THREAD: MK Dons 1-4 Arsenal. We kickstarted our short pre season against MK Dons this evening. In this thread, I will provide an in depth review of the game. RT& #39;s so more Gooners can see it would mean a lot, especially since many may have missed the game https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🔴" title="Roter Kreis" aria-label="Emoji: Roter Kreis">https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="😁" title="Grinsendes Gesicht mit lächelnden Augen" aria-label="Emoji: Grinsendes Gesicht mit lächelnden Augen">
FIRST HALF: Again, MA set us up in a 3-4-3 system. Its clear to me that we will continue with this formation until we bring a player in who can drift in between the lines and provide creativity. Certainly, we were well drilled both in and out of possession. In terms of our..
structure and set up on the ball, it was a 3-4-3 although at times, we had Saka and AMN drifting in midfield for certain situations. With regards to our ability in playing out from the back, we were effective in the way we successfully built attacks from deep.
The two outside CB& #39;s in Saliba and Tierney would take very wide positions to open up space and create better passing angles. When we attacked from the left, Saka would drop deep in midfield to give the Saliba another passing option. Cedric would then take advanced positions
further up and create width. The same situations and patterns, in the way we progressed from deep, occurred on the opposing flank.Out of possession, we dropped into a 5-2-3, to nullify threats coming through the wide areas. Xhaka and Elneny were the two in the pivot, and in front
of the backline. What really impressed me, and has certainly been a regular feature under MA, is the way we press. It& #39;s very calculated. Nketiah led the charge, continuously pressing their GK with high levels of intensity and energy. The other two wide attackers in Saka and Auba
Took positions that eliminated passing lanes and preventing them from playing out the back effectively. Both Xhaka and Elneny also taking advanced positions, looking to force their backline to go long. On a few occasions when MK Dons did pass their way into midfield, our two wide
CBs (Saliba and Tierney) stepped in and were aggressive. Tierney won the ball back a few occasions in this manner and allowed us to win the ball back quickly and build attacks further up the pitch. Elneny& #39;s goal was created because of our initial press. Nketiah& #39;s closing down
forces the error from the GK and Elneny brilliantly fires us ahead. Xhaka also takes a good position that eliminates the pass which their GK was initially looking to play. Eddie converted our second goal after some good initial build up play. Saliba receives the ball from deep,
and drives with it into space, and plays a pass with the right weight to Cedric. He then plays Saka in, who takes a great position in between the opposition FB and CB. Both Auba and Nketiah take good positions in the box and Saka does well to find Eddie, who takes his chance very
well. With regards to their goal, RH gets himself in a poor position and converts the cross into the net. He was playing well initially but should have done better. Lets now talk about individual first half performances. Saliba was very impressive. His style of play is tailored
to the modern game. Very comfortable and composed on the ball, always looking to make forward, progressive passes that break the lines. Showed calmness when pressed and knows when to play it back to the GK. His initial pass for Cedric in the build up to the second goal is
what initiated the attack. In terms of his defensive display, there was one occasion he was tested. The MK Dons wide player took him on in a 1v1 scenario, and looked to have initially got past William. But he then makes an excellent recovery challenge. Very good performance.
Tierney put in another standard solid display along with AMN. On the opposing flank, at times Cedric was sloppy in possession and gave away a cheap FK in a poor area. But what I liked about his display was his directness and built a good partnership with Saka. Bukayo was lively
and created plenty of problems to their FB. An assist capped of his performance. Nketiah very good in the press, and did well on occasions in dropping in between the lines and linking play together. Xhaka and Elneny good together in the pivot, both providing good intensity both
in and out of possession. Elneny was the more lively. SECOND HALF: There was a lack of cohesion in our play in the second half, especially after making wholesale changes. As the youth players came on, we struggled to string passes together and maintain any sort of rhythm
and tempo in our play. Our third goal came from a corner, with Reiss picking out Mcguinness, who converted our third with a towering header. Reiss was again key to our fourth goal, carrying the ball from deep and winning the penalty. Converts the spot kick well. So now
lets look at individual performances of our youth stars in the second half of the. Bola really impressed me. Was forward thinking and always looked to play progressive passes that allowed us to initiate attacks from deep. Cotterall came on for Tierney and was solid.
Comfortable in possession and provided us with width on the left. Ballard played well although could have done better in a few situations whilst Mcguinness was commanding at the heart of the defence and took his goal well. Azeez is a very exciting talent,
and possesses good technical ability. But he seemed off the pace and struggled to really impose his game. Plenty more to come from him though in the U23& #39;s. ESR is one too keep and eye out in pre season. With regards to his performance, again he didn& #39;t really take the initiative
and could have been a lot more brave on the ball in certain instances. Did provide us with some nice bits of play. Nelson looked sharp. Whilst he initially started the half on the right, he switched wings with ESR as the game went on, and looked a lot more dangerous on the left..
His close touch control and ability to go past players with his trickery play are two attributes he possesses. He utilised these traits brilliantly for our fourth goal, with a great driving run and winning the penalty kick. Also
grabbed an assist for our third goal. TJJ looked sharp when he came on and combined well with Reiss on one occasion, where he forced the GK into making a top save. Overall, it was an encouraging performance. Players would have certainly increased their fitness levels and gained
some sort of sharpness from the game. Although it was only MK Dons, the performance of WS was really encouraging. He is a player who will grow as he continues to play games. Liverpool on Saturday will be a far tougher test. Lets hope we can get the W. Hope you enjoyed the readhttps://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="😁" title="Grinsendes Gesicht mit lächelnden Augen" aria-label="Emoji: Grinsendes Gesicht mit lächelnden Augen">
Interested to know your thoughts https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="😁" title="Grinsendes Gesicht mit lächelnden Augen" aria-label="Emoji: Grinsendes Gesicht mit lächelnden Augen"> @Stillberto @YankeeGunner @TheAthleticUK @grahamb195 @KennyKen1972 @AFCGally @3cbPerformance @HarrySymeou @Freddie_Paxton @EduardoHagn @rehnato
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