Wednesday night kick-off at 7.30 PM, we are going to play Crystal Palace in the Carabao (EFL) cup quarter finals. We have probably got the easiest draw out of the 8 teams and as frustrated as I am with our Premier League run and football we are playing in general, there’s still some hope. I had written enough about my frustration in my last post so it’s time to see the brighter side in this one.
First, we are doing well so far in Champions League. If we win another game there, we will most likely qualify for round of 16. Though we have been shit in Premier League lately, we are sitting third behind Pool and Chelsea and on a 6 points difference to Liverpool who have a game in hand. Lets say they win that and we would be 9 points behind but there is still 22 games left and it can go any side. We should be concerned about our game and the way we have been dropping points against small teams but it’s not over yet.
I’m sure you would agree to me if I say that Premier League and Champions League takes the priority over Carabao Cup, but there’s a very important factor here – CONFIDENCE! If we win against Crystal Palace at home, it would not only put us closer to a title where Newcastle, Tottenham, Manchester United and Liverpool are competing but can also give us back some of that confidence which we are lacking lately. A loss would further demoralise the players and the manager and there’s a hell lot of game still left that will decide our season in December itself.
So, lets go out and win this, and let us use that confidence of a win in Premier League games.
Arsenal v Crystal Palace
Carabao cup is interesting this season. No nonsense in quarter finals.
Newcastle will take on Brentford, Liverpool will visit Southampton and Man Utd and Spuds will compete against each other to make into the last 4.
The single biggest reason we should try and win this, is that Spuds are in contention and we don’t want them their hands on a trophy however small it is.
In the team news, we won’t have Ben White or Calafiori available. Mikel subbed Declan Rice against Everton due to a nibble so he would probably get a rest. Jorginho can start along side Partey and Odegaard and frankly I want to see us field the best XI available simply to win this and grow our confidence back but Nwaneri has been dominating the Carabao Cup for us with 3 goals and he deserves to bench Odegaard for this game. Ode, after back from an injury, shouldn’t be playing 2 games a week when there are much important games left plus Nwaneri has been very good so far whenever he has been given minutes. He is direct, looks more to score than Ode and we surely can develop him with these game minutes.
Injuries are a concern but if you were to play your best playing XI in a Carabao cup game against Crystal Palace at home when you are competing in both PL and CL, then you were wrong to begin with. Lets be clear here, our 2nd team is also a Mikel-bought one and if we are paying the likes of Jorgi, Sterling, Merino some good money and if they can’t win us a game against Crystal Palace, then the manager have to take the blame.
It’s a crucial one, this game. Lose and our confidence goes down through lift. A win here would give us some much needed confidence and that could help us play better in coming days.
Short one today, hope Winter is treating you well. See you during the game tomorrow.
i can just imagine what Tierney was thinking when MA pushed him back on the pitch and to the ground…right idea, so we had a few extra minutes to get Saka ready to come on, but horrible optics
Jesus is trying his best to keep Havertz on the bench…good for him, too bad he can’t score except when it’s a Cup fixture
not that I care, but that second Jesus tally looked easily offside…even if that were the case it’s always good to see Jesus finsihing well on both goals…or should I say on all 3
he had better start come the weekend, considering it will be a rematch
GOTH – game of two halves
Eddie’s trying to make things interesting…where was that header when he was wearing the home kit???
Eddie Unket…well I never.
I can’t believe Eddie didn’t take that shot, even if it ended up in the 20th row
great day at the office for Jesus, especially after Ode came on, but I just worry about the fact that the semis are a two-legged gig, which could be problematic during an already busy time of year…this ought to complicate things even more come the opening of the window, unless we get much healthier between now and then
Madhu
And the women beat Bayern Munich 3-2 to finish top of their group.
Morning all
Had a quick skim through the game and reading your comments.
Winning is all important but I’m sorry I can’t get excited about this tin pot cup in the scheme of things where the win really just appears over the cracks of where we should be winning but are very poor.
That’s probably it for Jesus until the next cup match.
I’ll only be happy when Ode and Ethan can play together, same as you guys.
Looking at KT and Kiwior and it should be Kiwior who should be behind KT as he looked sharp for his first game back. Would love to see Tierney make the LB his own again.
Tony—definitely agree with your Kiwior comments, especially when it comes to the LB position…I would be interested to see what he could do from a crossing perspective, especially if Marts was on the pitch, as that would ensure that he faced a whole mess of 1 v. 1s out wide…still concerned about his ability to handle the rigours…just look at today, he left the match with another knock of some sort…now some might say that’s down to his lack of playing time, but let’s be honest, we’ve seen that way too often to ever rely on him again…I’m starting to worry that Cala might be similarly prone to injuries, although it’s a bit too early to pin that label on him just yet
as for yesterday’s match, I’m not exactly sure how to assess what I witnessed…in the first half it was a rather disjointed affair, which makes some sense as these 11 players had never been on the pitch together…it was disapponting to see that MA wasn’t interested whatosever in running things through Ethan..instead he was far more concerned about getting Jesus and Sterling touches in areas that Ethan should have been occupying…it wasn’t until Ode came in that Sterling started to make a concerted effort to get out wide so as to create time and space for the attacking midfielder
speaking of which, if it wasn’t for Tierney we wouldn’t of had any real outside presence until the second half, which made things too easy on the Palace defenders…in fact there were times when Sterling, Jesus, Tross and Merino were so tightly compacted that 2 defenders could have easily marked all 4 of them…no wonder we carved out very little in the final third…frankly we were lucky that Palace weren’t interested whatsoever in trying to win the possession battle, as it greatly limited their chances…overall it seemed to me that the only way we were going to score in the first 45 was if we potted another set piece…in that regards, Henderson did a bang-up job from a punching perspective…if you get those wrong you tend to leave yourself exposed
as for the second half, slowly but surely things started to shift in our direction…obviously the substitutions mattered, but to me there were seevral points where Palace seemed both tired and disorganized at the back…Jesus actually won a race from the center stripe, with the ball at his feet, which should never happen against a good side, and on several occasions he actually toyed with them inside the box…although I don’t want to undermine Jesus’s efforts, as it’s about time he earned a fucking paycheque, I do fear that the Kool-Aid crew will use this as a reason why we shouldn’t overhaul our Striker position, which couldn’t be further from the truth…regardless, this was GJ’s double rainbow moment and even though I don’t expect a similar performance anytime soon, I’m happy for the guy, especially considering how he finished each and every tally…maybe he should pull a George Costanza a leave on a high note!!
“and” leave on a high note…how did I fuck that up??
Vieira
Ms K and I were talking about George Costanza the other day and the difficulties of parking in busy cities.
I think Kramer suggested to him that they should use George’s car to go to NJ or a shopping mall and George said, ‘no, I’m not going to take the car because it’s in a really good parking spot’. Only good thing about NYC is the Mets!
Now that cup game is out of the way, we need a much more convincing display on Saturday. Rice, Havertz, Martinelli and yesterday’s subs should all be back. Kiwior has never really convinced me. He did OK except for the howler but he’s not what we need long term in my view.
Who do you want in the semis? My heart says Spurs, head says Manure. The draw is after their game.
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2024/dec/18/premier-league-manager-harder-job-than-prime-minister-ange-postecoglou-claims-carabao-cup
I had to share this with you, just for the headline. Postecoglu is on borrowed time I think.
KP – Yeah i was trying to watch the Women CL game, unfortunately wasnt able to stream it. Impressive win again and topping the group. Hope they reach the CL finals which they missed narrowly couple of seasons back.
TRVL
Thanks for the review it answered some questions for me about Ethan. In his last sub and now this start Ethan has been Artetarised! What’s the point of playing a wild card kid with magic in his boots, who can score falling over? Why not tie his legs together as well and tell him to sprint.
I had to do a quick flick through as we had to get junior a new passport and I badly needed a phone upgrade with the latest tech for global usage. So, really only saw the goals before rushing out. I was expecting more noise from Ethan’s start. Now I know why.
I didn’t know KT took a knock or was it tiredness or both? He can whip in a cross and I’d wager a decent corner, and is the better defender and defending old school than Cala and Kiwior who was very poor for the first Palace goal.
I read Merino was unimpressive and I echo your Jesus thoughts. Let’s see him do that week in week out. You have to feel for him being promised the earth and then discarded and then no one wanted to buy him last summer. Got admire his never say die attitude sadly doesn’t match his goal scoring.
The LB injury frequency is very alarming and would love to know why?
KP
Palace again, and I’d be very surprised if it didn’t go to the wire Saturday, although being a home game we should take all 3 points.
We can’t say we WILL take all 3 points Saturday, can we? Because we just don’t know this season. Has last night’s win revitalized our spirits from the drab draw against bottom dwellers: Everton? Hardly an inspiring performance, but we did score 2 from open play.
Same again Saturday I say crossing fingers and putting Pumpkin on notice.
Although if the unthinkable happens and we drop points again, it’s not going to put my dreams into a tail spin because of the reasons we all talk about here. I’d probably be in a subdued upbeat manner knowing it’s another nail in the El B managerial coffin.
I mean I’d really feel sorry for him…………… nah not a bit, I’d help him pack while reminding him of all his pressers………. playing this song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Io7_3tlE7h0
I’ve had a couple of Xmases in Spain with Felis Nevidad procession early Jan if memory serves me right. It was 40 odd years ago. Had to look it up, “Important date for gifts: January 6th (Feast of the Epiphany)”
I also remember it being chilly at night and winter hot during the day. The rest is in a music haze…….
Cool link, thanks. Poor Arne on his ‘Poor me’ Xmas cheer. What does he expect he decided to mange the Spuds who can’t win to save their lives.
Personally, I think the Aussi is a sadist because what other reason would you want to go to work in a toilet bowl with a bunch of losers where it’s endemic now.
When you think about it, MA would be right at home managing the Spuds, no? He wouldn’t have to train players how to lose……. Would be a solid fit me thinks……..
What are the odds that Arteta drops Jesus for Saturday’s match?
KP—I’m a Yanks fan, but don’t hold it against me…my adoration for the club started in childhood, before the Blue Jays arrived in Canada…I was a big fan of late great Thurman Munson and Don Mattingly, who was the person I most tried to emulate during my playing days
as for the semis, either will do, but I think a Spurs matchup might be a better watch