It was a long wait – 6 years since we have last played at the grandest stage of all. It did longer than it should have (study Newcastle), and it did take a lot of money but that’s not a concern for today. We are finally back in the mix and the least we can do is, enjoy the evening with some Guinness and football.
We are playing PSV today at Emirates. We have a healthy team and apart from Martinelli who stretched his hamstring on Sunday, everyone else is available. Since the lads played on Sunday, we could probably see some rotation but without disturbing the team’s chemistry. Ramsdale might make a comeback in the #1 role, back line would probably be the same and Arteta’s infatuation towards Havertz might earn him his spot back in place of Vieira. Trossard will start in place of the injured Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus will most likely be starting ahead of Eddie. Having options that do not cause any drop in performance is going to help Mikel while picking the team. Personally, I would not rotate much from this, even if their a NLD on sunday. It’s a home game, less travel and next few games can have all the rotations and rests for the players.
source:Arsenal.com
PSV Eindhoven, is currently sitting on top in the Dutch league with 4 wins out of 4, and will be equally high in confidence. What’s concerning is that, they have only conceded once in these 4 games and it will prove to be a challenge to score against them. I haven’t watched them personally, so I’m not sure what kind of football they play but they have scored 13 in this process and that would only indicate an attacking game with a solid defence.
Fun fact : In the first season at Emirates, it was PSV who beat us with a 2-1 aggregate in the round of 16 in year 2006-07.
It’s not going to be easy but then none of the games in Champions League are. There is a benefit in topping the group stage that you get to play the 2nd ranked from any other group. We must also keep that in mind.
A win will be brilliant today. Starts our CL run on a positive note, and keeps the confidence high for the upcoming NLD on the weekend.
A busy week for me, so I will keep it short. See you during the game.
#COYG
KP-they’re committing so many players that they’re completely exposed on the backside…no one in the PL plays us in such a reckless fashion
my hope is that we contiue to push for more goals so that MA can actually allow some of our bench players, like ESR, to see some significant minutes in the second half
Ramsdale’s trying to hide inside his coat…either that or his swearing up a storm so he’s trying to hide his mouth to avoid from being caught
Jesus needs to take that first time instead of trying to get too fancy
Still no ESR WTF
finally from the milk carton emerges ESR!!!
Is that a lesser spotted Smith Rowe I see on the touchline?
I’ve just had odegasm! 💦
That goal reminded me of a Mark Hughes goal for Manure in a cwc final against Barca in the early 90s. Sublime.
It’s starting to look like Ode might have sharpened his boots in the offseason, which could be crucial moving forward…no more closing his eyes and hoping for the best, as now he’s looking for the corners
Morning all and a great game it looks like I missed and True Visions that are not true at all have decided to give 1 channel for the CL and just run back to back CL games in no particular order. At 2am the Manure’s game and then maybe ours after I have no idea as they don’t publish a time table for the CL. This we also have to pay extra for. It’s not the money just the terrible service.
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Enough of the ‘poor me’ and through your comments I have a semblance of the game in my mind. 4 fucking nil! Certainly shut AF up, which made me smile this morning.
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Mind you, LIR lacks that brimstone and something extra without AF maybe it was the 2 songs that assuaged you into a believer last night? Or are you Bob’s alter ego?
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Anyway, it’s good to see Alf Garnet style lives on in the modern day. 🙂
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Can’t write on what I didn’t see even though I can see pictures conjured from the game from the match reports. 4 different scorers on the sheet would suggest the bus was never parked, and PSV came off second best trying to match our usual game (as VL said) where I would imagine this played into our tactical game, which Arteta appears to have got right and, for the moment at least, Arteta has banished our past Euro nightmares in the Europa league.
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Let’s take this game and use it to start looking like real PL challengers with Pool and City – starting with the NLD on Sunday.
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Ambarish? What was your take on Havertz’s last night. His stats are underwhelming again on the ball, but perhaps he was pulling defenders around off the ball breaking their defensive shape, which is an equally important part of his game at 8?
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Nice feeling to wake up to and to have a quiet confidence going into Sunday’s game.
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Have a good one LIR.
Ambarish
You were spot on about last night. It was fun.
Tony
Not sure if it’d work where you are but I got a perfect stream via twitter with an English language commentary too. I thought Havertz was OK in a game where everyone shone. I think at the moment he’s like the link man and is doing a stint defensively too. That doesn’t make him worth that fed of course but he didn’t stink the place out.
If they can replicate the attacking speed and passing accuracy while being solid at the back, I don’t think there need be any concern going into the spuds game. A word about Rata – I think he gives our back 4 that extra but of confidence. His style of keeping and his presence reminds me a little of Seaman (which is some accolade). What’s the background to the loan deal, does anyone know? Can we concert it into a permanent transfer?
More good news. Seville and Lens drew.
Fed is fee
Rata is Raya
Concert is convert
Kroenkephobe is becoming careless and illiterate….
KP
We have an option to buy at the end of the loan expected to be around £35m and I agree I felt Raya was the more comfortable between the sticks than Ramsdale. Junior and I felt Raya was decent at Brentford but Arteta wanted Arran..
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No brainer Ryan stays on what we’ve seen of him over the years.
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I got that feel about Havertz from his stats or the lack of them, and I really wanted the lad to do well for him going forward and for us.
Kroenke
Its your age!
Hi Marc
What? The Odegasm?
In any case, it ended before it began when the cameras cut to legohead pumping his fists…
Ooo er, that sounded wrong.
Marc
Are you taking up your CL tickets this year? Last night’s performance seemed a million miles from what’s been served up in other games this season (including Manure). I think this convincing win was down to some high-level finishing and movement rather than a massive weakness on the part of PSV who looked dangerous at times.
Morning all
The weekend is upon us with the NLD tomorrow at a favorable time for us in S E Asia. What will Arteta do? Stick with the PSV sider that gelled so well or go all galaxy brain trying to prove that once again he is NOT Pep?
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Arteta’s Pontoon, 21 gamble: stick or twist?
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I think Stwist would be prudently cool leaving Havertz on the bench for ESR. It’s the perfect game for ESR to clip his spurs back on again (forgive the pun) and hop up in the 8 saddle and prove why the 8 is his now. Now that would make this poster’s weekend great, and the win would be the icing on the cake.
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Being a little capricious when TRVL informed my uneducated reactive post to Ange Postecoglou’s appointment to the Spuds. Relatively speaking bar Yohan Cruyff and a few of his era, not many Dutch managers have been successful and particularly in the PL, as one can see below courtesy of Football Transfers:
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Most successful Dutch managers in the Premier League
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Manager Club Win Ratio
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Guus Hiddink Chelsea / Chelsea 72.73% / 37.04%
Louis van Gaal Man UTd 52.43%
Ruud Gullit Chelsea / Newcastle 49.4% / 34.62%
Ronald Koeman Southampton / Everton 48.35 / 41.38
Martin Jol Tottenham / Fulham 45.27% / 33.63
Rene Meulensteen Fulham 24%
Dick Advocaat Sunderland 21.05%
Frank de Boer Crystal Palace 20%
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Who can forget good old Louis V G demonstrably throwing himself, in all his theatrical earnest, to display a dive against his player to the touchline referee. The Meme people had a heyday with that one.
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So, what does the aforementioned figures tell us? Sweet FA really because TRVL couldn’t have got it more correct where Ange P has Spuds sitting in 2nd above Pool with us in 4th with a 5GD and the Spuds same as Pool with an 8GD.
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PSV couldn’t live with us in the CL at the Emirates, a game I can watch in more detail today, but it’ll be a different game in Eindhoven, and I believe much tighter. PSV naively played into Arteta’s hands, but also showed the young side could also play, and are worthy of their league current position. They will have learnt much.
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This will not be the same story tomorrow.
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Ange P could well be a budding De Zerbi. I mean Levy is never going to employ poor managers is he?
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Well, ok, he’s rather a master of it even employing Conte, Mourinho and our own greatest manager George Graham on his last managerial legs. With 127 games in charge he managed a PPG of 1.46 as opposed to 407 games in charge for us with a PPG of 1.69. I think GG was a Hill Wood plant; either that or George was really a spent force much like the Spuds usually are, so were well suited. However, GG did win one League cup for the spuds 25 years ago.
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For us we are better off with only Marts, Timber and Partey out for the game so Arteta has no issues with selection of his £billion squad.
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Spuds on the other hand have Whiteman (?) Gil, Lo Celso, Loris, Perisic and Bentancour out, so a much bigger headache with his Kane less side.
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One side touted by Sports Mole suggests this Spuds line up:
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Vicario; Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie; Sarr, Bissouma; Kulusevski, Maddison, Son; Richarlison
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I hope Richarlison plays with his customary waterworks that is only matched by Zinchenko’s tears of plenty. I’ve watched some of the PSV game thus far and Zinchenko continues to worry me because he’s a player of too many inconsistencies.
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There’s plenty to talk about for this game, as it’s one of 2 games a season that invokes possibly the deepest passion from us Gooners. I’m not saying they are the most important from a league or cup game POV, as all games are merited for the potential the win gives us over the bigger opponent the better.
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I’m saying from a deep tribal emotional POV, the NLDs just edge the need to win at all costs. That is what I’m hoping for tomorrow where we gain enough edge to win by 3:1.
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What say you Gooners? Will it be win ugly or 1:0 to The Arsenal or my predicted 3:1 comfortable win?
Before the NLD tomorrow there is the small matter of a pool stage game in the Rugby World Cup between Ireland and South Africa to start in about 3 hours. Much more anticipation than anything else today in the sports world.
Could be a dress rehearsal for the final, Kilroy. Too late for us and junior is cramming for his mid terms next week.
What a cracker of a game after Ireland got their line out fixed. Starting out with 4 line outs and loosing all of them. It is the game everyone was predicting and hoping for.