Arsenal v West Ham Preview

Arsenal got their season off to a very good start last weekend with a 3-0 win away to Fulham. There were debuts for Willian and Gabriel and both of them were very impressive. Gabriel started a little shaky, but he grew as the game progressed and even added a goal from a set piece to an impressive defensive display. I thought Willian might have been the creative spark we needed and three assists on his debut certainly points to him being exactly that.

While the performance was pretty good it has to be remembered how poor Fulham were and we will face some much tougher tests very soon. Before our trip to Liverpool next week we play at home to West Ham on Saturday evening and it’s another game we should be winning well. They lost 2-0 at home to Newcastle last week and their performance left an awful lot to be desired.

It’s not that they don’t have some fairly good players, but there’s an awful lot wrong at the club and it’s affecting them at the moment. It’s no time for Arsenal to worry about West Ham’s woes though and we have to try to pile the pressure on them by winning by as many goals as we can. Despite our 3-0 win last week we’re still far from the finished article and there’s isn’t a team in the Premier League we can be certain we will beat.

Mikel Arteta has been a breath of fresh air since he took the reins and the team are gradually improving under him, but it’s a work in progress with a long way to go. The additions of Willian and Gabriel look like they will help us to improve and William Saliba should do so too given time. Arteta is actively chasing more players which was probably one of the reasons for the sale of Emiliano Martinez to Aston Villa this week. I really rated Martinez and I think he is better than Bernd Leno on crosses as well as being his equal in the rest of his game which might have been a good reason to keep him, but needs must at times. 

There might have to be a few more exits too if we’re going to raise the money we need to strengthen the squad. Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Lucas Torreira and Mohamed Elneny are probably the prime suspects to leave, but Elneny did well against Fulham last week and might be asked to stick around if Torreira goes. If we can bring in the imposing central midfielder we’re looking for it could be another piece in the puzzle, but it’s not easy in the current financial and footballing climate.

I don’t expect Arteta to make too many changes from the team that did so well against Fulham, but we could see one or two. If he’s fit David Luiz will probably come in which would see either Rob Holding or Ainsley Maitland-Niles missing out and I wouldn’t be surprised to see Dani Ceballos come in for Elneny either. I can’t see changes elsewhere in the team and the most important player of all will of course be playing again.

The news of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang signing a new contract this week was the best signing we made in this transfer window and it was a massive boost for the club. He is one of the best strikers in the world and our chances of replacing him within our budget would have been virtually zero. However, he has signed on for three more years and he has the opportunity over those three years to become one of our record goal scorers.

Willian is the sort of player who can help to break down a team that sits deep against us with his set piece delivery and his eye for a pass. He could come in handy against West Ham because I wouldn’t be surprised to see them sit deep and hope to hit us on the break. We’re set up a lot better to deal with that now, but it will still be hard for us if we let them score first. I think the news about Aubameyang will spur us on though and I expect Arsenal to take the game to West Ham and hopefully win by a few goals.

We should have plenty to bring off the bench too if it’s needed with Nicolas Pepe, Bukayo Saka, Reiss Nelson and Eddie Nketiah all waiting for a chance to prove themselves. The obvious omission of course is Mesut Ozil and I’ve resigned myself to him being almost a part of our past at this stage. Whatever side of the argument you come down on it’s not easy to see the club pay so much money to an asset that they don’t use.

We have a tough run of away games on the horizon with trips to Liverpool, City and United in our next three on the road. It’s going to be very important during that time to take as many points as possible at home starting with West Ham. If we can get past the United game in good shape we have a great run of games which could see us make a real impression on the top four. 

Finishing in the top four has to be our target for this season and a good run in any of the cup competitions would be an added bonus. If we’re going to do that we need to improve our performances and results away from home and look to punish poorer teams at home. West Ham afford us that opportunity in this game and it’s one we just have to take advantage of.

That’s it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Arsenal v Chelsea: FA Cup Final Preview

It’s been a very difficult season as an Arsenal fan with the disappointments seemingly far outweighing the few positives, but we have a chance to change all of that on Saturday. Arsenal already hold the record for winning the most FA Cup Finals and they can bring their tally to 14 if they can overcome Chelsea. It would be a great way to end the strangest of seasons and it would bring the added bonus of qualification for the Europa League for next season.

There are those who say Arsenal could do with a season out of European football’s lesser competition and I can understand that point of view, but I don’t agree with it. Not only will the Europa League bring in some much needed money, but it will surely help to attract potential transfer targets if we have some form of European football to offer. Until our untimely exit this season we had done very well in the Europa League in the previous two seasons even if they both ultimately ended in disappointment.

Having finished eighth (yes eighth) in the Premier League we are lucky to have the opportunity to qualify for Europe and it’s one we have to take. We were in a similar situation last season when we again faced Chelsea in the Europa League final with a spot in the Champions League on offer for us if we had lifted the trophy. That didn’t end well for us and it should have marked the end for Unai Emery at the club, but those at the top waited until we plummeted a lot further before making that decision.

When Mikel Arteta took charge half way through the season we were in a bad way and he has managed to turn things around to a degree, but we still have a long way to go. I think he is the right man to lead us forward, but he needs to bring in players who want to play for us and him and who can improve what has become a pretty average team. If it wasn’t for the goals of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang our season would have been so much worse and Arteta needs to find some players who can get us the goals that are lacking in every other part of our team.

Of course this could be Aubameyang’s last game for Arsenal if we can’t convince him to sign a contract extension and decide to cash in on whatever value he has at 31 with a year left on his contract in the current economic climate caused by Covid19. I am of the opinion we might be better to keep him until his contract ends if he won’t extend as it would cost even more to replace him and finding another striker of his ability who would be prepared to join us would be no easy task. One of the few joys I have left when watching Arsenal is Aubameyang’s smile when he scores.

It could be the last game for Dani Ceballos too as his loan spell from Real Madrid is up, but the rumours are he will be loaned to us again next season. I’ve been impressed by him since football returned, but he’s not exactly the most creative of players which probably makes him fit right in with the rest of our midfield at the moment. He has formed a fairly good partnership with Granit Xhaka though and I would be very surprised if they both don’t start against Chelsea.

The other bright moments in this season have come through the emergence of Bukayo Saka and the impression Kieran Tierney has made since he managed to put his injury problems behind him when football returned. Saka signing a new contract was a big bonus for us and I look forward to him developing as a player and finding the position that best suits him. Tierney looks to have all the assets we could ask for in the attacking side of his game and his defending should improve if we can put other good defenders in there with him.

The injury to Bernd Leno looked to have put us in a very awkward situation only a few weeks ago, but Emiliano Martinez has grabbed his opportunity with both hands which is always preferable for any goalkeeper. He will play against Chelsea and he will most definitely give Arteta a few headaches when it comes to choosing his first choice keeper for next season. With the attacking players Chelsea will have on show Martinez will have to be at his best if we’re going to have a chance.

I imagine Arteta will play Hector Bellerin on the right of the defence with David Luiz in the centre alongside Rob Holding. If he opts for three central defenders I would prefer to see Tierney alongside those two with Saka on the left as Sead Kolasinac is an accident waiting to happen all too often. Of course Luiz is the definition of an accident waiting to happen as the five penalties he gave away this season indicate. I really find it hard to understand how we extended his contract a few weeks ago, but we are so limited in the centre of our defence that I suppose we couldn’t afford to let him go. Hopefully William Saliba will very quickly become the player we want him to be when he joins us.

With five at the back and Xhaka and Ceballos in midfield it would leave Aubameyang attacking from the left which is where he gets so many of his goals. I would imagine Alexandre Lacazette will play through the middle with his ability to hold the ball up and harass the opposing defenders. He’s added a few goals in recent weeks too and it would be the ideal game for another blockbuster like we saw a couple of weeks ago.

The last place should realistically go to our record signing, but Nicolas Pepe hasn’t had the easiest first season in English football. I think it’s too easy to keep him out of the game and he needs to find a way to become more involved. He has the ability to be our match winner against Chelsea, but we could see him on the bench with Arteta possibly favouring a player who might give us more work rate.

We had great results against both Liverpool and City so recently and I expect us to try to play in a similar fashion against Chelsea. If we try to take the game to them too much our defensive deficiencies on the break could come back to haunt us so it will probably be a case of looking for our chances on the break or from a turnover. Chelsea’s defence has been no better than ours for most of the season and they actually conceded six goals more than us in the Premier League.

It’s going to be very strange watching the FA Cup Final with no fans in the stadium, but it has become the new normal. I hope we can put in a performance to be proud of and it has to be better than what we saw against the same opposition in the Europa League final last season. It would be great for Arteta and our future if he could inspire the players to put in a performance to win the cup. 

I won’t say I think we will win, but I definitely think we have a very good chance. Chelsea are rightly the favourites as they finished fourth in the league and we had our worst finish in 25 years all the way back in eighth place. It’s a one off game though and City realised in the semi-final that we can give just about any team a game if we’re at our best. All I wish for is Arsenal to be just that and hopefully it will be enough to finish the season in some glory with a nice shiny trophy.

That’s it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Arsenal v Leeds United: FA Cup Preview

With their first win under the stewardship of Mikel Arteta under their belts Arsenal head into FA Cup action tonight when Leeds United come calling. It’s the only competition we have won since 2004 and the three wins in the last six seasons were a welcome boost to our morale and our trophy cabinet. During that time the greatest Spurs team since who knows when failed to win a single trophy of any significance, but I suppose that’s nothing new for them at least.

There’s two trains of thought on the FA Cup this season I suppose with the prospect of one of the major trophies always something to be aspired to, but we also have to be conscious of our requirements on other fronts. Finishing in the top four has to be our number one priority, but it’s going to be very difficult for us considering how the season has gone so far even with the hope Arteta’s arrival has brought. If we can’t finish in the top four the Europa League is the only other way of getting into next season’s Champions League and it has to be prioritised too.

That doesn’t leave much consideration for the FA Cup no matter whether we have won it more times than any other club or not. The thing is though as it stands we won’t even qualify for the Europa League for next season and it might just be a good idea to treat the cup seriously as a back up plan for Europa League qualification. It’s not exactly a nice thought to consider finishing outside the Europa League places in the Premier League, but it’s one that has to be considered at least.

I still think a top four finish is within our grasp as those above us have been almost as inconsistent as we have so far until you reach the top three. It’s going to be a big ask though as we still have to travel to City, Chelsea and Spurs as well as playing at home to Liverpool and Leicester. It’s hard not to be optimistic though after the performance and win against United and even the performances against Chelsea and Bournemouth.

I don’t think we have to go all out with our team selection tonight, but I think we need to make sure we have plenty to offer from the bench in case things aren’t going our way. Leeds have a pretty good away record so far this season with eight wins in their 14 games and they have scored more goals on the road than any other team in the Championship. They’re currently on top of the table and a return to the Premier League has to be their primary concern so they could be tempted into a fair few changes tonight too.

There’s a possibility we’ll see up to four players returning from injury tonight with Hector Bellerin, Rob Holding, Dani Ceballos and Gabriel Martinelli all possibly available. Those four will all be pushing for a place in our strongest team so they will add real strength to the squad and some quality to the team tonight if they start. We could also Eddie Nketiah play up front after he was recalled from his loan spell at Leeds and he has a lot to offer too.

Otherwise I expect to see Matteo Guendouzi and Nicolas Pepe both start tonight. Guendouzi is currently seen as being behind both Lucas Torreira and Granit Xhaka in our strongest 11 and he needs a bit of game time while Pepe has been out of favour so long that he can’t be suffering from the fatigue others might have from the busy festive schedule. I wouldn’t mind seeing Pepe and Martinelli on either side of the attack with Nketiah through the middle and Ceballos behind them.

Whatever team we play we will be expected to win though because we’re at home to a side from the league below us. With Leeds likely to rotate too I think we should be strong enough to win through to the next round and we definitely don’t want a replay. Most of all I hope to see the players continue the progress they have shown under Arteta and for those who get a chance tonight to really try to make an impression as well as winning of course.

That’s it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Arsenal v Spurs: NLD Preview

After winning their first two games Arsenal came crashing back to earth last week when they lost 3-1 away to Liverpool. While it wasn’t as bad a defeat as we have suffered at Anfield in recent seasons it still showed we have a long way to go to match the pacesetters in the Premier League. However, our aim this season has to be returning to the top four and the Champions League football it brings.

A defeat at Liverpool might not have helped that cause, but a home game against Spurs is far more important for it. They are definitely one of the other four teams looking to take one of the two places available in the top four as Liverpool and City look set to fight for the title again. There are those who think Spurs will challenge both City and Liverpool this season, but last week’s home result against Newcastle showed exactly why they won’t.

Unai Emery has taken some stick for his formation against Liverpool last week, but it might have been different if either Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang or Nicolas Pepe had taken their good chances to put us ahead in the first half. I don’t think his tactics were right for the game, but at least he tried something he thought might work even if it did seem like the players were unsure of how to enact his plan. I doubt if we will see a formation like that at home to Spurs and I think he has a much better idea how to beat them.

We beat them 4-2 at the Emirates last season and would have won away to them too if it wasn’t for a last minute penalty miss. Interestingly that penalty would have been retaken if VAR had been around due to encroachment from the Spurs player who eventually stopped Aubameyang scoring the rebound. With VAR in use at all Premier League games we can only hope it will catch the serial divers and cheaters that abound in the Spurs team.

The manager has a few decisions to make in his team selection and the toughest one could be about Nacho Monreal. It looks like he could be on his way back to Spain with the European transfer window still open, but he is currently the preferred left back of those available for selection. If he lets Nacho leave it means playing Sead Kolasinac on the left of what will probably be a back four and he seems more than hesitant to do so. 

When Kieran Tierney is back to full fitness he looks destined to make that position his own and it makes economic sense to let Nacho leave. Do we keep him until at least January for just one game, but then again it’s a very important game and one we just cannot afford to lose. It’s a complicated call for the manager to make and he has to be conscious of so many factors when he’s making it.

Other than that decision it appears the rest of the back four picks itself with David Luiz, Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Ainsley Maitland-Niles keeping their places in front of Bernd Leno. Luiz showed exactly why there were doubts about us signing him at Liverpool last week when his errors led directly to two of their three goals. He can be a very good player, but he also has that ability in him to cost his team goals in big games in particular. I just hope we won’t see that side of him on Sunday.

The full debut of Pepe last week gives the manager a real selection headache up front. I’m one of those fans who believes we have to play Aubameyang through the middle if we’re going to get the best out of him. If he plays through the middle it doesn’t really leave any room in the team for Alexandre Lacazette, but he’s exactly the type of player you want in a local derby.

It’s a tough call for the manager to make, but I think he has to play both Aubameyang and Pepe with their pace and Spurs vulnerability to the ball over the top. Their defence is a little short on numbers at the moment and looking probably as vulnerable as ours. I think power and pace could be the key against them even if it means leaving Lacazette out of the team.

Winning the midfield battle could be crucial for us and getting to grips with the Spurs midfield won’t be as difficult as getting the better of Liverpool’s last week. Dani Ceballos looked very good in his debut against Burnley, but he didn’t find it as easy against Liverpool. I think he might just relish the chance to play against Spurs at home and show us exactly what he can do.

I would like to see Lucas Torreira alongside him as I think it’s a combination which could be very effective for us and surely Torreira must be ready to start by now after returning from international duty much later than the rest of the squad last month. As much as I like Matteo Guendouzi I would like to see how a midfield trio of Ceballos, Torreira and Joe Willock would fare together.

If the manager were to follow my advice he would have one player left to pick and that would depend on the formation he opts for. There are so many to choose from with Lacazette, Reiss Nelson, Mesut Ozil, Guendouzi, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Granit Xhaka all looking for a chance to prove themselves. I think we will see Xhaka in the team, but probably at the expense of one of the midfield trio I prefer and the last place is still a toss up.

As much as getting the right personnel is important it’s also very important to get the tactics and attitude right on the day. If we can approach the game in the same vein as our home games against Spurs, United, Chelsea and Liverpool last season I think we will be on the right track. I hope the players will be anxious to put last week behind them and get one over on their local rivals yet again.

They have only won away to us once in the Premier League since 1993 and that was nine years ago. In the eight games since that defeat we have scored 20 goals against them and only conceded nine including scoring five twice and four once. When we turn it on at home against them the goals flow and that’s exactly what we need on Sunday.

If we can go into the international break five points ahead of Spurs on the back of a victory over them it would be a huge boost for us. While I could take a draw to keep us ahead of them a win is infinitely superior and well within our grasp. Let’s just hope the players can find the level of intensity and commitment needed in a local derby to take those three precious points and the bragging rights that go with them.

That’s it for today.

See you tomorrow.