Festive season here, but you knew I would make it before time. Another Tuesday night Champions League football where we are playing Sevilla away. A crucial game for both the teams because lose this one, and the days ahead are going to be tougher.
Playing XI is already out and Zinchenko made way for Tomiyasu. I think it’s a pretty good move because Tomi is better defensively, and has a better work rate than Alex. He can run forward equally well and if the strategy is to play a back 3 of Tomi, Saliba, Gabriel with White drifting into the midfield when we have the possession, then we are in a much better defensive set up. Tomi can have that overlap runs and I think, when given time, can build up that connection with Martinelli.
Jorginho starts again with Odegaard and Rice, which confirms the Thomas Partey injury news. I have been a great fan of Partey and his ability to control the midfield and his inch perfect passes, but hey if you are injured most of the time and can’t turn up to the most important games, what’s the point of it. However, I would have preferred Rice in that DM role and Havertz / Vieira / ESR in the attacking side of it.
Odegaard keeps his place after a dismal display against Chelsea. Again, the manager do not want to disrupt the chemistry based on one game performance from the captain, but personally I feel it’s time we shift ESR to the right side of the midfield, and let him sync up with Bukayo.
Gabriel Jesus starts up top, we need goals and he has a pretty decent record in Champions League. I hope he improves that today.
We are in 2nd position after losing to Lens and a loss today would mean we would have to catch up to both Lens and Sevilla. We should be aiming to wrap up the group stages as early as possible, but we don’t have a decent record in Spain drawing 3, winning 3 and losing 11 in previous 17 games. Sevilla is in a good form having restricted Real Madrid to a draw in their last encounter which they could have easily won.
Anything but a win today would make life tougher for Mikel Arteta and his side.
Right, a short one today, game is in another 30 min and I hope we come out as winners. See you during the game.
So absolutely zero rotation from Arteta for a CL group game that a billion £ squad should be able to comfortably manage.
To make matters worse its not as if the current line up’s been tearing things up and putting in stunning performances.
Arteta’s going to burn the squad out and end up seriously injuring a player -odds it’ll be Saliba or Saka.
Though we have the initial chances, we look disjointed. I hope pick ourselves and be a bit more clinical.
we’re right back to functionally playing a 4-2-3-1, with two DMs and no real sense of urgency…to make matters even worse we don’t have any real wingback activity, so it’s a shitload of double-teams and boring sideways nonsense…just think MA spent a quarter billion dollars and somehow we’ve regressed
just as I’m about to post the above comment, Marts scores on the counter, which is the kind of directness we desperately need…good for him, but still such a rarity with MA in charge…ironically he might get an earful from our MIT for shirking his defensive responsibilities lol
our efficiency in front of goal is so piss-poor we can’t even pot goals when no one’s in net…I expect more for Ode when given such a golden opportunity
according to the commentator, we’ve lost 5 of our last 6 road matches against Liga opponents
could be a crucial goal by Jesus, who’s looked lively tonight…just wish he would bring that knack for goals in the CL to our PL campaign
our movement on and off the ball has been significantly better in this half…Sevilla will make a push, so we need to be ready to pounce when they dedicate more players forward
spoke too soon…now we’ll see if MA has the onions to push for a third or will he want us to sit back and absorb pressure for 30+ minutes
we had better score again or I fear this one will be tied up in short order…still not convinced by the Raya experiment thus far, as he hasn’t helped us offensively and he appears to a notch below Ramsdale when it comes to shotstopping
Rice should have kept running
looks like our 70M not-so-super-sub is coming in
you know you’re having a bad day on the pitch when Havertz replaces you…maybe MA couldn’t watch Ode getting bullied off the ball anymore…he could use some off-season weight training, it’s not like the extra muscle will make him that much slower
that’s the rare time when I would have suggested that Saka pick out a teammate rather than taking an odd angle shot on goal…we actually had a numbers advantage in the box for once
based on Havertz’s contributions, that 72M Pepe investment ain’t looking quite so pathetic
very fortuitous 3 points…I’m starting to think that even if Raya had punched that ball into his own goal he would still be the unquestioned number 1 Keeper
Hi Vieira
Sorry mate. I was watching on my phone so couldn’t post. Phew….
Tony
Unlike Lens, this game IS worth watching.
Just had the Police round complaining that my arse was squeaking too loudly…. 🍑📢📢📢
Plus Lens and PSV drew.
And Cardiff humped Huddersfield away! 🐦
KP-no worries, I’m just used to venting online when I’m watching the boys play…our 3 points combined with the PSV/Lens draw could allow us to take control of this group when we play Lens at home…still not convinced that this team, as it stands, considering the tactics being deployed, has what it takes to make a deep run in the CL…sure hope I’m fucking wrong
Jesus’s hammy concerns could leave us in the unenviable position of relying far too heavily on Eddie’s stone toes…I would much rather we use our 70M flop up top, at least he provides us with a target man for crosses into the box…this might also open the door for Tross or ESR to get on the pitch in the 8-hole, instead of having Jorginho sitting deep next to Rice, which provides us with very little at either end of the pitch
Morning KP & TRVL
Thanks for the commentary and with all that is currently in the mix we forgot to top up the pirate football channel points you buy at 7/11.
TRVL your game comments really helped me to get a picture of the game along with the stats this morning.
Looks like Arteta is gambling on getting to the January TW to bring in replacements for the, by then, walking wounded.
Just a small hope they hit the ground running. Is Diaz from Villa really our level? Apparently we are short in midfield Arteta is telling anyone who will listen.
He also said yesterday that Havertz has brilliant skills.
If that’s the case, they are about as well hidden as the holy grail. Shame the Pope and King of France had the Knights Templers’ slain on Friday the 13th, in the 13th century I believe.
Can someone let me know when these said skills materialize because I don’t believe in miracles?
Just got to watch the game, and whilst we deserved the win, we were far from controlling the game and for me it was Sevilla’s poor off the ball structure up top that made it easier to play out from the back.
One of Jesus’s better games for us, but why Jorginho and not ESR? And keep Tomi back to let ESR roam where he’s at his most dangerous?
Why Kiwior for Martinelli and not Nelson or ESR?
Why Havertz for Odegard and not ESR?
We were far from convincing again with the same pets getting playing time. I don’t know how Arteta does it, but his brand of football sucks the life out of the game to make it as you said, KP, Meh!
We simply lack creativity and try to manufacture goals, as if from a NFL playbook instead of playing instinctive football with the given skill sets our squad has. It’s just so boring to watch.
We need creators with much more natural creativity that is instinctive for every game, but particularly tight games. I think Ode needs a rest so that he can reset himself because recently he has very much under performed in the creative department.
We need a proven 24/5 year old creator who can unlock low blocks and transition with slide rule passes to give Ode a rest. I mean someone like ESR who will do well under a new coach and we know what he can do from when he played when injured until he was fully broken 2 seasons ago.
Now ESR is injury free and sitting on the bench game after game. Eddie Howe will know what to do with ESR just as he did with Willock.
Arteta will just keep buying new pets. You have to feel for Ramsdale, too, going from hero to zero in the Pep wanna be, Arteta.
Keepers a lone we’ve had: Emi, Leno, Ramsdale, Runnerson and now Maya at what cost?
Hi Vieira
I think there’s a good amount of smoke and mirrors at play with the messiah’s hamstring. He’s already said it’s probably OK. I think it’s also a part of a team’s clock management strategy. I think Jesus and Tets planned the change for Eddie Unket and managed to waste a few more minutes by having the physios attend to Jesus’s (phantom) injury. He’ll be right as rain for the Blades game. He performs miracles as a side hustle right? Been doing it for centuries!
That assist for Martinelli was fucking perfection by the way, as was his goal.
Hi Tony
Glad you enjoyed it. If you’d have been watching it live, it was properly and unnecessarily tense. I think the problem in the last two games has been that Ode appears a little jaded which is understandable. I’d sit him on the bench for SU, put ESR in there (or Vieira at a push) and bring Ode on after 60 minutes if we’re not winning. After all, there’s a chasm in quality and work rate between Arsenal and SU. Too logical I know. And give the armband temporarily to Rice who has already become a player that we just know will never let Arsenal down or shirk.
KP
You’ll probably right in a sense because I knew the score. I watched the match far more objectively watching very close proximity to my iMac. I was looking for our work on and off the ball far more closely that I normally do because junior was at school. We’ll often talk where the concentration meanders.
I particularly paid close attention to Jorginho who’s so far past his sell by date because he continually stinks the place out loses possession that has and almost cost us goals last night.
My mind wasn’t in the unknown vortex of when are we going to fuck up or go and score 3 goals in 5 minutes?
Jesus is our incredible hulk who doesn’t get any bigger just our chaos bringer. On form he scores with full Brazilian ganja football panache. Only caveat there is he needs 3+ chances for each goal maybe more.
Happy Divali Ambarish. Same too to Hoopah and Divyanshu assuming you’re also both celebrating.
Tony
Jesus as the incredible hulk. Not getting any bigger but certainly greener in that Jersey last night.
I’ve got mixed emotions about that shirt. I seem to recall it is based on the original from the pretty early 80s. I can remember the likes of Woodcock, Rixy, Raphael Meade and Spider wearing it. Only for one or at most 2 seasons. The green was brighter and the blue was darker. The socks were navy and green hoops iirc. Dear old Don Howe was manager or was it towards the end of Terry O’Neill’s reign? We weren’t the best but we were starting to show some defensive organisation and generally becoming a tough nut to crack. I seem to remember us nearly always being 6th in the table (at almost any time of the season!). Things would get a lot better very quickly when St George arrived from Millwall.
Not many clips on youtube of that green kit
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3nniX0K8Ws&pp=ygUWYXJzZW5hbCAxOTgyIGdyZWVuIGtpdA%3D%3D
Here we are getting humped by Forest. Maybe that idea about always being 6th was typical Kroenkephobian rose tinted bullshit!
KP
It is Dusserah, Diwali comes next month. Something like Guy Fawkes where an effigy of a demon is set ablaze by firing a lit arrow which ignites the straw and fireworks within. Not much in South Goa where I live , except among the expats who live here.
But Ambarish would definitely be having a gala time , so has not yet had time to come on the Blog.
A-ha. Cheers Hoopah. We burn effigies in this part of the world on 5 November. 🔥
Everton facing a possible 12 point deduction for financial impropriety. Oh dear, what a massive fucking shame. I’m shedding 🐊💧💧💧(crocodile tears). Could this finally be the year that they drop?
They’re facing different charges from Man City of course but if Everton are prosecuted and fined to the full extent, then it won’t augur well for the oil kleptocrats who must be next in line to be heard.
Hey KP
When it comes to kits I’m more of a traditionalist of red and white. The rest is just marketing to get as much money as possible given The Arsenal is a corporate business these days worth between £2.5B to possibly £4B. I’d rather the club put their energy into getting Arteta help (mental) or just get rid.
Did the green kit make us play better? No it was the same shit just a different day with complete predicability in our play and all hands manning the pumps for the last 25 minutes hoping not to b e breached. Sound familiar?
From my prospectus City being docked 6 to 12 points this season opens the door for us and Pool er um and saying in a whisper spuds who currently are top. Let that sink in Gooners.
Could Mikel take advantage of such a morale boost the to PL others than City fans?
I’ll leave that one with you to percolate if you feel so inclined. Have a good one LIR.
Yeah Tony, some of the kits over the last 25 years are mind-bogglingly awful. As a 70s child, the away kit always needs to be yellow-blue-yellow, a la Charlie George in 71 or Brady in the 5 minute final at the other end of the decade. There’s also the strip that the team wore in 89 at Anfield. It was a bridge too far when we some genius chose blue (cfc) or even white (thfc) in those awful da cup defeats in the past few years. What the fuckity fuck?
I got no training whatsoever in psychology and mental health (otherwise I’d’ve cured myself… ) but just give me 5 minutes with Arteta sitting opposite me on a sofa and I’m pretty sure I could solve AFC’s problems!
Percolate…. Hmm…. Time for coffee.
Buy yourself a large caffeinated drink and head over to the new post.