diego already knows how to cheat, dive and foul
6.30 – 7 Chas
7 – 7.30 Erik
7.30 – 8 Eddie
8.30 Morning all
Now if we could all bother at the same time.
Shall we say 8 for 8:15 tomorrow? 🙂
too late for me and too early for you 🙂
must go, tara
Fair point Eddie. I will make an effort 🙂
Conte is a good manager and he will do well in the EPL. His teams are solid and relatively fun to watch. He is an adept of the 3-5-2 system but also of the 4-2-1-2-1 set-up.
With a 5-3-2 system, Chelsea has the team already:
Courtois – Azpi, Ivanovic, Terry, Cahill, Traore – Willian, Matic, Fabregas – Costa, Hazard
With a 4-2-1-2-1 system – they will buy Naigollan:
Courtois – Azpi, Ivanovic, Cahill, Traore – NAIGOLLAN, Matic – Fabregas – Willian, Hazard – Costa
In any case – I enjoyed watching his Juve team and his Italian team is borderline boring but it is rather solid.
RC, I think Arsene has now discovered the winning formula for us and it is based on the Barca model of 2 protective midfielders who have some technical ability but allow the front 4 to operate more freely and the F.B’s to join the attack.
Getting the right type of front 3 ahead of Ozil is also important and the set-up against Everton and Watford points the way forward.
I feel we need 2 senior C.F’s with 2 more that can operate as back up. Welbeck is one of my picks and I would be happy to look towards Sanchez and Akpom as back up C.F’s going into next season. The question is who should be the 2nd senior C.F alongside Welbeck? Do we already have that player or is a purchase required?
Shouldn’t that be the post of the day?
I think Arsene has now discovered the winning formula for us and it is based on the Barca model of 2 protective midfielders who have some technical ability but allow the front 4 to operate more freely and the F.B’s to join the attack.
Getting the right type of front 3 ahead of Ozil is also important and the set-up against Everton and Watford points the way forward.
I feel we need 2 senior C.F’s with 2 more that can operate as back up. Welbeck is one of my picks and I would be happy to look towards Sanchez and Akpom as back up C.F’s going into next season. The question is who should be the 2nd senior C.F alongside Welbeck? Do we already have that player or is a purchase required?
To be fair, Elneny, Iwobi, and Welbeck are all big physical units. I know its not that simple, Iwobi has incredible talent and Elenny has such a deft touch its like be stroked by a feather, but they all have physical presence.
Does size matter? In a recent study of 1000 women and Jose Moronio the overwhelming answer was yes, but with caveats.
Morinio can be ignored. He enjoyed the extreme length of Matic and though liked Hazzards technique, wanted more penetration from the Belgian. Threatening to make him watch as Mikel took his place.
The women however were wary of the Peter Crouch types. To tall to get under a car to fix a gasket and likely to get himself in a tangle when trying to score. They preferred your Thierry Henry or Harry Kane type. Physical enough to penetrate defences with power and pace but not big enough to scare the pet dog sitting at the end of the bed. Though Kane would obviously have to wear a paper bag over his head.
This is sad for the likes of Wilshere and Walcott, for me to. Nothing worse than been laughed at for ones heading ability or failure to enthral women with long range shooting.
A bit of power allied with great technique is the way forward for Arsenes Arsenal. This will still leave room for the odd midget. Look at Messi? Incredible technique, his team mates love him. Especially when comparing notes post game in the shower.
Sorry about the lack of post today. I meant to write one but time got in the way.
Insidious fellow that Time.
Will write one for tomorrow
Deathly quiet on AA these last few days despite good numbers of views. Any ideas?
I’ve been working for a change, BR, which means no daytime blogging and little elsewhere, too.
I was thinking of a post asking where the season went wrong, but it seems a little premature if we can still mathematically win it. 🙂
It’s reached that stage of the season where we’re thinking about second if we can overturn the N17 apologies for human beings.
Some will be ruing our missing out of our one and only chance of winning the League.
Others will be pleased the season is nearing its end, hoping the schisms within the Club can be healed, somehow.
Maybe a post could suggest how you can apply your everyday principles to your following of Arsenal Football Club. Sort of hippy-orientated. 🙂
If only we’d offered a fictionally small amount more, all this could have been ours.
7.16. Eddie in the Oval Office?
7.16 Love the chap on the post. Looks like a Frenchman
Evening all, night all.
I should say I don’t think Rakatic is a holding midfielder and neither is Iniesta but they do keep their shape well especially Rakativ who is so often the receiver of the ball when the front three have hit a wall he moves it on to Busquets and he moves it to Iniesta and they start again.
For us it is slightly different as we ask Ozil to be the assist maker, however you don’t often find him occupying defenders more often than not he is in space ready to receive, our problem came from others not holding a good shape and therefore when an attack broke down we were too many men in front of the ball, leaving Coq or Flamster the job of recovering the ball on their own, something Barca rarely have to contend with. And the main culprit had been Ramsey. And I hate saying that because I think he can be a wonderful player, but like Theo he has a desire to play centrally and in a certain way when he is playing centrally. However when on the right midfield the weakness in his game is less obvious because opposition counters rarely start on the wing and the two in the middle generally have better shape.
Morning All,
Benny Hill. Never liked him apart the eye candy during the show (see above)
chas. Do you think that advert is genuine?
never liked Benny Hill either, no idea what was funny about him
should have bought Suarez, top goal scorer
I just remembered something – when I snatched my dog back from the toothless Spud he was shouting about Arsenal embarrassing ourselves every year in Champions League. Not being able to win the group and every year being knocked out in the next stage.
I asked him about their involvement in the CL. He resorted then to “How long have you supported Arsenal, how long you’ve been to this country”. As it happens I am a resient here only 3 years less than him – he is 38 🙂
Oh no, done it again.
Belated morning Chas, Erik and Eddie 🙄
afternoon didit
Edddddie,
Hang on a minute, and I do get a treat for you
Sorry Eddie. Got a great Dotty pic on beach and can’t copy paste the thing.
Still here, just finishing off a post. It is so boring that all I could think about whilst writing was “what am I going to eat for breakfast that is tasty and low calorie?”
Eggs, bacon, mushrooms and a strong cuppa.
put it on twitter first, most reliable
raddy – why complicate your life? i eat the same thing every single morning for as long as I can remember
C:\Users\Owner\Desktop\sand dotty.jpg
Damn
sorry, we cannot see your c drive 🙂
just mail me the photo, I will publish, pssshhhh
Eddie. Because variety is the spice of life
i’d rather be bored for a change
i’d rather be bored for a change
ha ha ha 🙂 Very good
Erik
It’s not worth the hassle. No surprise, it’s a dog pic. But thanks
I was in Sweden yesterday and saw the most fantastic dog. It was a german make, looked like a black flat coat retriever but much bigger. I asked the name of the make but forgot it immediately.
That’s the last straw Erik, I send you the pic 🙂
my bricks were delivered yesterday
I love boring
Superb brick pic 🙂
Fantastic Eddie. You only employ the best 😀
Erik
Are you guessing that Eddie’s builder was too tall or too short from the evidence?
Where are Rasp & Peaches?
Micky 😀 😀
nothing to do with the builder, the delivery man did the magic trick. That tool had actually piled the damaged bricks on the side of the road, as if nothing happened:) look
Erik
Understandably, people are a bit Arsenal’d Out and there is little to talk about that hasn’t been covered.
This is why we must talk about fairies and cup cakes.
Ha ha ha Eddie
I actually thought you just found an amusing brick pic, but lo, it really happened
Your life is strewn with magical moments 🙂
Wow, and there is the car number plate
Morning all
Not sure about Rasp Raddy but I am imagining Peaches is tied upon grand-parenting duties what during the Easter school break.
GIE, I could agree that Ramsey’s individual weaknesses are less exploited at right midfield but I still feel it then becomes a weakness in our team balance and the right midfield area is one of those we have to have a better solution to.
On reflection the accommodation for Ramsey in the team really became an issue when we got Ozil as I think Ramsey is a future 1st choice number 10. as such he is not in my current strongest 1st 11 and should be understudy to Ozil with a view to becoming first choice in the future. It is up to Wenger to persuade him of this or have to make a hard decision, because we can’t just keep accommodating him in the side just for the sake of it.
There is a New Post (which should have been published yesterday!!)
Micky I hate to say it, and I do feel a bit guilty, but I have held back on submitting a couple of posts recently because I just felt the appetite wasn’t out there on the blog for any topic I would raise and thought it best left for a while.
Right off for a bit, see you all later.