Morning all.
Burnley are a really organised team. They are a constant threat because they are really direct but they play that game really, really well. They manage their first, second and third phases really well, the way they attack the box, set-pieces are key against them as well.
They are difficult to break down because they have been working together with the same manager for a long time, and they know each other really well. They are disciplined and they have a good spirit and character among the team. They are always ready to fight and make it difficult for you. Mikel Arteta.
Arsenal can be disciplined, they’ve been direct too, certainly when Luiz plays as he often looks up to see where Aubameyang is before hoofing his pass long. These days though, we’ve not been as difficult to break down, or rather, we’ve become vulnerable again to a counterattack.
When Mikel Arteta’s side are bossing a game as far as possession goes as we did against Toots, patience is all what’s needed. A misplaced pass by one of our own and that’s enough to see the opposition race away with the ball. A scrabble to get back follows, which with our cart horses in midfield doesn’t go well and suddenly the central defence and Leno are left exposed. Dyche will have watched and taken note of Mourinho’s boring yet successful tactics and will no doubt try to emulate them. Understandable away from home.
If Burnley do come out of the blocks fast and put us under pressure, it should be us looking for the quick breakaway but here’s the problem, we don’t break quickly because the midfield players either faff around with the ball too long or there’s simply no pass to play because those ahead of them aren’t working hard enough off the ball. An injection of pace and quick thinking is much needed. Yes, AMN alongside Elneny and/or Ceballos would be my attempt to resolve that issue which may or may not work. But surely trying is better than doing nothing about something which is detrimental to the way we attack and defend.
I think Aubameyang will be out on the left with Lacazette central as neither were involved in the match against Dundalk but will Arteta be brave enough to have Balogun on the bench. The super sub in Europa. Has he done enough, showed he’s strong enough both mentally and physically? My answer is a simple yes.
Just for a bit of fun, who would you like to see line up against Burnley?
Finally, rumours are circulating about Willian being sold in January. Oh my days, as Joey in Benidorm would say. Please let it be true. Real Betis are the unlucky club according to a few headlines on NewsNow.
Catch up in the comments later…
Good morning Rico, in answer to your headline..Yes please and yes please.
My preferred li
———————————————————-Leno (in the absence of anyone else)
——————————————–Cedric, Holding, Gabriel, Tierney
—————————————————-AMN, Elneny, Saka
————————————————Nelson, Balogun, Nketiah
Line-up, that should have been.
I saw the Willian headline last night . The report apparently comes from a Madrid based paper that covers mainstream news rather than a specialist paper like El Mundo Deportivo .
This morning I got their site up and read the following :-
El Betis se debate entre dos fichajes para cubrir la posible salida de William Carvalho.
A check in El Mundo and Marca comes up with nothing so I am doubtful in retrospect that there is much in it . Sadly
Oh YES YES YES from me too I SO want him to start AMN after all he won two cups with AMN playing for him & Also Elneny So PLEASE let this happen Great post thanks
Morning Cicero, all.
Nelson is a doubt but I too would like to see him instead of Willian.
Potter, you’ve crashed my hopes…
Afternoon campers, yep, Willian will start as will Lacazette and Aubameyang vs Burnley, Xhaka will start, Ceballos probably, Saka will be left wing back, Hector on the right, Gabriel, Holding and Tierney as the back three.
The subs bench might be interesting though, I’d like to see Balogun on it but Nketiah will probably get the vote as he is the more senior…
Is Nelson still injured? That’s a shame if true but maybe Smith Rowe will get on the bench, he surely should after Thursdays performance.
With Mustafi, Luiz and Ceballos all leaving in the summer it would make sense to gradually reduce our dependence on them and instead utilise much more those players that will be staying with us next season.
5 subs in the New Year must surely be reconsidered, it would open up more opportunities for domestic young players across the board? I’d be interested to know it the three clubs at the base of the Premier League were among those who voted against the 5 subs in the summer?
If so, then that decision hasn’t done them any favours has it…
Good post Rico, that Potter is a right wind-up merchant isn’t he? 😄
Thanks Kev, you’re probably right re the team, it’s almost as if we’re back to being predictable again. Seems players aren’t being selected on performance that’s for sure.
He is Kev, I had my hopes up and everything… lol
Afternoon all.
Isn’t William Carvalho the guy at Porto or Benfica? Not our little Willian!
Just saying.
I’m all for bringing in the far more direct youngsters, especially as they all have that ‘winning’ mentality. Unlike the ‘first eleven, who have got into the losing mentality!
If we fail to win tomorrow I think it would be fair to say that, we will find ourselves neck deep in the soft and smelly!
I guess it’s a case of going back to what worked before Rico, Arteta tried the back four with more emphasis on attack but it’s not really worked has it, he really couldn’t risk dropping anymore points because so many in the fan base have turned on him.
Mourinho plays the percentages and he’s lorded for it whilst Arteta is called naive if he tries to attack. If he plays a more circumspect system he’s accused of being another David Moyes or George Graham.
I can’t think we’ll lose tomorrow Wavy… Well, hopefully not..
Agree Kev, go back to what worked and start getting results. It’s Mikel head on the block, not the fans.
The next three Premier League games are absolutely huge Rico and I’m not into TalkSport/SkySport hyperbole I mean it. Arteta needs a minimum of 7 points to calm the nerves otherwise the torches will be out…
I’d still give him until the end of this season whatever, but you know how things are, maybe 2021 will bring us all some relief?
William Carvalho was from Sporting.
When we bought William, which I questioned for what, I thought he would be to play in the middle; to play where he is playing, we had Pepa and Nelson who are being covered up because of William (who has to play … or almost).
The question that has been going on for at least 2 years is this: we have no strength in the last third of the field, because we lack players in the middle. No. 10. The player (s) who appear in the area and lose their balance. That’s what Ramsey, Cazorla, wilshere, Rosicky, Fabregas did …
Today we play on both sides (?), The entire width of the field, but we are unprepared and hand in hand to the opponent, the central area of the field. Evident error!
When Emery moved Saka to the left defense because he had no left defense available, but kept him there afterwards, he identified that the team was very balanced at the ends and unbalanced in the middle. But even so, without Elhemny, Partney, etc., he had no balanced solutions.
Arsenal’s mistake, in my opinion, was not finding a substitute for Ramsey, who put pressure on the defenders, who appeared behind the forwards, who shot, who scored, who kept the ball and who was a crucial figure in the middle of the field .
In the Europa League, the team plays much more compactly in the middle.
There is no Bellerin + William and Tierney + Saka trying to win the final line and crossing (for whom?). 2 + 2 = 4. Of the 10 field players, 4 are close to the side or corner lines. They lack where they should be and the entire team resents.
It’s a cleft stick , one one hand I believe he thinks it would be good to bring through the youngsters , on the other he needs points badly. If he makes wholesale changes and loses he will get crucified if he keeps to the old players and loses , he will be crucified ,
I believe that he has a long term plan but whether he gets the time to exercise it is another thing.
If he plays them how many ? Will we ever know how good they are , will we ever see them do more than sit on the bench and get 20 minute cameos.
I suppose that the answer is to get the points for safety and then experiment . Once we have given up winning anything that is
I too would give him until the end of the season Kev but he’s needs supporting in January. One or two players could make a difference.
Jm, you make a good point re Ramsey. I thought we’d kind or replaced him with Guendouzi but we know what happed there.
Perhaps the fans would understand going with youth if that were to be the direction the club takes. As long as it’s made clear.
Mike Dean showed his one thousandth yellow card in today’s Wolves/Villa match closely followed by ten more, two of them being second yellows resulting in two players being sent off.
I honestly didn’t think it was a dirty game, just a lot of niggly little fouls but Dean was at his pedantic worst and took every opportunity to take centre stage.
Lots of ex Arsenal players scoring, also loan players, James Olyanika for Southend and Matteo Guendouzi for Hertha Berlin.
Morning all.
New post up now.