Morning all.
LvG wants the Christmas fixtures cancelled so his players can have a party, celebrate the big occasion and of course, have a rest. Arsene Wenger however is dead against having a winter break and believes that as the Boxing Day fixtures kick-off, the whole world are watching.
To suppress the game on Boxing Day… The whole of Europe comes to England to watch the game.
I love the busy festive fixture list, especially when Arsenal are at the top of their game and winning but it does put a lot of pressure on the players, especially when the squad isn’t that deep with strength. Rotation will be the key as we have to play Man City, Bournemouth, Newcastle at home and Southampton away (Boxing Day) within a twelve day period.
Arsene Wenger might be tempted to rotate a little today as Everton arrive at The Emirates but I hope not, especially as most of the players will get the rest of the week off as the second string/youngsters should all feature in the Capital One Cup on Tuesday night.
The Toffees got battered 3-0 by Man Utd in their last match and no doubt they’ll be out to make amends so we need to be switched on from the off. Concentrate, and be at the right level mentally. Get at them early and try to emulate the kind of start we had against Man Utd.
The boys must be aware of the threat Everton have up front with Lukaku. Barkley too as he’s been in decent form so far this season both for club and country. Deulofeu has caused us problems in the past too, as has Naismith but Everton’s form in general has been a bit up and down this season, unlike ours.
We are on a great run having lost just twice on the domestic front so far this season and one of those should never have been…
With Aaron Ramsey ruled out for a few weeks, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain will no doubt come in in his place and he needs a big game. OC has been guilty of losing concentration and giving the ball away a bit too often so he needs to focus and put in the kind of work-rate Aaron does on the right. Alexis, Theo and Alex should be able to blow the Everton defence apart with their pace IF the passing is on the money.
One has to go back a long time to find the last time Everton beat Arsenal on the road, 1996 in fact when Graham Stuart and Andrei Kanchelskis scored in a 2-1 win at Highbury.
I can’t see anything other than another three points today’s, especially when we haven’t conceded a goal at home since the opening day of the season and Nacho Monreal credits Petr Cech for that record. He’s been quoted as saying that the big Czech is on at them all the time at the back and when they get things wrong, he helps put them right.
Future coach there then……. 😉
COYRRG’s, go get three massive points and take us top of the league. If only for a day….
Have a good Saturday guys…
morning all!
Arteta is injury again
Morning again Rico, all…
Good post.
I wouldn’t rest anybody today but I’d start Giroud. Everton won’t come all out like Man U and Bayern. And Theo won’t find the spaces he did in both games.
I hate to have negative thoughts on match days but I’m always skeptical about Arsenal’s chances when everybody tips them to win. The Arsenal I’m used to will struggle today.
I’m all prayers that however scrappy, they get the three points.
Morning all.
Big game today….aren’t they all 🙂
What this time JM?
Morning to you, Tai and all again…
I’d start Walcott Tai, get at them early… Then change if not working..
They sure are Scott… lol
I think Everton will have a go at us, they’ll want a good display after last weekend.
We should beat them, Rico.
If we concentrate and show patience, we will.
If.
If.
🙂
Morning. I’d play Walcott to the right and Giroud up front. Is there a law somewhere that AW follows that’s says it must be one or the other?
A big IF Scott…. lol
I just worry about starting Ollie because he’s not the quickest. We play so much better with pace up front and it seems to bring the best out of Mesut…
Starting with Theo and bringing Giroud on late is smashing it…….no tinkering with a successful system, IMO.
I’m with you there, if it’s not broken, why try and fix it….
The Bayern game was a long time ago… 😉
Andrew…it seems Wenger doesn’t intend having Giroud and Theo playing together any more…
It’s certain Le Prof wants to prove he got it spot on shifting Theo to the middle and wants him to concentrate in middle role all through the season. Besides, interchanging them reduces injuries to both at same time. Without Welbeck being back, having injuries to both forwards at any point this season would mean just one thing – disaster.
Scott, I don’t believe Everton will come at us…no manager would attempt that after what we did to both Man U and Bayern…they’d be cautious, meaning less room for Theo…I’d start with Giroud.
Rico…we’re starting the Ox in place of injured Ramsey…with Sanchez and Ox either side of Giroud, we won’t lack pace neither would Ozil be unhappy.
Tai, we’ll see I guess but imo, it’s all very good having pace on each wing but if the centre forward can’t keep up with them, it’s hopeless…
Ollie is best from the bench for me…
Gironde and Walcott have exchanged roles. Le Boss used to use Walcott as an impact sub, bringing him on in the 68th minute, more often than not pulling Giroud or Le Coq off! Sometimes Theo would ‘change’ the game sometimes, often, he wouldn’t! Whilst recently when Giroud has come on, usually for Walcott the slow lumbering one has scored!
I’d keep it as it is, Walcott to start, Giroud to finish. It seems to work, we keep on winning, at least and the pair of them keep on scoring. So……no change for me.
Oh, Arsenal to win 2-0. I’ll leave you to guess who I think the scorers will be!
Morning all.
Morning Rico and all. After Pep’s visit to London on Tuesday I see the press have concocted a number of stories about him wanting to come to London and that means us or those west London scumbags. The last thing any should want would be to see Mourinho leave to be replaced by Pep. The Portuguese prick and that club are a marriage made in hell and long may it continue.
Tai, I do get your logic.
I just don’t like messing with things when we are on a roll.
Morning, True Rico our Defensive record this season has been second to none, I suppose not enough credit has gone to our Defense, with Ozil Sanchez, Theo, Coquelin, And Santi deservedly grabbing all the plaudits, but that’s what having a WC keeper in goal can bring to a Team. Stability, leadership and confidence. Such a feel good factor at the moment, when we,re not playing well we fear these teams, but our current form suggests a win. I don,t like getting too ahead of myself but I feel good about today, Happy days !!!
I know you’d never agree with me Rico, however hard I tried…but we’ll see if AW believes Ollie suits starting this one or if Theo wouldn’t struggle if otherwise.
Scott, we’ve all wanted AW to be unpredictable in approach to matches…bringing in Giroud, who is in great scoring form in place of Theo springs that element of unpredictability. Everton will be cautious, that I can bet on.
Alexis to get both Wavy.. 😉
Morning Adam.. If Jose keeps mucking things up and spouting his vile garbage each week, he could soon be a gonner. Pep’s contract is up next summer isn’t it?
Spot on Dublin, if the keeper is confident, that has to filter through to the players. It’s been a long time since we had such a player between the sticks, far too long… The defensive unit as a whole have been superb in the domestic game…
🙂 Tai, the world would be a boring place if we all agreed. As said, we’ll see how we line up and how the game unfolds in just a few hours time….
Nipping off to walk the woofa before the rain falls again…
It is Rico. We don’t want him giving that vile club any respectability though. Surely there must be some behind the scenes stuff going on with us. I think so.
Pep to Chelsea, to me, is a dead end. Mourinho has infused so much animousity towards Pep’s philosophy that most Chelsea fans bought hook, line and sinker…and certainly Pep knows. The Spaniard’s train would need to break down completely for the Spaniard to step foot on Stamford Bridge on a coaching mission.
Tai. I hope you are right there.
Wenger admits he is close to resting Alexis. “I might consider it (for Everton game).” #afc ”
I think thats taking Everton too lightly, and could backfire, Players can be rested Wednesday night, for god sake.
Bellerin could do a job on the right wing, with Debuchy right back. I,ve read this morning, could work. couldn,t it ?
Adam, I can’t see Pep coaching Chelsea…too strange!
DG Wenger won’t rest Sanchez…that’s certain.
Can,t see it myself, Tai,
He knows a win will put us top tonight, definitely not a day to rest players.
“Top tonight,” god that sounds good.
Adam, I’m not overly fussed on Pep myself…. ?
Alexis looked knackered against Bayern….
West Ham will go second if they beat Chelsea, who’d have thought that eh…
Bilic is doing well there…
I know Rico. I am of the opposite view as you know. 🙂
Hammers 1-0 up?
I know Adam ?
Interesting comments from Harry Redknapp regarding Pep,
He says the Premier League’s top clubs should stop fawning over appointing Bayern Munich manager Pep Guardiola and give young British coaches a chance instead.
too much emphasis is put on coaches like Guardiola and suggests you’d have to be “some kind of idiot” to not have Manchester City in the title race.
If you gave Guardiola the Watford job, Redknapp argues, they would still occupy one of the bottom six spots in the table at the end of the campaign because that is their level.
Think what he,s trying to say is what a lot of people think
Messi and a crap German league have given Pep a career.
Payet is having another good game apparently Adam….
Good old Arry… He thinks Adams or Bould should replace Arsene when the time comes…..
Matic sent off.. Ha ha ha ha
was off-side? Probably not and if in doubt, it benefited those attacks.
was not a goal? the technology said no but I think yes because the ball is not square but spherical.
Another week listen Mourinho crying
Mourinho sent off too….
I bet he’s loving it.. The man is asking for the sack….
Mertesacker out of todays game with illness, thats the second time this season, Gabriel expected to start.
Only 3 Premier League clubs have conceded more goals than Chelsea this season.
Arsenal have conceded the fewest Premier League goals (20) in 2015. 6 less than any other team.
Illness = rotation Dublin…. Lol
Darn, chavs level.
Hammers 2-1
Rico…Giroud is starting after all.
And Sanchez, of course…
Tai, let’s hope we don’t lose momentum up front then….
good wins for leicester and Watford.
Fantastic win for the hammers.
Chavs lose again… ?
Those two surprised me Dublin, good for both clubs… I like the tinkerman…
Gabriel starting makes sense to me, lukaku is quick and strong…
Kayouté is a very good player… probably must cheaper then all thoses in the media and completely adapting to the english league.
Can’t wait to see Mouro interview☺☺ on MOTD. As long as we have done our stuff. Get into em, match ManU’s 3-0 last week and prove we really have a chance. Wouldn’t it be funny if Chelsea implode and don’t make Champs league? Could be very open for 4th place.
Rico, there’ll be no loss in any momentum…changing tactics is always good management.
West Ham have now beaten Arsenal, Liverpool, Man City and Chelsea…
Chelsea announced no post match interviews at Upton Park!!
Me neither Andrew… Ha ha…
Tai, we’ll see….
Gutless lot! Even AW spoke to the media after the 8-2….
There some scalps Tai, Raneiri and Bilic doing fantastic jobs,
A win will put us 11 points clear of Chelsea. after 10 games
Crazy season.
Bet West Ham fade a bit after Christmas though…. Not sure they have a deep squad.. Mind you, neither do we….
Can you imagine Theo sat on the shoulder of the last defender….. 😉
Shame our lot can’t head the ball on target!
Morning all.
It’s getting dark here Scott… Lol
Funny old game….
At last! Great ball in and such a cool finish….
Well, A finish…. Lol
Tai, you were right, and so was Wenger.
Sensational goal from Giroud.
Ozil is a freak.
What a header by Kos!!
And again lol.
Well, a header… Lol
Rico, I gave up working out times years ago.
It’s either morning there or here, so it’s just easier for me to to good morning, because it’s right for one of us lol
Sensational Scott? The ball brushed his rain sodden quiff….. ??
Ha ha Scott… I struggle too and I live here…. Lol
Rico, you’re a hard marker lol.
Just kidding really Scott, I don’t give a toot how the goals go in or who scores them…
We can’t be firing on all cylinders every game…..
Get another and take Coq off…
Alternatively…….
Why no yellow?
That’s as bad a dive as is possible.
Two players on the league is love at Arsenal…..Aguero and Barkley.
He’s quality, though a tad lucky to score lol.
Two brilliant deliveries,
Ozil,s was 1-0 as soon as it left his foot, Class.
Arsenal to step up a gear and finish this 3 or 4-1.
Round of Mourinho,s miserable day. Lol
There’s a few than those two for me Scott.. Southampton, Leicester and West Ham have one or two who’d slot right in at Arsenal imo….
Great control from Ollie… Just a shame Howard was in the way….
Subs Arsene?
The Spanish kid Everton have is a disgraceful little shit.
Fabregas was, is the same but back then he was ours…..
Rico, not sure if you saw his first dive, but I’d die of embarrassment if I saw any Arsenal player do that.
One of the most blatant attempts I’ve ever seen.
Scott, over here the pundits reckon an arm went over him, not enough to send him on the floor like he’d been shot of course… I didn’t see much wrong tbh…. Cheat!
That miss from Giroud is the difference between him being a slid striker and an absolute ripper.
Should’ve scored.
I’d get Theo on now and stop them pressing forward…
Rico, he copped the absolute slightest of touches, but I gather the pundits didn’t tell you all he took a full two strides before suddenly felling the effects lol
Embarrassing to see from any player.
The pundits said he made a big deal out of nothing Scott…
OC has been disappointing today….
Coyrrgs- get a grip of this game!!
Fresh legs Arsene!!!
Job done.
Night all.
Well done Arsenal. Well done. A bloody tough game after a bloody tough game in the week….
Top of the league for a few hours…..
Great result…. And that’s all what mattered today….
Night Scott…
You said it all Rico,
Get me Dublin…. Lol
Yippy good win but I am starting to worry about the Ox
My sweetest three points since start of season. Why? Past five seasons’ Arsenal would have dropped points today.
Thanks Scott for acknowledging that I saw it coming.
We’re top of the League…and don’t bet we won’t be top by May. Arsene and Arsenal have turned a corner…we now approach games according to strenght of opposition. Long may it last.
Ox had a poor game and the little I saw of Flamini suggests he could step in for Ramsey…
I wonder if we could play Bellerin in front of Debushy during Ramsey’s injury
Evening Rico and the house
Big win tonight
Dont think the ox is going to make it at the highest level, if you don’t have confidence in a winning team, your never going to have it
I worry about him too Joe, he’s digressed….. He’s got to take this opportunity with both feet…
Tai, have you stolen Ts’s crystal ball?
Evening Mg, certainly a good win…
Good idea Joe but a bit risky over a period of time in case of injury…
Rico…hahaha…no crystal balls for me. I only follow my mind.
Joe, that’d kill Bellerin’s game…he needs space in front of him to be effective. He’d falter under close marking, lose confidence or even get injured and bang! Any way, AW is too experienced a manager to try to distort Bellerin.
Ox having one bad game doesn’t make him shit. He could explode against Swansea.
Someone tweeted goal line technology was week and nieve earlier during the Chelsea game
Love it ?
Tai having one bad game I’d agree but Ox is starting to but together an album of mistakes that generally lead to goals.
Tai on Bellerin you may be right
I said to a mate during the game that Ox should go on loan for a few months
Tai, I guess it’s not about what’s said but…… Lol
OC is going through a bad patch. I’d love him to play in the CO cup game on Tuesday, he needs playing time imo
Evening Rico. Just in from a rain soaked Emirates with far too much traffic around afterwards. Three excellent points although the BM game took its toll towards the end. It’s been quite a week for Arsenal and the fact that Chelsea are disintegrating only makes it better.
Nice game but we should have made it more comfortable. Everton got away with a lot of stuff that really should have been penalised with yellows. Some excellent performances from us and I think the Ox needs a bit of playing time and to stop trying so hard.
Yes Rico, I heard that Payet did well again. 🙂
I see that Portuguese, disgusting, scumbag Gimp refused to do a press conference
I hope he doesn’t leave the chavs, i would love him to be in a relegation battle
Evening Adam.. Wouldn’t you love to see Payet in an Arsenal shirt? I think he’d fit in mighty fine…. ?
Mg, sadly, I doubt they’ll be in a relegation battle and we of all know how easy it is to bounce back into the top four having been at the bottom. Just hope this rubbish run they are on continues into next year and beyond….
Payet reminds me of Carzola…only he’s not that effective with his left foot.
He’s one of the reasons West Ham are where they are though…
Anyway, it’s getting late for me so I’m off…
Night all…
Rico…it may be too early to conclude but it’ll be extremely difficult for this Chelsea to make top four…confidence deserts them every match. And Mourinho is too impatient to let key players pick form. Chopping and changing degenerates a team faster than injuries…next he may start Falcao ahead of Costa – more damages!
May Mourinho’s problems grow!
Tai, one thing you and I will agree on…
‘May Mourinhos problems grow’…..
Gone now…
Night Rico.
Isn’t schadenfreude great ?
Adam, your 8.51 is harsh.
I think it’s in poor taste you’re rejoicing at how poorly Chelsea are performing.
We should concentrate on ourselves.
There, I did it.
Typed all of that without PMSL hahahahaha
http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/arsenal-preparing-new-contract-arsene-6698928
???
Gone now but Arsene might not be… Lol
Wenger out…
Was a tad wet wasn’t it ? Glad I got seats in the 2nd row from the back of the lower tier.I thought we made hard work and tired towards the end. Thought Theo could have come on as they pushed forward and Barkley took control of the midfield. However top of the shop who am I to criticise ? Tuesday nights team should be interesting.
Wow we’re top again! Who’d have thought it?
Go the Arsenal!
Well,cell well!
May too? Well we can all dream.
Clocks going back now!
Morning guys.
Morning Scott.
Yeah… we’re on top of the League. Now every pundit thinks we have a chance. Same pundits gave Chelsea the title before season.
Early days yet but football is strict disciplinarian.
Morning Scott, Tai and all…
Potter, agree re Walcott, thought we could have done with him to keep Everton back but all turned out ok in the end… Just… lol
It’s a lovely feeling simply being at the right end of things at present-long may it continue.
Hopefully, come January, we are right at the top and Wenger remembers 2 years ago, and ha strengthening in the TW would have helped.
AW has to sign one or two in January surely. They could be the difference between winning the league or not…
Absolutely right, Rico.
I’d love to see another player like Coquelin snapped up Scott…
Rico, that would help, no question.
We need Theo to stay fit……he’s due for a full season.
He sure is Scott, let’s hope it’s this one. Same with Ollie, can’t afford him to be injured either…
New post up now…