Morning all.
Who would have thought it would be Chelsea hot on our heels in the league as well as Man City and instead of Liverpool. Honestly, I wasn’t sure Arsenal would be top of the table at this stage of the season either. Yes, we had a great summer of transfers but often, especially in the case of overseas players, new guys take time to settle in plus, as each game came and went, another player was sidelined through injury.
Mosquera, Zubimendi and more recently Hincapie, have played like they’ve been at Arsenal for a few seasons rather than a few months. The so called Chelsea reject Madueke returned from injury against Bayern and caused the Germans a real problem, and when he smashed in his goal it felt like a big moment in his Arsenal career. The cross was perfect of course but I’ve seen chances like his fluffed. I would imagine he’s desperate to do something similar today against the club who gave up on him. I read someone that he rejected a move to Manchester Utd when he was younger, preferring to join PSV.
Zubimendi v Caicedo will be an interesting battle, a battle which will be key tomorrow as will nullifying Chelsea’s pace in attack. Calafiori and Timber will have their work cut out that’s for sure.
My money is on a central defensive pairing of Hincapie and Saliba because it makes sense. Our attacking unit is harder to guess. I’m not sure both Eze and Odegaard will start this one so I wouldn’t be surprised to see Arteta stick with Eze as he’s been superb form, nor would I be surprised to see Trossard on the left if he’s fit which is a possibility according to Arteta. Assuming Gyokeres, Havertz and Jesus are ruled out or at best on the bench, Merino is likely to play up top. No, I haven’t forgotten Rice, Saka and Raya who I’m 99.9% sure will start.
Mikel Arteta:
It’s a big game, it’s a big London derby, we’re going to play a really good opponent, and they are in really good form. We know the challenge, we know the opportunity that we have as well on Sunday, so we are fully prepared for it.
Like Arsenal, Chelsea had a very good game in midweek, beating Barcelona 3-0. The bigger picture of that game though was that for half the game, Barcelona were playing with ten men and it was during that period when Chelsea scored twice. I’m not knocking them, after all, it’s not Chelsea’s fault the Catalan club had a player sent off but surely it made life easier for them.
Previewing this weekend’s match, Arsenal’s Adrian Clarke said:
Boasting the highest XG in the Premier League this season, we will face a very attack-minded Chelsea side this time around. Elevated by some new and exciting young forwards, Enzo Maresca’s men will be ambitious in their approach whenever they get inside our half. It’s a quick attack, so the Blues tend to thrive best when there is space to run into. So, with that in mind we may want to avoid turning this into a thrilling, end-to-end basketball match. Defending a bit deeper than usual could be the right ploy here, as they have struggled to break down that type of tactic.
Teenage talent Estevao has to be respected. He can strike the ball beautifully off both feet and is one of the division’s best dribblers, ranking second behind Jeremy Doku with 3.71 successful dribbles per 90 minutes. Proving he can deliver the right pass too, he is also neck and neck with Bukayo Saka for chances created in open play. Left back Riccardo Calafiori will need to defend well against the 18-year-old.
Fast starts are something else we need to be watchful of. Chelsea have scored first in eight of their 12 Premier League games. In all competitions, Maresca’s men have actually opened the scoring in 12 consecutive games! So, keeping them quiet early on will be of paramount importance.
Chelsea’s weaknesses are at the back. They do not have a settled rearguard, and aside from their excellent left back Marc Cucurella, none of the defensive players have delivered consistent performances this season. Clever movement and slick interplay has the potential to cause them major issues. While their XG Against tally of 14.27 is good, Opta do suggest they have conceded more than three fewer goals than they should have done. They are yet to face any of the top four either.
I’m not into all the fancy terms like XG in the game, after all, the league isn’t decided on who creates the most clear cut chances, it’s about which club scores the goals to win games. It’s a bit like the set-piece debate, if they go in, who cares about the how? Not me for sure. I wouldn’t care if we were to win today from a scuffed shot which took a huge deflection off of Cucurella‘s backside. Or should that sentence be written the other way around?
As Arteta said in his press conference, this is a big game, after all, it’s a London derby. It’s a game which could be end to end with the talent on the pitch today and it’s not like Chelsea will entertain sitting back and defending. In theory, their tactics should suit us, just don’t get caught out on the break…
Right, enough waffling, enjoy the game…
Catch up in the comments.
Good day fellas. Hincapie starts for me. He’s a better passer out of the back with longer range, and a good ball winner. He’s also just as good defending as Mosquera, if not better. However either one would be more than adequate. Caicedo is good, but he’s no where near Zubimendi, as a proper #6. Let’s stop, one is technically and positionally sound, and the other relies on athleticism and gets pull out of position alot.
I really wish Arteta will really get adventurous and play 3 at the back, so that Odegaard could play in front of Rice and Zubimendi but behind Eze. That would really put pressure on their suspected defense and also allow us to really press the ball in the middle.
Absolutely agree re Caicedo and Zubimendi, no comparison imo. Both very good in their own right but Zubimendi has more about him than just physicality.
G’day Rico and all.
I suspect the real midfield battle will be between Caciedo and Rice. They are very similar in their playing style. Incidentally, we bid for Caciedo the window before before we bought Rice. Apparently we would have bought both but Caciedo went elsewhere.
Today’s ref needs to keep an eye on Cucarella, particularly at what he does off the ball.
As to your Odegaard/Eze question, I can’t see them playing together, Eze gets my vote for his scoring ability, Perhaps a cameo for Odegaard if all goes well.
Afternoon Cicero, it’s funny isn’t it as I don’t see there being a battle between Rice and Caciedo as imo, they are very different.
Eze for me too, in midfield though and not on the left.
Eze or Odegaard? I would play both when Odegaard is back,I suspect today Odegaard will be on the bench,hopefully to come on when the game is safe.
Sky have been hyping this all week,the Premier league is a multi billion business and they won’t want a one horse title race again. I just hope the ref/VAR don’t have too much influence.
Chelsea fans hate us so much. They think they are the top Premier league team in London.
Let’s put them in their place.
Afternoon Rico and afternoon Gooners, I can’t see Arteta moving away from what already been successful against Tottenham and Bayern, but I agree Cuccrella is a problem due to his constant fouling and simulation, fortunately he’ll be up against Saka and Timber so his playacting shouldn’t be anything other than irritating.
Chelsea are young, athletic and full of energy but they haven’t faced a team that can squeeze the life out of them yet and there isn’t anyone better than Arsenal for doing that.
ManCity just about got over the line yesterday but there’s cracks appearing in their facade and they’ll be desperate for Chelsea to do them a favour but I’m fairly confident that won’t be today.
I also think Arteta will eventually just as he did against West Ham before Odegaard suffered his injury..
Not looked to see who the ref is, just hope it’s not Gillet..
Referee: Anthony Taylor
Assistant Referees: Gary Beswick and Adam Nunn
Fourth Official: Sam Barrott
VAR: John Brooks
Assistant VAR: Eddie Smart
Limey, Sky can hype the match as much as they like but it still comes down to two teams on the pitch for ninety odd minutes.
Afternoon Kev, I was thinking the same about our formation. Why repair something which isn’t broken.
I can’t stand Cucurella, such a filthy player. Obviously so too but gets away with far too much.
Anthony Taylor is all rightish, but I prefer Timothy Taylor, he makes my favourite beer, Landlord Bitter. 😉
No Saliba…
Gyokeres on the bench
Jesus on the bench
No Saliba .
Cynical me. No Saliba, no news during the week about any injury. Huum, the betting lines are moving…
Huge miss, big boost for Chelsea I’m sure. Mosquera is no novice though..
Must be a training injury if he’s out injured because he was in the training photos yesterday..
William Saliba misses out after picking up a knock in training, so he joins Gabriel among the absentees. Hincapie comes back into the side after playing in the north London derby last weekend, to partner fellow summer signing Mosquera.
Mikel Arteta said: “Yesterday in training he was uncomfortable, so we need to explore a little bit more what happened. I don’t think it’s something major, but enough not to be involved in the game.”
Leandro Trossard is also unavailable after going off in our midweek win, so Gabriel Martinelli replaces him on the left, after making a goalscoring impact from the bench in the Champions League.
Well that’s why we bought so many players in the Summer window.
Exactly..
5 minutes in and Taylor shows the bias
Keep playing out to Saka, Cucurella will get himself sent off..
Yep, two same “challenges” only Mosquera gets booked.
If this game ends 11 v 11 I’ll be amazed..
Thank goodness they didn’t bottle that decision. Shocking challenge, an ankle breaker.
They will balance it out to 10 v 10 rico. 4 yellows already.
Ref didn’t see it as red though!
I said it earlier. The Caicedo has no positional awareness. You are in the middle of the pitch, Merino is going nowhere. Straight Rwd.
Good evening
Feisty game. Don’t worry… Be amazed if we finished the game with 11.
Saka needs to keep teasing Cucurella and get him a second booking.
Webb on the phone to Taylor as we speak
Need a goal then take off Zubi and Cali (for Norgaard and MLS )to protect, and tell our two CBs to not take the slightest chance of a booking.
Chavd score. O-1 down
That’s my fear Andrew, especially now Chavs are ahead..
We need to get a grip of this game.
Madueke and Odegaard, good move imo
Merino for Gyokeres next I reckon…
1-1, that man Merino again..
One goal each, one point each.
I’ve no idea how Cucerella was still on the pitch at the final whistle, but then Taylor was never going to dismiss two from the same team.
Not the worst result, but it was good to see Odegaard and Gyokeres getting some minutes.
If 11 vs 11, it’s good result. 11 vs 10 for over 50 minutes seems like a loss.
Fortunate to get out without a red card as we were trapped in their tactic of spoiling physicality . We allowed ourselves to get drawn into a fight rather than stand back and play football .
Me neither re Cucurella, foul after foul after foul..
It was clear at the end of the game that the players knew they should have won. But, I thought we were off overall. As potter said, we got sucked into their dirty tricks instead of playing our own game.
I don’t think the new and untried centre back pairing helped.
Give Hincapie and Mosquera chance Rico. They are still in nappies together as a partnership
That’s what I said Devil, I’m not criticising them..
I am still trying to understand how Kickurella stayed on the pitch. Had he been playing for us he would surely have been sent off
In my opinion: the new central defensive duo can’t start building a play; Saka played alone for too long. It’s incomprehensible how we can play 11 against 10 for 50 minutes, the game isn’t faster, the ball isn’t circulating more quickly and more cohesively. In the end, we had fewer shots than the opponent. We had 6 yellow cards, our 3rd consecutive game conceding goals and our 2nd consecutive draw playing away. Eze and Martinelli were invisible. In short: we didn’t deserve to win and in my opinion we lost 2 points (just like in Sunderland).
JM, I agree. You are on point. It was just like the Sunderland game.
I expect Aston Villa to be just as aggressive when we visit Villa Park next weekend so we’d better get maximum points off of Brentford in midweek. There’s no doubt that Sunderland have shown other coaches the way to attack Arsenal and not let us dominate possession
Today really highlighted how Arsenal can be officiated differently to the opposition.
Not quite the result I was hoping for but at this stage of the season I will take the draw against Chelsea
Morning Geoff, all.
New post up.