Dont flip out

As a former Londoner, as you can imagine I have a hoard of Arsenal friends as fans. In conversation about the Milan game, one of them said to me, Arteta was a waste of money.

Of course, I was quite stunned. Arsenal fans here seem very happy with him and when I watch Arsenal he seems to do a good job which confirms those comments.

However, he did pose some questions I really could not answer.

Things which was said.

He passes at 90 something %, but didnt Denilson do that very same thing?

Much like Denilson he cant really defend well, he doesnt have the legs to press high up the pitch, he doesnt get into the final third and create much and he sits deeper than Song does which invites Song to get forward and in turn leaves him out of position for transitions coming back.

What do you think?

Arteta also has a high percentage of forward passes. At one point I think he was playing the most forward passes in the whole division. So at least that pass completion rate isn't exclusively backwards and sideways passing, which is what Denilson did.

I do think he could do more. He once talked about how he was happy to curb his attacking instincts for the benefit of the team but I think every now and then he should push forward more.

Apart from that though I'm happy with him. I don't think of him as Cesc's replacement, as he's clearly playing a different role, and the only player capable of controlling the tempo of our passing like he can is currently injured. On the odd ocassion we've been without Arteta, we've really struggled. That says enough about him for me.

I'm a fan of Arteta, he keeps the ball well, but if you compare him to Wilshere in this position last season, there is only one winner, and that's Jack.

However, I understand Arteta is a different type of player.

What I would like to see us do in summer in midfield:

M'Vila Wilshere

Belhanda

^
We have the money (with 4th place) to do something like this.

ps. Song can't defend, but we should keep both him and Arteta. It's called a squad.

Is there any stats for forward passes, for both he and Denilson?

Not that I personally think there is anything wrong with sideways passing, its better than giving the ball away.

But yeah, if they have the same % are Arteta is making more difficult passes, which forward ones usually are then of course thats an advantage.

I think Arteta has done the job and he is one of the main reasons why we are fighting for the 4th place.

Arteta's job is to keep the ball flowing and keep possession, which he has done brilliantly

The Franchise wrote:Is there any stats for forward passes, for both he and Denilson?

Top PL central midfielders for forward passes per game: Arteta 41.2, Barry 40.8, Carrick 38.3, Song 38.1,Toure 37.2 [via whoscored]

Arteta has flopped hard at Milan, but so did our whole team. He's nothing like Cesc, we still haven't replaced Cesc, another reason why Ramsey and Walcott have been so poor this season.

urbaNRoots wrote:

The Franchise wrote:Is there any stats for forward passes, for both he and Denilson?

Top PL central midfielders for forward passes per game: Arteta 41.2, Barry 40.8, Carrick 38.3, Song 38.1,Toure 37.2 [via whoscored]

Arteta has flopped hard at Milan, but so did our whole team. He's nothing like Cesc, we still haven't replaced Cesc, another reason why Ramsey and Walcott have been so poor this season.

Where did you get these? Is there anything on Denilson?

Hes just got poor footwork, so he always need to take an extra second to sort his feet out before passing, and often misses the chance to make really incisive action. Other than that he is intelligent and accurate

They are both average players and it is hard to compare stats on them since we do not play the same way now that we have in the past. Nor do I actually think that Denilson was a Arsenal quality player. Comparing stats tho 2 years ago Denilson played 23 games and had 5 goals and 1 assist. This year Artetta has played in 28 games with 4 goals and 1 assist. If we actually had a CAM I don't think that Artetta would be anything special and would not make the pitch on a regular basis. Our midfield this year probably would have been Song, Ramsey and CAM.

The Franchise wrote:

urbaNRoots wrote:

The Franchise wrote:Is there any stats for forward passes, for both he and Denilson?

Top PL central midfielders for forward passes per game: Arteta 41.2, Barry 40.8, Carrick 38.3, Song 38.1,Toure 37.2 [via whoscored]

Arteta has flopped hard at Milan, but so did our whole team. He's nothing like Cesc, we still haven't replaced Cesc, another reason why Ramsey and Walcott have been so poor this season.

Where did you get these? Is there anything on Denilson?

Arteta: https://twitter.com/#!/WhoScored/status/163985533356347392

Denilson: https://twitter.com/#!/OptaJoe/status/79838683452276736

31% - 200 of Denilson's passes were made forward, accounting for 31% of his total. Maligned.