Lorcan McClenaghan-Rees

Putting the Fulham game into context was a tough task, especially when it feels like we're still getting all the bad bounces. We tried to do just that with an amazing guest.

Buy Mohamed a Coffee. ko-fi.com/moesquare Become a supporter of Mohamed today! ❤️ Ko-fi lets you support the creators you love.

Hi,

Apologies for having to do this once again, but sadly things are still really tight for myself financially while I continue to look for full time work. Idk how much longer I can continue freelancing, so any help in the meantime would be extremely appreciated 🫡

ko-fi.com/moesquare

Why Ruben Amorim must unlock Joshua Zirkzee's talent He has been compared to Ronaldinho... Mina Rzouki explains why Manchester United must unlock Joshua Zirkzee's talent.

The conversations around Joshua Zirkzee in the media have been predictably stale and lazy in my opinion – echoing the criticisms of Havertz at Chelsea and Özil in his first season at Arsenal.

I found this article in the BCC refreshing analysis of the Dutch forward. www.bbc.com/sport/footba...

Saka celebrating after scoring his goal, putting his finger to his lips in a shushing gesture. Jorginho is running up to celebrate from behind him

💥GOALS ARE FLOWING💥

#104: London Calling, West Ham Mauling (Vol. II, The Saka Cut)

🎙: @alexcollings.bsky.social @lorcanmcc.bsky.social @setpiecesicko.bsky.social @watman.bsky.social

🟡 Is LHS-RHS balance needed?
🔵 Timber vs White
🔴 The plan for Dec long term
⚪️ ✨Variance✨

Listen 👉 pod.fo/e/28a910

Mount's is one I've always had a permanent mental image of, and not too dissimilar to JWP's

re: Alexander Isak

cons:
– likely price; 10/10 money for 8.5/10 player?
– weird fit in the XI (double #9? LW?)
– still no #9 with top-end box presence ala Osimhen

pros:
– ball-striking/self-sufficient shot generation
– central dribbler
– transition threat in the carry and in-behind

I'm fairly sure Calafiori led the league in these two categories when we signed him from Bologna, too.

On Wednesday, Liverpool's second half surge was marked by Bradley having more of a free/dynamic role as Slot looked to take the "surplus" defender out of the first line from the first half 4-1 shape.

What fears me most about Liverpool so far is how well Slot has responded to game situations.

Maximising Martinelli Martinelli's so-called stagnation is much maligned. But could he be the key to levelling up Arsenal's attack?

💥NEW POT SHOT ARTICLE💥

Maximising Martinelli, by @towells.bsky.social

🟡 Has Martinelli stagnated since 22/23?
🔵 What can Arteta do to get the most out of him?
🔴 Does getting more out of Martinelli mean getting less out of Saka & Ødegaard?

Give it a read: open.substack.com/pub/potshotp...

Given how the last few weeks have unfolded, Ødegaard's inclusion in Arsenal's lineup and my omission from the pod lineup was sure to produce a victory.

The boys unpacked it ⬇️

for fuck's sake

I don't think it's possible to understate the level of the Premier League. Talent is peppered throughout the division. There's a world-beater in almost every team. The coaching is brilliant top to bottom, the recruitment so purposeful and tactically empowering. It's insane to me.

Have to find the right balance and make sure not to consistently over-exert them but it's made facing mid-blocks a lot better than last season, already.

The diagonal out-to-in runs from FBs when the ball is moving nearside are great for creating passing lanes but also at preempting mid-blocks from jumping into a high press phase, because they drag the opposition winger.

We probably have the best full-backs in the league for that.

The Bear Case: honestly, several questions around opportunity cost, and what type of squad role he assumes hereon.

We shouldn't shy away from the obvious need for a marquee(-adjacent) level forward, nor should we be looking to give Trossard the sort of minutes he's so far enjoyed this season.

The Bull Case: a 29 year-old with <29,000 career minutes (for reference, 29 year-old Sterling has 42,000) who is a versatile forward option, a proven game-changer off the bench, and whose prospective athletic decline *shouldn't* have a significant impact upon contributions – at least for a bit.

Trossard's contract extension feels like "thank you for everything so far" as much as "what have you still got in the tank?"

However, I do think it's fair to say that some anxieties around the deal stem not necessarily from Trossard but from Arsenal's lack of recruitment in forward areas.

probably the guy who got me into this sport the most, funnily enough.

Four is always hard but I feel good about this.

Arsenal fans’ open letter to club over sexual violence concerns attracts 7,300 signatures An Arsenal fan group has written an open letter to the club over what it describes as &#8220;deeply concerning&#8221; sexual violence allegations in the sport. The letter — which was sent on November ...

www.nytimes.com/athletic/592... Arsenal fans’ open letter to club over sexual violence concerns attracts 7,300 signatures

very fair

can you figure out whether the change in xG Difference with/without him is statistically significant?

very glad to hear that ✨

(2/2)

With the (re)ascent of Trump, and Musk's role within that success:

I imagine these sorts of critiques that really go hard on the "oligarchic" element of modern liberal democracies will dominate the political science space in the following years.

Gordon Arlen & Enzo Rossi, Must Realists Be Pessimists About Democracy? Responding to Epistemic and Oligarchic Challenges - PhilPapers In this paper we show how a realistic normative democratic theory can work within the constraints set by the most pessimistic empirical results about voting behaviour and elite capture of the ...

(1/2)

I want to use this platform for non-football stuff too, even periodically, so:

For those interested in politics – specifically, what sorts of problems ail modern liberal democracies (endogenous, exogenous, *and their interrelation*), I enjoyed this article:

philpapers.org/rec/ARLMRB

best in the world?

Kane's dribbling/carrying abilities always got undersold for me and it's part of what's helped him stay at the top.

But the space needs to be there for him to leverage that. When the middle is so packed, not so much.

I think with Kane you now get i) quality outlet play (receiving to feet + releasing runners), ii) same value in the box (minus physical prowess to get separation), and iii) ability to create new pictures with ball at his feet so long as defenders aren't touch tight.

In these games, you only get ii

A Nagelsmann staple!

Thank you all so much for the support thus far.

Since publishing the letter we have:

- 7K+ signatures
- Almost 900K views on its upload on X
- Been covered by Mail Sport

This is only the beginning. Stay tuned for what's to come & let's keep pushing! 🩵
openletter.earth/arsenal-supp...