3. Passing
Positives:
Last season, Southampton averaged just 44% of possession per game, with an average of 301 passes completed. Despite this, Lavia still managed to complete over 29 passes per game, showing his composure to play in a disjointed team, and with better players around him, you’d expect this to improve further. His passing range over long distances is particularly impressive.
Negatives:
Thomas Partey is central to everything Arsenal do, and the lone six role in Arteta’s system is incredibly demanding with and without the ball. You must be readily available in the build-up and always switched on defensively. Positionally, Lavia struggles without the ball and he’s too raw at this stage to perform Partey’s role.
There’s no denying Lavia has the qualities needed to take him to the top of the game, but with Partey potentially leaving, the question marks very much lie around his readiness for such a big role at Arsenal.
pic.twitter.com/6dkEPFmTqX
<p>— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/06/20/romeo-lavia-arsenal/3/"https://twitter.com/FabrizioRomano/status/1671096823451369473?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>June 20, 2023</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/06/20/romeo-lavia-arsenal/3/"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>Like any shiny new toy, Lavia has been met with optimism, but there are pros and cons to this deal.</p>
<h2>3 positives & negatives of potential Romeo Lavia transfer</h2>
<h2><strong>1. Age</strong></h2>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Arsenal are reportedly now advancing in talks for Southampton midfielder Romeo Lavia.🔴 <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/06/20/romeo-lavia-arsenal/3/"https://t.co/2JNyGGG4Mb">pic.twitter.com/2JNyGGG4Mb
<p>— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/06/20/romeo-lavia-arsenal/3/"https://twitter.com/SkySportsPL/status/1671163745589153795?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>June 20, 2023</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/06/20/romeo-lavia-arsenal/3/"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p><strong>Positives:</strong></p>
<p>Lavia turned 19 in January and has 29 Premier League games under his belt, impressing in the majority of those, despite playing in a side that couldn’t defend or attack. With Arsenal, Lavia would be coming into a structured environment with much more technically gifted players who would fast-track his development.</p>
<p><strong>Negatives:</strong></p>
<p>He’s 19 and has just 29 Premier League games under his belt. If he is being brought in to replace either Thomas Partey or Granit Xhaka and play alongside Declan Rice, there are justifiable questions about whether it strengthens or weakens Arsenal’s midfield, which is worrying given the £40-50m quoted fee.</p>
<p><em>Continued to next slide…</em></p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/06/20/romeo-lavia-arsenal/3/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> #2 Tenacity </a>
</div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><p><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-135095" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/06/20/romeo-lavia-arsenal/3/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_1707,w_2560/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1492049181-scaled.jpeg" alt="" width="2560" height="1707" srcset="https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1492049181-scaled.jpeg 2560w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1492049181-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1492049181-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1492049181-2048x1366.jpeg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px"></p>
<h2><strong>2. Tenacity</strong></h2>
<p><strong>Positives:</strong></p>
<p>Last season, Lavia won 4.9 duels per game, with <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/06/20/romeo-lavia-arsenal/3/"https://www.sofascore.com/player/romeo-lavia/1069488">4.7 of those being ground duels, showing his ability to win the ball back for his team. Alongside this, he won 2.1 tackles per game and made 1.1 interceptions per game, showing his ability to disrupt in the middle of the park and put his team on the front foot.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">🚨 Arsenal are in talks with Southampton for Roméo Lavia. Discussions over personal terms are ongoing. The deal is not related to the outcome of Declan Rice. Reports, <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/06/20/romeo-lavia-arsenal/3/"https://twitter.com/JacobSteinberg?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>@JacobSteinberg. <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/06/20/romeo-lavia-arsenal/3/"https://t.co/7ObJkiZlvM">pic.twitter.com/7ObJkiZlvM
<p>— Eduardo Hagn (@EduardoHagn) <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/06/20/romeo-lavia-arsenal/3/"https://twitter.com/EduardoHagn/status/1671155793402658817?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>June 20, 2023</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/06/20/romeo-lavia-arsenal/3/"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p><strong>Negatives:</strong></p>
<p>Whilst those stats are impressive, Thomas Partey won five ground duels per game for Arsenal, including 3.9 ground duels and won three tackles per game, but made just 0.5 interceptions per game. Lavia’s numbers are extremely impressive, but it’s important to remember the type of player he could potentially be replacing, and there is still a lot of work to be done.</p>
<p><em>Continued to next slide…</em></p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/06/20/romeo-lavia-arsenal/3/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> #3 Passing </a>
</div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><p><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-135096" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/06/20/romeo-lavia-arsenal/3/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_1706,w_2560/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1253179629-scaled.jpeg" alt="" width="2560" height="1706" srcset="https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1253179629-scaled.jpeg 2560w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1253179629-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1253179629-1536x1023.jpeg 1536w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1253179629-2048x1364.jpeg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px"></p>
<h2><strong>3. Passing</strong></h2>
<p><strong>Positives:</strong></p>
<p>Last season, Southampton averaged just <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/06/20/romeo-lavia-arsenal/3/"https://www.sofascore.com/team/football/southampton/45">44% of possession per game, with an average of 301 passes completed. Despite this, Lavia still managed to complete over 29 passes per game, showing his composure to play in a disjointed team, and with better players around him, you’d expect this to improve further. His passing range over long distances is particularly impressive.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Hypothetically:</p>
<p>Declan Rice<br>
Roméo Lavia<br>
Kai Havertz<br>
Jurriën Timber<br>
William Saliba extension</p>
<p>How would you rate the transfer window out of 10?</p>
<p>— Patrick Timmons (@PatrickTimmons1) <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/06/20/romeo-lavia-arsenal/3/"https://twitter.com/PatrickTimmons1/status/1671105140999299073?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>June 20, 2023</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/06/20/romeo-lavia-arsenal/3/"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p><strong>Negatives:</strong></p>
<p>Thomas Partey is central to everything Arsenal do, and the lone six role in Arteta’s system is incredibly demanding with and without the ball. You must be readily available in the build-up and always switched on defensively. Positionally, Lavia struggles without the ball and he’s too raw at this stage to perform Partey’s role.</p>
<div class="embed ">
<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="u0C7ibaWCh"><p><a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/06/20/romeo-lavia-arsenal/3/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/06/18/5-reason-havertz-great-signing-havertz/">5 reasons why Kai Havertz would be a great signing for Arsenal</a></p></blockquote>
<p><iframe class="wp-embedded-content" sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" style="position: absolute; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px);" title="“5 reasons why Kai Havertz would be a great signing for Arsenal” — Pain in the Arsenal" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/06/20/romeo-lavia-arsenal/3/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/06/18/5-reason-havertz-great-signing-havertz/embed/#?secret=q8QoSZ2qQa#?secret=u0C7ibaWCh" data-secret="u0C7ibaWCh" width="500" height="282" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no"></iframe></p></div>
<p>There’s no denying Lavia has the qualities needed to take him to the top of the game, but with Partey potentially leaving, the question marks very much lie around his readiness for such a big role at Arsenal.</p><!—pageview_candidate—>">
