Daily Bits and Bobs

Arsenal A team, or B team tonight?

Posted on by rico

Morning all.

Flo Balogun has gone for the remainder of the season. Chris Wilder, manager of Middlesbrough, had Sheffield Utd playing some of the best football the club has played in recent years, so hopefully he’ll work wonders with Flo. The Championship is a tough League and Middlesbrough are sitting just one place off the playoff places, but I hope this doesn’t mean Wilder will use our striker sparingly. He needs to play, gain more confidence and come back to Arsenal ready for the next chapter in his Arsenal career.

Both Thomas Partey and Mo Elneny suffered defeats in their opening fixtures of the ACON. not great for them, but it might good news for Arsenal. Another defeat for either, preferably both, and they’ll soon be heading back to north London.

In the meantime, we take on Liverpool tonight in the first of two fixtures which will decide who will face Chelsea at Wembley next month.

Mikel Arteta was giving nothing away in his press conference yesterday, no injury/fitness details and certainly no transfer news. Other than Eddie Nketiah is going nowhere this month, not that I believe that for one minute.

Tram news:

It is extremely volatile and uncertain, I don’t know what the situation is that we will have today or if it is different to yesterday. Obviously I cannot get into any detail with that. It is what it is, in the last week or so we lost so many players for many different reasons and we are trying to adapt to that. I will use the players that we have and make the most out of it.

With Covid around, could tonight’s fixture be postponed?

You can never guarantee anything because you know things can change dramatically in 10 seconds when the doctor comes to the door and gives you the news, and we have experienced that already twice this season. Our willingness is always to play.

Perhaps the Arsenal medical staff should have got their hands on some of the faulty testing kits Liverpool used a week ago! Or just lie!

The loss in the FA Cup at Nottingham Forest means the League Cup is our only opportunity to win silverware this season. Beating Liverpool over two legs won’t be easy, in fact I think it’s unlikely. Yes they have key players missing but so do we. If Granit Xhaka isn’t fit, I’ve no idea what our midfield will look like.

With the NLD taking place on Sunday, Mikel Arteta has a dilemma. Does he play the strongest team he has available tonight or keep players back for the derby? Do you hope to see Tavares, Nketiah, Kolasinac, Chambers, Holding etc, or our A team minus Partey and really go for this competition?

See you in the comments.

 

 

 

 

 

 

rico

87 thoughts on “Arsenal A team, or B team tonight?”

  1. gunnerpete says:

    With so little to go for now we should play our stongest eleven every game. Enough with the using failed average players…get thme out the club and fill the place with either top youngsters or new signings. They have had enough time to have negotiated deals for players they want long before this deadline started??

  2. Aussie Geoff says:

    Morning Rico and all

    Let’s start with our best team if we are still a chance to win after half time keep them on if all goes belly up then bring on the young kids for experience

  3. rico says:

    Morning Geoff, all.

    It’s a tough one isn’t it but I want us to beat Liverpool and rumour is, Klopp is taking this fixture seriously despite what he’s said before.

  5. Sue says:

    Daylight robbery, Rico… and they think he’s the answer to their prayers 🤣

    Nice read, Rico. The Spuds are down and out, normally we follow suit.. I reckon we’ll be spanked tonight and then all our eggs will be in one basket [once again] and look how that turned out – no European football in an eternity!!

    I will be raging tonight though, thinking of all who we’re missing due to covid, injuries etc yet we’re still playing!! Bloody cheating scousers

  6. Aussie Geoff says:

    Klopp full of crap he wants to everything that’s why he used false reading to get a match put of because it didn’t suit him, I hope we smash them.

    Any decent news about us buying any one yet. Sounds very quiet

  7. rico says:

    Thanks Sue. I suppose if he gets the goals to keep Newcastle up, he’ll be worth it but why can’t we sell our players for that kind of fee?

    I too think we’ll get spanked tonight against the cheats.

  8. Sue says:

    Can’t see him keeping them up, Rico.

    If we go 3-0 down, I’ll probably turn over to Celebrity Coach Trip 😆

    Geoff. There’s talk of Mari going to Udinese on loan, deal almost done apparently. Not seen any news of anyone joining us… the clock is ticking!!

  10. potter says:

    We don’t sell our players , we are seen as a soft touch by agents , players and clubs . We loan players and retain responsibility for paying part if not all of the players wages.
    Players run down their contracts safe in the knowledge that we will buckle at the end . Nketiah’s agent is doing exactly what he did with Balogun and Reiss Nelson
    . He leaves things until the last minute and then when the club needs to make a decision he screws them to the floor. Personally I would say that there is a 60/40 chance that Nketiah will stay on an improved expensive contract .
    Whilst we are at it ,chances are , that we will do deals to get shot of some of Mari , Kolasinac , Cedric but the big ones i.e. Lacazette and Auba will stay and that will be it for January and Laca will go for nothing at the end of the season with Aubameyang getting the repatriation treatment like Xhaka did.

  11. rico says:

    Totally agree, why didn’t we just sell all our senior players on loan if they’re not in Arsenal’s plans. Loans are good for younger players but Not the older ones, it’s pointless imo.

  14. Pete the Thirst says:

    It will be a tough game tonight. Anfield is not a happy hunting ground for us.

    @Potter I’d be very surprised if we keep Nketiah. He’s a Championship level player. Having watched him a good few times he seems to lack pace, misses lots of chances and doesn’t put much work in.

    Time will tell, but Bielsa didn’t like him and Chelsea preferred Abraham to him.

  15. Cicero says:

    I guess the big question is do we acknowledge that the likelihood is getting beaten tonight whatever side we put out and maybe suffer more players getting injured, banned or testing positive before the Spurs game. Or put out the under18s knowing that we have the second leg in which to come back with, hopefully, a stronger eleven and three more points in the bag.

  16. ScottfromOz says:

    We will slaughter the rotten bastards 🙂
    Well to be honest, I hope we don’t play ourselves out of it in game 1 🙂
    Gets some recruits back, maybe a new signing or two for the second leg.
    Meanwhile, the epic drama that is Djokovic v the OZ government goes on.
    How terrible our country looks right now.

  22. Cicero says:

    Then they would shortly both be out of work Rico. I don’t think Boris will survive this time.

    After getting Brexit done and winning a big majority in the Commons he should have quit while he was ahead. He has been very badly advised by the hangers on around him, sadly those advisers were appointed by him.

  23. Aussie Geoff says:

    Cicero even gets worse, a female player who arrived but was refused entry is now taking legal action against Tennis Australia for cost after they said she could come and today the Victorian government has announced that the Tennis matches can only be 50% full.

  27. potter says:

    He has been very badly advised by the hangers on around him, sadly those advisers were appointed by him.

    I think he married the one that is driving much of it.

    Most public opinion is against Djokovic here apart from the the anti vaxxing fruitloops.

    I think the plan was for Boris to be removed once Brexit was given but then Covid came along and everyone else ran a mile. They might have tried to give the impression that they did but Starmer and Corbyn really didn’t and now we have a few shuffling the deckchairs with Sunak and Truss leading the pack but watch out for Hunt . He’s been very quiet of late and watching the shenanighans from a distance .

    Liverpool ? Do I have to talk about tonight because I really don’t want to.

  31. Cicero says:

    Leno and Ramsdale positive tests, Charlie Patino in goal tonight.
    .
    .
    .
    .
    .
    .
    I’ts as believable as most “news” in these Covid haunted times. 😒

  32. Cicero says:

    I think the term you are looking for Potter is “Pussy Whipped”. I expect that is very un-pc, delete it if you wish Rico, I don’t want to be un-platformed. 😉

  33. Aussie Geoff says:

    Let’s try Xhaka in goal after all he will be able to flatten a few Liverpool players and get away with it before he receives his red card

  36. potter says:

    Arsenal vs Liverpool officials

    Referee: Michael Oliver
    Assistant Referees: Stuart Burt and Simon Bennett
    Fourth Official: Simon Hooper
    VAR: Darren England
    AVAR: Tim Wood

  38. Cicero says:

    Six officials for one match, that’s without the Riley spy who sits in the stands.

    VAR is getting to be like a camel. The old saying, the camel is a horse designed by a committee, seems appropriate. 😕

  39. Sue says:

    Some gooners have said they don’t care about tonight as Sunday is more important. Try telling that to our fans who have gone up there! Poor sods.. at that dump listening to YNWA (pass the sick bowl 🤣)
    At the end of the day, it’s a competition, a trophy – the last one left to go for!! It is important..

    Plenty of time afterwards to think about that 6-pointer on Sunday 🙂

  40. potter says:

    Don’t think it’s so much that they don’t care , more of a defence mechanism against what they think will happen .
    If as predicted Odegaard , ESR and Xhaka are out then a midfield of Patino and Lokonga will get overrun by the Scouse midfield machine . If Xhaka is half fit and gets on the pitch I doubt he will be anything other than a passenger .
    Klopp is good at firing up his team and all of his comments about Arsenal’s reaction to the false positive scandal has been designed to wind them up . I will be interested to see exactly who gets selected for them tonight.

  41. rico says:

    I saw a few headlines suggesting tonight doesn’t matter Sue. A loss imo is another dent in the confidence. I just want us to come away with a fighting chance to progress next week.

  42. Sue says:

    Yikes, Rico, I hate to think where our confidence will end up after seeing this:

    Liverpool XI vs. Arsenal: Allison; Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Van Dijk, Robertson; Fabinho, Henderson, Milner; Minamino, Firmino, Jota.

  47. andrewh1313 says:

    Potter, considering Hunt was runner up to Boris last time before being pushed aside, I’m surprised he is not up with the two other front-runners in the odds. On the other side, Ilford MP Wes Streeting seems on the up.

    Line up! Cheating sdds!

  62. Sue says:

    I was shocked at what happened, Rico.. 😱

    5 years of Xhaka, how much more pain will we have to endure? How many reds is that now?

  64. Sue says:

    BREAKING: Arthur Melo has landed in Luton airport ahead of a move to Arsenal.

    He is apparently still in his pyjamas as masked men entered his house and whisked him off in a black van with tinted windows 🤣🤣🤣

  66. Obi says:

    One name Xhaka…..And there in is why I question Arteta’s judgment and his lack of meritocracy? And the guy is not that good to begin with. Reminds me of Ramos but without Ramos’ abilities.

  67. Sue says:

    Xhaka has a lot of grovelling to do; they worked their socks off!! Well done boys and a big fat middle finger to Klopp and the scousers

  69. Andrew1313 says:

    Unlike City game, justice was done after the postponement. I fully expected an injury time loss… and Minamino ballooned it over the bar!😀😀

    Proud of our team.

  70. Sue says:

    Arsenal are the first side to stop Liverpool scoring in a game at Anfield across all competitions this season. And they did it with 10-men for 71 minutes

    Love it!!!

  71. Cicero says:

    Xhaka probably did us a favour. His dismissal meant we had only to concentrate on defending and we did it bloody well.

    Liverpool only one shot on target says it all.

    Repeat the performance in the second leg and win it on penalties.

  72. Aussie Geoff says:

    Didn’t see the match, but we have to be happy with a draw, considering no one tipped us to win.

    Told you we should start Xhaka in goal so he can take a few out before he gets a red card

  74. allezkev says:

    Arthur Melo will need to have been signed by midday tomorrow to be able to play in the NLD, nobody does transfers like Arsenal.

  75. allezkev says:

    Personally I’d stick with the back three/wingback system for the Toilet Bowl, we’ve got plenty of defenders even if we’ve no midfielders, just play for a point and if we can nick it 1-0 then happy days.

  78. potter says:

    It was hard work especially as my phone would not let me post . The way he played tonight I would seriously give thought to Chambers and Lokonga in the middle and hope that ESR gets over his knock in time for both games .
    I don’t know how long Lacazette can keep up the pressing game but we are going to need him doing it in both matches and hope for an alternative to rest him against Burnley.
    There are many reasons that I would like to see the back of Xhaka but tonight was a classic example I think , were that White doing that tackle , it’s a yellow but Xhaka is a liability and Oliver took one look at who it was and out came the red card…
    He’s got to go abroad for his sake as much as ours.

  79. ScottfromOz says:

    So it’s Arteta in today 🙂
    The ebbs and flows.
    Yes Potter, I don’t care what anyone says, put another shirt on Xhaka and he has half the red cards, but he still is that half a yard too slow for the PL imo so unfortunately leaves himself open.
    He’d kill it in Spain or Italy imo.
    Not the massacre most expected which is fantastic.

  80. ScottfromOz says:

    Seen much worse challenges than that given a yellow based on players eyes on the ball and intent.
    Xhaka equals red every time.
    Ridiculous.
    Remember Saka nearly had his leg snapped on half from behind a few months back?
    Different rules…..

  82. ScottfromOz says:

    Hope so Geoff.
    Unexpected result (especially after the send off).
    Can’t be bad for the confidence, that’s for sure.
    Gee if we could get Tielemans, WOW!!
    Who knows if there’s any truth in the rumour at all, but he’d be phenomenal for us!!

  84. Adam says:

    Morning Rico. Weirdly excellent result last night. Curiously enough I think the key to the draw was getting Cedric off injured and Callum on.

  86. ScottfromOz says:

    Sue that’s gold.
    White was over rated and over priced though.
    Ramsdale was those things and more 🙂
    Great to see Chambers do well in all seriousness.

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