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like it's some challenge we have to partake in, rather than seeing the limits to it and how that's effecting Saka's ability to impact games.

They both put a ceiling on attacks compared to their counterparts for sure. Hincapié's been disappointing in that regard, even if he's still learning the ropes, while Timber's functional but it's equally frustrating to be complimenting him on simply being ok in an attacking inside position sometimes

but have neglected to use him in his favoured position(s)) has created a massive rod for our own backs.

We've done well to be in the position we are because, at the end of the day, we're still unhealthily reliant on notoriously unhealthy FBs.

The more I think about the left side situation, the more it bothers me. For all the improvement Leo-Cala has brought, the over-reliance on an injury-prone FB (who has no like-for-like backup) to unlock a player we were meant to have upgraded on in the summer (which we sort of did

Here's another. Zubi wall pass into Mosquera avoided, and so is any attempt to access Øde who's free in the centre. Again going straight to Gyök who's suffocated with minimal support = another turnover.

Skimming back through some of the post-1-0 plays when we had the chance to set up with the ball, and we were effectively offering them the same easy turnovers as in the 1st half.

While the long ball approach can often be the safe one – avoiding intricate play closer to goal – it was instead the higher risk option given how ill-prepared we were to support it. And so we didn't give ourselves the platform to repeat those sustained spells when it mattered.

The most dangerous we looked was quite easily when we crowded the left with Øde for 4-man combinations, so that we could not just avoid being forced back, but also gradually pick holes in their defensive organisation.

The chaotic long ball plays looked more promising with Kai and a strike pairing but much less so here, especially in a game where we were ill prepared to win out those crucial duels.

The only long ball success was for the Nelli chance but that came from a throw-in where Brentford were forced into much more of a man-for-man situation up and down the pitch as we squeezed collectively towards the near side.

Here's another. Zubi wall pass into Mosquera avoided, and so is any attempt to access Øde who's free in the centre. Again going straight to Gyök who's suffocated with minimal support = another turnover.

Double pivot completely open here but opts for the long ball that Brentford are very prepared to collapse on since they're not marking the drop-off players so tightly as to avoid leaving too much space in front of Gyök.

Raya was at fault for this too. Pumping the ball long when the same wall passes to bring the ball out from in the 1st half were still there but now vs a much more aggressive press.

He was at fault for giving away a needless foul at the end of one spell (giving them an inch), and for the rest of the game was too scared to take charge on the ball like Saliba would, in terms of pausing on the ball, keeping angles open & trusting that we would have a spare man.

We did have a couple of spells in their third after their equaliser, but we were slower and showed much less conviction in the little duels. Mosquera was partly costly when it came to a lack of sustainability to ground possession.

We needed to pick a lane wrt approach. Long balls for quick progression into potential stabilisation up the pitch is fine but you have to set up to support it. Brentford were excellent at taking a mile when you gave them an inch (set piece threats from anywhere on the pitch).

But by bypassing them to go straight to Gyök, even his genuinely good efforts today to take on direct balls into feet, he was then way too isolated to do anything to hold it up, as the supporting options were waiting way deeper more in support of us playing out.

Brentford really squeezed up after the goal to take out the 1st phase options, but that left them stretched in the middle, leaving one of Leo or Øde free to pick out. Not with an immensely easy pass by any means, but still the sort of pinpoint passes Raya was using to find Gyök.

Skimming back through some of the post-1-0 plays when we had the chance to set up with the ball, and we were effectively offering them the same easy turnovers as in the 1st half.

I thought that too when I saw it, needlessly cherry pick-y, I'm sure the numbers would still look bad if they were all given the same framework. Feels like Sky have really ramped up the click/rage bait elements of their coverage this season, which is a shame

Taking off Zubi was fine but it was obvious we'd need Øde for those right sided passages. Merino and Eze are just passengers at best when playing right #8, so if they were both coming on, they needed to be L8 (or CF) & LW (or L8) respectively.

Today's not the first time this season he's made attacking changes that have sacrificed the middle men that are crucial to tying it all together. We effectively went from 2 tempo setters & connective passers for the right flank down to 0 once we made those changes today.

Can appreciate that Mikel has actually been more positive with the types of subs he's brought on and the speed at which he's reacted to negative game states this season, but at the same time, he's still tended to be wide of the mark wrt striking the right balance.

It's naturally more difficult for Øde with the way his passes will swing (+ vision based stuff). Saliba doesn't have that kind of range. Zubi & Rice, esp Rice, have it in them, I think, but we rarely ever see them in positions to distribute them.

And something I haven't seen mentioned that has completely disappeared are those near-sided out-to-in runs that Saka used to always get in behind with via in-swinging balls over the top. White is expert at those (and so was Jorginho) but there's now no-one able to deliver those to him.

As well, Timber-Saka just isn't nearly as good as White-Saka. There's so much more willingness in the latter pair to actually bounce off each other and for one another to recognise the other's runs, which is important when the numbers involved are reduced.

But they still have to work doubly hard if they are to get into the more central positions where they could do the most damage. There is glimpses of that but only if the pairing dynamics are perfect, and that's why Califiori's absence has left a crater-sized hole in the team.

middle three lanes of the pitch when they can make the biggest difference inside. Those two, in their dribbling styles, are excellent at centring themselves, keeping margins high even under pressure and making the most of what's on offer to them.

crossing opportunities, which also obviously helps us create set piece opportunities. But, while we've made it easier for Saka & Leo to attack their man more consistently (esp Leo, who had struggled from these positions before), we're reducing their impact and involvement in the