Morning all.
Arsenal will play Man City at The Etihad Stadium on Saturday 28th January, unless the date is moved for television, after all, it is the prime tie of the next round. Arsenal v Man City twice this month should make for good viewing.
Wasn’t it good to see Emile Smith Rowe return? Yes he was rusty but that’s to be expected after several months out of the game and despite going off, Bukayo Saka is fine, fit and ready to face Tottenham at the weekend.
Last night’s 3-0 win over Oxford Utd however, was not good viewing. It wasn’t until Mikel Arteta made his changes, that we looked like a top of the League Premiership football team. In fact for much of the time, it was hard to tell which of he two sets of players were playing their football in League One. Three quick goals in the second half though, saw us through. Two from Eddie Nketiah and one from Mo Elneny. Fabio Vieira was involved in two of the goals, firstly with a great ball into the box for Elneny to head past the Oxford keeper, the second, a lovely pass through to Eddie Nketiah who rounded the keeper before slotting the ball home. Our third, Nketiah’s second, was probably the pick of the bunch. Gabriel Martinelli was the provider this time from a quick counter-attack. Our number 14 still had a lot to do but his little chip over the keeper from a difficult angle was a joy to watch.
If you feel disappointed with last night’s performance, imagine how Mikel Arteta must feel. What we saw, he saw and for much of the 90 minutes, it wasn’t at all pretty. The performance epitomised why he talks so often about needing to add quality to his squad. Our midfield was pretty much non existent and in my opinion, that’s why we struggled to find any rhythm for an hour. If Mo Elneny and Sambi Lokonga can’t boss the midfield against a League One team, lord help us should Thomas Partey and Granit Xhaka get injured. If I was Mikel Arteta, I’d be banging on Edu’s door this morning, pleading with him to sign a midfielder this month.
Mikel Arteta – On the midfield changes he made…
There were two different moments in the game and obviously some players have more time on the pitch than others and there are things that obviously we have to improve and become better at, but this is my job. The subs are really important in this competition. Having five subs – you need to use them at the right moment and they had the impact that we’re hoping for.
I’ve no idea if he’d be the answer or if it’s true, but according to the Telegraph, Nottingham Forest have made an £18m offer for Danilo. Young, Brazilian and at that price, wouldn’t break the bank either, not if the kind of money being talked about for Mudryk is anything to go by. Send Sambi Lokonga out on loan to get playing time and see things go from there. If all goes well, he’ll come back in the summer a better player. As said before, Elneny will probably leave at the end of the season when his contract expires and neither Partey or Xhaka can go on forever.
Arsenal are in a great position to qualify for Champions League football this season but if last night’s performance is anything to go by, if injuries hit us and Mikel Arteta has to call on too many of his second string players, that chance could become a slim one.
Perhaps I’m worrying unnecessarily but perhaps that’s because of the way we finished last season, the season under Unai Emery too, remain fresh in my mind.
Catch up in the comments.
I’m not sure about ‘get him’ though, as I think Arteta and Edu are in a much better position to know who Arsenal should or shouldn’t sign. 😉
Morning Rico
A few worries:
I thought Lokonga was way off the pace last night. It shows how much bother we’d be in if Partey gets injured or goes to prison.
Not sure what has happened to Tierney. He seems to have gone backwards of late. Maybe he hasn’t reacted well to the competition Zinchenko has provided.
Good finishing by Nketiah and some slick passing by Vieira. I think he will be a fantastic player when he gets some steak and chips in him.
Tricky game next round.
Morning Pete, I was disappointed with Lokonga too. It’s a catch 22 really because to improve he needs to play but when he plays, he struggles.
I don’t think you’ll find the words should or shouldn’t in the post Pbarney.
One comment says Lokonga was off the pace last night. Last night? Bar 2-3 perfs when he first got here all I can remember is he has been ‘off’ it every game.
I hope Elneny doesnt leave in a way because he doesnt let us down, and provided he is paired with Partey or Xhaka (or Savic?) he does well.
Nketiah still concerns me despite the goals. (Never seems to be the first scorer). For 70 minutes he was once again utterly ineffective. Cant pass, can’t receive the ball without it bouncing 4yds away. Fails to close down and appears to simply watch the game go by. Oxford ok but v City?!.
Great to have ESR begin easing back in, much needed alternative for Vieira.
Beyond the 1st 14/15 the squad is weak (wtf has happened to Tommi?)and the back end of the season is a worry
Vieira came alive when we made the changes up until then he was inaffective . Xhaka’s presence gave him the protection to go forward and Zinchenko was a step up on the worryingly poor Tierney . It’s easy to point fingers and Lokonga is the obvious target , rather than chase a winger at a high price I would go for a proven midfielder. We have the players of ability but the engine room is seriously under staffed.
Totally agree Potter…
Afternoon Rico. As ever with our cup performances, I found yesterday’s first half a bit of a slog. After the interval we were better but Coote refereed the game at two levels and some of their holding, grabbing and general gamesmanship (to put it kindly)was pathetic. Coote seems to be one of the new breed of grinning incompetents that are turning up with alarming regularity now. That Newcastle twat being one of the cheerleaders.
Lakonga has me wondering what the club ever saw in him in the first place. So safe, so negative and with all reverse gears.
The performance of Lokonga makes the memory of Denilson seem good.
Afternoon Adam. Coote reminded me of the young cop in Heartbeat.. Awful referee but we’re getting used to those.
Lokonga has me scratching my head too, he’s neither defensive or box to box imo and often hangs onto the ball for far too long.
And Song…
Morning Rico et Al,
My biggest problem with transfers currently is that we seem to submit bids that are not initially accepted and often very late in the window to allow enough time to get the player we obviously want. What we need to do is plan for the players we want and make a considered professional approach for the player allowing enough time to succeed. Yes easier said than done. But what I am a really bothered about is that every man and his dog knows we are vulnerable in midfield back up to Partey and Xhaka. We’ve tried on the last day of the window to get Luiz. We also tried to get Danilo earlier and the Teilemans saga is rumbling on like Eastenders. Now Forest have gone in with a bid that is £2m lower than our bid last summer. Now unless Edu has this all in control and is moving forward with their preferred targets without any journalist knowing, which I find unlikely, it leaves me frustrated. Selling clubs always release bids to try and drive their price up, makes sense. So what are Arsenal doing, yes we all agree and know a wide player is a priority and Mudryk is the correct option. But why are we not hearing anything tangible for at least one if not two midfielders. If we’re not careful we might lose one of our midfielders to injury and we’d be in serious trouble. We know Lokonga needs minutes and should be out on loan. We know Elneny will leave come summer. We need two top midfielders. Maybe ESR can do a job but that’s Xhaka’s position. We don’t have a Partey backup who is equal quality or better. I think we will get lucky with the striker issue and we have many goal scorers across the team. But I am fearful that we don’t sign a decent defensive midfielder before the window closes. And if we already bid for Danilo why are we not just resubmitting the same bid this window, we’ve done our homework so why not go all in. He’s a quality player of the calibre we need??
I recon Lokonga needs to go out on loan for 12 months we’re he can play regularly full match back to back and not get bored sitting on the bench.
One final transfer hurdle to overcome for Edu.
Sport Arena, claim there is just one obstacle left to clear for Arsenal to reach total agreement. And that remains around just how much of the fee is paid in bonuses.
The Gunners reportedly want 30% of the package made up in bonuses. Shakhtar, understandably, want more paid up front and are insisting on 20% made up in bonuses.
However, a final agreement should not be too hard for the two sides to settle on.
And the Gunners are reportedly hopeful of concluding negotiations before the week is out. All being well, they could even have Mudryk signed and sealed ahead of their crucial north London derby at Tottenham on Sunday.
City knocked out of The Carabao Cup two nil by Southampton. They are not invincible!!
Morning
Good on Southampton, shows City are beatable. Mind you, we struggle to beat Southampton these days. 😆
New post up now