We are hosting Liverpool at Emirates today in the 3rd round of FA Cup. Fulham, Tottenham, Newcastle, Brighton and Chelsea are the notable ones that has qualified to the next round, and one of Liverpool or Arsenal will add to the list. I was not a big fan of FA cup under Arsene because we would win one most often than not and we always wanted the big trophies. However, looking at the trophy draught recently, and the fact that last couple of losses in Premier League has dented our chance of a Premier League title, I will love to win today and the competition.
In our run, today is going to be the toughest game. Liverpool is undoubtedly the best of the lot, and I have confidence that we can win against any other teams. Against Klopp, not so much. It would be interesting to see how much Arteta can motivate the players to play and win against a side who has recently drawn games against us at Anfield.
Team news
Left back is a problem, Zinchenko had a calf injury due to which he missed the game against Fulham. It remains to be seen if he is available. Tomiyasu – his back has gone to Japan to play in Asian cup. Kiwior will most likely start and I am even more worried about a Kiwior v Salah than Zinchenko v Salah. There is no other option, Kiwior can step up and show why he is valuable to the team or end up being one of those failed transfers of Mikel’s era.
I would expect us to field the strongest playing XI, considering our next game is on 20th January, 13 days later. Ben White at RB, Ramsdale in the goal, Saliba + Gabriel partnership in CB and Kiwior at LB. In the midfield, I am guessing Mikel will stick to Ode, Rice and Havertz but I would have loved to see ESR back in place of Ode. We have been too dependent on Odegaard and we have seen his lack of form sometimes can affect our play severely. We need someone to compete with him and ESR can do that job. Plus, we can leverage the chemistry between Emile and Saka at the right side, since Ben White has been not-so-confident these days in making overlapping runs with Saka.
We are poor up top with any of the Jesus / Nketiah and there can be an argument made about playing Trossard in the false 9 role surrounded by Saka and Martinelli on the either side.
Klopp already had stated that he is planning to go with his strongest team. It would be an exciting encounter today.
Expectations?
I expect us a win. It will bring back some of the confidence we have dropped recently and can keep us in the fold in the title chase in Premier League. Mikel is in his 4th full season and a trophy, even if it’s a FA Cup, will most certainly help his case. PL, CL, FA Cup – three things to fight for, and the easiest one is today. Focus on what’s ahead and get a win, we can beat the likes of Chelsea, Newcastle and Spuds later on.
Right, short one today. I hope the year 2024 has treated you well till now and a win today will make it even better. What line-up would you prefer and what’s your expected scoreline? Let me know in the comments.
And, see you during the game.
before we heap too much praise on this particular performance let’s keep in mind that Pool are missing their entire spine….they actually have MacAllister in the DM role, who generally plays an advanced role and who likewise is returning from a long absence so he’s well off the pace of the PL…MA was clearly aware of this situation, which is why he tried to sneak Havertz into what should have been a rather fortuitous opportunity…unfortunately, Havertz has played like a grown man with a 10 year old boy’s foot…Klopp was playing a very conservative brand of football, in the hopes of getting some luck on the counter, which just happened, as he knows we’re struggling for goals…the only saving grace is the fact that MA’s sneaky Havertz’s plan has backfired, as he’s looking like an unmitigated bust, so he can’t be the reason why we don’t spend in this window
Can see a draw coming
What the fuck is ESR supposed to do with less than 3 minutes of normal time left?
TRVL
We were better in the first half because we were more direct – second half we’ve reverted to same old.
Marc-I guarantee you that the modicum of directness we displayed was simply a reflection of that fact that both Endo and VVD weren’t on the pitch…trust me I want nothing more than to have us play in a more direct fashion, but why would anyone put Havertz, of all people, if that was your tactical intent…you would think that crosses from wider positions would make infintely more sense
6 on target and 7 off target but LPool are a level above and it shows in the key moments in a game.
LPool had 4 on target and 9 off target.
Game of 2 halves from what you said about the first half
*anyone play Havertz
Absolutely fucking demoralising. Arteta’s team, Arteta’s coaching, Arteta’s game management and tactics. Get rid.
Marc
You were right, it did bite us in the arse.
First half – the best performance of this season. Second half – the worst!
So Arteta’s out thought and our fought by a manager who had a high number of players injured or unavailable. At nil nil Klopp brings on a couple of kids and goes on to win it – the only change Arteta could make until chasing the game was to take a back up player off for a starter.
Not surprised and honestly not even that disappointed – its what I expected one way or another so in 2 weeks we’ve gone from top of the table to out of all domestic competitions. We’ve no chance of winning the CL so the season is already over bar chasing a top 4 (or 5) place.
Can someone explain to me what Arteta’s “sauce” actually is or what is generational about him in any way?
All that said and done I feel sorry for Ramsdale who’s been fucked over by Arteta for another keeper who really doesn’t strike me as being better.
Ambarish and Marc-we’ve been so starved for any directness that you might be getting a tad carried away with your first-half assessment…Pool were tentative and disjointed, due to their shoehorned starting lineup, which led to some openings that should have given us a 2 or 3 goals lead…unfortunately, MA’s bestie ws simply pathetic in the final third
TRVL
No doubt the slow pace of play and passing it back and forth when the opposition has 11 players back behind the ball has been appalling this season.
Being the eternal optimist are go glass half full and say we can concentrate on the PL and CL now we’re out of the FA cup
It’s all about the threes.
Three x third round appearances in this poncy white kit. Three defeats.
Bucking that trend, our club is infested by 5 utter cunts. Tets, Edu, Kroenke x 2 and Mr Smart Arse himself Vinai.
the only possible silver lining is if “ownership” has been pushing for Havertz to get a chance up top before authorizing any further spending…of course, there’s no way our absentee landlord or his wannabe Bond villian son has ever interfered in any such capacity, but I can always dream…the very fact that they sanctioned MA’s 200M summer spend, even though he didn’t target a single player with goals in them, means they just might be stupid enough to authorize another big money purchase…that said, I do agree with KP’s concerns regarding the notion of throwing good money at a bad manager, but I would be less freaked out if they were actually pursuing a world-class Striker like Osimhen…sadly, they would be more likely to get robbed by Juve and acquire another underachieving overpaid player like Vlahovic, who just might be the second coming of Havertz…we need a readymade clinical finisher, especially on the heels of scoring 1 tally in 3 matches, not some sort of coin toss half measure
We had to loan Raya with an option to buy this coming summer to keep within FFP rules – I can’t see anything having changed financially in 5 months to allow us to spend the type of money a good strike will cost even if the Kroenke’s are happy to sanction it.
Even if we were to make some sales – Partey, ESR, Nketiah, Kiwior how much would we raise with the buying clubs knowing we’re desperate for the money? What other players could we sell to raise money and would we leave ourselves short in other areas?
fun fact:
Arsenal have now attempted 124 shots across their last seven matches and scored just five goals – an average of 24.8 shots per goal.
At the other end, the Gunners have faced 79 shots in their last seven games and conceded nine goals – an average of 8.77 shots per goal.
meanwhile our MIT has the nerve to implore the fanbase to get behind the team…it’s difficult to imagine someone with less self-awareness
I read on le-g that we should go for Zizou and sack Arteta. I would love that because we are winning nothing with the galaxy brain and Zidane will find it challenging to compete against two best managers to the world.
Can the management do it, is a while different story!
Marc-on a somewhat connected note, by the sounds of things we’ve already decided to trigger Raya’s clause come season’s end…if the total mishandling of the Keeper position isn’t proof enough that MA’s ill-equipped for the task at hand, nothing will…not only did he get rid of our best option within months of arriving, he’s wasted gobs of money on a variety of ill-suited replacements…then this season he not only re-ups Ramsdale, with a raise to boot, he then ghosts him on the bench, thereby making him far less attractive on the open market…you can’t even make up this shit
as for the whole FPP gig, there’s no doubt, unless we get a player of consequence on loan, we need to sell off some assets before making any substantive moves…of course, based on what we’ve seen from Chelsea and others recently, we could likely finagle something by skirting the seemingly “soft” rules, but can you even imagine us navigating our way through a big money buy in the allotted time, considering our propensity to drag things out…this is the reason why I believe that our “new” Striker will be Havertz, as he’s already on the wage bill and it’s clear that MA will exhaust everything within his power to prove he was right when he vastly overpaid for this nothing burger of a positional tweener
TRVL
There are strong rumours that Ramsdale wants out because he signed with promises from Arteta who then immediately turned round and signed another keeper.
Now not only is that a shitty thing to do to a player – all players need to accept that if an upgrade comes along then you run the risk of being side-lined – but to lie to a player to get them to sign on and then fuck them will get round the training ground.
I did tell you he was a fraudulent CUNT.
This club is dead, simply a cash cow for KSE.
Woke virtue signalling carcus of a football club, with its white shirt bollocks.
Marc-there’s no doubting that Ramsdale is going to push for a move elsewhere, but considering his wages and MA’s typically unrealistic demands for outgoing periphery players, it’s certainly not a foregone conclusion…it would be interesting to get the real skinny on whether or not assurances were given, especially in light of the reasoning behind Emi’s dismissal
TRVL
We’ve got the Euro’s in the summer and injuries to an England Keeper and Pickford’s pretty dire – Ramsdale might be willing to take a drop in salary to take a big step forward.
As for getting value for money in sales who was the last player we got a good fee for?
Marc-we’re in agreement on the piss-poor sales record under this administration…MA did the exact same nonsense with Leno, then he left for pennies on the dollar, but I just can’t see him doing likewise with Ramsdale because he’s homegrown and has a much higher up-side…I guess only time will tell…Cheers
Mikel Arteta fears his Arsenal players have developed a psychological block in front of goal and has called on them to reset after Sunday’s 2-0 home loss to Liverpool in the FA
This from today’s Guardian. In other words….
Meester Kroenke – I have a massive and irredeemably stubborn personality and I think it’s absolutely fair to disassociate myself from this utter fucking mess. I didn’t pick the players, buy them at such fantastic prices, coach them, nor manage the game so I’m completely innocent! If you’re going to blame anyone, point your twisty money grubbing fingers at Edu, Vinai and that nasty Spurs-supporting prick Pedro who writes pages about how wonderful I am. Please, please, pleeeeeeeeeeese let me keep my job til Barcelona need a new manager.
If I was Rice, Odegaard or Saka reading this, I’d be thinking ‘maybe it’s time to down tools and press the case for a better manager.’ Fucking disgraceful – the guy exemplifies everything that a club like Arsenal doesn’t. A useless, egotistical, psychopath. Oh and a wanker who doesn’t see a need to be sporting to the opposition.
One win in 7 games. Generational potato juice sauce (ie gruel thin spunk) emanating from Arteta’s brain.
PS to that begging letter to Kroenke
All I need is another 600 million quid to revamp the team and I think we’d give Liverpool a harder game next time. (nb – not promising any trophies of course).
Kroenkephobe
Your stories sound so plausible…
Feel like tonking the nose of that specimen myself as well as of Stanley..of course , after respectfully whipping off his toupee
In isolation yesterday wasn’t a big deal, in fact the first half performance was a lot better than most of our performances this season. Liverpool may have injury problems but we’ve looked really poor against some pretty rotten teams, the fact we’ve scrapped results has been something that the fanboys and Arteta has used as a distraction.
The simple fact is a team can get away with a few poor performances and still get results – when you’re halfway through the season and can only count the odd good performance what we’re seeing over the last couple of weeks wasn’t an if but when it was going to happen.
A good manager would have recognised this in September and attempted to correct the problems. Arteta believes his own bullshit to such a degree that when it doesn’t work its not the tactics he’s set up, its not picking the wrong players to do a job they’re not capable of doing its all someone else’s fault.
I’m just wondering who’ll get the blame for yesterday?