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Comments
Teams should be picked on current form. And last year that was in Arthur's favour..
Cresswell wasn't good for most of the season, and masuaku was good when played. You can only play the games your picked for and IMO he did very well in most of them games.
So for me, whilst I don't think masuaku is necessarily a better PL left back yet (due to only having had 15 or so games where he's been good, and cresswell being good for 2 seasons) he did perform better than cresswell last year and for me has earned the right to be in pole position going into pre season...
If Cresswell gets his form back and masuaku drops off, then it's Cresswell's position again. Just like if he doesn't up his form and Arthur maintains, then it's Arthur's...
If one is better than the other in preseason then he should be picked.
y point is last year it was masuaku in better form so he in turn deserved to be picked over cress. Cress now has to prove he should be picked over Arthur, not just be picked to be our 1st choice LB because he has been so for the last 3 years.
For me, at his best Cresswell is one of the best LB in the league. We had at least a season where he was potentially our best player (in their respective positions). His crossing is excellent and a real threat when we have the likes of AC/Ant/(Giroud?) sniffing. However, last season after his injury he was very poor, weak defensively and unambitious offensively. Worryingly, as others have already stated, he also developed a case of the bottlers and pulled out of multiple challenges for the ball, which I'd never seen him do before. I am sincerely hoping this was just a reaction to his injury and he will regain his confidence for next season.
Masuaku I was pretty impressed with. Showed pace, some good feet, and confidence. Decent both offensively and defensively. Also adjusted very well to the prem very quickly - we know this sometimes takes players a full season after moving from a weaker league. I think he could have a real future ahead of him.
For me there is one key difference in their style of play, and it is also an issue I want Bilic to make a decision on for next season: what formation are we wanting to play the majority of the time, for IMO Cresswell is the better LB and Masuaku is the better LWB (I do not believe he has the ability to be a LW or LAM).
Overall I feel Cresswell at his peak is the better player currently but Masuaku is better on form. My view has always been, pre-season=clean slate. We play enough pre-season games for each to get multiple opportunities to impress and build up form. Whomever does the best going up to the opening game of the season gets the shirt for the game at Man Utd. Then reassess for form every five games or so, and of course rotate where needed for freshness.
The only thing I'd disagree at is I actually think with a bit of work Arthur could be a prospect more up
The field in a LW or LAM position ..
It's 1 area at least we seem covered well in ;ok
It's certainly great to know in another position: LB/LWB, we have two very solid options, thereby; allowing for rotation, allow for potential injury to one, and forcing players not to rest on their laurels and keep performances top notch for fear of losing the shirt. I like to have 2 players for each position ideally for these reasons. Only having one proper LB was a problem the season before last, and at RB for more seasons then I can recall!
I definitely agree we have limited options currently at LW/LAM as the majority of our wingers (Ant, Feg, Snod) all only want to/are best at the right hand side; for me Lanzini is best CAM and can be eased out of the game when forced wide for long periods; leaving us with only Ayew and potentially Valencia as our LW/LAM options. If money allows after our potential 2 strikers it is another position to look for reinforcements. I still don't think Arthur has the right skillset to be a LW/LAM, but willing to be proved wrong and he knocks it out the park this coming season!