It's insane how good Saka is. Can play the entire left wing, is surprisingly adept at tackling, and hasn't really been caught out of position too much despite being our entire left wing offensive threat.

Loved Eddie's game today too. He showed for the ball like our strikers used to in Wenger's system, which allowed for triangles to be formed beyond the ball. The best example is that one where Ozil was called offside even though he looked on. It all came from Eddie dropping to receive, drawing defenders up the field, combining with a midfielder, Xhaka in this instance, who had angles to play a decisive pass, as well as the ability to face the game head without any pressure. Laca does this too, but he generally tries to turn, and loves drawing fouls from CB's rather than combining with the nearest midfielder. Eddie was a bit more crisp in terms of getting rid of the ball, as he wants to be on the end of moves, and realizes he has to make space in front of him in order to get space behind the defense. That isn't Laca's game, as he isn't all that fast. Eddie's game suits someone like Martinelli playing behind him, and if we do sell Auba this summer, I hope we also sell Laca, buy another young striker, and let Martinelli play in the hole.

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Posted by S

RIP Wayde

Member since Jan 2007

155872 posts

Posted on 2/16/20 at 5:22 pm to crazy4lsu

quote:
He showed for the ball like our strikers used to in Wenger's system, which allowed for triangles to be formed beyond the ball.

Marcelo <3

LINK

I always liked his all around game. Makes this goal with that space, touch, turn, and knows even if he misses it’ll be a tough one to save and Bamford, Harrison etc will be lurking. My impression of him in his 5 months here was that he’s a very intelligent guy

This post was edited on 2/16/20 at 5:33 pm

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Posted by DB10_AFC

South Louisiana

Member since Jun 2012

7080 posts

Posted on 2/16/20 at 6:34 pm to crazy4lsu

quote:
It's insane how good Saka is.

He is a real problem for defenses. His ability to beat one or multiple defenders is uncanny. Imagine in a few years with Saka on the left and Pepe on the right running at fullbacks. Our crop of youngsters is really amazing. Saka can play at fullback or winger and has elite potential. Gabby has all the makings of a future star who can play just about anywhere in a front four. Willock has a great knack of getting into scoring positions and has is very good at driving from the midfield. Eddie is solid in the buildup and is already showing he can be a deadly poacher. Guendouzi has an elite mentality and has all the tools to become a very good CM especially with Arteta to help teach him better positional awareness. AMN is more than a capable RB and perhaps could contribute in other positions. And don't forget about Smith Rowe who is playing very well in the Championship for Huddersfield.

Also check out Saka's reaction to his own nutmeg