Morning all.
A few of us have touched on this subject already I know but how will Mikel Arteta deal with the return of Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko? More to the point, what are your thoughts?
Jakub Kiwior has gone from strength to strength, notching up assists along the way and Leandro Trossard has looked very good playing up front. If Zinchenko had been playing on Saturday, would he have taken his throw in as quick as Kiwior did to release Kai Havertz? Would Jesus have buried the chance Havertz did? Would he have finished in the way Trossard did? On the flip side, would our number 9 have scored one of the chances Trossard missed?
Both Zinchenko and Jesus played in the home match against Crystal Palace so it’s not like we don’t score goals with them, not that Jesus found the back of the net. Trossard did though. The narrow defeat of Nottingham Forest was another game both started and it was Jesus who scored our first although he could have had more. Arsenal could have scored more.
Jesus missed the Liverpool game but Zinchenko, who started, was replaced by Kiwior at half time. We scored two goals in the second half, one from Martinelli, the other from substitute Trossard.
West Ham away was a battering, a game in which neither of Zinchenko or Jesus featured. Trossard got on the scoresheet once more, just as he did on Saturday.
I’ll whisper it quietly but we’ve not conceded a goal since Kiwior came into the team for the injured Zinchenko. Trossard is our second highest goal scorer with ten, five behind Bukayo Saka and our Belgian doesn’t take penalties.
I know football isn’t as simple as “when one or two players miss out we’re better” because it depends on who we’re up against, what form every player is in etc etc but there’s no denying that our results and performances have been fantastic since the turn of the year and it’s just a coincidence that Zinchenko and Jesus have been missing for much of it. Or is it?
It’d be great if Mikel Arteta could play the same starting eleven for every game until the end of the season but of course he can’t. Jesus and Zinchenko will be back fit soon, others too like Partey and Vieira and they’ll be desperate to play. Especially Partey who’s been out for so long. Then there’s the other players like ESR, Nelson, Nketiah, Jorginho and Ramsdale.
What a great position for Mikel Arteta to be in at this stage of the season, knowing full well, every single one of his players will do a great job for him and the team.
Catch up in the comments.
Morning Rico and Co.
Not a bad weekend generally results wise, Tottenham, Chelsea, Man City and Newcastle all drop points.
Only Liverpool played to their full potential but we know that they will slip up eventually as the games pile up.
Man City play their game in hand this midweek and will almost certainly go above us but then we know that and the target and past experiences seem to show that Arsenal are better at chasing rather than trying to keep a lead. It concentrates the mind of the players who know that they cannot let their level drop or it’s kaput.
Seeing the reaction of Rodri when he scored and the over celebration (where’s the criticism?) gave a hint as to the pressure that City are under and they don’t have Gundogen to get them out of jail anymore. Doku is a bit hit n miss!
I’m sure that Pep sees Klopp as his main adversary because he’s lost to the German before and that might just take a bit of the spotlight away from Arteta?
Arsenal just need to keep chipping away and who knows?
It might be like that European Championship race from back in the day when everyone was focused on Coe and Overt and whilst those two jockeyed in the final lap some German (I think) sprinted past them both to claim the gold medal.
That’s us, the German…
Morning Kev.
I fancy us to beat City away…
Horses for courses I think . Certainly having Kiwior in a more conventional left back position enables Rice to release Martinelli further upfield and White cutting in with Odegaard and Saka on the other side .makes us more balanced.
Trossard tends to play further upfield than Jesus who drops back into midfield and often congests things . Using Havertz as a foil Trossard running off of him is more effective .
Personally I would make them sweat for their places and leave well alone , it should not be a given that if fit they are first choice.
Great post Rico…
I’m sure that Arteta will continue with the ‘form’ starting XI for as long as they’re banging the goals in. Having Jesus, Partey and Zinchenko on the subs bench is almost like a Man City bench, what a brilliant problem to have, not that I see it as a problem, our opponents may though…
Good morning all.
I’ve made it clear several times that, in my opinion, we are a better team without Jesus and Zinchenko. Both are injury prone, the latter chronically, expecting to get an effective ninety plus minutes out of either is wishful thinking.
Arteta should stick with Saturday’s starting eleven in Portugal, the old adage is particularly apt, “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it”
Agree Potter, they shouldn’t be treated any differently to other players, especially when those players have been playing well individually and as a team.
Thanks Kev. I don’t remember a time when we had an almost fully fit squad in February.
I think Jorginho will come into the team tomorrow.
Another fantastic result on Saturday. If we keep playing that way anything is possible.
Still a little concerned about the injury situation. We’re an injury away from having Cedric starting. Tomi & Zinky can’t come back soon enough for me.
Will Partey ever play in an Arsenal shirt again?
Partey is close to returning I believe, Vieira too. Tomiyasu can’t be far off either.
Afternoon rico, all
It’s great that Kiwior is now looking part of the team and growing every game.
But he is being allowed to play as a conventional left back while White is taking on the inversion role. Just a shame that Tierney wasn’t allowed the same. Lovely interview with him last week, don’t know if others saw it? It’s win win for him, loves it where he is (apart from injuries) but also loves Arsenal if he was to come back instead of being sold.
Lovely picture of Cedric’s daughter hugging tv screen when he came on Saturday. I’m not sure he has let us down, he occasionally played out of position, and is always ready when called on.
Afternoon Andrew, I read the Tierney interview, such a decent guy. I think his injuries didn’t help which is ironic considering how often Zinchenko is injured.
Morning Rico and all.
The way we have played the last to 2 matches, and Trossard fitting in well and hungry to score, I would stay with the same line up, as it not worth rocking the boat while it is cruising nicely.
Yes Andrew, I was also hugging my TV when Cedric came on, going
‘why, why?’ 😉
But yes, he looked ok, didn’t make any clangers and looked useful going forward.
Kev 😂
Hi Geoff.
Cedric is fine as long as he’s not up against a speedster. As Kev said yesterday, in certain situations, he’s not a bad player to bring on to rest White. Just wouldn’t want him to ever have to be a first option because of injuries etc.
I couldn’t get my arms around our television, otherwise I’d have joined in. 😂
I love the positive comments about Cedric..
. Online I see it’s fun for people to make him a whipping boy for some reason.
As if Sokratis, Mustafi, Cullum Chambers, Kolasinac were so much better than him. I could name more, and worse.
He was better than Bellerin (Hector royally screwed Arsenal in the way he left) in his final few seasons with us. Also a Portuguese international… something any pro footballer would be proud of….
Also, if you work out the math of his salary that people love to complain about, remember to keep in mind 0 transfer fee. Then it’s probably not as expensive as a smaller salary with even an average transfer fee.
I’ve seen gooners online mocking Cedric for having a great day visiting a children’s hospital recently. Too many cynics in goonerland.
Afternoon Rico and Co
Sounds as if you have a seriously sized TV there Rico…
Is it a Smart TV?
Mine is so smart you can have conversations with it, but it’s a bit woke and gets easily offended.
I think it identifies as a washing machine… 😉
Yeah, an almost fully fit squad in late February Rico with more players almost ready to return. It’s as if we’re playing out last season in reverse?
I wonder why Tomiyasu has been held back, I thought he played in all of Japan’s matches, might be tactical?
It’s gone a bit quiet regarding Timber, I guess Rico when you’re winning 6-0 and 5-0 you don’t fret so much about those that are absent, even if your heart grows stronger…
Today is gonna be fitness test day, tomorrow we’re back on the road.
Kev,
I cannot figure out this Tomiyasu thing. I think he didn’t start the first Japan match or two, then he did play a couple for them. There was not word of any injury… then he returned and we only thought we only had to worry about the long flight throwing him off……But not even making the bench is not a good sign.
Maybe the fake news media could use these press conferences to actually bring out relevant football questions like “what’s wrong with Tomiyasu?” Instead of the silly questions they bring up to try and stir controversy. Arteta is not going to volunteer any fitness info unless he’s asked specifically.
Kev my TV no longer has a power button, when it’s on it’s just woke.
A little of history:
“FC Porto and Arsenal will only meet for the seventh and eighth time, they meet again just 14 years later and only Fábio Vieira has worn both shirts, but the connection between Dragões and Gunners is more than a century old.
1907 had just begun, when José Monteiro da Costa, partner responsible for resuming sporting activity at the Foot-Ball Club of Porto, found the “magic formula” and built the first identity of the institution founded in 1893 by António Nicolau d’Almeida.
Monteiro da Costa’s admiration for Arsenal Football Club, which was already competing in the top British league, led him to adopt a similar outfit with the declared purpose of imitating the Londoners: a completely dark red shirt, with blue buttons, shorts and socks. Before outfitting the vertical blue and white stripes, FC Porto outfitted Arsenal.
41 years later, in May 1948, the English champions landed in Lisbon with two games on the agenda. The first, in Oeiras, ended in a 4-0 defeat against Benfica; the second, at Invicta, was completely different. The Lima Stadium was filled to welcome the English guests.
At twenty minutes, a goal from Araújo and two from Correia Dias put FC Porto up 3-0 against “the best team in the world” – which had been the protagonist of a tactical revolution under the leadership of Herbert Chapman, inventor of the system that it became known as WM and greatly influenced European football in the following decades. In the second half the English reduced it to 3-2, but the memorable victory did not escape.
“There are results that are worth a title”, wrote the press at the time and thought the Porto fans who decided to perpetuate the victory, ordering a true jewel from Ourivesaria Aliança: a trophy measuring 90 centimeters, placed inside a cabinet measuring two meters and 80 centimeters. tall; In total, 250 kilos of fine wood, gold, silver (130 kilos, which at current prices are worth almost 100 thousand euros), enamel, crystal and velvet. The Arsenal Cup was handed over to the club’s management on October 21, 1949 and, more than seven decades later, it can still be seen at the FC Porto Museum.
Grande historia, obrigado Josquim.
Nigel, I suspect that the Coach of Japan took a chance with the fitness of Tomiyasu, probably with encouragement from the player himself who understandably wanted to play for his country…
I think that the club are partly protecting his value with the new contract and with an eye to maybe selling him in a couple or three years time if the situation changes, squad wise?
Ha ha Kev, it is a smart tv, at least I think it looks smart. 😂
I don’t think there’s much wrong with Tomiyasu or Zinchenko other than Arteta protecting them. On one hand, we are very critical of him when he overplays our injury plagued players yet now, we want to know why they’re not in the squad. We’re doing well, there’s no need to select either if they have a niggle.
Plus, as I’ve suggested before, why give the media a negative story to print about them if Arteta doesn’t plan to play them? My money is both being back very soon. Just because we don’t see photographs of them training, it doesn’t always mean they’re not…
New post up