He may not end up being world class but his future should be bright. He isn't reliant on his size, physicality, speed and I can see him maturing into an incredibly talented player who just gets better with age. I just hope he can remain patient and continue to develop with us.

[–] Astrealix 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

The one thing which will probably annoy me is that I don't really see him breaking into a consistent part of the England team. He's good, but Foden is better, and I wouldn't be confident with an ESR-Rice-Bellingham midfield for international football - unless we can prove it works at Arsenal lol

[–] Gingerrific 2 points 1 year ago

Yea, there are just too many options who are just a step ahead of him at this point.

We might be able to with a Jorginho/Rice/ESR mid trio. A backline of Tomi/Gab/Saliba/Timber (inverted RB) and would be able to make up for any defensive liabilities created and give ESR a little more freedom to push forward.

The trio up front would always include Saka and Jesus but the LW position would depend on where Rice and ESR play. (ESR/Trossard or Rice/Marinelli).

I'm curious to see if Arteta favours a consistent line up and style or if he will get more creative and experimental given the array of options he has available.