Oh, okay, but when we do that it's "only one player can be out of play for a corner". Jesus Christ. We have to be on our very best behavior and (mostly) everyone else is allowed to run rampant
That's becoming a painfully frequent concern from many when it comes to him. I know he's always been stronger getting forward. But his defensive skills are alarmingly bad, and apparently getting worse.
I don't think it's fair to say his defensive skills are getting worse, but that the opposition are increasingly targeting him as a weak point in our defense
No one was dropping back and making runs inward for a cross. Only person who tried was ESR and that happened once. There weren't that many combination passes in and around the box. We were eager to shoot a weak shot than wait for a better opportunity.
Reiss, ESR, Zinny & Eddie are on notice. If I were Arteta, I would get rid of them in the summer transfer window. As much as I like em, they're either injury prone and or play in a boom and bust cycle. We need a dependable 9, 8 and LB/LCB combo player.
Reiss, ESR and Eddie came into a game state that never should have existed. I agree that Eddie doesn't have a place if he can't find some consistency, and ESR needs to do more to prove that his one excellent season wasn't just a flash in the pan, but this game was absolutely not it.
The three of them seemed to actually want to win the game, unlike the starting 11 in the first half. Despite all the "control" we had, we looked like passengers in our own ground. If anything, this game is a reason for any one of martinelli, Gabriel Jesus, zinchenko, even Ben white to spend some serious time back on the bench. Fuck, Declan rice this game played well but had some serious stinkers of passes.
No credit taken from west ham but our players lost this game, and it definitely wasn't the subs. If the game was 0-0 or 1-0 our way and the subs did exactly the same thing we would be praising them for staying on the front foot and having some good opportunities.
Possibly one of Odegaards best performances in an Arsenal shirt and possibly one of Jesus' worst.
I agree with you in the positions that need addressing. I have faith that this hasn't just been a purple patch for Kai and he will make the 8 his own. I think in the absence of a number 9 who can bag them, our wingers, particularly martinelli, need to figure out where they put their goalscoring boots.
Left back is a tough one. We're stacked but they're all injured. I think Zinchenko & Timber will end up being more than enough, as long as Timbers injury was just bad luck and not something that becomes ongoing.