We could’ve had prime Messi out there today and it wouldn’t have made a difference. Arteta had us set up incredibly brokenly. Havertz was playing in the Ødegaard spaces and Trosaard was floating around doing a whole lot of nothing. There was no urgency or impetus in our play and so there was no way to drag Newcastle around or break the lines. If Nwaneri had even half the minutes that Trosaard has wasted over the past few weeks, by all means write him off and say we rushed him in. But he essentially came into a terrible, unorganised and unbalanced team and failed to carry it in the half hour he got. Hardly a damning indictment on him or his advocates like me. It’s also important to note, I was advocating for him based on his profile. If Arteta had bought cover for Ødegaard, it would be a moot point.
We could’ve had prime Messi out there today and it wouldn’t have made a difference. Arteta had us set up incredibly brokenly. Havertz was playing in the Ødegaard spaces and Trosaard was floating around doing a whole lot of nothing. There was no urgency or impetus in our play and so there was no way to drag Newcastle around or break the lines. If Nwaneri had even half the minutes that Trosaard has wasted over the past few weeks, by all means write him off and say we rushed him in. But he essentially came into a terrible, unorganised and unbalanced team and failed to carry it in the half hour he got. Hardly a damning indictment on him or his advocates like me. It’s also important to note, I was advocating for him based on his profile. If Arteta had bought cover for Ødegaard, it would be a moot point.