The more I think about the left side situation, the more it bothers me. For all the improvement Leo-Cala has brought, the over-reliance on an injury-prone FB (who has no like-for-like backup) to unlock a player we were meant to have upgraded on in the summer (which we sort of did

Here's another. Zubi wall pass into Mosquera avoided, and so is any attempt to access Øde who's free in the centre. Again going straight to Gyök who's suffocated with minimal support = another turnover.

Skimming back through some of the post-1-0 plays when we had the chance to set up with the ball, and we were effectively offering them the same easy turnovers as in the 1st half.

Skimming back through some of the post-1-0 plays when we had the chance to set up with the ball, and we were effectively offering them the same easy turnovers as in the 1st half.

Can appreciate that Mikel has actually been more positive with the types of subs he's brought on and the speed at which he's reacted to negative game states this season, but at the same time, he's still tended to be wide of the mark wrt striking the right balance.

Ultimately, the open play approach still isn't there, and that breeds whatever nervousness and lacking commitment/confidence you see play out as negative/level game states progress.

To say I'm seething right now would be such an understatement. I need Elon to

It's been fine not great so far. Fulham blocking central access in buildup well but life made easier by the vertical interchanges being a bit passive at times. The problem is that we took a while to sought different solutions like double width – Ødegaard's usually a lively instigator of this

✍️ Blocking the goalkeeper's sightline can increase goal probability ▫️Defensive positioning study with @statsbomb.com data ▫️Pressuring shots reduces goal probability ▫️If a defender can't pressure the shot they should move to clear the keeper's view cambiodejuegoenglish.beehiiv.com/p/blocking-t...

Eze and MLS in there for Merino and Riccy would've been nice

Today we published my 6000-word story on the three days I spent at RB Leipzig. This was a ton of work and I am incredibly grateful to have the platform to write and research narrative stuff like this. If you make it through, I hope you enjoy:

Only remote positive off the back of the Saka injury is that I'm actually looking at the back-up and thinking, oh ok, we can manage. Compare that to Raheem last year...

Max's cameo was unreal. Mad having a kid like that playing where you can see everybody trying to get him the ball. So impressive the way he competes on the outside already, so the cut-in space stays open for him. And obviously great feet again for another pen won.

Nothing like a corner routine to break the open play tension, though, eh? Was a little concerned up to that point. The mf3 were very fluid, almost operating across the pitch as a unit to try and connect play but ended up needing to do a lot of work in the opening phase whilst our

Giving Leo more money instead 😂

I'm optimistic about Noni but I don't think we're getting Eze, which probably means no big LW buy, therefore meaning we've underdone it in the position that most needed upgrading this summer (#6 aside). There are options to hunt/gamble on, too, so it will be very painful if/when that bites us.

Reading all this stuff now about Berta pushing to switch gears on the move feels like it has such major sliding doors potential. I know Šeško's not exactly a win-now player but we might well look back at this in a year or two and see it as an early red flag.

Isak and Šeško (at a more reasonable price) moving right after we've jumped the gun on Gyökeres

Ok, maybe a slight bit of panic is starting to settle in now.

icymi, give it a read and lmk what you think

New scout report up and not for the first time, I'm looking at a brand new Chelsea addition: Jamie Gittens. Here's a delve into the winger's ball-striking, dribbling ferocities and shortcomings, and how much better his movement is than stats suggest... petermnly.substack.com/p/scout-repo...

My criticism going into last season was not prioritising Saka depth. My hopes for this window were essentially Zubi + a big FW purchase. If Noni is depth on top of a WF & CF purchase, it handily ticks both boxes, so I can't be displeased with that, unless this ofc handicaps our spending elsewhere.

One thing I definitely like about Gyökeres that has sorely been lacking from us, even if we're not always in phases that benefit it, is that powerful transition play. When we sink deep, which is something we do voluntarily in big games and in winning game states, it's been very difficult to get out.

All in on Gyökeres

Liverpool going for Isak now too?

ICYMI

Next up is the mercurial Malick Fofana. Not only has the just-turned-20-year-old's output caught the eye but so has his playing style. Here's my look at the winger's electric dribbling, awareness, some restrictive weaker foot over-usage, and much more. petermnly.substack.com/p/scout-repo...

#13: Christopher Nkunku (at Leipzig): open.substack.com/pub/petermnl... #14: Djed Spence (at Nottingham Forest): open.substack.com/pub/petermnl... #15: Benjamin Šeško (at Salzburg): open.substack.com/pub/petermnl... #16: Gonçalo Ramos (at Benfica): open.substack.com/pub/petermnl...

Mr Emery, for you, my friend, £30m.

If you'd told me Newcastle would lose beforehand, I might have a glimmer of hope about an Isak deal. And yet, here we are, somehow.

This is where I'm at right now. We, without question, still need *a* striker signing but I'd prefer to prioritise a high quality purchase on the LW than at #9 now that Zubi's coming (haven't read/watched up yet but assume he won't exactly fill that left-sided void).

He *sounds* like the closest thing we could get to someone who could mirror what Saka can do, in terms of 1v1 ability, their pull, their creativity, their tempo control, the quality of their final action, etc. He might be capable of the sort of run-making Saka is (shorter range & situational).

I've seen multiple people now talking about how game state and approach reflect our xG figure last night, but we're talking about >3xG here. You don't stumble your way into that many high quality chances simply because you're chasing the game (see: many such league games this season).

Endless praise for Saka and Saliba tonight. Monsters at either end of the pitch. Both made mistakes (the miss from Saka and the odd giveaway or error in 1v1 defending from Saliba), but they were key to keeping us in it defensively and offensively despite little support.

Not even disheartened about that in the slightest, like I thought I would be if we lost. Amazing assertive control from the start, great tactical layout, but fell short to the domino effect of a lack of dealings, squad management & a little bit of inexperience still plaguing us.

Calafiori hail mary moment of individual brilliance might be calling. Give Martinelli someone to work with too.

Two major problems to that 1st half approach that have killed us at the tail-end of great buildup: 1) No service for Saka runs 2) Nobody on the end of Saka crosses (see below)

It's one thing to dislike our football under Arteta but what I despise about the tweets about wanting him gone is this sense of entitlement. They have the same air of desperation as when we were actually in a much worse way under Unai, except it's being said while we're 2nd and in the CL SFs.

Watching PGMOL still decide to fuck us over when our title challenge is already done and our games are now relatively meaningless

Really good from PSG. Taste of our medicine with them applying the 4-2-2-2 we did in both buildup and for a lot of the pressing, as well being brave enough to risk going man-to-man.

My latest long-read is a sweeping look at Arsenal’s last few performances — and the subtle tactical lessons they'll carry into a monumental semi-final against PSG.

Feels like we have what could be a good headache in terms of what positions we recruit for in the summer. There are lots of areas across the front 6 that could be upgraded (profile/quality-wise), but we're not far away from having enough to win the league whichever way we go about it.

We badly miss White's profile in attack. The timing of Timber's arrivals has been so hit-and-miss and they're just not on the same wavelength. Not to say White should've started given Viní matchup + current match fitness, but it's so vital to wide combos. Need Rice to offer across in the 2nd.

Merino constantly on the shoulder of RM's midfield so far has helped pin the centre for MLS to drift in and overload, esp since Mbappé's always slow to react. Worked well on the left too with Rice then making runs from deep through the halfspace and RM's midfield at MLS' mercy.

Two things can be true at the same time: the physical demands on players in the PL has increased enormously over the past few years, and Mikel has (probably) overexerted a specific handful of players due to a, relatively-speaking, thin squad and the intense demands of the style/system(s) he deploys.

Here’s Mikel Merino, he loves tactics. Too much in fact, which is why they didn’t tell him about the plan to play him at no9 until it was too late. He explains all that here, with little crosses and all. www.theguardian.com/football/202...

Stretched back-four today to facilitate a free-flowing diamond in the middle. Midfield 3 rotating around Saliba, looking to pull apart the front of CHE's shape and create lanes into the dropping attacker, who has a timing advantage on his opposing defender.

New piece up on another 18-year-old talent: Eli Junior Kroupi. The new Bournemouth signing has been tearing it up at the top of Ligue 2 for Lorient, so here's my breakdown of the electrifying attacker's multi-faceted game, and whether he's ready for the leap. open.substack.com/pub/petermnl...