Daily Bits and Bobs

West Ham, tough. Torreira for Partey makes sense.

Posted on by rico

Morning all.

Saturday match day with an 8pm kick off. That’s weird. Monday to Friday yes, but not a Saturday night. But hey, we knew this season was going to be strange because of the shortened time frame in which the same amount of fixtures have to squeezed in. International breaks won’t help either, nor will our Thursday/Sunday routine we’ve had to get used to. Still, it’s the same for all Premier League clubs although those who voted against the five substitutions will have a slight advantage by not being involved in European football and in some cases, not having as many players away on international duty.

For the fans though it’s great as the television channels are full of the game we love to watch.

We’re at home tonight for the first time and it’s about time we did make it our home. A ground other clubs fear going to rather than turn up fancying their chances. It was this very same fixture last season which turned out to be the last domestic match for Arsenal before the world of sport came to a sudden halt. Coronavirus, and the darned thing is still hanging around, threatening a shutdown once again.

Anyway, Arsenal huffed and puffed in typical Arsenal fashion but instead of fearing more of the same would follow over the weeks, months and years which followed, there was hope. Hope that Mikel Arteta’s words would become a reality on the pitch. The performance against West Ham was pretty dire though but even so, we won thanks to a late Lacazette goal and a solid performance from Bernd Leno.

David Luiz returns to the squad today but other than him, our injury list remains the same. William Saliba won’t feature as he played for the under 23’s last night.

So, West Ham. David Moyes who know Mikel Arteta we’ll from their time together at Everton. We all know about Flapianski who turns into a world class keeper when he plays against his old club and lastly, Jack Wilshere who once again finds himself on an injury list. He’s recovering but just not enough to face his boyhood club. It’s so sad really because Jack is clearly a guy who just loves to play football yet has all too often been injured and then there’s a guy on our books who seldom suffers an injury, other than his ‘I don’t fancy this match bad back’ but doesn’t seem to be fussed whether he plays or not. Doesn’t seem right at all.

West Ham are yet to make a move in this transfer window, at a successful one which is quite different to Arsenal who by their own standards, have been pretty busy and both Edu and Arteta have hinted that that more might arrive before the transfer window closes. Last weekend two of our new signings had a major impact on the game and result. Willian had a hand in all three goals, one of which Gabriel scored and as the game went on, our new central defender showed exactly why Arsenal signed him. In fact all our summer signings have something to offer, yes, even Cedric who will be called upon for the domestic cups and Europa I’m sure as Bellerin can’t be expected to play in every fixture this season. Neither can any of our players which is why we need a strong squad. Our weakness in my opinion, remains in midfield but if the headline on NN yesterday holds any truth, Lucas Torreira might be heading to Atletico Madrid with Arsenal finally getting Partey in the deal which would be ideal for both clubs in my opinion. The Aouar rumours wont go away either.

Until such times that the club strengthens our midfield, we’ll be seeing Ceballos, Elneny and Xhaka fight it out with Willock and maybe even Guendouzi hovering behind. Last weekend Willian got the nod over Pepe, Lacazette preferred to Nketiah. Gabriel and Holding did well, very well but with Luiz fit again, Arteta has a decision to make.

Whoever plays this evening, I’m sure Mikel Arteta will demand more of the same style of football we’re starting to get used to seeing. Happy to sit back and defend as a group when the moment dictates. Happy to play on the break, or the long ball when the moment is right. The pressing game which Unai Emery promised but only now are we seeing and the 100% effort both on and off the ball and from start to finish. The kind of style which makes this Arsenal team more difficult to beat. The kind of football which will hopefully see us win more fixtures, more confidently.

See you in the comments guys.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

rico

47 thoughts on “West Ham, tough. Torreira for Partey makes sense.”

  1. Joaquim Moreira says:

    Morning all!
    At 8 p.m I’m not agree too.
    It’s time to see Portuguese, Spanish or Italian Leagues.
    Just like today.
    It becomes very difficult to manage time and “study” other teams and players.
    How can I be a good scout?

  2. Uwot? says:

    Actually I find the Torreirra Partey potential swap a strange one? If true perhaps we could offload Laca as well in a two for one deal.That covers the cost there in that deal with change to spare.🤞

  3. Paddy says:

    Good morning Rico and all.

    Today won’t be different from last weekend as Arteta will demand the same performance from whoever gets the nod. However we need to strengthen our midfield

  4. rico says:

    I’m hoping Guendouzi might yet form part of a swap deal, perhaps with Lyon.

    Morning Paddy, I think West Ham will cause us a few more problems than Fulham, different ones too but yep, another high energy performance expected.

  5. Cicero says:

    Good morning Rico and all.

    I’d like a back three of Holding, Gabriel and Luiz, if he’s fit enough to start, with Tierney reverting to left wing back and Bellerin on the other side. Xkaka, Willian and Ceballos in midfield with Aubameyang and Lacazette up top.

    I think now is a good time to play the Hammers, they seem to be in some sort of disarray and haven’t done much since the restart.

  6. Cicero says:

    I’d be happy to get Partey, he looks like a real beast of a defensive mid-fielder. I can’t see us going for Ouaru as we have Ceballos in that particular role.

  7. Aussie Geoff says:

    Hi Rico and all, We need to make teams scared to play us at home wright know too many clubs mark us as a away win

  11. rico says:

    Morning Cicero, Geoff, Kev.

    I don’t see Ozil fitting into Arteta’s style of football. Not the tactical side but the energy levels. It’s just not Ozil style to graft for an entire game. Actually, not for even half a game.

  12. RA says:

    Good afternoon, Rico,

    WHam have apparently been pretty poor at the start of the new season, not that I have seen them play for quite some time, but ‘local’ matches can produce some unexpected results, so Altho I am looking forward to the game I am sure it will be harder for us than may be expected.

    The Community Shield was fun, and especially the result, but what really stunned me was the sheer numbers of young Arsenal talent on display, with some particularly terrific individuals who I had not seen previously.

    I used to frequently go to see many of the youth team games and had a good idea of who was coming through the system, but that all changed some time ago, which was disappointing, but, if anything, the latest crop coming through look amazing — maybe Per’s coaching has upped the standards.

    Hope you and All HH’ers are keeping well!

  14. Aussie Geoff says:

    Watching the Everton v wBA Mike dean off and running red cards given to Gibbs and his coach one minute to half time

  15. Limey says:

    Thanks Rico, afternoon all,
    looking forward to the game, always interesting to see the line up/substitutes.I guess Luis is a possible change, maybe Ceballos too.
    It’s a bit of a shame about Torreira, good player just too lightweight for the Premier League.
    This is a fixture we often make hard work of, but usually win.
    COYG

  17. TT says:

    Just watched the Leeds game and I have to say I find this Leeds love in by the media and some of the football fan base a bit strange. Yes they won but play like that all season and they will struggle. They are way to open at the back.

    As for the WHU I expect nothing less than a comfortable win. If we cant do that against a dismal WHU team then we wont progress much further this season than last. WHU are in disarray on and off the pitch and its games like that where we must win well.

    Good post as always Rico. Here is for 4 points tonight and a spud thrashing tomorrow 😛

  18. TT says:

    Just wrote a lengthy post and it disappeared 🙁 In short we should win comfortably tonight. These are the games we must win.

  19. Joaquim Moreira says:

    Akpon? I think he played for PAOK Salonic last Tueday.

    Everton is a very solid team.
    The midfield team, Allan and Doucoure complement each other, either defensively or attacking them; Rodriguez, gives a touch of class, of offensive depth and a perfume to all football. It is a team that does not exhaust only 11 players. I predict it will be a big surprise.

  20. Joaquim Moreira says:

    News – headlines!
    DESTINATION KNOWN? WILL HOUSSEM AOUAR MOVE TO ARSENAL, JUVENTUS OR PSG? – EURO PAPERS
    IN TODAY’S EURO PAPERS DO WE FINALLY KNOW WHERE HOUSSEM AOUAR IS GOING?

  21. rico says:

    Thanks TT, for some reason your comment went into moderation. Yep, we should be spanking a team like West Ham, especially on our own turf.

    Afternoon RA, all.

  23. allezkev says:

    I saw a lot of the Everton vs West Brom game and about 40 minutes of the Leeds vs Fulham game and it seems to me that everyone seems to have forgotten how to defend properly. I saw about 20 minutes of Man U vs Crystal Palace before getting bored and the defending was equally poor.

    No wonder we held onto Holding as I didn’t see a centre back in any of those six teams that were as good as Rob, certainly not £80m Maguire.

  25. AndrewH1313 says:

    Evening rico, house. Wanting no injuries against a team that might try to kick us off if allowed, and three points. A flowing fluent display would be nice but settle for the first two.

  26. TT says:

    @allezkev

    Yea I agree. Been a strange start to the PL. If we keep our defense solid we may well be in for top 4. I was never impressed with United after the lockdown and Chelsea defense is nothing to write home about either. Even Liverpool have been dodgy at the back lately.

  34. Potter says:

    Straight through the middle. Why did he change things? I would have to look at Ceballos and Saka , last week we had rhythm this week it’s all too slow

  35. rico says:

    Agree, we’re second to most things and all which was good against Fulham, is poor today.

    We’re missing the Tierney, AMN and Elneny performances.

  39. AndrewH1313 says:

    Had a feeling it would be a let down and scrappy. But couple of good moves enough thanks to cross bar. Undeserved three points but we’ll take it.

  40. AndrewH1313 says:

    Never know if Lenos coming out or not, then misjudged one when he did. Got to be more commanding like a previous goalie😃

  41. RICK says:

    Eddy Eddy Eddy Thats my boy
    As Kev said 2years ago this boy will score goals in any class he plays.
    SOLD THE wrong goaly

  42. Joaquim Moreira says:

    Not a good performance, quite the contrary.
    We continue not to shoot and “adorn” too much the plays in the area and at the entrance to the area. The team is unbalanced with William and Ceballos playing at the same time.

  45. allezkev says:

    I know what I’m talking about Rick re: Eddie 😉, mind you I’ve gotta say that Adam is constantly in my ear bigging up Willock.

    Early days Rick and we don’t know how he’s going to perform at Villa Park but I’m a bit concerned that you could be right on the goalie we sold and the goalie we kept?

    Crystal Palace showed that there aren’t going to be any easy games this season so we should all be very pleased with the 3 points we got at home to West Ham…

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