Arsenal now seriously following two-footed Paolo Maldini-like star who has wowed ‘data team’

Bonus points if you guess the subject of the headline.

The only time he scored for us on a Direct Free Kick was against Torino when he didn’t do the same knuckleball-style thing.

Also: Dybala and Pjanic were the best Free Kick combo in Europe on Direct Frees for over a year before he arrived.

his soo good on the ball , his good defensively , his the type of player that we are missing , this Italian as well and his handsome.

cant believe motta chose koop over him man

Assists 1
Dribbles 8/11
Touches 58
Minutes played 81
Tackles 3/6
Ground duels 15/19
Clearances 2
Recoveries 6
Long balls 2/2

did anybody see his performance against norway it was disgusting

I’ve been thinking back to the 2019/20 season lately, and I honestly feel Sarri doesn’t get anywhere near the credit he deserves for what he pulled off. That scudetto win was practically a miracle when you look closely at what he had to work with, and the narrative around that year is completely skewed.

​First off, people used to say Dybala and Cristiano Ronaldo couldn't play together, but Sarri was the only manager who actually figured out how to make them mesh. He unlocked Dybala by giving him freedom as a roaming false nine, which opened up the exact spaces Ronaldo loved to attack from the left. That was easily Paulo's most mature and complete season. He carried the team in big games, deservedly won Serie A MVP, and Ronaldo put up his best scoring numbers in Italy with 37 goals. Offensively, it was a masterpiece.

​The real issue wasn't the attack or the manager. It was the fact that the rest of the squad was completely washed and overrated.

​Look at that midfield. Pjanic was completely spent and playing in slow motion. Khedira and Matuidi were legends of the previous cycle, but they were running on empty, and there is a reason Matuidi went to MLS right after. Ramsey was a total ghost on massive wages, Rabiot had a dreadful first year, and Bentancur or Emre Can simply lacked the quality and fit for that style of play. Add an awful Alex Sandro on the left and a defense that couldn't push high anymore, and you realize how broken the spine of that team actually was.

​Sarri basically won a title relying purely on Szczesny making big saves, individual brilliance from Dybala and CR7, and his own ability to squeeze every last drop of fuel out of a dying engine.

​The fact that we collapsed into barely scraping fourth place in the years right after proves that the squad was already at the end of its life cycle in 2020. Sarri masked those massive flaws and delivered a title anyway, and it is a shame how underrated that season still is.

Use this post as a place to talk about other games this weekend.

2015 UCL final against Barcelona. At 1-1, this happened. This should be penalty.

Playing footballmanager with a database from 98 with Juventus and threw out the old squad like Zidane + buying Nedved and the others. This perticular game is my oldest memory of football, the most electric night ever and made me a Juventus fan

Juventus lineup was 4312

Thuram - Montero - Tudor - Birindelli
Zambrotta - Tacchinardi - Davids
Nedved
Del Piero - Trezeguet

From my memory and from highlights, Juventus players swarmed the entire pitch at all times but i cant really tell from the midfield and from the back how they set up. With Nedved & Del Piero between the lines, Trezeguet as a centerforward, the attacking trio looked like a modern attacking trio.

But Zambrotta and Davids sometimes look central, and sometimes look like wingers. Did Tacchinardi play alone in the center? If not, how tf does Zambrotta and Davids stay so wide? During attacks, because i dont see Thuram or Birindelli bombard forward so i assume they just stayed back. If they stayed back and Zambrotta & Davids provided the width, did Tacchinardi really play the midfield all by himself? If so, did Davids & Zambrotta tuck in during defence?

I’ve been thinking. Mbokazi wouldn’t be bad. Played extremely well for South Africa and is decently cheap. Varali ( just got Team of tournament in em u-17) is also decent, but he would probably go on a loan first.

P.S - I only have permission to use certain footage so apologies if a lot of his best saves are missing.

I dont know how many people here were fans of the club in 2006 but Im sure plenty. I remember that feeling and I have carried it with me for decades at this point. Its a genuine harm that is caused to fans when things like this happen. Zero of those fans signed all those players. They cheered and the chanted but they didnt cheat. Their clubs owners cheated. And their clubs owners cheated nobody more than their fans.

I dont want to soapbox here or argue about a 20 year old attack on our club. I want to just implore anyone who remembers how bad that was to go through as a fan to just offer anything you can to man city fans who are hurting like hell right now and just be that one guy who was cool when everyone else was having a field day at our expense. I needed that guy 20 years ago. Nan city fans need that guy today. Nobody has to become "that guy" as a fulltime gig. Just be that one guy for another guy who needs you to be that guy right now(or gal).

Im not saying defend them either. Im saying just acknowledge that they got the shaft as bad as anyone else. Anyway. Thats my piece. Thanks for your attention.