Morning all.
Arsenal welcome Lyon to The Emirates today for what is the last pre season fixture. Arsenal old boy Ainsley Maitland-Niles returns too. In an interview on Arsenal.com he was asked about his time at the club.
How difficult was it to leave Arsenal after spending 16 years at the club?
I’m very mature in my mind and I understand how football works. Sometimes it’s time to let go of a club that has been so dear to you and you had so many years with. So it was more of a process of trying to move on, both for my family and myself. Obviously my contract expired anyway, so I had to find something that was concrete and solid and I felt like Lyon was the best fit.
What are your memories of the Emirates Cup? Your first match was a 5-2 win over Benfica back in 2017…
That was some years ago! I don’t remember it that clearly, but yeah I remember I was still a teenager for that game and it was a great experience.
Finally, are you looking forward to being back in London for the game?
Yeah, everyone wants to go to the game! It’s nice to be back and obviously to see the fans again, some old teammates that are still there and the coaching staff too, so it will be a great game.
It’s a shame Alexandre Lacazette won’t be returning for this match but he’s been busy helping his country win a silver medal at the Olympics. Rayan Cherki, defensive midfielder Johann Lepenant and goalkeeper Lassine Diarra are absent too for the same reason.
What to expect from Lyon today? Well, Arsenal’s Adrian Clarke has all the answers:
Head coach Pierre Sage is not married to one system of play, or a single philosophy. Since replacing Fabio Grosso in late November with his side rock bottom of the table, the 45-year-old former academy manager has experimented with several formations, including three at the back.
During a fabulous run from January onwards though, a surge which led to a remarkable sixth-place finish, his preferred shape was usually a 4-3-3.
Flexibility is at the core of his approach. He will adapt his plans around player availability, the balance of his starting XI and Lyon’s opponents. This tact was reflected when he made these comments when quizzed about his tactical beliefs.
“You have to have an idea but above all, you have to have lots of variations to this idea. The mistake is to think that it’s the coach’s ideas that are important. It’s not! What matters is what the team can do,” Sage said modestly.
You cannot pin Lyon down to one specific style. They can press well but you would not describe them as a pressing side. They can pass patiently and with quality, but equally they are not a possession-obsessed outfit either.
One of Lyon’s strengths is set-pieces but they have a tendency to start matches slowly and can be a bit disorganised. As Clarke points out, they conceded 30 first-half goals last season. Arsenal conceded just 29 goals in the Premier League last season.
I’ve no idea how Mikel Arteta will approach this game as far as team selection goes but at some stage of the game, we’ll hopefully get to see our only new signing of the summer. I doubt Jurrien Timber will be risked for this one.
It’s going to be hot at 2pm, very hot so I’m sure there will be a vast number of changes as the game goes on. Striker Khayon Edwards was amongst the youngsters involved in training with the Arsenal first-team squad this week. Goalkeeper Alexei Rojas continued to train with the first-team along with Ethan Nwaneri, Josh Nichols and Myles Lewis-Skelly. (Jeorge Bird)
I know the result doesn’t matter, not really but it would be good to go into the new season on a positive note. Winning breeds winning and we have a very tough start to the season.
Enjoy the game guys.
Regarding the previous post . I am not over it either and feel quite disenchanted
Ditto, I really don’t understand the why.. He was one of the most exciting forward thinking players at the club…
Arteta is wedded to passing football, E S R runs with the ball, the two are incompatible.
G’day Rico and all. A cooling easterly breeze is making for a very pleasant day so far. 24 c at the moment. 😎
Raya, White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko, Partey, Rice, Odegaard, Saka, Martinelli, Havertz.
I’m guessing that Partey is in the shop window. Saudi team’s will be watching.
Afternoon Cicero.
A bit of flexibility goes a long way though..
Arsenal started negotiations weeks ago for Mikel Merino,” Fabrizio Romano said. “Arsenal are in active conversations with Real Sociedad.
“The player wants to go to Arsenal, he has an agreement with Arsenal. Barcelona, Atletico, all the other clubs that were interested, are aware of the decision of the player.
“The contract is ready, the player wants to work for Mikel Arteta. He’s really attracted by the technical project and by the manager. He believes that Arteta is the perfect coach for his skills.
“Now, Arsenal and Real Sociedad are in contact, talks at a very advanced stage, but still working on the payment terms, and the deal structure.
“It’s advanced, but still some work to do on the final details.”
Timber still injured as is Viera
I notice that most of the big leagues start next week,the only exception is Germany (maybe they like to be different) And a lot of the smaller leagues have already started.
Looks like we have to be patient on incomings,perhaps we want to move a couple more on first.
Did anyone see Johnny Evans penalty yesterday,ouch. I’d like to see him line up against us though.
Apart from Zinchenko and Partey, I think that’s Arteta’s strongest preference for a starting eleven. As things stand, Timber or Calafiori for Zinchenko and Jorginho for Partey makes the best selection.
Two nice goals from our centre-backs
Afternoon Rico and all,
With Timber still injured surely Arteta has to give Calafiori and run late in the second half.
Didn’t see it Limey.
Hi Geoff, Arteta hinted he’d make his debut today
Who needs a striker when we’ve got goal scoring centre backs.
Calafiori is not in the squad .Should have been 4-0 up by half time .Martinelli who I really like is creating scoring positions but is too fast for his own feet .
Strange that as the Arsenal website lists Calafiori as one of the subs.
Calafiori was a sub. Came on at left back before moving central.
Kiwior and Nelson had minutes too as did Nwaneri and Lewis-Skelly.
No sign of Nketiah though.
I made a mistake re Calafiori and watched most of it on Bing .They said Nelson has agreed to stay.Penalty shoot out cancelled .
Re Nelson, I thought they were referring to when AMN left but Nelson opted to stay.
I’d be happy though if Nelson stays IF Arteta is going to use him…
That’s how I read it about Nelson Rico, old news.
Does The Emirates Cup out-rank The Charity Shield? It is an intercontinental tournament after all. 😉
Afternoon all from hot sunny Southend. Funny how Chelsea complete Neto today after news breaking of a bid Friday. And yet Merino (less than half the price) goes on and on as usual as with most of our signings.
Cicero, if Ten Hag won it, it would be mentioned as a trophy for the next 12 months😂
Ha ha Cicero.
Always the same with Arsenal Andrew, ditherers…
Apparently, City have never won the league title after winning the Community Shield….
Rico, I will cling on to that fact as long as is possible next season 😂
Me too Andrew, me too.
Sounds like Arsenal want it , the player wants it , the agents want it but the Spanish papers are saying that Real Sociedad want him to stay . Liverpool are after Zubimendi and they don’t want to lose both and there is more money to be made from the scousers than us .
We should have got the deal done sooner..
Exactly rico. Instead of arguing over payment terms!
Well that was a very enjoyable afternoon in the sunshine, not the best weather for playing pressing football but the boys pretty much had Lyon defending their box for the majority of the game. Zinchenko had a good match and given the next opposition is Wolves it was very good practice in the breaking down of the dreaded low block.
A very family oriented atmosphere but the support was great, Califiori raised a few cheers and he seems to have inherited the Santi Cazorla song. Saliba was just a Rolls Royce serenely cruising through the game.
A few rough edges still to smooth out but we’re almost on point. The introduction of Ethan and Myles was very encouraging, interesting to see Califiori switch from left-back to centre back effortlessly when Gabriel went off. We have a squad full of versatility and variety – but don’t let me stop you worrying if that is your thing. Personally I’m going to thoroughly enjoy this season come what may. 😁
Didn’t get to see the match, how did Califiori look, by the sounds of it , we mist a lot of shots on goal and if this is the case it shows that we need a dedicated striker.
Good morning everyone.
I didnt see match but saw a good amount of highlights.
Kev, Calafiori is a defender first and foremost. He can defend across the back line like Timber, Tomiyasu and White. He can easily play RB if Arteta wants. He is not a CB, not a RB/LB….he is simply a profesional defender.
A long time ago, if you might remember, I told you that Wenger’s idea is to have 5 defenders and 5 forward thinking players who can switch positions easily. Well, we seem to have that now because we have a defence in which the personnel can play anywhere at the back.
with regards Nwaneri I read this on a FB post…..He only played 13’ minutes yesterday, but it was enough time to see how talented this kid is. Ethan Nwaneri won both of his duels and completed both of his dribbles during the time he was on the pitch.
Ball retention, chance creation, unpredictability. The 17-year-old has it all.
I guess we will be seeing a lot more of Nwaneri this season and he will be one of the midfielders’ group. I dont think he will be loaned out. He will come in as a sub during matches to rotate and rest players. He may even start some of the matches I feel.
News this morning is that Arsenal are working on a loan deal for Bayern Munichs’s 28 year old French international winger Kingsley Coman. Equally good on either wing he has pace and excellent ball skills.
A good back-up for both Saka and Martinelli.
Morning guys.
Cicero, when I read about Coman leaving Bayern, I wondered whether we’d go in for him. If we get him, I’d be pleased..
Arteta has hinted that Nwaneri will stay put and play Devil. Not just him either as Lewis-Skelly and perhaps even Heaven could get minutes, even if it’s just in the domestic cups.
New post up.