Turning to Freddie..

Afternoon all.

Proper football returns this weekend but not for long as more international fixtures pop up again in November. Boo hoo. But I think that’s it then until 2020. Hoorah. We’ve seven fixtures to endure, I mean enjoy between now  and the next break. Four in the league, two in Europe and one in the league cup.

Reiss Nelson won’t be involved in any of them after suffering a ligament injury against Standard Liege. Alexandre Lacazette faces further assessment before a decision is made on whether or not he’s ready to return on Monday. Apart from those two, everyone is fit. That is unless those yet to return do so on crutches or with any other niggles.

Those who weren’t on international duty took part in a behind closed doors friendly against Reading. 2-2 was the final score which is irrelevant really as more important was the playing time for those who Unai Emery isn’t playing much. Mesut Ozil being the highest profile on that very short list. More important than whether or not the German played though was in my opinion, additional game time for Rob Holding, Shkodran Mustafi, Kieran Tierney and Hector Bellerin. Yes, even Mustafi who regardless of what our opinion on the player is, right now he’s playing a key role in our Europa League campaign. Not only is he looking like a decent centre back alongside Rob Holding, his inclusion means both Sokratis and Luiz get a breather. Same with Calum Chambers who by now be at the forefront of Unai Emery’s mind when in comes to selecting his first eleven.

AMN has been the victim of Calum Chambers return to form and it seems the right winger is now concentrating more on the attacking side of his game, but not by going to Emery. Instead, it’s Freddie he’s turned to.

“There’s quite a few things (I have learnt) really,” he told Arsenal.com.

“He (Freddie) knows me as a winger, so attacking-wise he’s helped my game a lot. Defensively, I go to someone else to help me because they’re two different styles that I have to play.

“Him personally, he’s pulled me to the side a lot and has shown me different techniques and ways of beating players, ways of crossing the ball and shooting. It’s helping me and I’m happy to have him around because he’s such a big figure in the team.”

Hardly a surprise really as Freddie was a superb winger for us and the two have worked together before, before the Englishman was asked to play at right and left back. I suspect Freddie is easier to understand too and that’s not me having a dig at Emery’s English it’s just I rarely understand what he’s saying so the players must struggle too.

A puzzler for you. Who said this?

“I’ve worked with Arsene Wenger, I’ve worked with Unai Emery’, the ex Arsenal player told The Athletic. ‘I’ve worked with big coaches and, for me, Arsene and Freddie are the best ones that I’ve had. ‘He worked with me a lot on my body shape, my first touch. Going forward, he wanted me to shoot more. He would take the time to show me techniques: how to shoot properly using the outside of your foot, for example. With crosses, he showed me you don’t always have to whip it. How to pick someone out. It was always constructive criticism. ‘Your pass had to be precise. You know how Arsenal play, but with Freddie everything had to be perfect. You know: finding the pocket on the half-turn, and playing high, rotating at the right time. When the players got that, it worked perfectly. In my opinion we couldn’t be stopped when we got the plan right.”

The Metro recently reported that Freddie is learning Spanish so communicating with his head coach will be easier. Perhaps then Freddie will be able to translate Emery’s tactics to the rest of the team too.

Has that been the problem all along I wonder?

Catch up in the comments….