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Also, Nwaneri was kinda fucking invisible this game, ngl. He's 17 so I don't care that much but I get why he's not starting now.
It's great to see him given more minutes and I don't want it to stop. But, he is still incredibly young and he's sitting in Ødegaard's position, which is a physically intense and demanding role alone, let alone filling in for our best creative and attacking player.
It was never going to be an exact like for like, of course and he's still learning. But, although Newcastle were dangerous at times, they mostly sat deep and behind the ball and absorbed pressure and hit on the counter. It looked like they were largely fine with taking a 1-0 win. They also congested the midfield, which made it harder to pass through.
So, it was going to be a tough ask for Nwaneri to help break down the defence, which I think Ødegaard helps us do. I also feel like we missed Calafiori's ability to switch the ball across field. It looled like there was space down the right a nice lofted Calafiori pass would have helped for a nice break down the wing that was never used as an option.
He’s not the Messiah, (but) he’s a very talented boy.
Hopefully everyone shuts the fuck up about him being the solution to our problems. Just like people wanting Trossard to start because he was getting goal returns.
Trosaard has been shite for weeks. So many moves break down because of him. He offers goals, but we lose so much more. With Nwaneri, it's a kid that came on and didn't even receive the ball for the first few minutes he came on. Comparing the two seems harsh to me.
I'm not... comparing the two...?
I'm saying that both have had a lot of fans calling for them to start because they've looked so good. Trossard began starting in Martinelli's absence and immediately started plummeting in performance. Nwaneri has had some good cameos and appearances in cups, but predictably he is 17 and cannot be expected to stand up to Newcastle's big burly men.
Nwaneri isn't going to get good from the bench especially when he's the closest thing we've had to what we're missing in the absence of Ødegaard. Okay, he never had a good game today, but who did?
You seem intent on ascribing a lot of intent to my comments that I don't intend.
I don't blame Nwaneri for not playing well. I blame the rabid supporters who were convinced that he needed to just be thrown into the deep end and he'd magically fix our problems.
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.
Yeah, I of course wanted to see more of him and I think he can play a role for us. But, it was difficult to see him as the answer to all our questions.
The answer is just to hope our luck shifts or chances just fall our way more often and our players remain fit and healthy long enough for us to hit our stride again.
I wonder if the intensity of the last two seasons, as well as the fixture list is finally taking its toll on the players.
I was angry, but I wasn't calling anyone specific out. More just people who latched on to the idea that his creativity could help in Odegaard's absence and were mad that Arteta was being too conservative to him.
I hate waiting and hoping. :/
I never got the feeling you were. I agree with your thoughts. I don't have that big an issue with the way Arteta is slowly acclimating him into the team.
It took him some time to get into the match. Given that the passing was pedestrian and conservative, there wasn't much he could do. He was in pockets of space and our players weren't even attempting to find him. Don't get me wrong, he misplaced some passes, but I'd argue bringing him in earlier would've been more beneficial to both him and the team.