EPL 2023/2024
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Am I the only one who rates Rice? The guy is world class and certainly won't be a failure at Arsenal. He'll do all the dirty work and will look even better with more quality around him, and will make your centre halves look even better with his ability to drop into the backline and cover when needed. He's also dangerous from set pieces and will allow his team mates to play more freely as he'll be there to cover their mistakes. A brilliant signing.
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@African-Monkey no I think I’m in the minority.
He isn’t worth 105mm.
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Nobody is worth 105m but I can't see Rice failing at the Arse, he's too dynamic a player. Will be interesting to see whether they see him as the holding player or want him to take on more of the Xhaka role and being given licence to maraud forwards.
Havertz on the other hand - could be a masterstroke if they can work out a position that suits him but it won't be as the central striker. Maybe in the Xhaka role.
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@KiwiPie said in EPL 2022 / 2023:
Havertz on the other hand - could be a masterstroke if they can work out a position that suits him but it won't be as the central striker. Maybe in the Xhaka role.
That appears to be where he'll play as Arteta referred to Havertz as a midfielder. I also expect Havertz will spend some time during a game as the no.9 because he offers an aerial threat, so something different.
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@MajorRage You're right, but English teams always spend large on players so it's nothing new here.
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@Cyclops I think rice is pretty much sewn up from what is being said. Just negotiating how much is paid and when. Havertz is an interesting one and just have to wait to see whether his talents can be highlighted under Arteta. One more strong midfielder would be ideal.
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@KiwiPie well he is at least worth 90 as this is what City offered unless it was not a serious offer. Like all sports a player is worth what someone pays for him. Seems like he has some leadership skills that set him apart from Caicedo otherwise I would be just as happy with him and pushing for Fofana. I just want more starch in our midfield so let's move on from Viera and as soon as Jorginho.
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@canefan said in EPL 2022 / 2023:
Powerful stuff from one of my favourite Spurs players in recent times, who lost his way.
Hopefully this is a step in his coming back and being happy in himself again
It was powerful and sad. But I sense he has learned a lot of things in rehab and that he wasn't to blame for all this shit. Obviously, a process of recovery, but I bet he has so many more people rooting for him now. Hope he has a great season with improved outlook.
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@broughie said in EPL 2022 / 2023:
@canefan said in EPL 2022 / 2023:
Powerful stuff from one of my favourite Spurs players in recent times, who lost his way.
Hopefully this is a step in his coming back and being happy in himself again
It was powerful and sad. But I sense he has learned a lot of things in rehab and that he wasn't to blame for all this shit. Obviously, a process of recovery, but I bet he has so many more people rooting for him now. Hope he has a great season with improved outlook.
I was such a big fan of his when he played for Spurs. Such a shame he wasn't ready to ask for help when he played for us. I guess he had to hit bottom and reach out in his own time
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@canefan said in EPL 2022 / 2023:
@broughie said in EPL 2022 / 2023:
@canefan said in EPL 2022 / 2023:
Powerful stuff from one of my favourite Spurs players in recent times, who lost his way.
Hopefully this is a step in his coming back and being happy in himself again
It was powerful and sad. But I sense he has learned a lot of things in rehab and that he wasn't to blame for all this shit. Obviously, a process of recovery, but I bet he has so many more people rooting for him now. Hope he has a great season with improved outlook.
I was such a big fan of his when he played for Spurs. Such a shame he wasn't ready to ask for help when he played for us. I guess he had to hit bottom and reach out in his own time
Never saw him play but will watch for him this year. Stopped watching EPL once Wenger was on his last legs and Arsenal were full of fancy midgets who wanted to walk the ball into the goal.
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@sparky said in EPL 2022 / 2023:
Declan Rice has just Arsenal from West Ham for a British record fee of £105 million.
West Ham moaning about the time it took to finalise this deal was rich. They extended the early negotiations to get Man City involved and bump up Rice's value. Anyway, Arsenal now has their three primary targets so the immediate focus will be selling some players now.
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I had no idea about Dele Alli's back story - goes some way to explaining his decline possibly. He rose to prominence so fast at Spurs, scoring loads of goals, playing for England yet it was never clear what his particular talents were or his best position.
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@KiwiPie said in EPL 2022 / 2023:
I had no idea about Dele Alli's back story - goes some way to explaining his decline possibly. He rose to prominence so fast at Spurs, scoring loads of goals, playing for England yet it was never clear what his particular talents were or his best position.
He had great vision and an eye for goal, very skillful on the ball. His best football was played when he was in the space behind the centre forward. When Pochettino moved him into a more defensive role he wasn't as effective
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Milos Kerkez the young Hungarian full-back signed for Bournemouth, still a couple of more signings seem likely as well. Some good talent hunted, the biggest question for me this year is will the team be able to play the attacking football brand that Iraola wants to play.. might take a while to change
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@Higgins said in EPL 2022 / 2023:
@KiwiPie Was it as bad as it sounded at Gander Green Lane for you outfit? I suppose that conceding a very early goal plus a similar red card must not have helped.
Not sure entirely, haven't caught up with reports. Playing with 10 from early on is tough and we seemed to dominate possessions which sounds like Sutton just sat on us and played on the break. As the players say on Twitter "We go again"
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Arsenal win the community shield with a bit of luck. Yay. I think the back line of Saliba, White and Timber with Gabriel and Kiwior fighting for the other central position is good. Zinchenko for me can play against teams where we don't have to be so defensive minded because if you are a left back your primary duties are defending, despite inverting. What we lack is what we added in Rice but we need more. Another Black guy with speed who eats up ground. When you look at Viera, EMR and Gorginho replacing in big games they are underwhelming. Another Fofana/Touchameni type needed in my mind. Need also to be able to attack through the middle as we are predictable out wide. Not sure what the solution is there.
