[Sylar]

He kept dropping deep which was annoying. Made arsenal's job at pressing so much easier

Should have been subbed off

 

[Jev]

Was essentially played as a right-winger in the first half, hard to fault him for being useless. That said, he wasn't great after the break either.

 

[limerickcitykid]

He’s out of his depth.

 

[Roboc7]

Was clear from very early on it was pointless having him on the pitch, should have been subbed off very early on.

 

[saivet]

One of the frustrating things I've noticed with him is he seems to hide from the ball when we're in possession. Too many times, rather than moving into space he goes towards opposition players. Positionally he seemed a bit confused too, particularly in the first half.

 

[R77]

Only seems to work in a 4231 or 433 as a kind of false CM (!) that acts like an extra CB. Thought today would be ideal for him with auboomerang and all, but the way we set up didn't utilise him well and he had one of his shockers. Disappointing.

The biggest problem with him is that he's perfect for certain games, but needs a run of them to play well.

 

[Tormentor]

Overall, when you put all the things into consideration, he is amazingly untalented midfielder.

 

[RUCK4444]

We need a top level DM. A Matic upgrade.

We don’t have one and having to play both Fred and McTominay is a massive hindrance to the team going forward.

 

[Ekeke]

Fred showed he can play on the right in the 2nd half against Leizpig. McTominay has gone to the right a few times now and always looks lost. He's a central player only

 

[Devil may care]

Clueless in the RMF role which killed our shape, then we change shape rather than sub him and he starts passing like we were in white, yet somehow Pogba is our lowest rated player on the Caf, the agenda is real.

 

[11101]

Hasn't been good enough for some time. He should have been the first sub. How our two worst midfielders were the two that lasted the 90 minutes is beyond me.

 

[Cloud7]

We need a top level DM. A Matic upgrade.

We don’t have one and having to play both Fred and McTominay is a massive hindrance to the team going forward.

Most important signing we can make next transfer window IMO. Even more important than adding another attacker.

 

[RUCK4444]

Most important signing we can make next transfer window IMO. Even more important than adding another attacker.

Yeah I said it in the transfer window, I was desperate to sign Sancho but when that seemed dead I wanted us to focus on the DM position.

Right now it’s the major problem in the side.

 

[AneRu]

Most important signing we can make next transfer window IMO. Even more important than adding another attacker.

I remember being shocked in the summer, along with @Adnan, @Devil may care and @BenitoSTARR, that we weren't going for a DM given the options we had and that Matic was winding down. To me, it has always looked like wishful thinking to think that McTominay, with his limitations, could effectively deputize Matic or to expect a full season from Matic.

It was a display of poor planning, naive and overly optimistic to expect that those three could play the role at the level we should be playing at.

 

[limerickcitykid]

Most important signing we can make next transfer window IMO. Even more important than adding another attacker.

It only takes 5 minutes of Matic on the pitch to see how true this is. A midfielder actually capable on the ball is crucial. Fred and McTominay just can’t do it. There nowhere near good enough progressing from deep. And Matic is past being relied on as a starter. We haven’t a single player in the squad capable of playing the role to an even half decent level consistently.

 

[Bobcat]

Hes good off the ball, but terrible on it. Also, hes a big lad, but he never seems to use that to his advantage when is possession

 

[Bwuk]

Why he played on the right of the diamond and Fred at #6 is beyond me.

 

[Conor]

He has no awareness of a pass, at least in a reasonable amount of time. I'm sick of shouting at the tv for him to play a ball, while the chance to do so just dies because he hasn't copped it was on.

 

[In Rainbows]

It only takes 5 minutes of Matic on the pitch to see how true this is. A midfielder actually capable on the ball is crucial. Fred and McTominay just can’t do it. There nowhere near good enough progressing from deep. And Matic is past being relied on as a starter. We haven’t a single player in the squad capable of playing the role to an even half decent level consistently.

I was hoping Gomes could turn into this player (pivot, not necessarily a dm), but too late (and too early for him) for that. We haven't had that since 2013 Carrick, and he was already on his last legs at that point.

 

[Adnan]

He's got a good attitude and he'll run all day for you. But he's simply not good enough for the level we aspire to be at. Our fans will love him the next time we win because of his attitude and passion though.

I've been saying for a long time that we don't have a DM with the required attributes to help us play a more expansive game. And until one is signed we will carry on playing a reactive brand of football. We also need a CB that will pose a threat to Maguire's spot in the team. Someone who will help us play a higher line and also be aerially dominant.

 

[D. Mungai]

Being one of the loyal Scott fans today he was diabolical.

One this I noticed is everyone on the pitch was shocked with how things were going on.
Even Paul has said that in post match interview.

Now, in the hindsight, playing Fred & Scott is a big hindrance for us to be attacking team.

Ole is playing two Defensive Midfielders because he doesn't trust his back 2.

BUT why he doesn't play Tuanzebe?

With Tuanzebe we don't need to cover for 2 CB, but say only 1 CB.

Its incredible that, our midfielders are used as covers of defence.

Notice how, Scott is sent on the right to cover Bissaka,Maguire side. Incredible.

True we need a very very defensive midfielder to do the job Fred & Scott do ( Fernandinho style) Then play Tuanzebe.

For immediate solution.

 

[BenitoSTARR]

I like McTominay for specific games. Today he was not what was needed due to Arsenal’s defensive shape.

Koopmeiners/Zakaria etc someone who can genuinely sit and either dictate play or break it up is needed to enable our creative players to be on the pitch.

 

[Amar__]

Liked him ever since he came into the team, but I seriously don't see anything good from him these days. Defensively not strong enough, and mostly pointless with the ball. It smells like one of those bad seasons for him.

 

[100]

One of the frustrating things I've noticed with him is he seems to hide from the ball when we're in possession. Too many times, rather than moving into space he goes towards opposition players. Positionally he seemed a bit confused too, particularly in the first half.

He often calls for it whilst basically standing behind an opposition player. It's infuriating.

 

[AndersB]

I really like Scott, but I think we've gotten to the point where we shouldn't start him at home against any teams bar Liverpool and City. He's at his best as a destroyer, and too poor on the ball.

 

[Robbie Boy]

Some in the matchday thread before the match were comparing him to Fletcher and saying he should be a nailed on starter. It needs to stop!

I like him but he's a squaddie at best.

 

[RussellWilson]

Has absolutely no clue how to get on the ball in build up. Can't make an angle for team mates to play off and often ends up standing behind the opposition making himself no option. Doing this constantly made it seem like Arsenal were doing a super press, but they weren't. We were simply playing with a man less (probably two because AWB isn't much better) in build up.

 

[Eddy_JukeZ]

Nowhere near good enough on the ball.

 

[Kopral Jono]

Seeing Partey in an Arsenal shirt whilst we're stuck with this aggression merchant. I don't even know what else to say.

 

[Adnan]

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[Andersons Dietician]

Was kind of surprised that Ole kept him on and probably more so that he didn’t swap he and Fred. Really did seem to struggle with his positioning playing right on the diamond.

Wasn’t his best day but sure throughout the season we’ll see better but I agree with what some said, he doesn’t tend to move in to space or give an option for people. Not in the thick of midfield anyway. There were also a few times where there was a pass in to Bruno or Pogba and they were wide open and he just didn’t play the pass. Then there were occasions where the pass was never on but he tries it anyway.

 

[TsuWave]

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[limerickcitykid]

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You just have to laugh.

Hides from the ball for 90 minutes and then in the dying minutes he suddenly thinks he can play a world class defence splitting pass that’s he’s never made in his life. Expectedly, he came nowhere near to completing it.

 

[El B]

Can we get a gif of that 5min spell in the 1st half where he hid behind Arsenal players and pointed out to the left flank? Not only not making himself available but actively ensuring the ball went to the other side of the pitch. He's done the same in other games, I remember him dropping in next to the CBs giving them no outball when trying to build an attack. This guy wouldn't start for any of the current top 10 teams. Wasn't solely on him we lost but I feel like I'm going mad watching him turn out mediocre crap game in game out.

 

[KiD MoYeS]

McTominay has been mainly good for us so surprised to see such a backlash to his performance yesterday but maybe I shouldn't be. Yesterday wasn't the game for him, I think Arteta set-up his side very well and had them so much better prepared than us. Partey had a man of the match performance too which wouldn't have helped.

 

[saivet]

Can we get a gif of that 5min spell in the 1st half where he hid behind Arsenal players and pointed out to the left flank? Not only not making himself available but actively ensuring the ball went to the other side of the pitch. He's done the same in other games, I remember him dropping in next to the CBs giving them no outball when trying to build an attack. This guy wouldn't start for any of the current top 10 teams. Wasn't solely on him we lost but I feel like I'm going mad watching him turn out mediocre crap game in game out.

It's so frustrating to see and unfortunately, like you say, not new for him. Yesterday it was as evident as ever with him hardly taking up his position as the RCM.

 

[RedRonaldo]

I always like his workrate and commitment. But I really think he is one of the worst midfield ball passer we’ve ever had.

 

[joeunited]

He often calls for it whilst basically standing behind an opposition player. It's infuriating.

Yep. Someone said that why can't Fred just made a simple pass. How could he when his partner was always rooted snookered behind the opponents?

 

[jem]

Seeing Partey in an Arsenal shirt whilst we're stuck with this aggression merchant. I don't even know what else to say.

Is there any reason why people feel the need to attach the word 'merchan't on to all these labels? Dan James -> speed merchant; Scott McTominay -> passion/aggression merchant....

 

[macheda14]

Is there any reason why people feel the need to attach the word 'merchan't on to all these labels? Dan James -> speed merchant; Scott McTominay -> passion/aggression merchant....

Songs by a half person half fish -> merchant