Racism! Bellerin out, Debuchy in and Reine-Adelaide makes the bench.

Morning all.

What is wrong with some people? Raheem Sterling posted a lovely picture on Twitter of himself with his daughter and niece and the abuse he got, mainly from Liverpool fans, was absolutely disgusting! I thought, well, rather hoped, that in 2015, the world would be a much better place than it clearly is. Classy Liverpool fans eh!

I wonder if those same fans will be supporting England next year in the Euro’s and how happy would they be if Sterling scored the winning goal which ensured his country lifted the big trophy?

Horrid lot!

Back to Arsenal and tonight’s match against Bayern Munich and it seems I got my maths wrong yesterday as should we lose, we can still go through to the knock-out stages.

Pep Guardiola expects us to play hoof ball against his side tonight:

When you press Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny they don’t want to play.

They play long ball to Olivier Giroud and if they win these balls, they can play with all the big, big, big players they have. But if they lose the ball and we make two or three passes, Mertesacker doesn’t want to stay up high, and so they go back into their box and defend there.

Pep says he has a plan to cope and beat such tactics. We’ll see, but it’s going to be tough, even more so having lost Bellerin to a groin injury. Just hope it’s nothing much and he’s back for the NLD on Sunday.

In his place will be Mathieu Debuchy and I bet Douglas Costa will be rubbing his hands together as the Frenchman is not as quick or a reliable as Bellerin. Whether Joel Campbell plays in front of Debuchy, or Arsene Wenger opts to switch the hard working Alexis to the right remains to be seen. If he does, Gibbs could come in on the left in front of Monreal.

Jeff Reine-Adelaide has earned a call up tonight, although I doubt he’ll make it onto the pitch, not unless we are losing and Arsene Wenger goes in search of a goal or two towards the end.

I’d imagine the game plan will be about soaking up the pressure and then trying to hit Bayern on the break, pretty much as we did at The Emirates. That night the players executed Wenger’s game plan well and there’s no reason why they can’t again tonight. Be patient, concentrated and focussed and if lady luck is on our side, we may just come away with at least a point.

Let’s hope it’s a good night for Arsenal…

231 thoughts on “Racism! Bellerin out, Debuchy in and Reine-Adelaide makes the bench.

  1. allezkev says:

    My thoughts on the game tonight are influenced by my memory of watching Barcelona at Wembley, beating Arsenal 4-2 and seeing all their highly technical players diving around like Mark Spitz…

    Pep Guardiola is from that DNA…

    Robben in particular, Costa, Ribery, Muller, Lewandowski and quite a few others in that excellent team, will resort to any means, if the game isn’t going their way.

    Unsavoury I know, but that’s the way it is in the CL…

    The referee is certain to be in Bayerns pocket.

    If Beckenbauer is involved, there’s bound to be corruption somewhere…

  2. Lee says:

    I once accidentally bumped into my television while Robben was playing and went over like he’d been shot!

    He’s also got a strange running style, it’s almost like he’s just about to shit himself!

  3. scottfromoz says:

    Pep the tactical genius lol.
    Seriously, the squads he’s had would make me look a great manager.
    Lee, you did take out your tv, so don’t pretend it was accidental 🙂
    Morning all

  4. malaga gooner says:

    Afternoon Rico and the house

    not confident with debuchy playing tonight, lets hope campbell has a screamer and covers his arse.
    i think if we come away with a draw it will be a fantastic night for us

  5. Simon Ngulube says:

    Good afternoon, we will win the game tonight…it’s not gonna be training for them either…Bayern is afraid and I promise you they are not going to play pretty….am going for 1-2 Arsenal..

  6. Simon Ngulube says:

    My only worry is that we have lost a bit of speed though….Bellerin, Walcott and no Ox….it’s a bit slow for me.

  7. dublingunner says:

    Afternoon, Unfortunately as confident as I was a week or so ago of getting a positive result, I just feel we are an injury too far.
    Bellerin,s injury did it for me, Let,s hope it,s a positive November.
    Just seems the god,s ain,t shining on us at the moment,

    You start to think is it just bad luck, or is there something seriously wrong with our conditioning and training methods.

  8. Rick says:

    Afternoon Rico and the House.
    Its a dull and damp day down south where is that 27 degrees.
    Its half time in munich and its 1-1 in what sounds like a very good game
    B/M took the lead on 10mins and Bennacer scored on 37 mins with a 25yard rocket.
    Sheaf missed a pen on 43 mins after Nelson was fouled.
    Dan Crowley is playing in the midfield with Nelson and Willick.

  9. Rick says:

    Dublin I don’t think you can blame anyone for Bellerin’s injury.
    I think it is result of him hitting the goal post against Swansea

  10. Nashua Gunner says:

    Good Afternoon Rico and All. Good read.
    I’d take a draw right now. If we go with defensive mindset I think we’ll prevail, but Debuchy worries me. He’s rusty. Now I miss BS especially when I watched him played yesterday.

  11. Simon Ngulube says:

    Thanks for reminding me Rico, I am still positive though….Bayern as dangerous as the world might know them….at the end of the day they know that when they play Arsenal it’s always a tough game….that might just do for us.

    There loss yo us plus a weekend’s draw is also not helping them at all.

  12. agirlagunner says:

    Come on you reds!!! Hello, all!! Can’t wait to beat Pep. For some reason, I simply don’t like him
    And his players are always such divers.

  13. tsgh says:

    Good afternoon Rico and all…

    Good read.

    Pep makes me laugh; has be forgotten how Lew and Muller have scored the majority of their goals this season… it hasn’t been tika taka-esque….

    I bet Pep will be starting with Javi Martinez to do a ‘lucio’ jo on Ozil/OG12…

  14. allezkev says:

    Hey Agag, how’s it going, long time…
    Have you been saving ?
    Or spending ?
    I got a really nice whistle and flute last Monday…

    Gotta say I look quite dapper…

  15. tsgh says:

    Debuchy vs Muller will be interesting on the lhs

    I am looking forward to seeing how a rusty robben fares against Monreal…

    Also interesting to see since the loss, pep has been playing Alonso, and vidal in midfield… all in preparation for us of course… with Javi back playing next to Boateng.

  16. Nashua Gunner says:

    What upset me most are these fancy name managers with all these so-called world class players at their disposal, and every one hip high praises on them as if no one else can do what they are doing. Why don’t we give Pep Sunderland or Aston Villa and see if he can get them out of relegation. Are you going to tell me Hull City’s manager or Southampton’s manager can’t manage BM?

  17. agirlagunner says:

    Kevvvvvv!! Spending, hahaha. I think it’s hardcoded into my DNA. As for your latest purchases, I expect no less from my shopping buddy. I hope you bought a cardigan to match. ?

  18. tsgh says:

    How are you doing yourself…

    Well Ng, a few years ago we had ppl calling for the likes of Jose, pep to take over from AW daily on most Arsenal blogs…

    Most recently it was Klopp… all that glitters from afar may not be gold after all… 😉

  19. agirlagunner says:

    Ginge, Pep is more worried than he’d like to admit. We will not be as threatening on the counter without our speed demons, that’s why we have be more compact at the back.

  20. allezkev says:

    You’ve got a point there Agag, I always feel the cold more after a waxing….

    Yeah, maybe I’ll get me cardy out… ?

  21. Lee says:

    I went for a haircut the other week, the barber said “Keep your hat on mate, just take your scarf off!” Cheeky fucker!!

  22. rico says:

    Evening guys and gals…

    I reckon, if there was a poll and every Arsenal fan had a vote, it would be close between Pep and Arsene as Arsenal manager….

    AKB’s – AW
    AOB’s – Pep

    🙂

    Lee, that’s funny….

  23. Tai says:

    Evening Rico, All…

    Great post Rico.

    Despite injuries, I’d still stick that we’re taking four points off Bayern, at least. It’s a big pity Bellerin is out of it…but I reckon Debuchy sees his chance now to play at the Euros…

    Pep? It’ll be impossible for any football fan to hate Mourinho as well as hate Pep. When you hate one you’d definitely love the other. So, who here hates Pep?

    I don’t. He’s played the best football on planet with his Barcelona side…football can never be more pleasing than he did with Barca. He’s modest, respectful, loves humanity and never took his team’s credits. Won every trophy in club football in one season and never made any noise about it. He’s trying to recreate that Barca team with Bayern…but he’ll soon realise just how impossible without Messi.

    Do I want Pep to manage Arsenal? Not quite…I wouldn’t ever want Arsenal to get to the level of all-conquering. That would be terribly boring.

  24. rico says:

    Evening Tai. I’d love Arsenal to be at the top of tree and winning the PL each and every season…

    Most fans dream I’d say….

  25. Hell Raising Devil says:

    Good Evening Lovelies and Hunkies

    Well well well. Benzema sure knows how to earn a bit of extra money. Blackmailing Valbuena. Poor sod. He got videoed and dear Karim has threatened to run the tape across the Christmas tree during this Christmas.

    Maybe AW knew something all along when he did not go for him.

    Team for tonight imo…….

    Cech
    Debuchy, Gabriel, Koscielny, Monreal
    Coquelin, Cazorla
    Sanchez, Ozil, Gibbs
    Ollie

  26. Nashua Gunner says:

    I for one don’t hate Pep. But some think the guy can turned water into wine. He took over one of the best teams in Barc and also BM with world class players which any decent manager can manage.

    If he had the opportunity at Arsenal that would be great, as long as he leaves his bunch of divers behind.

    Can he managed a club with a low budget? Can manage any club that sells there best players every season, and still mentain top four with a trophy? Would he have the patience to stick with Arsenal during difficult times that we have seen these past few years?

  27. Malaga gooner says:

    I would take Pep any day of the week.
    I want a manager that will attract the best players in the world
    The money is there for a top manager to spend
    He would take us to the next level
    He wouldn’t have any problem spending that£200mill sitting in the bank

  28. Hell Raising Devil says:

    Arsenal starting XI: Cech, Debuchy, Mertesacker, Gabriel, Monreal, Coquelin, Cazorla, Campbell, Ozil, Sanchez, Giroud
    Substitutes: Macey, Chambers, Koscielny, Gibbs, Flamini, Iwobi, Reine-Adelaide

  29. allezkev says:

    We’re gonna lose 4 or 5-0 tonight…

    It’s on nights like these where Wenger just looks helpless and is too slow to make any tactical changes…

  30. Kel says:

    Bayern the best team by a mile I personally expected to get beat tonight, we just have to many injuries.

    I just hope it ain’t a 5 or 6 nil or anymore injuries.

  31. tsgh says:

    AS17 has been playing in the red…;
    its finally catching up… sitting out the odd first half in games not doing it.

    Well NLD a must win now…

  32. tsgh says:

    Kel- owen is a former bavarian so it is expected…

    Agreed Dg…; we can blame AW with regards to signings or lack of but 11 v 11 as you have said.

  33. Hell Raising Devil says:

    Some simple stats from the game

    Possession BM 65 AFC 35
    Shots on target….BM 10 AFC 0
    Shots off target….BM 5 AFC 2

    enough said

    tbh….Ozil’s goal was legitimate….so it could have been 1-1 instead of 0-2.

    but then….we are used to it

    for me its better.

    Its the EPL I want.

  34. Lee says:

    Tough game with our first 11 fit, take our pace out and it’s ialmost an impossible task…relying on players that are injury prone and to not buy an outfield player was always going to bite Wenger in the arse!

  35. Bob John says:

    Made the right decision to not watch. Knew this would happen. Just hope Arsene doesn’t blame injuries when it happens every year and he still hasn’t addressed it.

  36. Micko says:

    Same ole faces knocking Arsene for not buying in the summer, it’s not like he could have foreseen these injuries, thank gawd we’re gonna win the league this year.

  37. andrewh1313 says:

    Micko, we have had these injuries every year for ages. Some of our players are injury prone. Others like Welbeck never got injured until he came South! But when this happens, those that were dismayed in the summer can’t suddenly forget it.

  38. dublingunner says:

    Tough game, expected a tough night, but that was just pathetic, no one playing tonight,
    Half me wants olympiakos to win, to put us out of our misery, only prolonging the inevitable.
    trying to keep upbeat about the season, but with each injury, its becoming more and more apparent, Wenger,s lack of signings is going is gonna kill us.

  39. dublingunner says:

    bayern have took their foot of the gas, not surprised we scored.
    Bayern started without robben,vidal,gotze,ribery and still dominant,
    If only we had 200 million to improve our squad.

  40. andrewh1313 says:

    Sorry Micko, missed the irony in you post as a bit pissed with tonight. But realistically, would have jumped at taking three points off Bayern before group started.

    Haven’t got BT, good Giroud goal by sound of it? Makes score sound better.

  41. Micko says:

    tsgh, if it wasn’t for Tai predicting we’ll reach the semi finals this year I’d be in the dumps right now lol.

  42. Kel says:

    Fucking destroyed.. its best we just forget this and move on we are decimated with injuries which give us no hope tbh. But We all knew the injuries would happen..

    Worst defeat in European football.

    200m I’m the bank lol…

  43. tsgh says:

    Lol Micko…

    A1313- on a serious note I always champion that OG12 is better than or equal to Benzema…

    If Karim was better than OG12 he wont have scored roughly the same number of goals as OG12 over 4 years with him playing in a far better team.

  44. Micko says:

    Kel, it seems every time we’ve run out on to the field in Europe this season we’ve been setting new records for all the wrong reasons, worst defeat in Europe…..stick that on your CV Arsene.

  45. Kel says:

    Keep the faith micko lol… europa league here we come, it’s more Arsenals level anyhow just blood the kids and let Danny, Jack, Arteta, flamini, Rosicky, Gibbs find their fitness…

  46. scottfromoz says:

    CL…blaaaaaahhhh.
    We shows a few weeks ago what we can do, so everyone needs to stop complaining we aren’t good enough.
    We can’t compete on all fronts.
    Wenger MUST win the League this season.
    It’s all pointing towards a red hot crack at it…well, except the lack of signings hahahahaha.
    Move on.
    The real game is on the weekend.
    Morning all.

  47. rico says:

    We aren’t good enough Scott, not for the CL…

    But yes, the PL is going well, let’s hope that remains the case as nasty November is here…

    Morning to you and all….

  48. Lee says:

    We.showed what we can do against Dinamo and the Greeks true enough! It’s the deja vu that happens every season that fucks me off!
    Wenger relying on the fitness of crocks and returning injured players. Failing to buy a single outfield player with plenty of cash in the bank…..
    Embarrassing what Wenger gets away with it really is.

  49. scottfromoz says:

    Rico, I hope not.
    As long as we keep proving the goods in the League, then Wenger should not be crucified.
    If we have a bad trot though, he gets what he deserves.

  50. Lee says:

    But we should care about how good Arsenal are against top European teams…. weren’t we moving to the Emirates to compete with the Real Madrids etc?

    What bollocks, we moved there to earn more cash for the syrup!

  51. rico says:

    We’ll see on Sunday I guess Scott, lose that one and it’ll be a long international break…. But I can’t see a defeat against that lot, I really can’t..

  52. rico says:

    With you there Lee. It’s not the loss that irks me, it’s the manner in which we lost. We were well and truly battered and perhaps lucky it was only five…

  53. scottfromoz says:

    Lee, I know I’m like a broken record, but we need to consolidate our position in England before worrying about Europe, IMO.
    You can’t be champion of Europe until you’re the best in your own League.
    Hopefully Wenger left a few lads out simply to freshen them up for the weekend.
    If we come out all guns blazing and spank the Spuds, this result will be long forgotten.
    If we don’t, he’s in trouble.

  54. Lee says:

    I couldn’t see defeats against WHU ,Dinamo or the Greeks………..

    All these fragile players needed moving on in the summer….Wenger fucked up by hanging on to them!

  55. rico says:

    Well they were last night Scott, and more…

    Arteta, Campbell, Flamini and Rosicky – all out of contract next summer..

    There’s four needed already..

    Debuchy needs to go too and Gibbs is hotfooting it to my ‘out’ list…

  56. Lee says:

    He won’t buy he’s too stubborn!

    He’ll rely on returning players…

    It’s just all so fucking tedious it happens every fucking season…..

  57. scottfromoz says:

    I need to see Gibbs get some game time before flicking him, but Flamini must go, Arteta can stay as a coach, Campbell…sell him in January and Tommy should be kept because we always play better with him on the pitch….not that it happens much lol

  58. rico says:

    If Wenger says he couldn’t find any player who would improve us in the summer, fat chance of him finding someone in January.

    I so wish Kroenke ruled with a rod of iron…. Useless, absolutely useless!

  59. allezkev says:

    Morning All

    Morning Rico

    I’m not sure that I’d get rid of anybody this January, we can’t afford to.

  60. Lee says:

    I don’t get the Arteta coach sketch Rico, I get the jobs for the boys sketch though…..all aboard the Arsenal gravy train!

  61. allezkev says:

    Ramsey and Oxlade-Chamberlain will be back after the Interlull, and Bellerin…
    We needed some pace up front, Giroud isn’t gonna scare Bayern, they happily compressed the space and we had no real outlet…

  62. rico says:

    Morning Kev..

    You’re right and no way would AW be able to replace them…

    Me neither Lee, get a proper experienced coach in or get Vieira back, or Adams, Keown etc – someone with a bit about them…

  63. allezkev says:

    Bayern must be one hell of a well-run club…
    Because I can’t work out how they can afford such a massive squad of big, expensive players?

    Not sure that the German TV deal is that big?
    Ok, they had a stadium built for them by the local authority, that’s by tax payers, like West Ham.

    They must get some humongous sponsorship deals, but there’s no foreign investment in German football, it isn’t allowed.

    How do they do if?

  64. allezkev says:

    Rico, if you buy foreign, it’ll probably take whoever you buy, until next season to adapt, so that Akbar gonna help in the short term, and if we want to win the EPL it’s the short term we’ve gotta consider.

    I’d take a punt on Jamie Vardy…

  65. rico says:

    With money they earn from winning stuff I guess Kev.. Wages aren’t that high either are they and getting players like Lewandowski for free must help… 😉

  66. allezkev says:

    I’m not sure Rico, players like Ribery, Robben, Costa, Muller, Neuer, Lewandowski, they don’t come cheap.
    There must be some imaginative accountants working for Bayern?

  67. rico says:

    Or Austin Kev…

    I get what you are saying about foreign players but it’s the lift which comes with getting someone in. When we signed Arshavin, we went on a really good run and he played really well….

    Great players don’t always need time to settle imo but to be honest, there’s a few in the PL who would improve our squad…

  68. allezkev says:

    And what kind of salery is Guardiola working on?

    They had 70,000 at the game but I bet Arsenal earn a shed load more from 60,000 at the Grove…

    We earn an absolute fortune from TV, a lot more than you earn from winning the CL and Bundesliga…

  69. allezkev says:

    We must have been able to pay double what Bayern paid for Lewandowski…
    I understand his wife wanted to stay in Germany, but money talks!

    So either, Arsenal didn’t offer enough to tempt him and more importantly his wife?
    Or, Bayern find other tax avoiding ways of paying their players?

  70. allezkev says:

    I suppose it’s simple economics…

    We have a squad more suited to winning the EPL, and the rewards are probably greater than winning the CL..?

    To build a squad that could win the CL as well is gonna take more than £200m, so it isn’t happening any time soon…

    Roll on Sunday

  71. allezkev says:

    That’s right Lee, but I bet they have some financial types behind the scenes, and if the German World Cup bid of 2006 is anything to go on, those financial types are not exactly white than white….

  72. Lee says:

    Whether or not Arteta would make a good coach is irrelevant, he’s injury prone, not good enough for Arsenal any more, costing us money and clogging up a squad place.

    Sorry but Wenger needed to be more ruthless in the summer…..

  73. scottfromoz says:

    Lee, prospective owners of Bundesliga clubs must be a financial member of said club for 10 years previously.
    In England, you just need a large bank roll.
    Yes, German clubs are run by football people.

  74. allezkev says:

    Bellerin won’t play this Sunday, I reckon…

    Koscielny will be back, so we might be going with basically the same starting XI…

  75. tsgh says:

    morning Rico, Kev, Scott and all..
    Rico- Nasty November is here? i thought you did not do history? 🙂

    Kev- FC Hollywood is more than a football club…; they have other sports franchises as well. And they are the most cash richest club in football.

    Most things in germany are cheaper than London Town; As I always say on here, it cost me £23 less to travel to watch BVB via Easyjet or Air Berlin than to travel from Surrey to kings Cross to Stoke…; it is all Micko’s fault though…

    Scott- MA08 has been taking his badges since his first season with us…

  76. allezkev says:

    It would have been nice if Islington would have built us a subsidised new stadium…

    Tottenham get state aid.
    West Ham get a gift.
    We get fcuk all…

    It’s so unfair…

  77. tsgh says:

    Kev- Its because Rumeneigge, Franz and co. dont do spin like spinmaster IG and our board who sign a sponsorship deal worth 310m a year at best but act like its £50m a year…

  78. tsgh says:

    The Free federal State of Bavaria is unlike camden & Islington as we know…

    With their football federation even better managed than the Reserve league in this country… its not all gravy though.
    German football/bundesliga in now heading towards the standards of Scottish football. with 4 or 5 tiers with a huge gulf within the same league.
    FC Bavaria on their own at the apex with SC04, B04 Wolfsburg and BVB in 2nd tier, the likes of Hamburg, Mong’bach, VFB Stutgart in another tier; Bremen, Koln and the likes of Herthain another and then you have the Freisburg and Mainz who are just happy to be there; then you have the other teams like Paderborn, Inglostadt who just vist once in a while…

  79. allezkev says:

    Well Bayern can afford to cruise through their league campaign, resting players, playing on Friday, the Bundesliga helping them at the expense of the rest of their league…
    10 point already ahead of Wolfsburg in 3rd.
    Another title in the bag…
    11 titles in last 16 seasons…

    5 points cover top six in EPL.
    No easy games in England.
    No help from our EPL or FA.

  80. Hell Raising Devil says:

    Morning Lovelies and Hunkies

    Still smarting from yesterdays. I always hate loosing but even though yesterday I did not mind loosing since I want the club to concentrate on the EPL, I literally hate loosing by more than a two goal margin. I detest getting thumped.

    Were we that bad or were Bayern that good??? As Kev said……BM get help from the German FA. We get fuck all. AW cannot afford to rest players and rotate without getting on the wrong end of a result.

    Still…….I want the EPL. So better not if we do not qualify.

    Europa league??? Better we do not qualify but if we do so get back the loanees and play them and the fringe players in it. But not the first team.

  81. Wavy says:

    Wolfsburg’s days as high rollers may be limited as they are bankrolled by VW! So that’ll be one less then?
    Often, the bigger they are the harder they fall. Eg, Livermuddle, or manure nearly gone and almost forgotten! Chavski, going down. If the sugar daddies leave any of these three they will will be consigned to the history books as would Abu Dhabi cited! The only successful self financing club in this country and perhaps the whole world is the Arsenal!
    France, impoverished PSG? Sugar plum fairy paying a kings ransom for success. Spain. RM subsidised by the government, formally the fascists of Franco’s reign of terror now whoever is in power in Madrid. Barcelona. I’m really not sure where their cash comes from at all. Their whole structure is a bit of a mystery to me.
    Italy. Depends who is the strongest, richest Don in the country. Presently its Juve plus a bit of Fiat input. Etc etc.
    All in all most clubs are at the mercy of ‘an owner’ and he will determine the success or othwise. Even Arsenal has an owner who has vast resources, not that he ever uses them! And also is able to tap a very deep syrup mine if he’s getting a little short!! However, if he were to leave, sell up or whatever, the remaining structure would not implode it would just keep rolling along!
    Let’s hear it for the Arsenal self-sustainable model of how to run a football club. And it’s very deep pocketed supporters who provide the gravy for this megalithic soccer club!

  82. tsgh says:

    Agreed Wavy…

    Naples tried to reinvent themselves 3 or 4 years ago but they can’t compete with the old lady..

    With Dev and goonie’s buddy Berlusconi no whee near Milan they have been left to fight over UEFA cup qualification position…

    Scott-AW dismissed LVG’s call for a winter break in the EPL. I was really surprised with that response from AW. I would have thought AW would have aligned with LVG for that but hey….

Leave your comment.

Discover more from Highbury House

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading