u/HonestCoconut2004

There was hardly any outrage when any of these incidents occurred. No one is saying anything about the Bernardo Silva punch however when we have a decision correctly called as a foul people are up in arms because apparently we always hold down keepers hands when they are trying to catch balls.

I'll be the first person to acknowledge Gyokeres' technical weaknesses but the one thing I will always give him is that he is mentally strong.

Over the years I've seen elite strikers make big money moves and drown under expectations in the Premier League. Prime examples are Diego Forlan, Fernando Torres, Andy Carroll and Darwin Nunez. The amount of ridicule he was getting last week, with people claiming that he's barely a premier league standard striker; it would have been easy for him to completely loses confidence and stink the place out. Instead he responds by getting 3 goals and an assist in 2 games (should have been 2 assists but Odegaard can't finish).

This is why Gyokeres for me was a much better choice than Sesko. This guy has a level of mental resilience that proved absolutely vital this season. Sesko is a guy who was too scared to take a penalty against a League 2 side. He's not someone who would have faired well here having to be the main striker this season especially due to the context of our season.

We're trying to bring home a title for the first time in 22 years and I don't see how someone like Sesko recovers his confidence if he doesn't hit the ground running. At United he was afforded the luxury of sitting games out and coming on as a substitute until he recovered his confidence. He wouldn't have had that luxury here.

Gyokeres deserves his flowers and I'm sure if we win the league this year we will see an even better Gyokeres next year.

I was watching highlights from the 22/23 season and these are the things I noticed.

1. We appear a lot more compact in the way we attack. Players are always close to each other, wide players have license to roam central and our CF roams around the pitch more.

2. We play with a single pivot. Both Odegaard and Xhaka regularly made runs into the penalty area.

3. Players took minimal touches on the ball. This could have been because of my first point. Being more compact should give you more options however it does look like players release through balls a lot quicker when they are on.

4. The quality of Xhaka and Partey. These two were just better when it comes to passing and turning out of pressure. There's a narrative going around that Arteta doesn't like his midfielders turning, largely based on a Kyle Walker interview about Pep Guardiola. This video contradicts that, both Xhaka and Partey were both able to take several players out of the game by turning. Their passing was also miles ahead. Both players being capable of making world class passes with 1 touch.