Good morning to all.
I didn’t see England play Germany last night, but my Twitter timeline was awash with chat from Bukayo Saka, after he came on and helped England overcome a 2-0 deficit, though the game ultimately ended 3-3. . It always helps when you play it in the position where it’s most effective, although I can understand why, at least to some extent, it’s used elsewhere.
It’s because he’s exceptionally good, and we’ve seen him play well as a full-back, as an attacker on the left, and I still wonder if, at some point, he’ll play more centrally. He definitely has the quality to do it in my opinion, but that could be a decision that depends on what he does to the balance of the team. I had a sneaking suspicion that the search for Raphinha this summer was the precursor to that happening, but ultimately that didn’t happen and we need Saka on the right.
I’ve seen a lot of discussion about Saka’s form this season, and while I can’t agree with any kind of claim that he’s been poor, I wouldn’t argue against one who says we’ve seen him better. Still, he has a goal and four assists in seven games so far, and I think he could have had more in each section as well. Maybe a little more conviction with one or two chances, better finishing one or two passes, and we’d be looking at VERY healthy numbers instead of pretty decent numbers.
The interesting thing about Saka now is the level of expectation, added to that importance that he has on the right. He has become essential to the team and very productive, especially considering he only turned 21 in early September. He was our top scorer last season, but I think that was largely due to our lack of firepower as a centre-forward for most of the campaign. This time, I suspect Gabriel Jesus will top him, but people still look at the numbers he did last time and use them as a kind of benchmark.
In total he had 19 goal participations: 11 goals and 7 assists in the Premier League, plus 1 goal in the EFL Cup. Regardless of how many of each he gets this time around, we’re going to need similar numbers again if we want to continue our progress and unfortunately he’s got a little more charge right now because we’re missing out on what Emile Smith Rowe brought last season as well. . Gabriel Martinelli is doing very well down the left, but October is going to test this squad to the physical limit and one of those positions is a bit of a problem.
On the right, Marquinhos could very well be an option that we didn’t really think we were going to have, but we based it on a performance, certainly a very good one. What caught the attention of the team against FC Zurich was the fact that Martinelli started on the left and played the full 90 minutes. We can’t play it for 9 games in 30 days, so it’s important for Arteta to find some kind of solution.
Hopefully Smith Rowe can get something back quickly, because that’s the most obvious answer to this particular problem. Beyond that, I look at the squad and think that we are going to have to spend more minutes with players that we would prefer to rest. Using Eddie Nketiah in the middle and putting Gabriel Jesus on the wing is far from ideal, but there isn’t much else to it unless the manager genuinely trusts an Academy talent. It could be the case that the best solution is to use the 5-change rule as best we can to manage the minutes we spend with players during this hectic period; As long as we keep our fingers crossed, we don’t sustain any more injuries. We’ll see!
Finally, for today, Raul Sanllehi’s interview on The Athletic surfaced for a more in-depth discussion of the latest Arsecast Extra, so you can check him out below for more. However, just to say briefly, it was amusing, to say the least, that he criticized the current setup that is now working, albeit after going through some turbulent times, while it was preferable to keep his own.
The confirmation of what I had long suspected, that Sanllehi was the man behind Unai Emery’s appointment, was the most interesting part and, with all due respect to the former head coach, he was absolutely the wrong man at the wrong club. at the wrong time, and there are still many questions about the involvement of certain agents in that decision. Not to mention his reluctance to make a change when it became so obvious that it had to happen.
Sanllehi’s Arsenal was a Frankenstein’s monster, a club that was going nowhere, with no plan or direction. We’ve come a long way since then, through some tough periods to be sure, but there’s no question in my mind if Raúl were still here, we’d be reeling and much, much further from where we need to be. Criticism of Arteta as a ‘manager’ only stands if what he was doing was beneficial, and at least for the Arsenal football club, it was the opposite.
Listen to the pod below as we also discuss Thomas Partey, Interlull, dodgy graphics in FIFA 23, and much more. See you tomorrow.
