Morning all.
You’d like to think that after seeing a much improved performance last week at Everton, today’s result against a struggling Swansea would be a routine home victory but these days, we never know what to expect. Swansea have caused us a few moments of embarrassment over recent times with their smash and grab football but last season we thumped them 4-0 away from home and at The Emirates we nicked a 3-2 victory with Mesut Ozil scoring a stunning volley to win the match. Theo Walcott scored the other two.
Paul Clement is no fool though and despite us beating Swansea under his management earlier this year, his appointment in January was the reason Swansea held onto the Premier League status. He’s young, 45 years old but already he’s vastly experienced having spent time alongside Carlo Ancelotti at a few different clubs accross Europe. He’s worked with Mourinho too so it’s highly likely he’s learned how to park a 42 seated when it’s required and my guess is that today will be one of those occasions. Clement deployed such tactics at Wembley last month and left with a point and with his team flirting with relegation another draw would certainly help the visitors struggles as they try to climb the table.
Arsenal don’t like playing against a defensive setup, it’s not the way the game should be played according to Arsene Wenger, football should be entertaining, or something like that he’s said during his hundred years at the club. But if Swansea come to The Emirates and play open football, Clement will know his team will take a battering. Well, they should on paper.
Last weekend we saw what Ozil, Sanchez and Lacazette are capable or doing when starting together and as much as it took Everton to go down to ten men before finally finished them off, going forward we looked the best we have done for a long time. In fact since the FA Cup Final I’d say so there’s no reason the team can’t produce a similar, if not better performance today.
The official site have Mustafi, Chambers and Welbeck listed as being injured although a few outlets such as the BBC and Sky Sports suggest they are back training so fingers crossed the German will be fit to play next weekend. Perhaps Chambers will be ready for Thursdays fixture against Red Star.
Its Arsene Wengers 800th match today, just twelve more to overtake Fergie. Personally, I hope he doesn’t reach that landmark but sadly, it looks highly likely that he will..
Have a good day guys..
Morning rico and House, good preview. But sums it up, we just don’t know what to expect. But with a pretty low injury list, players rested, and quicker passing last week showing the way, there can be NO excuse if we don’t come away with 3 points.
Following the AGM yesterday and the obvious disdain shown towards the fans via the minority shareholders.I would expect a mass protest today ,but I won’t hold my breath.
afternoon all
Has Stan sold up yet 🙂 🙂
Morning all.
Potter,
I wonder if a mass exodus would be better.
You mean the majority shareholders Potter? I thought the small shareholders did well forcing two embarrassing votes.
Can’t wait for a new manager to take over from Wenger, sick and tired of his under performing assembled team…. blaming all and sundry for his monumental fuck ups every season. Leaving the squad constantly short, littered with sub standard players, over paying and rewarding players that would be more at home at West Ham….the list is endless
Wenger you’re finished as a top flight manager, keep getting humiliated in Europe and your record against top 4 opposition is truly pathetic surely the penny has dropped?
Sparse crowd at the Emirates!
Ramsey bursts into the box and where is Lacezette ? right wing.
1 nil down 20 minutes.
I meant that the way they treated the minority shareholders reflected their attitude to the fans.
Brudder my mate lives super close to the Emirates he reckons lately he can hardly tell if we are playing at home….
City wining?
I know mate. Somethings gonna give, especially after the poorly-managed AGM.
Why not Giroud and Lacazeete in front?
Might be too direct.
Should I stay behind the sofa?
🙂
What again ,you could see it on his face.
Three points then, just!
Breath of relief. City next!
You can come out now Rico. 🙂
Thanks Adam… ?
Andrew, they’ll roast us I reckon…
Sorry Potter, mis read earlier post, ‘by’ for ‘via! My bad.
I hope Kolasinac’s injury isn’t serious.
Rico, bring back Le Coq!
Adam, just as he scored one and makes one.
Hi Andrew. Yes, he’s fitted in pretty well and can only get better.
I didn’t know he was injured. Like you Adam, I sure hope it’s not serious.
Andrew, our midfield certainly needs something but Coquelin, maybe, just maybe if Wenger tells him to not cross the halfway line…
As long as Wenger doesn’t clip his wings Adam/Andrew
ENGLAND U17 World Champions
That’s brilliant Rick…
Evening all and thank`s Rico.
What a fantastic result to come from behind !………………………..yes, England U17`s have won the World Cup beating Spain 5-2 !…….after being 0-2 down !!!………….fanbloodytastic !
Good win from The Arse aswell ! hahaha
Apparently England have the best group of youth players in the world.
That is from a German source.
Both Spain and Germany have been in this position and have successfully developed their young players and gone onto win at senior level.
The trick is for England to now do that.
I’d seen they’d gone 1-0 down and thought that was it Lc, especially against Spain but to fight back and win is superb..
Were any Arsenal players on the pitch…?
Might just see England win the WC or the Euros in another five-ten years time. The current senior lot won’t that’s for sure…
I wonder what’s changed at youth level..
Smith-Rowe, Rico !.
Two WC finals won and two Euro finals with one win in one year.
St Georges has been going for 5 years now and it seems to be paying off !
Thanks Lc.
I meant the senior WC – if the younger ones continue to improve, they might end the 51 year drought. Makes Wengers poor record look good.. ?
Most goals scored and least conceded…………….they won it in style and have been the best team on merit !…………….Phil Foden(Man Ciity) won player of the tournament and Rhian Brewster (Bin Dipper) won Golden Boot…………….another top player who I wanted Arsenal to get if you remember……. Jaden Sancho had to go back to Dortmund after the group stages and he probably would have pushed Foden for player of the tournament had he stayed .!
Ooops ……..Rowe-Smith !
🙂
Night guys….
Would have prefered a Manc/Spud draw, but cant moan about a Spud loss can I ? hahaha…………good day really apart from Mansour City winning !…………………wouldn`t put it past them to do an Invincible season !
🙁
Rambo, that is all 🙂
IMO, the youngsters in the Spain squad will do better in the long run, because they will get first team experience a lot sooner at Spanish clubs (other than at RM and Barca).
Our lads won’t get a look in for the first teams in the EPL, because clubs here at home want the finished result, not those needing experience.
Nice earlier to see the spuds lose. Just a shame it was to manure, as LCM said, a draw would have been nice.
Another three points in the bag today. We need to be careful, winning is becoming a habit.?
Perhaps we should hold back against City, and give them a chance!?
Meerkat,
Spanish sides being able to have B side is a huge advantage that PL clubs don’t get.
It’s such a good way to bring kids through, your laying the way the first team to instead of sending them out on loan where there’s no control over things, and we’ve seen plenty of our kids head out, only to get little game time, so it’s a season wasted.
City, well If they belt us, the “told ya so” crowd will be out and about all over the net 🙂
We’d better put up a decent performance else the last few games will have been wasted, though.
The ‘told you so’ crowd will certainly be on here after City batter us and I’ll be one of them. We scraped by Swansea thanks to Cech and the missed opportunities the visitors had.
Our next two PL fixtures could see us embarrassed or even humiliated.
Morning all.
Morning Rico.
Morning Adam.
Do you fear for our defensive unit ahead of facing City?
Rico. I’ve been around long enough to believe that, if we have a good, disciplined attitude and they have an off-day, anything could happen. I think we’d all settle for a draw against them and Spurs. But, as was said on TV yesterday, Pep has bought something new and exciting to the PL that perhaps hasn’t been seen since Arsenal were in their heyday. If they hit top form and we are all over the place then it could go badly.
They can be got at though, as was proved yesterday.
The answer to your question though is yes, I do fear for our defence. 🙂
Rico, and you’ll be entitled to!
If we get belted, you won’t see me defending the manager.
Still, when we are prepared to criticise, we should also give credit when it’s due, but as I said, a few decent wins will be forgotten with a drubbing at the hands of Citeh.
Morning all.
Adam, the forever asked question, will we be up for it? Who knows but if not, I’m scared stiff for our boys.. ?
I thought Totts were dreadful yesterday and Utd weren’t much better, both teams are beatable…
Not sure why you guys fear our defence.
It ain’t scary at all hahahahaha
We have one chance v Citeh, and that’s to go straight at them.
We can sit back because there’s no chance we will survive 90 minutes of them attacking.
Yes, we risk a belting but I don’t see much point in a half decent 2-0 loss.
Rico, I watched the Spuds v Utd game and what struck me was the intensity of it.
No player was allowed any time on the ball, and that’s what we don’t do often enough.
If either side plays against us with that pressure, and we are slightly off, they’ll beat us easily.
They’re finishing was booody awful, though.
Rico. Yes, the Spurs game was hardly a good advert for the best league in the world was it? Man U are essentially a long-ball team with Lukaku up front and Spurs look lightweight without Kane. Having said that, we are a one-half team. There’s something not quite right at Arsenal. Motivation, desire? Who knows?
I thought it was boring Scott, sloppy stuff from both teams..
Rico, it wasn’t great at all, but very Physical.
Alli is a diving little shit, and they’re toothless without Kane.
Agree Adam. Lukaku and Rashford are a terrible pairing I thought. Lukaku isn’t a typical Utd signing imo, I doubt Fergie would have signed him.
Why Martial isn’t starting games is an odd one. Thought that Mikki player or whatever his name is was dreadful…
The only game we get lost be now is the early Saturday kick off.
I couldnr stream ours for the life of me.
Technology is great!
You’d swear it was 1977.
Utd were winding Ali up as he’s a hot head. Not sure on the diving bit though but then I think we are far apart in what we think is diving Scott…
Rico, Spurs manhandled him a bit,
And he never handled it at all.
Rico, I know he went over with absolutely no contact at one point, so I’d suggest that’s a dive in anyone’s language.
Adam, agree, there’s certainly something wrong in the team. Only a few players were at it yesterday. Ozil was quiet I thought, Alexis and Kolasinac were superb though. Without those two I do wonder where we’d be…
Kolasinac was a hell of a piece of business.
I wonder if he’d signed with us a year back-pre missing out on CL.
Koscielny worries me, and Bellerin. What was Kos doing for their goal and how did he not even manage to get his head on that corner… Shame Wenger didn’t address our defence in the summer!
He did, Rico, by selling one CB and nearly letting another go lol
I’d love to hear his reasoning behind it.
https://youtu.be/F1jKwIVFRRQ
Not from last nights game, but proof he is a diver.
Delle Alli is a diver ! It doesn’t get highlighted and he gets away with it. Others are not so lucky. Then again they aren’t the future of England’s glorious success in the next campaign on the Russian front..
Man City and Spurs next two up in the league after the return of Red Star and then a trip to Koln , away to Burnley and home to Huddersfield. 6 games in November with Man Utd on the 2nd December.
At the end of this lot we will know if the squad can stand up or whether Sir Chips is going to have to wipe the dust off the book again or not.
November, our bogey month and it would appear to be pivotal in the way the season pans out. Get through it reasonably unscathed and it’s get out of jail free time for the manager and board . Collapse on a grand scale and the Christmas period will be open season on all and sundry including a few of the players.
Morning all.
73% possession yesterday, very Pepesque, we must be doing something right ! hahaha
I think every team that presses us, Scott, cuases us problems, surprised why some teams park the bus against us when they`ld be better off pressing us…………….Mansour City press hard dont they, isn`t it Pep philosophy to win the ball back in 7seconds or so?.
Last 10 games at Em`s has resulted in 10 wins, it`s a fcukiong fortress ! hahaha
Potter,
Between total collapse and reasonably unscathed, probably somewhere in between will be what occurs.
We need at least a draw v Tottenham and Citeh, but that club a little optimistic of me lol
Actually when you look at it, we are great at Home, great in the FA Cup, great in the Carabeo Cup and Great in the Europa League……….evry one a win !…………………….just shit away before Everton !
🙂
Talkng of which…………………….rumour Everton want Alexis, that would be the final insult if he went there ! hahaha
LC, better to sell him to Everton than Citeh.
Barkley as part of the deal would help.
New post up.
Lc, I guess that might depend on who replaces Koeman..
I would like to think that we have got enough to struggle through but I fear for players like Holding and Chambers who might well find a lot of responsibility falling their way. Should Kos and Mustaphi fail to get fit enough and in Kos ‘ case the calf finally gives out , these two will be thrust forward . We know that both are prospects but both need playing time and the first mistake will be jumped on .
On paper when you look at the centre back position we have 5 recognised players and should be covered, however when you analyse them one by one doubts creep in.
1 :- Koscielny :- Seems incapable of shaking off his injury and is currently playing at about 70% of his capability.
2 :- Mustaphi :- A bit reckless prone to tackling on the floor , tailor made for the more easily falling players that we will be facing . I expect one penalty at least against City and if Delle Alli gets in on the act one for them too, although being at home might save us..
3 :- Holding :- A prospect , making mistakes positionally,a bit slow to recover not blessed with pace fallable to the Sterlings and Sanes’ of this world not to mention Aguero.
4 :- Chambers :- Another prospect Was low on confidence when he left on loan , has been injured and had no playing time , Bound to be rusty. In my mind definitely a central player that tends to get turned too easily when out wide , likes to see players and ball coming at him . The first mistake and both his and the crowds reaction will define his future.
5 :- Mertesacker :- Not much to say here , bags of experience tall and unfortunately not suited to play against small nippy players with tiny turning circles. Back in the day would have been the perfect sweeper and with his positional sense which is his greatest asset he could probably have played into his 40’s.
Ater this it’s the makeweights those that can step in but that’s about it. Elneny , Debuchy , Monreal etc.
On paper we have enough but all are fallable in one way or another.