Pair might provide makeshift solutions for the North London derby.
The gunners will be heading into the international break off the back of a fairly decent start to the new campaign, gooners will be hoping that this remains the case after the international break when we take on Tottenham in the North London derby.
This was going to be a tough game even before the campaign started, and has been made even tougher due to the fact that we lost one our best players outright to a red card at the weekend, along with the injury to a man we brought in to provide cover for Declan Rice.
Both Rice and Merino will not be featuring in the game against our bitter rivals, which means that a shuffle of the pack will need to be done by Mikel Arteta. Debate among gooners has been ongoing about who’s going to replace Rice in the North London derby, with suggestions being made for Havertz dropping back into midfield, Jorginho starting alongside Partey, and even young Ethan Nwaneri being given the chance to start.
Among the potential replacements for Rice in the Tottenham game, the ones that intrigue me the most are Jurrien Timber and Oleksandr Zinchenko. Both being no strangers to playing a Midfield role with the latter more suited to the advanced left 8 position due to him being utilized in a similar position for his country,
Zinchenko will bring elite technical ability to our midfield along with more balance on that side given he’s left footed. A player comfortable to receive and swivel in the pockets as well as having the vision and skill to thread balls into attacking players, his Defensive frailties won’t get exposed as much as in the left back area, but I just think he lacks the physicality and bite to provide steel in the midfield for periods when we won’t be on top.
A player who has that steel and bite however is Jurrien Timber, a player who is no stranger to playing midfield roles in his short career as a defender, we saw this perfectly in action in his Ajax days where he was often utilized as a Midfielder to great effect. His superb ball carrying and tenacity in midfield means that he can excel both as a defensive midfielder as well as box to box. A midfield partnership of Timber, Partey and Odegaard is relatively unproven, but has all the qualities to be functional, creative and destructive at the same time.
Either one of these profiles will bring their own qualities to the midfield if chosen but the final decision rests in the hands of the gaffer, will either of these two be worth the risk after the international break?
KENNETH BENJAMIN.
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Zinchenko, because he is left-footed and has been playing multiple positions on the left side of the field longer than Timber did
Aside from that, we need Timber in the LB position to prevent Spuds’ RW from cutting inside and shoot
Well said @Gai but Arteta doesn’t seem to believe in Zichenko capacity for the role. I think he will stick with Pathey and Jorginho even though Jorgi might not be in best of form. Zichenko has what it takes to play in Xhaka role.
Yeah Jorginho would likely play there with Partey behind him
Firstly, this is a mess of Arteta’s own making. Various squad players departed but only one midfielder arrived in the window. Squad depth was sacrificed for psr, ffp and first VI strength.
Secondly, surely we’ll have to start with Partey, Jorginho &Ødegaard? NLD is not a game for experiments. If we play Nwaneri it could destroy him if it doesn’t go well. Perhaps introduce him, Zinchenko and/or Timber into midfield later in the game.
Lastly, we can still sign free agents. Why not look at Rabiot etc? We need one more midfielder if we can complete in multiple competitions til May.
So if we need one more midfielder we have a mess?
It is a mess if we have to improvise our midfield after just three games this season. Vieira, ESR, Patino and Elneny all left. Only Merino arrived for midfield.
Soon the cups and Champions league will kick in and we’ll be playing 8-10 games every month.
Bookings, suspensions and injuries are sadly inevitable. We needed an extra midfielder more than we needed an additional left back this summer. We have great depth in defence and also now in attack. Why not midfield?
I am genuinely concerned that if Nwaneri has even one poor game then Arteta will never trust him again and try to sell him to Fulham next summer.
I don’t understand this obsession with the idea that it’s the end of the world if we don’t have players that play a particular position available. The game is evolving beyond players playing in only one position. We have zinchenko who’s a midfielder available. When everyone is fit, there’s also rice, jorginho, merino and partey. Timber has played as a midfielder most of his career so he’s an option. What are we supposed to do, buy more players who won’t even make it on the bench when everyone is fit? Pay them to sit in the stands? What are you going to say then? The merino injury was an accident and totally unexpected. We can’t just buy a whole bunch of players just because injuries and suspensions can happen. There are only so many spots on a squad. Unless you’re chelsea and just buy players for the sake of it. The club is not stupid, so let us stop acting as if they are. Give them a bit of respect because they’ve earned it from all the work they’ve done these last few years. These squad players (esr, Viera, elneny) were never of the level required on this team so even now with the injury and suspension I won’t have them in the team.
Thank you. I was struggling to type a reply without breaking rules, you, howver, managed to sum it up perfectly. We bought a midfielder. A champion international. He got injured in a freak accident.
Adapt and overcome.
Real football, not fantasty football please!
U are a true gunner indeed,so proud of u. U clearly understand the club and the direction which MA and Edu is leading us to. At the end of the day it’s always about the results and it’s evident Arsenal is the closest to City in the last two seasons and Arteta is always improving every season since he took over.
In addition to the inadept analysis, there are challenges in having a big squad players who rarely get enough game time, More so for players fighting for club and national team position. Most of the players who left this summer were squad players and were used sparingly hence overall contribution to the team was minimal but their cost when aggregated was huge.
I agree it’d be nice to have more midfielders available to help the improvisation but how much did Vieira, Patino, Elneny and ESR have to play last year? The likelihood of bookings, suspensions and injuries is inevitable but which ones and when is anyone’s guess. I hated not seeing ESR be part of MA’s plans as well but don’t think he’s so bad at pigeon holing players that one poor game would subject anyone to transfer. I disagree with much of what you’re saying but they are your opinions to have and express. Good luck to our gunners.
We seem to be forgetting Calafiori. His position can be switched with Timber at LWB. For heaven’s sake, no Zinchenko in NLD!
I agree, no Zinchenko in midfield. With Rice out, we are short on steel and toughness, so for me Timber is the choice. Secondly, he has the pace and the ability to defend and make things difficult when he marks players, something not in Zinchenko’s toolkit.
I would start with Partey, Timber, and Odegaard, and we can always sub later in the game; Jorghino and Zinchenko are better options that Nwaneri. I like the kid, but he lacks the experience, especially in a Derby like this.
Personally I was hoping Zinchenko would go this summer. He’s okay going forward, although he will often lose possession cheaply in dangerous areas, but defensively poor. Probably our fifth best left back? Timber, Calafiore, Kivior, Tierney are all better defenders.
I love our attack and our defence. First choice midfield are great too. But Partey will get injured (when not if) so Merino, Rice and Ødegaard will play ALOT of games.
But Arteta seems to like it that way.
We seem to forget that Jorginho is a midfielder, or has he turned bad of late. Also Zinny and Timber should be options in the midfield while Calafoiri play more of the left back position
It’s not “end of the world” at all. It’s just that the additions would have been more balanced if a few of our left sided defensive options had departed.
Sterling, Merino and Calafiore all look to be great recruits, but the majority of the departures were from the middle of the park.
100% agree that Elneny never was truly good enough. Vieira & Patino needed matches to get some form.
I guess I’m worried that Partey could still go to Saudi in this window and we’ll be short
I really hope we stick with Partey (who had a fine injury record for years before he joined us – go figure). I can’t believe they’d be crazy enough to let him leave now that the purchasing window is shut. The only scenario where I can see that happening is if they strike a deal with Rabiot and the Saudis come in with a really good offer.
Charlie was a class act and I’m disappointed he didn’t really get a serious shot. While Kiwior is close to being a starter at LB, he doesn’t quite have the tools necessary to do the job in the PL against the better wingers and he hasn’t impressed me enough at the CB position so I think they should have cashed in on him. Zinchenko should have been sold if possible as he has significant defensive deficiencies and does not do well enough in MF imo. Rabiot does look tempting if something relatively short-term could be arranged.
correction – the Saudi window closed yesterday
This is what I was hinting at Dougal, when the words quantity and quality were used.
It seems quality was the overriding factor by most fans, but, with the brandishing of a yellow card, one injury and three transfers, we now find ourselves in the situation that some of us feared.
All clubs go through these situations (o.k. maybe except Abu Dhabi MC115). Where is the dividing line of having more quality but less quantity or vice versa? I’d rather have our current squad to handle Rice not being available than one which included those transfers (including ESR in this case).
hang on, all we have heard for months and months is ‘striker, striker, striker’, scant mention of our thin and aging midfield
now for one game, yes one game, we have a suspension and it all turns to hammering Edu/Arteta for not investing in midfield
you can’t have it both ways!
oh just wait, if Edu had bought the mythical clinical striker that knocks in every chance then it wouldn’t matter as Arsenal would score 8 goals every game
If Jesus is fit Havertz may play in place of Rice. But who knows, do we go to contain or go to win?
While I would like to see more of Zinchenko in midfield, I think it’ll be one of the following:
Odegaard – Partey – Jorginho
Odegaard – Partey – Havertz
I feel like putting Havertz in midfield would be throwing him out of form. Like he’s adapted to #9 now so just let him continue their.
I reckon Merino will be fit and the injury was overexaggerated. Two weeks training with the squad and staff is far more beneficial at this stage than some nonsense international games. So Merino but if I’m wrong i would go Jorginho.
Jorginho cost us the game last season with Spurs when he lost the ball and Spurs equalised, Partey has been so awful this season, it will be a hard game as they will be right up for it especially after losing against Newcastle
Surely Jorginho is straight swap
It is hardly a mess or a crisis
We can play Havertz in midfield and Trossard up front like we did in our biggest wins of last season away to West Ham and Burnley.
@Nobila, apologies you don’t understand the rules, common sense has no place over sensational constant whining
I think jorginho is most likely – it would be harsh to leave him out as the only other player who primarily plays midfield. I’d play timber, personally – thought it’s a bit of a gamble as he hasn’t played midfield for us, at this level, I think he has the energy and football intelligence to cover for rice better than anyone else who’s available. Partey will need someone with physical attributes like that for support.
I agree with that.
Raya
White
Saliba
Gabs
Timber\Zinchenko
Partey
Jorgino/Zinchenko
Odergaard
Saka
Sterling/Trossard
Havertz
Arteta will never play Jorginho and Partey as a double pivot against this Spurs team. Not sure what people are thinking there. Big Ange loves to play a high defensive line, so there’s a good chance Arteta will opt for Zinchenko in the left 8 role to flick balls through to our forwards and get a fast start. Maybe replacing with Timber to nullify Kulusevski on the Spuds’ right. I expect Partey in the 6 role.
I don’t think he’d play them as a double pivot – I’d expect one to sit in their normal role and one to play further forwards, probably partey tbh. Not what I’d want, but i think it’s most likely as things stand. He’s never played zinchenko in midfield and I think he’s more likely to use havertz/trossard than him in that role, rightly or wrongly.
You could be right, though my suspicion is just that a Jorgi/Partey midfield might be perceived as too slow for a Spurs right with Porro and Kulusevski bombing up the field, despite Jorgi’s stronger defensive talents and masterful passing. Best defense is attack, and all that.
I could absolutely see a situation where MA starts Havertz in midfield, switches Trossard to false 9, and brings Sterling in on the left too, just to mess with Spud heads. Sterling has a record of scoring against them after all.
So many potential viable combinations here, and the formation will evolve mid game anyway. So while this situation is not ideal, it’s hardly a crisis!