Morning all.
The main talking points from Mikel Arteta’s press conference yesterday was Gabriel Jesus being added to the Champions League squad in place of Max Dowman who has been ruled out of the game for four weeks due to injury.
Declan Rice, William Saliba and Leandro Trossard are missing for tonight too.
Declan was ill. He was quite sick after the game, and he hasn’t travelled with us. William is still not available and Leo again, he picked another knock in an area where they had the issue and I don’t expect that it’s going to be long, but unfortunately he cannot be here.
On the reasons behind it (injuries)
Not training, no, because we don’t have time to train. So, training is not there. But obviously, the fact that you are missing players, you are loading other players more. That’s a consequence of that and it’s a really dangerous.
So, Christian Norgaard might finally get to don his boots and get out onto the pitch tonight, that is unless Mikel Arteta prefers to start with Mikel Merino and Martin Zubimendi.
Brugge injuries: Both Mignolet and Jackers are injured so third choice keeper van den Heuvel will be between the sticks tonight. Vermant is a doubt, as are Reis, Romero and Audoor. (Who are these people?)
I’ve no idea how Brugge will play tonight and I don’t suppose Mikel Arteta will really as a new manager Ivan Leko is in charge for the first time. Leko has been around a bit and he’s not really stayed at one club for too long. 11 appointments in 11 seasons according to Wiki. Anyway, he was only appointed on Monday so he’s not not had much time to change change things and bearing in mind it’s taking Arsenal to get used to having an out an out striker in the team, I guess the Brugge players are more likely to run with what’s familiar to them.
If you include the qualifiers, Brugge have scored 16 goals in four home matches in this season’s Champions League, including three against Barcelona, so we should expect a goal threat.
In Europe they are happy absorbing pressure in the hope of catching opponents cold on the break, with speedy right winger Carlos Forbs, recently capped by Portugal, especially potent from those situations. Only two sides in the competition have produced more ‘direct attacks’ than our opponents.
Their best player is 33-year-old Belgium international Hans Vanaken. He is very tall but plays as a central No.10, reaching double figures for goals in each of the last 14 seasons! In the league phase, he leads Brugge’s players for possession won as well as interceptions and chances created, so he is very much an all-rounder.
We should be able to create plenty of chances; of the 36 teams, Brugge are the only side to have faced more than 100 shots to date. Conceding 13 times, including 10 in their last three games, they are far from watertight at the back.
I hope we see a few changes tonight, just as I hope we all get to see the much awaited return of Gabriel Jesus. Obviously, in defence, Arteta’s options are limited but further up the pitch, I hope Ethan Nwaneri, Noni Madueke, Gabriel Martinelli and Viktor Gyokeres get a lot of minutes.
Up against a defence which leaks goals and pretty much relies on counterattacking football, as long as we’re focused at the back, we should get the job done.
Catch up later.
Morning Gooners and Rico, good post full of info about a team I know nothing about.
Low block, playing on the break, concedes lots of shots, we’ve been there before although the new manager might tweak a few things.
We need a win because the smell of Villa is still hanging in the air…
Morning Kev, I think Villa will fade away as usual. We could so easily beaten had we taken a few of the chances we created.
City are the ones to worry about I reckon and ourselves..