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[Sparked_26]

Arsenal are a bum team now. I can only imagine how entertaining it is to watch Arsenal if you're not a fan.

I said it before we started up again. It's crazy how many crap players they have.

Auba is not up for it. So really in terms of oven ready quality players there arent many. The keeper probably is their best player.

Also their young players dont compare to Chelsea's. They might be as talented but the thing is nearly all Chelsea's kids apart from Gilmour are very athletic and quite big. Even Mount is a strong boy.

I mean we arent great either. If you look at it. Chelsea have actually lost more games haven't they? But they'll go for the win and come unstuck occasionally. Usually against rubbish teams that are extremely fortunate and have robbed Chelsea blind. So you can forgive Chelsea for just that lack of killer instinct which I doubt will be there beyond this season.

Guendhouzi is the only one Arsenal can bank on digging his heels in when the chips are down.

Arsenal are in trouble now because Newcastle are gonna be another factor when they get super rich.

Really that's Liverpool, Citeh, Chelsea, Man U, Newcastle, arguably Everton who have more spending power than Arsenal and the prestige of Arsenal isnt the same.

The problem there is Arsenal might end up getting class B eggs. Chelsea had done this for a while and it dropped us 34 points behind the leader.

I still think they'll get it right but it's becoming obvious they need to let Usmanov in or they are going to become a nothing club. Its just snobbishness at board level at Arsenal.

[F l i c k e r]

Basic fact of football, you play your best player, no matter what. Arsenal are failing to do that. I don’t know what happened behind closed doors and in quarantine but suddenly Arteta has issue with Ozil when before the break, Arsenal looked resurgent with Ozil leading the way.

Ozil is their best player and he’s not playing. They’re losing because of it.

It’s like Diego Costa. Is he a brat? Yes. Is he annoying? Yes. Does he go missing after January? Yes.... but Chelsea’s best chance to win was with him playing. So, he played, and Chelsea won the league with Conte and Jose. Him leading the line.

Arsenal aren’t doing that and the effect is games like City and Brighton.

The do have a young player I rate, that is Saka. He could possibly be better than CHO, I think. But Arteta keeps him as a makeshift fullback but he was literally the only silver lining to Emery’s disaster.

Nelson is in the same mold as CHO and Sancho but he lacks the natural gifts of those two. So, he’s an odd player.

Guendouzi is another I rate, he’s actually good but he can’t fight for the ball, dribble it, get forward, and make the key pass as well. As a holding mid, Guendouzi would do wonders if there were players to make up for what is sacrificed by playing him dm.

Arsenal had something going with Guendouzi deep, Ozil high, and Xhaka (he’s f.ucking terrible) as a pseudo cb. But Arteta moved away from his winning formula.

he removed that playmaker (ozil) in the final third, while forcing Guendouzi to cover for the defense (usually a fullback), as well as his midfield partner, then asking him to make passes to the final third.

Another perfect example is Aguero. Guardiola hates that guy. But with Jesus being injury prone, Guardiola plays his best striker full stop. Not false 9 with Foden or some other atrocity.

[F l i c k e r]

Also, how tf is Tyrone Mings not on a better team yet?

He’s a beast.

[Sparked_26]

The physicality is there with Mings.

I dont think any of Chelsea's centre backs are better than him. Which probably says as much about them as it does Mings who was non league not so long ago.

Our centre backs all have strengths and weaknesses. I want to like Christensen but he's just not strong enough it seems, any physical striker can pin him basically. Rudiger is kind of ****** and the worry is that's just in there now, he's just so emotional and rash. Zouma is very strong but is awkward at times and pretty basic but tbh I think he should always start. Tomori seems to have the most talent and is very quick but he gets caught out of position, a dominant centre half would really bring him on. Terry would have made him improve quickly.

Really all of them would probably be fine alongside a world class centre half. Obviously that ain't Mings. I dunno who is a great centre half these days - Koulibaly? He wont go to Chelsea. Probably Liverpool bound.

It's a tricky one. Tyrone Mings and someone like Lewis Dunk probably improve Chelsea a tiny bit but it's not gonna touch Liverpool with VVD and Koulibaly if that happened.

Think I'd try and get Oblak instead of Havertz or another centre back. A world class goalie is vital. Kepa just isnt it.

You cant fix everything at once. Lampard has always wanted to fix the attack first as a means to win us more points. A goalie would win us more points I think than a slightly better left back and centre half if we look at the other end of the pitch

[Roy Jones Jnr]

The weirdest game in English footy.

They tell us this is a derby because they're joined by an a road.

I can't even imagine how boring Crystal Palace will be now they don't have paying customers in the ground to make them do anything.

It's going to be Hodgson's Magnus Opus. Some of us will probably die watching it. The ones that survive will no longer be able to see the world in colour. It will all just be a grey mulch.

Roy, on Declan Rice. You telling me he's not a good player?

Declan Rice is a mid/lower table club player at best.

Would do well at a club like Burnley/Arsenal/Sheff Utd etc.

From the two games I saw of Billy Gilmour unless those were freak performances and he’s usually chit I’d much rather give him the playing time than bring Declan Rice to take up his position/playing time.

[Roy Jones Jnr]

Can’t see us signing Koulibaly tbh....quality defender doe.

We won’t be spending that sort of money for another centre back not with Joe Gomez who is pure class and only 22. Very underrated is Joe....like a mini VVD.

Probably sign a cheaper back up to replace Lovren though...hopefully. Would love to see Arsenal sign Lovren....imagine a Lovren-Luiz partnership. Would be the best partnership seen in the prem since Terry-Carvalho.

[Sparked_26]

Declan Rice is a mid/lower table club player at best.

Would do well at a club like Burnley/Arsenal/Sheff Utd etc.

From the two games I saw of Billy Gilmour unless those were freak performances and he’s usually chit I’d much rather give him the playing time than bring Declan Rice to take up his position/playing time.

I think Billy is more suited to the Kovacic/Kante spot. Admittedly he has more bite than Jorginho who really just cant stop a player running past sometimes.

Whenever I see Rice for West Ham he is very good. Not so much for England.

He's good on the ball, he's physical and strong, he organises those around him, and he fronts up and demands from others around him. He drops into central defence and can even play there if needed.

I dunno we will see how it goes. I'd say he ends up at a big team because of those characteristics. He's streets ahead of Dier at Spurs or even Stones as a centre half.

He would walk into Spurs team and I think Chelsea and Man U would probably like him too

[F l i c k e r]

Koulibaly is not that good. He's Zouma but 3 years older.

If someone took Zouma, had him drill long balls for 3 months in the off season, nothing else. He'd be Koulibaly on the start up of a new season.

I've began to come around on Declan Rice though. The intrigue of having a strong presence in midfield, that can still keep the passing tempo high + accurate is greater than just having a blade of grass that passing A+ but is C- to F at everything else.

I'd take Tyrone Mings at Chelsea. He's a force. Can't even out run him. He's torched Mason Mount, I don't know how many times now. He'd need to be paired with a Carvalho though but in a short term, Christensen could fill the roll of ball player.

Rudiger is just a bad CB now. Tomori is young but not a Carvalho. Zouma somehow still lacks proper coaching. Like he hasn't learned to really be a top flight CB.

[Sparked_26]

Christensen probably needs to go.

[F l i c k e r]

All of them bar Tomori, really.

Tomori and Ampadu likely do a better job than the other 3.