It looks like it’s going to be an extremely tight end to the Premier League campaign at the top of the table as well as in the fight for the top four and the Champions League places that go with it. All of the teams involved in those battles have the added distractions of European quarter finals to contend with and it’s certainly going to be interesting for all involved. Arsenal have the chance not only of securing a crucial top four place, but maybe even putting a European trophy in the cabinet too.
Those aims are still a bit off though and they quite literally have to take it one game at a time. After tonight’s game five of our last seven league games are away from home and our away record is nothing to write home about so far this season. We’re going to have to turn that away form around if we’re going to achieve anything, but at least the signs were very encouraging in our last away game at Spurs.
We play a Newcastle team tonight who have only won two of their 15 away games, but no other team has drawn more games away from home and they have a fairly impressive defensive record on their travels too with only the top two and Wolves conceding less away goals. Of course Arsenal are in pretty good form at home themselves with nine home wins in a row and 25 goals scored in those games. Only the top two have taken more points and scored more goals at home and they haven’t lost at home since the opening day defeat to City.
As much as we have to be wary of this Newcastle team our home form suggests they have an awful lot more to be wary of. I know we haven’t always been at our best in those nine victories, but we found a way to win each and every one of them when it was required. If that spirit is called upon tonight I think the players have shown they have it in abundance at home at least.
Unai Emery has a few decisions to make ahead of the game and his biggest problems could be in midfield with Lucas Torreira still suspended and both Granit Xhaka and Aaron Ramsey carrying knocks from the international break. Those issues should see Matteo Guendouzi in from the start with one of Ramsey or Xhaka probably playing with him which might just mean the manager opts for three central defenders. I suppose it depends on how many attacking players he wants to get into the team and whether he opts to play both Mesut Ozil and Henrikh Mkhitaryan from the start.
He certainly has plenty of attacking options, but the inclusion of both Ozil and Mkhitaryan would probably mean either Alexandre Lacazette or Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang missing out from the start. He still has Alex Iwobi, who has been in very good form recently, to consider while Denis Suarez continues to wait for his chance since joining on loan over two months ago. I have a feeling Lacazette might be the man to get the nod despite Aubameyang being our top scorer as Lacazette didn’t have the distractions of international duty over the last couple of weeks.
In defence we should at least get to see Laurent Koscielny and Sokratis Papastathopoulos continue to grow their partnership with either Shkodran Mustafi or Nacho Monreal playing with them if the manager opts for the three central defenders. Whatever formation he opts for it’s the two wide defenders who seem to add so much to our attacking and for that reason I think Sead Kolasinac will play with the improving Ainsley Maitland-Niles on the other side.
I hope Ozil is in the team as he brings the guile which is needed to open things up and the returning Mkhitaryan was in great form before his injury. We might have to be patient as we wait for the goals that are needed tonight and those two players can be the ones to make the difference when it matters most.
To be honest while a point would put us third on goals scored ahead of Spurs and goal difference ahead of United anything short of a win would be a real blow. We travel to Everton at the weekend with United not playing (although they do travel to Wolves in midweek) while Spurs open their new stadium with a tough home game against a Palace team who can be very dangerous away from home on Wednesday night. Chelsea play at home to both Brighton and West Ham in that space of time and we will only stay ahead of them if we win tonight as I expect them to win both of those games.
We have a maximum of 13 games to play this season starting tonight and the rewards of doing well in those games are pretty high. Let’s hope a win tonight will get that run off to a good start and we can continue it from there with no pesky international breaks to worry about until the season is over. I can’t say I’m certain we will finish in the top four or win the Europa League, but I hold out a lot more hope now than I did only a few games ago.
That’s it for today.
See you tomorrow.
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