What makes Arsenal so good is how good they are out of possession. I remember Arteta in his early days calling us the gold standard off the ball in an interview after we battered them.
For whatever reason, we’re not that anymore and haven’t been in a while, with the make up of the squad and first XI reflecting that. We don’t seem hungry to defend and harry and hustle like we used to… hopefully that comes back. It felt like there was a clear departure from our ‘be the worst team to play against’ model after won the title.
I remember the below comments during 2018ish from Hojberg. We were an absolute machine off the ball and didn't give teams a sniff. It was pure suffocation.
"I played in Germany against Bayern Munich and Dortmund, I played against Manchester City in the Champions League, but I must say this is maybe the best team I have ever played against," said Hojberg.
"It's unbelievable how they move, how they stand, how they work together - it's like a symphony".
I praise Arsenal quite a bit... but a lot of it is envy. It annoys me how they are what we used to be.
We need to start with out 8s not being so wacky with their positioning. No need for them to be so wide at times. Next get a 6 who is a game changer off the ball. It boggles the mind how some claim we don't need a 6 when you have to only look at our rivals and what they get out of Rice and Rodri off the ball. Or what we got out of a prime Fabinho in our side between 2018-20.
We also need our CBs to up their intensity in squeezing the play like VVD and Matip used to, or how Saliba and Gabriel are currently doing for Arsenal. We need a CB who is as close to as the young Van Dijk as we can get. We won't find a replica but finding someone close to that is feasible.
That will all in some way help us from not being such a soft touch, and what do you know we will also suddently stop conceding the first goal as much.
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