It feels good to write a match day blog after ages.
We are taking on Man City today in the Community Shield at Wembley. Usually it happens between the winners of Premier League and FA cup but since City won both of them, the runner up in Premier League is going to play against the winners. And it sets up a perfect Sunday evening for us Arsenal supporters.
Less than a week left in Premier League opener, this game also allows Mikel to finally put together the best combination of players after experimenting throughout the pre-season. A team which he thinks would challenge for the title, while improving on the football we played last season. Whether he thinks the new signings have integrated well and would start ahead of the old heads, or if he wants them to slowly bring them into the mix while sticking to Partey in the middle is going to be seen today.
What makes this game more interesting is the fact that, the title will be fought between City and Arsenal this season. What a perfect way to begin the rivalry.
So, what’s my expectations? I would go back to the best playing XI I think should start the first premier league game in a week. Ramsdale with a back 4 of White, Saliba, Gabriel and Zinny would do. If Zinny is not available, any one of Kiwior/Timber/Tierney should do. I would stick to Partey in the middle, Kai partnering him and Odegaard starting ahead of ESR and Vieira. Saka and Martinelli on either side of the wings, and Nketiah taking up the CF position.
We have a strong bench in Tomiyasu, Rice, ESR, Vieira, Nelson, Trossard who can be called upon from the bench if the need be. Mikel should understand that any player can have a bad day, and persisting with them regardless does no good to the player in question and team’s performance. You have spend good money for a bench, use them wisely without daunting the confidence of your starters. There will be enough games to keep everyone sharp and involved.
I would love a competitive game from us today, a little bit of dog-fight against the team that bullied us last season whenever we played them. A win today would be perfect, wins us a trophy and boost the confidence of the team.
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Right, I will keep it short today. What’s your preferred line up for the game and expected score line? Don’t forget to let us know in the comments.
#COYG.
TRVL
We need to see Rice play in a few matches that aren’t against City to know his positioning. Its possible Arteta used Ode and Rice yesterday to press the City defenders high up the pitch, there were numerous times that both of them were ahead of Saka and Martinelli which to my mind limits the effectiveness of the wide forwards but that doesn’t mean we’ll see it against lesser teams.
Marc—agreed, as this could be a tactic meant specifically for top quality sides, but don’t be surprised if MA adopts a Moyes-like Rice/Soucek dynamic, where they take turns pressing high…only problem is I would suspect that Rice wants the Soucek role, which could be a tad problematic, as you can only deploy this pairing if you sacrifice one of either Havertz or Jesus, when healthy…now I did likewise see Rice drop deeper and act as a CB, when Timber was in the inverted role, which could be a positive thing, even though it was clear that Timber is far more comfortable on the right, from an offensive capacity…Cheers
How much Arteta can discern and how much favourite he will play is apparent in his presser.
Whereas Timber was clearly a MoM and his defencive actions saved maybe 2 goal chances Arteta chose to wax eloquent about Havertz. Yes Havertz played better than he did in the earlier friendles , but the missed chance ?
Arteta pushed for Havertz whereas Timber was bought at the behest of Edu ( no matter Arteta didn’t object ).
He is more of a politician , a bit of a Manager , but shital as a coach
Amen
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