OUTLOOK: This is the easiest position group to analyze in the Arsenal squad by far. Just keep Thomas Partey on the field (injuries or for other reasons š¬) and we will be fine. Our season and Champions League went absolutely down the drain when he was gone and we were not able to cope (ironically against Palace at Selhurst last season). Mo Elneny and Xhaka tried their best to replace him but we donāt have anybody in the squad that possesses the quality that Thomas has. He is clearly our best player and need to keep him on the field and out of the courthā. Our attacking midfield roles seem pretty dead set with Ćdegaard taking up that 10 role within the squad as FĆ”bio Vieira looks to become the backup or different alternative if we need more creativity from that position.
CENTER-MIDFIELD: Thomas Partey, Thomas Partey, Thomas Partey. Thatās all we need. I donāt care if we play in a 4-2-3-1 or a 4-3-3. Thomas Partey needs to be there and I will deal with the other positions later. For someone to play like he did against Palace with everything that has been going on in his life is unreal. Hopefully, we can keep him on the pitch for legal and health reasons. Xhaka seems to be an adequate partner for Thomas in our 4-2-3-1. I do prefer someone that naturally prefers to play ahead of the ball as Xhaka doesnāt have that athletic profile (not his fault). Something like that of a prime Aaron Ramsey. Unfortunately for Arsenal, I donāt think that players exists in the market right now for the right price. I would love to see Arteta against weaker teams resort more to a 4-3-3 with Thomas at the base with Ćdegaard and Fabio Vieira ahead of him. Or even seeing Zinchenko as our left sided 8 would be interesting, but for right now bringing in another CM to build up that position would be nice. Maybe a Tielemans from Leicester. Mo Elneny is fine for what he is and he seems content in being our backup CM. I am eager to see Sambi Lokonga develop more in the Thomas Partey role in our cup and Europa League games.
ATTACKING MIDFIELD: With the Thomas-Xhaka pivot, Arteta looks to prefer to play in a 4-2-3-1 with a clear 10 to play in between our wingers and center forward. That position looks to solely belong to our newly minted club captain in Ćdegaard. Arsenal went out and spent a decent amount on a created midfielder in FĆ”bio Vieira with Emile Smith Rowe also more than capable of playing in a similar role if he ever decides to get fit.
Ćdegaard was very poor in the game against Palace and will need to pick it up as he has the reputation of playing poorly in away games going strong at the moment. We missed him greatly in the last few games of last season in the away games to Newcastle and Spurs. He was there physically but he might as well not have been. We rely, maybe too much on his passing and quality, so when he decides to put up no-shows, it hurts us greatly. If he wants to be our captain, he needs to become more consistent and reliable in those positions. More accountability and demanding the ball is something that we need, especially when teams play us with low blocks. When we player weaker teams, playing a 4-3-3 with Thomas and the two of Ćdegaard, Vieira and ESR would be interesting even though that never worked last year. I 100% will complain if Arteta decides to do it even though I clearly just said Iād love to see it.
CONCLUSION: Thomas Partey or bust
featured image credits: Arsenal.com