Morning all.
Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner wants the League Cup quarter-final against Arsenal to be moved from its current scheduled date of December 16th and I totally understand why. On the 14th and 18th they already have a fixture, one in Europe, the other against Man City. However, whilst it looks a potential crazy week of Palace, I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t be the first club to have three fixtures with six days and they won’t be the last either. Personally, I think they need to just accept it. Palace have a deep squad, so use it, certainly for the European home fixture which is against KuPS who I didn’t even know existed before now. Plus, they don’t have to step outside of London for any of the matches.
Talking of tough fixtures, three await Mikel Arteta’s players over the next seven days. Up first it’s Burnley away this afternoon, then on Tuesday, it’s a trip to the Czech Republic to face Slavia Prague and then next Saturday, the players head to Sunderland to face Granit Xhaka and his teammates in the early evening fixture. Then it’s another international break.
Burnley, along with Sunderland and Leeds came up from the Championship last season with Sunderland looking head and shoulders above the other two as they sit in 4th place, just one point below second place Bournemouth and level with Totts on points. If the season ended now, I’d be pretty happy.
Burnley are already flirting with a return to Championship football but no club gets relegated in November just as no club wins the league either. There is still so much football to be played, anything could change in a flash. Hopefully not for Arsenal though eh.
Three away games in a row is tough, especially with both domestic fixtures being up north. Still, better in November than the middle of December, January or February.
Burnley manager Scott Parker on Arsenal’s style of play:
When I’m watching them, I see a fluid team really. I see an unbelievably well-coached team, a team that solves situations. This is definitely not a team that relies on set-plays. Now obviously, over the start of the season, there’s been key moments where they’ve got wins from set-plays. This is a functional team and they’re very fluid in the way they play. And defensively, it is really a foundation and probably something we lived by last year. It gives you a bedrock, and they’ve certainly formed that. This is a top team.
Parker added that Burnley will work on limiting Arsenal’s threat from set-pieces and will be doing everything they can to stop this and how we can be effective to nullify.
Arsenal have had a really tough opening few months of this season but apart from a freak free kick at Anfield and facing a front, middle and low block City side, I think we’ve done well. 16 goals scored, 3 conceded.
Right now, there are headings suggesting this Premier League is Arsenal’s to win, others say it’s Arsenal’s to lose. The one thing I think we can all conclude from such headlines is they are preparing themselves for when/if we actually don’t win the league. After all, is that not what they are all hoping?
I fully expect Scott Parker to line his team up in a pragmatic 5-4-1. It’s a shape he has used five times already this term, and that safety-by-numbers approach would make sense. That’s not to say Burnley will spend all game on the edge of their box – they will apply lots of pressure to the man on the ball inside the middle third. Fit and disciplined, they will want to ruffle the focus of the man in possession.
We will have a lot of the ball. The Clarets average just 35% of possession, and against Liverpool and Manchester City it dipped to 19% and 31% respectively. Burnley have been a tough side to break down at home, conceding twice in four games, and only once from open play. So, as well as passing quickly, we must focus hard on sharp movement, player rotations and carrying the ball with purpose to help unlock them.
There is a school of thought that Burnley have been fortunate not to concede more goals. They have leaked 12 from an expected goals against figure of 18.56, facing a league-high 165 shots. That is 32 more shots than the next closest side, West Ham.
Going forward, Parker’s men have shown more punch than many expected, scoring in nine of their last 10 games in all competitions. A lot of that has been down to clinical finishing, as they have netted 12 times from an xG of 6.82, meaning their conversion rate (16.9%) is the second best in the league. If they are to cause us problems, it is likely to happen down the left side. Top scorer Jaiden Anthony is in confident form on that wing, and former Feyenoord left-back Quilindschy Hartman [above] has four assists to his name, including two against Wolves last weekend.
Whether we’re facing City, Liverpool, Newcastle, or Burnley, Sunderland, Leeds, every game is of the same importance and the focus has to be the same. Burnley away from home has “banana skin” written all over it and it will prove to be just that if we let standards drop or start looking too far ahead. One day at a time, one game at a time and leave any talk of May to the media. Like the game on Tuesday, forget it until 5pm today because the here and now is what matters and getting three precious points.
Because we are doing well, we have an invisible target on our back I’m sure. Parker will want to be one of a few managers who do work out a plan to stop our set-pieces, he’ll want to be one of the managers whose team takes one or three points off of Mikel Arteta and his players. He’ll want that today in front of the home fans.
Mikel Arteta confirmed in his press conference that Gabriel Martinelli is ruled out of this afternoon’s game and William Saliba is a doubt. Other than that, nothing has changed re availability so it’s basically the same squad we had for the League Cup fixture in the week.
Lastly, Willie Young passed away yesterday at the young age of 73. He was a good old fashioned central defender back in his day, hard as nails too. We all know what it’s like to lose a loved one, it’s painful. My thoughts are with his family.
Catch up in the comments.
Strangely we also lost Colin Addison on Halloween too , although he only had a short time with us in his one season he scored about 1 goal every three games. He was 85 years old. R.I.P.
Big Willie stood out because of his hair he was 12 years younger than Addison but played many more games R.I.P too.
Today , I think is going to be a bit like a game of attack and defence . Their low blocking and our continual passing to wear them out . A couple of late goals to wear them out is how I see it . Hopefully I am wrong and we blow them away in a first half avalanche and sit back with the cigars in the second , but somehow I don’t see that happening.
A sad day all round for a lot of people. I’ve not seen what Youngs cause of death was, he was young. No pun intended.
Parker reckons his team are going to give it a go against us. We’ll see, although I won’t as it’s not televised.
I take that back, he said his team will do the polar opposite of what we want them to so you’re right potter, a slow slog against a defensive setup..
Morning Gooners, morning Rico.
I remember seeing Willie Young getting sent off at White Hart Lane, he’d been fouling Frank Stapleton the whole game long but two Alan Sunderland goals looked to have won it until the Spuds got a late equaliser.
When Terry Neill spent £80,000 for him a few months later it wasn’t a popular transfer, the Spuds laughed and we groaned. Steve Walford also arrived from N17 at the same time for £25,000.
On Young’s debut – vs Ipswich if I recall – Young had a nightmare, giving away a penalty as we lost 1-4, we all thought ‘what had Neill done?’ But gradually Big Willie turned it around and from being a villain he became a bit of a terrace hero much to the chagrin of thd Spuds. He developed a tight defensive unit with Pat Rice, Sammy Nelson and a youthful David O’Leary, in front of Pat Jennings.
I enjoyed watching many memorable Willie Young moments not least a rocket of a shot at Wrexham in the FACup when the Gunners won 3-2. The ball came across at almost head height but Willie pivoted to volley it into the roof of the net. I believe he left to join Nottingham Forest after several years of great service and ended up running a pub up in the East Midlands in retirement.
Morning Kev, I only remember his football vaguely. The FA Cup final against West Ham and his foul on one of their players which stopped a likely goal. Didn’t help though as we lost 1-0. Nowadays he’d be sent off without hesitation. Oh the good old days..
Tough game today,as Rico says potential banana skin,to be honest you’ve got to expect every opponent to defend deep,try and hit us on the break,hell even Man City did that.
All 3 promoted teams have done well,Sunderland have been amazing,the points tally to be relegated is expected to be much higher this year.
Already I’ve heard a few pundits say things like Arsenal’s to lose,if they don’t win from here Arteta must go. Ridiculous with nearly 7 months to go.
No one likes us we don’t care !
Willie Young summed up that phrase,RIP. A few years ago I saw somewhere that he had dementia.
Let’s do it in his honour today.
I did wonder Limey, such a cruel disease which recently took my mum.
I hope the pundits detest us by the end of the season because it means we’ve continued to do well. At least their focus has slightly shifted towards Slot, Chelsea too. Amorim must be feeling marginally happy.
A though game today.
I’m waiting for the kick off
Willy Young has a good defender in my opinion.
He made a good pair with O’Leary.
Are there many superior to this pair today?
Different game these days Jm, different style of defenders.
Gyokeres scores. 1-0
……..and yes it came from a Corner.
Good afternoon Rico and all
Just back in WiFi range, at the hotel, and we’re two nil up.
Gyokeres off for Merino, hope resting for midweek
Afternoon Devil.
Hope so too re Viktor, we don’t need him injured..
Two goals, a clean sheet, three points 🔔🔔
Yep, very good job done.
Saka is in very poor form, tired, exhausted and out of ideas.
I am hearing that Gyokeres felt something at half-time. I hope taking him off was just precautionary?
Saka doesn’t look fit to me, he seems to have lost a bit of pace since his hamstring injury, and maybe a bit of confidence, and that is possibly why he doesn’t sprint as hard as he used to?
If Gyorkeres isn’t available for Tuesday and I most certainly wouldn’t risk him – then I would give Harriman Annous another go up front and play Merino in midfield.
It’s not as if we are playing Bayern Munich, and although I am not dismissing Slavia, I feel we have enough talent across our squad to manage with AHA up front.
Me too Kev, have to think long term when it comes to his fitness.
Not seen the game so can’t comment on Saka..
Has anyone realized that we have just lost 5 more games at the Emirates than the Spuddies have lost at WHL???
There is only one problem…..We have moved in the Emirates in 2006. Totts have moved into WHL in 2019.
An achievement worthy of a DVD