Squad imbalance 2015/16

When was the last time we played started with two wingers? Ix?

We hardly ever start even with one winger now. Most of last season it was Sanchez on the left, Ramsey on the right. Neither of them are wingers. Sanchez mostly ends up playing centrally or drifting wherever he wants.

but nacho monreal went from being dreadful to mediocre last season! look at all the progress! maybe they will even be in competition for the capital one cup this year.

We hardly ever start even with one winger now. Most of last season it was Sanchez on the left, Ramsey on the right. Neither of them are wingers. Sanchez mostly ends up playing centrally or drifting wherever he wants.

Alexis gets a Hazard-like pass cause he's so good. He's definitely a winger but he's just got more to his game. I want us to start with Ox & Theo on the wings next game, I don't think we should start Alexis as he's still nowhere near fit enough. I genuinely can't remember if we've ever played Alexis & Theo/Ox together

but nacho monreal went from being dreadful to mediocre last season! look at all the progress! maybe they will even be in competition for the capital one cup this year.

Why is Monreal dreadful? He's been playing well for over a year. He's better than Gibbs now.

I genuinely can't remember if we've ever played Alexis & Theo/Ox together

That'll never happen because it would mean dropping Ozil. And Ozil is Wenger's love child, he'll never drop him.

Unless Ox plays in central midfield. But we're drowning in central midfielders, so it's unlikely to happen, only in case of emergency

Why is Monreal dreadful? He's been playing well for over a year. He's better than Gibbs now.

he was dreadful early last season, now he's mediocre.

this is the crap we must settle for in support of this team.

It doesn't mean dropping Özil, it means dropping one of Cazorla or Ramsey who simply aren't as good as Mesut. Ideally Coq & Cazorla start behind Özil with Theo & Ox on the flanks.

Still can't get over Ix saying that his "off the ball movement" is one of his main strengths. That's just desperate. Ok, if he was a striker, their off the ball movement is important. But he's a number 10, it's what he does WITH the ball that counts.

You seem to forget the fact that he does plenty on the ball as well as off it. Most chances created in the top five European leagues, one of the highest key pass and assist rates, etc etc. Is that not good enough for you? What he does off the ball only makes him that much better, I never said that's the only thing that matters.

If you want to watch and appreciate football properly you need to start looking at other things than just fancy dribbles or TV goals. Every second of a game there are 21 players that aren't on the ball. You can't dismiss their actions as irrelevant. Positioning, anticipation, drawing opposition players out, making yourself available, thinking three steps ahead...that's the difference between good and world class players.

Also, he can't score.

He's not a striker. Coquelin can't score, Mertesacker can't score, Cech can't score. Is scoring the only attribute measuring a football player?

When the opposition parks the bus he's completely neutralised.

This is true for almost every player on the planet. It's 2015 and there still isn't a master tactic against bus parking. It's very hard playing against a bus for any player, be it Messi, Ronaldo or Özil.

All that side-ways passing.

Hardly his fault that there aren't any forward runs or players making themselves available for a pass in front of him. Sideways passing is generally what a #10 ends up doing for most of a game, as the only players in front of him are strikers or wingers.

By comparison Fabregas or even Alex Song

Lol.

Just get rid of Ozil and get a proper winger and a good CF!

Ok we all know how you feel about Özil, no need to keep going on about it in every thread.

When was the last time we played started with two wingers? Ix?

Don't know about started, and would depend on how you define winger. Was Podolski a winger? And so on. But the last time we had a system with two actual wingers was probably Invincibles (Ljungberg + Pires), but even then you could argue that neither Ljungberg nor Pires was a natural winger.

I'd probably count Podolski as a winger, so I'd guess that the last time we started with two wingers was when Podolski and Theo started on each flank, if that ever happened. If it did, I assume we won 23-0 as wingers is obviously the solution to all our problems. ;)

Pires was more winger-y than Ramsey or Cazorla though. It just frustrates me how Wenger continually has this fetish of squeezing as many AMs in as possible.

It's really annoying and a key reason why we look clueless at the lack of options up front.

Pires was more winger-y than Ramsey or Cazorla though. It just frustrates me how Wenger continually has this fetish of squeezing as many AMs in as possible. It's really annoying and a key reason why we look clueless at the lack of options up front.

Pires was definitely a winger, my point was just that you could argue against any player being a natural winger, as the position is a bit of a hybrid anyway.

I GET THE IMPRESSION THAT OP DOESN'T LIKE OZIL.

Most chances created in the top five European leagues, one of the highest key pass and assist rates, etc etc.

You're counting his Real Madrid stats, just to prove your point. Especially the assists bit. And what do you mean by "etc etc" because I can't think of anything beyond what you mentioned, even that's stretching it.

If you want to watch and appreciate football properly you need to start looking at other things than just fancy dribbles or TV goals. Every second of a game there are 21 players that aren't on the ball. You can't dismiss their actions as irrelevant. Positioning, anticipation, drawing opposition players out, making yourself available, thinking three steps ahead...that's the difference between good and world class players.He's not a striker.

How exactly do you measure his impact "off the ball". Just you personal observation? For example, it's easy to see Walcott's off the ball impact but Ozil's, I've no idea. When he's off the ball he's just invisible.

Coquelin can't score, Mertesacker can't score, Cech can't score. Is scoring the only attribute measuring a football player?This is true for almost every player on the planet.

Ozil is an attacking player, unlike those you mentioned. And I wouldn't be complaining much about his scoring if he was doing his job properly in other departments. Also having Giroud up front, who's at most a 20 goal per season CF AND having a n10 who can't score is pretty bad. I'm sure if he had Luis Suarez or Lewandowski in front of him or some actual wingers either side of him instead of midfielders, he'd be getting more assists, but we have to look at out reality.

And you've got admit, there's no variety to his passing. His final ball is almost always low. That's a big minus. The only thing I really like about him is his first touch.

It doesn't mean dropping Özil, it means dropping one of Cazorla or Ramsey who simply aren't as good as Mesut. Ideally Coq & Cazorla start behind Özil with Theo & Ox on the flanks.

Which means you either have to drop Sanchez or play him upfront alone, which he can't do, as we saw last season when Giroud was injured.

Which means you either have to drop Sanchez or play him upfront alone, which he can't do, as we saw last season when Giroud was injured.

He shouldn't be playing against Palace. When he's fit drop either Theo or Ox, simple. It's a win-win for everyone.

I'm talking about the long term formation, not just the next game. And I think I've said it many times that Sanchez and Ozil don't fit together. Sanchez drift into the middle and they get in each other's ways or Ozil has to go wide.

You're counting his Real Madrid stats, just to prove your point. Especially the assists bit.

Eh no. He created 70 chances in the Premier League last season. 71 chances in the season before that. That's almost two chances per game. How many chances do you want him to create per game, realistically?

And what do you mean by "etc etc" because I can't think of anything beyond what you mentioned, even that's stretching it.

It means all other stats we use to judge a midfielder. Pass completion, shot attempts, etc.

How exactly do you measure his impact "off the ball". Just you personal observation?

Seeing as there is no stat that can track off-the-ball actions, decisions or impact...yes, it's personal observation and completely subjective. However, the more football you watch the more you pick up on what the other 21 players are doing, not just what the one with the ball is doing.

I know it looks easy, but the way Özil positions himself to make himself open and available for a pass is not easy to do on the pitch. And the way Özil avoids tackles is sublime, he rarely ends up on the floor. If he does, it's a free-kick 99 times out of 100.

I'm sure if he had Luis Suarez or Lewandowski in front of him or some actual wingers either side of him instead of midfielders, he'd be getting more assists

You're arguing against yourself again. You're saying the reason he's not performing to your standards is because he doesn't have better players around him, something you argued against just a few comments back.

I'm talking about the long term formation, not just the next game. And I think I've said it many times that Sanchez and Ozil don't fit together. Sanchez drift into the middle and they get in each other's ways or Ozil has to go wide.

You can afford to have one winger like that in a top team. Drift in or not Alexis is still a winger. Long term it should be Alexis and Ox out wide with Özil in the middle and a non-lamppost striker up front.

Özil in the middle and a non-lamppost striker up front

MR WAY ROONEYS PERHAPS? Laser Suave? LIONESS MESSY?