Re: Bellingham now starts at number 10 by not playing
It might sound crazy but I could argue we shouldn't play any of them.
Kane is clearly the best player we have, by far, so we should be playing to his strengths. He wants to be able to drop deep and link up play and benefits from having fast direct players around him to give him options. There is a reason the best partnerships he has had have been with Son and Sterling and not players like Foden or Palmer.
We should play a 433 in order to leave that (no.10) space open for Kane to drop into. Wingers like Rashford, Gordon, Bowen and Barnes will give him the pace and directness that he likes. Saka and Madueke could also do this but I don't see it often from them (Arsenal don't really play that way)
Then have a midfield 3 of Anderson, Rice and Mainoo who can all run for days and do the leg work for the team. You still have players like Wharton, Jones, Garner, Gray, Gallagher and Henderson who could be their backups to do that job. Think of the Liverpool midfield under Klopp.
Rather than trying to just pick the best 11 players and ending up sticking someone like Foden on the LW like Southgate did, maybe what needs to happen is pick the best team that works together, even if that means having to leave Bellingham, Foden, Palmer, Rogers and Eze on the bench or at home.
Kane is clearly the best player we have, by far, so we should be playing to his strengths. He wants to be able to drop deep and link up play and benefits from having fast direct players around him to give him options. There is a reason the best partnerships he has had have been with Son and Sterling and not players like Foden or Palmer.
We should play a 433 in order to leave that (no.10) space open for Kane to drop into. Wingers like Rashford, Gordon, Bowen and Barnes will give him the pace and directness that he likes. Saka and Madueke could also do this but I don't see it often from them (Arsenal don't really play that way)
Then have a midfield 3 of Anderson, Rice and Mainoo who can all run for days and do the leg work for the team. You still have players like Wharton, Jones, Garner, Gray, Gallagher and Henderson who could be their backups to do that job. Think of the Liverpool midfield under Klopp.
Rather than trying to just pick the best 11 players and ending up sticking someone like Foden on the LW like Southgate did, maybe what needs to happen is pick the best team that works together, even if that means having to leave Bellingham, Foden, Palmer, Rogers and Eze on the bench or at home.