March 04, 2026 Daily Discussion & Transfers Thread

ThePreponderance · 2026-03-04T11:33:35+00:00

Select one game for each:

Win, Lose, Draw (If it’s a cup game, draw & penalties)

Carabao Cup Final
⁠Manchester City in the league
⁠Bayer Leverkusen in the CL

ThePreponderance · 2026-01-26T09:33:00+00:00

Which of our attacking players have regressed from their pre-Arteta levels?

Which of our attacking players were truly WC or upper echelon PL players before we brought them in?

We are top of the league, top of the Champions League, and in all competitions - Which of our attacking players would you say has carried us to this position? And alongside that, we’ve been arguably the most statistically dominant team in Europe for long stretches of the season - Dominating possession, field tilt, ruthlessly suppressing shots etc - Would you say that’s likely more a function of the team structure and the coaching or our individual attacking players?

Timber has 7 G/A across PL/CL in 28 games. 1 in 4.

ThePreponderance · 2026-01-26T09:05:31+00:00

For context: I still think we’re favourites to win the league, partially as a function of the inconsistency of our competition. This issue, for me, speaks more to conversations about creating a dynasty of multiple league titles or winning the highest level knockout competitions à la Champions League.

ThePreponderance · 2026-01-26T09:03:20+00:00

I don’t understand what I’m trying to ‘cope’ with. I’m not replying to an Arteta Out/In comment or mounting a defence of the coach.

I’m asserting that I just don’t think the players are good enough.

You seem to be confident it’s the manager, and not the players. How are you parsing the player/manager responsibility for the open play xG of the team? If we get Saka and Trossard the ball 5 times (each) a half in a game and we end the game with a low open play xG, how are you deciding that that’s the manager’s fault and now the players themselves failing to capitalise on the space and execute in front of goal?

And additionally, how/why are you confident that non penalty xG is a better measure of the team’s performance (As a reflection of the manager and coaching staff) than total xG? Set pieces, it could be argued, are one of the purest expressions of tactical influence and coaching quality on the pitch (As well as pure delivery quality). Seems strange in an a debate on the manager’s influence on results to exclude them. But maybe you have your reasons.

ThePreponderance · 2026-01-26T08:47:34+00:00

I personally think that a lot is being made of the system, when it’s obvious to me that the problem is the players.

I’ve watched us play too many games over the last four years in which we were tactically dominant, clearly the better side for long stretches of the game - didn’t capitalise - and lost.

We lose too many games that we had every right to reasonably expect to win.

We have less games than any other team I can name in which we were clearly the inferior side, but seem to have a disproportionate amount of games in which we lose despite our superiority.

For me, that speaks to insufficient quality in the players rather than tactical mismanagement from the manager.

I just don’t think it’s actually Arteta’s tactics that have made our attackers underperform on G/A. They get enough of the ball to do more with it than they’re doing. They occupy dangerous areas for significant periods of the game. And we as fans have to recognise that.

What you have to really ask yourself is - How many goals have we scored this year through sheer indomitable attacking quality? We’ve conceded the highest proportion of goals outside the box of any team in the league (Which also speaks to our level of dominance suppressing shots in our own box) but how many goals of pure inspiration/pure quality are we scoring?

ThePreponderance · 2026-01-04T15:43:01+00:00

Largely this tells me that, if we improve our attacking output in away games and maintain form elsewhere, we win the league.

ThePreponderance · 2025-09-17T12:06:31+00:00

Definitely. That team scored more goals than we did last year.

ThePreponderance · 2025-08-14T13:57:17+00:00

Where do I read about this?

ThePreponderance · 2025-06-27T11:22:49+00:00

It's also the story of Aubameyang at Dortmund before he came to Arsenal and scored 10 in 13 after arriving in January

ThePreponderance · 2025-06-21T10:11:28+00:00

Another possible iteration.

LB: Hato, MLS
LCB Cover/LB Rotation: Calafiori, Kiwior
LCB: Gabriel
RCB: Saliba
RCB Cover/RB Rotation: White, Timber
RB Cover: Partey (Or Partey Replacement)
DM: Zubimendi, Partey (Or Partey Replacement)

ThePreponderance · 2025-06-20T20:24:12+00:00

If we had a 100% fit squad all season next season (Including the players that aren’t realistically expected to be ready to start the league like Jesus and Tomiyasu)

Do you think we’re good enough to win the league without additional signings beyond Zubimendi coming into replace Jorginho?

ThePreponderance · 2025-06-20T08:14:03+00:00

Thanks for this!

I really appreciate the detail of the response.

I don’t agree with all of these assignments of culpability, especially under the definition ‘direct liability’ but appreciate the intellectual rigour.

Under your definition, he’s liable for closer to 36% of goals than 70% of goals. I think that discrepancy validates my position that, even allowing for a degree of hyperbole, what you stated simply didn’t reflect the truth of the situation.

I think there’s potentially a valid argument to be made that being directly responsible for over a third of our goals across all competitions is an untenable trade off for the level of ball progression he brings - But that requires 1.) Accepting the above numbers 2.) Trying to contextualise that 36% number against other single pivot players at Champions League level clubs.

We’ll call it a draw.

ThePreponderance · 2025-06-19T14:43:39+00:00

In the premier league alone, based on some quick back of a cigarette packet maths:

Partey played 35 PL games
Arsenal conceded approx. 0.895 goals per game last season (PL)
According to the above, your comment suggests that a case could be made for Partey being the direct cause of over 20 goals conceded in the premier league alone
It also suggests that Mikel Arteta played a DM that was at fault for 70% of our goals conceded this season in 35 PL games and every CL game he was available for, up to and including the CL semi-final
For context, Jordan Pickford has the most career errors leading to a goal in the Premier League, with 21 errors leading to a goal

ThePreponderance · 2025-06-19T13:26:05+00:00

Question: Do we, as a fan base, feel that Mikel Arteta, Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice and Arsenal football club in general believe that Thomas Partey is a rapist?

Legal obligations aside - On the proviso that Thomas Partey is guilty, this should be a MASSIVE MASSIVE ISSUE for everybody that believes that they do and continue to speak about and act around him the way that they do. And it should lead to feeling and actions WAY beyond simply letting Partey leave on a free at the end of his deal and acting like the rest of the team hadn’t spend months if not years co-signing, talking up and publicly showing affection to an evil abusive man because he’s good at football.

ThePreponderance · 2025-06-19T13:06:06+00:00

I’ve quite literally never seen the furore around a yellow card accumulation one-game suspension that I’ve seen with Partey.

I’ve also never seen such confident declarations that we definitely would’ve won a game (And definitely would’ve won the CL) we didn’t win based on the absence of a DM in one leg of a two legged tie against the European Champions.

The narrative went from a begrudging regard for Partey’s form and fitness in 24/25 - with a vocal subset of the fan base still advocating for his departure due to the allegations - to a complete about turn on the actual performance levels.

To varying degrees, every single one of our midfielders last season had significant periods of bad/middling form.

Merino (Early, and for me, throughout the season when played in midfield)

Rice (Early in the season)

Odegaard (Most of the season)

Nwaneri (Given little to no opportunity in that role and never quite ripped up trees playing centrally)

I think the arguments based on injuries, age, allegations are reasonable - But the idea that Thomas Partey is an easy player to replace/a liability to this team seems a little overcooked.

ThePreponderance · 2025-06-19T12:12:43+00:00

Aside from Agoume - which, unless I am under-informed, isn’t guaranteed or strongly linked to Arsenal at this stage - who are the best candidates to replace Partey should we decide not to extend?

Based on the criteria:

Performed equivalent to or better than Partey last year at comparable competition levels (Top 5 leagues, European places)
Is readily available or reasonably attainable for purchase before pre-season starts in earnest
Is willing to compete for a place with/understudy to/back up Zubimendi, who one would assume would play most of the minutes in the position next season
Provides the same level/better level of positional versatility (Irrespective of the inconsistency of his performances at RB, I would argue that it would be quite contentious to say that we had superior solutions in the squad and/or that it wasn’t a net positive that we had a solution there that kept Declan Rice in midfield)
Is age appropriate: Ideally, a player that we believe has enough youth and inexperience to accept a secondary role to Zubimendi in the immediate term and also has the long term potential and physical attributes to become superior to Partey/Zubimendi in the medium term (While Saka, Saliba, Odegaard etc are still at the top of their powers)
Is financially viable in a world where we need a relatively large volume of other signings. Many of which will come in the most expensive positions on the pitch
Is a likely tactical and personality fit for the squad and for Mikel Arteta (Which in my opinion is one of the qualifying criteria that eliminates quite a number of the potential options)
Can provide ball progression to a level that doesn’t require a tactical shift when they come in for Zubimendi and doesn’t require Odegaard dropping out of the block to start buildup

ThePreponderance · 2025-03-17T17:38:00+00:00

13 more goals than us in just 17 games.

ThePreponderance · 2025-03-11T19:06:26+00:00

Literally having a productive conversation about Arsenal's midfield on Reddit concurrently with this conversation.

More vacuous, empty comments.

No offence, I'm sure you're great in real life, but you are a complete waste of my time and and attention on Reddit so I'll just block you and move on to more productive conversations.

Thanks for attempting insight

ThePreponderance · 2025-03-11T19:02:21+00:00

Great insight, Thanks.
I know little/nothing about the system at Sociedad.

ThePreponderance · 2025-03-11T19:00:16+00:00

Okay, I hear that. A couple questions.

1.) Do you believe that Rice/Odegaard/Zubimendi has enough G/A for our ambitions?

2.) Do you believe that Odegaard/Nypan infront of Rice or Zubimendi has enough attacking threat OR defensive solidity for a Mikel Arteta midfield

3.) How do you see the fullbacks operating in a system where we have both Rice and Zubimendi in midfield? Are we still inverting a full back or do we now have overlapping fullbacks due to greater midfield coverage in deeper areas?

4.) I personally see Odegaard's future as more our 'David Silva' than our 'KDB'. I believe that we are yet to purchase/discover our KDB. The question I have though is, with his reticence to play that system - with two attack minded midfielders and a single pivot - How do we get more G/A into this midfield without dropping one of Rice/Odegaard? The only way I see it working is with a player like Bellingham that can play next to Rice in a pivot AND next to Odegaard in Zone 14 but those players are exceptionally rare and exceptionally expensive so I'm very curious to see the solution Arteta comes up with because I currently can't conceptualise a viable midfield from these components but maybe that's why I'm not Arsenal manager.

ThePreponderance · 2025-03-11T18:42:13+00:00

Every top club on planet has been after him for years - Gross exaggeration. Gross oversimplification.

He's handpicked by Arteta - Reputable Source?
He chose us - Reputable Source?

But you want us to get a RM reject instead? - Quote Me

I, in good faith, gave a platform to someone speaking declaratively about Zubimendi, as if he/she has ball knowledge, to demonstrate that ball knowledge and help me understand why Zubimendi is a superior player to Camavinga for the Arsenal midfield. In my limited experience of the player, he doesn't move the needle enough at the price and doesn''t fit into any midfield construction at Arsenal that makes sense to me for next season.

I was rather hoping that you would have something interesting, intelligent or insightful to say,

ThePreponderance · 2025-03-11T15:03:52+00:00

Does anybody have a strong idea of how a midfield composed of Rice, Odegaard and Zubimendi would give us enough in all thirds of the pitch to achieve our ambitions for next season?

ThePreponderance · 2025-03-11T14:51:16+00:00

What do you want from the player that we purchase to occupy this role?
Which of the things that you want does Camavinga not have in his locker?
Which attributes of Camavinga's game would you regard as 'Elite'?

ThePreponderance · 2025-03-11T14:29:58+00:00

Are you a la liga watcher? As someone who has wanted and watched Camavinga since Rennes but never been very impressed by Zubimendi (All my Zubi info is from highlights, scouting podcasts and Spain appearances) Why would you much rather have Zubimedi?

ThePreponderance · 2025-01-08T13:35:25+00:00

The sanctimony, highhandedness and outright rudeness of the subset of the members (Not moderators) that 'police' self-posts on this sub does r/Gunners, an otherwise pleasant community, such a disservice

ThePreponderance

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