Champions League night. At Home. 1-0 deficit, so need to win at least with 2 goals. Haven’t qualified for Quarter final since 2009-10. Eliminated 9 out of 10 times in knockout stages when we had lost the first leg. Worrisome past in Champions League. And a mountain hill to climb.
But…
Mikel was positive in the press conference and I’m sure the team is, too. Likes of Bukayo Saka, Martinelli (injured unfortunately), Rice, Gabriel, Saliba have proven their worth in England, I’m sure they are eager to do that in Europe as well. Today’s the day.
Arteta has stuck to the ‘new’ usual playing XI. Raya starts in goal to support the back 4 of White, Saliba, Gabriel and Kiwior. Jorginho keeps his place in the midfield, so we would see Rice again in a more advance role. Odegaard starts.
Kai Havertz leads the front 3 with Saka and Trossard on either side. LT has better eyes for goal and we might see him rotating at top with Kai. I would say we are playing with the best team we have.
I would have preferred Thomas Partey in place of Jorginho, but he has come back from injury and has hardly played. And Martinelli is out injured for 2-3 weeks so Trossard is 2nd best option at LW.
I don’t have much to say about today, except that we need the team winning today with at least 2-0. In return, they need our support and voice and enthusiasm. Lets keep the love and hate aside for the players and the manager and enjoy a beautiful night of football.
A very short one today, games starting in 30 odd minutes.
#COYG
Kroenke
They came with a plan and were doing a decent job of implementing it.
It’ll be interesting to see how they respond and whether Arteta shits the bed and goes too defensive.
Marc-if we were planning on going with a 5-pack at the back then the Timber hire would have made more sense, as I agree with you when it comes to having both he and Marts on the left
Marc-I worry about that too, as that would unnecessarily invite too much pressure…personally I would rather we had Rice sit deeper and have Jorginho move into more advanced spaces, as he’s been better lately when it comes to providing service
it worries me when we clear the ball when there’s no one on us, as it makes it seem like we’re in a bit of a frantic mode
so far they look more determined about getting a second than us
much better by Kiwior that time
maybe I can encourage a reverse jinx again by talking about Havertz’s lack of an impact lol
TRVL
The problem is we’re not convinced by Arteta’s history in recruiting players. For every Ode there’s a player who doesn’t make sense – Ben White is a good example who’s worked out well paid £50 million for a ball playing CB who’s now a RB but too often it seems like a fat kid let loose in a sweet shop.
we should be looking for set pieces in this half
Marc-I spoke of that in the last thread regarding our Keeper position missteps, but it applies to several other areas on the pitch too…far too often we’ve paid over the number for half-measures and those who don’t really fit the singular script here
good period of pressure, now we need some end product…it will be interesting to see who our first sub will be
Kiwior looks tired
We need to sharpen up.
Jorginho might be the first off, especially after that head scratcher of a pass
I get why Saka might be pissed, as the same exact thing happened to him right beforehand
Havertz’s giraffe legs bungled that up
It’s as if the ref is officiating an altogether different sport.
what a weirdly sloppy yet open period of play…it makes me think a goal is coming
Gabriel almost bullied his way through their whole side…no wonder he took a knock
in most sports I don’t mind when the ref let’s the players play, but that usually applies to contact sports, where a call could functionally be made at every turn…in this sport though, if you don’t establish clear guidelines it generally goes off the rails before you can attempt to reign things in
the sidelines might have more yellows than those on the field of play