Did Arsenal take a tactical loss against Brighton on Wednesday? Your Mailbox also includes a Gunners ladder, views on a potential Liverpool takeover and more…
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Tactical losses…
I’ve been thinking about this idea for a while, especially when it comes to Arsenal and our thin squad. I sometimes think there are games which you can lose for the wider betterment of the team.
Obviously no team likes to lose, and the impact of that loss could go either way. You get a reaction or you go into a slump, but the way Arsenal approach cups vs the league got me thinking that actually, some losses in the cups, where they may have little detriment to the club, can help maintain focus.
For example, our loss to Brighton. From what I can tell it was a wholly changed squad, and Brighton utterly out played us. Chapeau to Brighton. However, did Arsenal want extra games in a tournament which has little to no prestige? Even if we won that cup, no one would think of it as an achievement, let’s be honest. So Arsenal now have fewer matches to play, BUT, Arteta can use this as a stick to motivate his players. He can point to them and say that result wasn’t good enough. If there was any potential complacency creeping in with Wolves at the weekend, he can now remove that by saying they, the SQUAD, lost the last game, and that is what happens if you believe your own hype etc.
I think tactical losses are solely a thing of the cups, I don’t think they really exist in the league. And this isn’t me saying teams throw games in any way, that would be corruption, I just think there are some games where you can get a benefit of losing, and for us, with our thin team (our second string is not up to snuff), losses to PSV and Brighton could help us in our following matches.
John Matrix AFC
Arsenal ladder…
As we are one league fixture away from the Human Rights Atrocity World Cup, here is my second Arsenal ladder of 22/23 season.
This is my estimation on the thoughts of Mikel Arteta. Numbers in brackets indicate previous positions. Anyone in the top 12 (apart from Xhaka of course) could make a legitimate claim to be in a higher position:
1 (4) Xhaka – The Leader
2 (2) Partey – The Deputy
3 (11) White – There young Frenchman gets the plaudits, but White has been the best defender this season.
4 (8) Saka – Rising, deservedly so.
5 (10) Saliba – See above.
6 (3) Ramsdale…
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