To me it’s the little nuances of his game: the way he lets the ball run across his body, the weight of his passes when releasing wide options, the close control and burst he displays when dribbling passed an opponent. If you had to pick one player that best embodies the current Arsenal ethos, predicated […]
Author Archive | Dougie Cazorla
It’s Time to Back the F*ck Off Granit Xhaka and Shkodran Mustafi
The similarities are plentiful between Shkodran Mustafi and Granit Xhaka: Both were brought in during the 2016 summer transfer window with high price tags. Both play in key central areas that constitute the spine of the team. And both have excellent vision on the pitch and display an above-average ability to pick a long pass. […]
Why an Inefficient Arsenal Could be Key in Big Games Moving Forwards
Saturday’s victory over Spurs has helped re-instill optimism in many Arsenal fans. The meaningful commitment to width, the dominance by our wingbacks on the flanks, and coordinated team pressing were a few of the many areas we were proficient in. For me however, it was the direct nature of our play and the variety in […]
Does Arséne have Pep in his Step?
They hang over us like a cloak of impending doom: big games against our top-of-the-table rivals which have given Gooners little joy in recent years. Many cite the reasons for our shortcomings as style of play only being conducive to beating bottom half teams, lack of tactical flexibility, or even lack of overall quality/team depth. […]
The Importance of Building Play From the Back with Arsenal’s 3 Central Defender System
Much of the Arsenal chat of late has revolved around the effectiveness of our recent Premier League lineups featuring the high-profile front 3 of Lacazette, Ozil, and Alexis. In their first competitive fixture together they displayed the cohesion of a far more experienced attack line as they combined for 3 goals and 2 assists in […]
Monreal is the man making Arsenal Tick – Take a Bow Nacho.
Football is a team game where on-pitch partnerships and tactical instruction are of crucial importance. This point is even more evident in analysing a team’s defence: a mistake in the defensive third resonates with the fan-base and is more likely to be seen in isolation, leading to blame being placed on a single player. Midfield […]
Bromance Alert: Why Sead and Alexis Will Form a Dynamic On-Pitch Partnership
I’m generally a person who plays it safe. I’m the poster boy for the “risk-averse.” When it comes to football, I rely on what my eyes tell me and then use respected opinions and/or data analysis to reinforce what I see. This piece will go against those ideals. I am already comfortable stating, after only […]
Arsenal in Europa Top 3 – Integration of Youth, Cultivation of Partnerships and Tactical Enhancements
Whether we like it or not, the Europa League is upon us. As an Arsenal fan it feels odd being the current co-favorites in a European competition but here we are at 7/1, along with AC Milan*, to win and stamp a ticket back to the Champions League. Many Gooners seem to be analyzing our […]
The Arsenal Midfield Problem -It’s not Personnel, It’s Philosophy
Slightly obsessed is how you can describe my association with the Arsenal midfield dynamic over the last few years. I’ve written many articles about partnerships and steps to take in order to achieve balance. In my opinion, this issue is bigger than simply players that are deployed or who we can sign in a transfer […]
What Arsenal Need to Build on From Their Week 1 Victory
Fixating on negatives is generally the easy thing to do. Negative thoughts and feelings are more powerful than their positive counterparts and elicit stronger responses from others. I’m choosing to focus on the key positives from Arsenal’s 4-3 opening day win over Leicester City. League titles are not won or lost in August. Arsenal’s title […]