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 Vitoria: Europa League Preview

After the disappointment of the Premier League defeat away to Sheffield United on Monday night it’s back to Europa League action for Arsenal tonight. It’s hard to overstate how disappointing the defeat on Monday night was with the chance to stay in third place in the league lost. Vitoria Guimares come calling tonight as the team have a chance to put Monday’s game out of their minds and continue their impressive Europa League form.

We have already won 3-0 away to Eintracht Frankfurt and 4-0 at home to Standard Liege and a win tonight would almost guarantee a place in the knockout stages with three group games still to play. Vitoria have lost their first two games and they’re probably the weakest team in the group, but they are fourth in the Portuguese league and cannot be underestimated. Our midweek cup performances so far have been really good and more of the same would do very nicely tonight.

As has been the case so far this season Unai Emery will make wholesale changes to the team that lost to Sheffield United and hopefully those players can take the opportunity they’re given again. We might well see 11 changes from that game and it shows the manager has plenty to choose from, but he doesn’t seem to know his best team. I would definitely argue that quite a few of those in the team tonight should have played on Monday night and maybe their inclusions could have helped us to get a better result.

Emiliano Martinez will play in goal and the back four will probably consist of Kieran Tierney, Hector Bellerin, Rob Holding and Shkodran Mustafi. The sooner Tierney, Bellerin and Holding are playing regularly in the Premier League the better as far as I’m concerned and I have no doubt the majority of fans must feel the same way too. 

In midfield Lucas Torreira and Dani Ceballos should start and I wouldn’t be surprised if Ainsley Maitland-Niles played too which would again more than likely leave no place in the team for Mesut Ozil. In a team who are crying out for some attacking creativity it beggars belief that Ozil cannot get a game. However, it seems the manager is not keen on him so it doesn’t matter whether the team suffers as a result or not.

I imagine Gabriel Martinelli will play on one side of the attack with Reiss Nelson on the other which would leave Alexandre Lacazette to play centrally now that he’s fit again. He looked like he needed to find some sharpness to his game when he came on on Monday night and hopefully playing tonight will help that. I’m still not sure whether he can always be accommodated in the team with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, but he is certainly a very important player for us.

I expect another good cup performance and probably a comfortable enough win, but it’s not overly important in the grand scale of things. It’s the home game with Palace on Sunday that matters most and the manager has to find a way to make the team perform in the league. We lost at home to them last season in one of the games which cost us a top four finish and they are perfectly set up to play away to us.

Belief in the manager is fading fast among the fans and performances like Monday night would suggest the players might not be too far behind. I still expect the fringe players to do well tonight, but when the going gets tough all too often we get going or don’t if you get my meaning.

That’s it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Arsenal v Standard Liege: Europa League Preview

It’s back to Europa League action for Arsenal tonight when Standard Liege come calling in our second group game. We won the first game 3-0 away to Eintracht Frankfurt a couple of weeks ago to set us up nicely for the remaining games. It may not be Europe’s premier competition, but we might need to depend on the Europa League for Champions League qualification if we can’t manage a top four finish for the fourth season in a row.

Our top four chances didn’t take too much of a blow when we drew 1-1 away to United on Monday night, but it still felt like a missed opportunity given their current form. We hadn’t won away to United in the league in 13 years before Monday night and it could be another 13 years before we get as good a chance again. At least we managed to come back and take a point though and that point was enough to keep us fourth in the league.

I expect plenty of changes from that team tonight as Unai Emery looks to rest some players ahead of the Bournemouth game on Sunday and also give a chance to some fringe players and youngsters. He can’t go too far though as we need to make sure we have a strong enough team to take the three points.

Emiliano Martinez should play in goal with a central defensive partnership of Rob Holding and Shkodran Mustafi in front of him and probably Kieran Tierney and Hector Bellerin as the two full backs if they’re up to it. For me Holding, Tierney and Bellerin are the future of our defence and I’m looking forward to seeing them all slowly play their way back in after their injuries. Mustafi has had his fair share of problems, but he did very well against Frankfurt and Forest and hopefully he can do so again tonight.

In midfield we should see the players who didn’t start against United get a run out which should mean Joe Willock and Dani Ceballos play with Mesut Ozil surely accompanying them. I’m not sure if Ceballos and Ozil can be accommodated in the same team which could mean one of them will start on the bench with the possibility of Ainsley Maitland-Niles even getting a game in his preferred midfield role or who knows Callum Chambers could play there too as it’s not an unfamiliar position to him.

In attack Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has to be rested as he is so important to us which has to mean Gabriel Martinelli plays centrally as he did so well in the Carabao Cup against Forest last week. I would imagine he will be flanked by Reiss Nelson and probably Nicolas Pepe despite the fact that Pepe played on Monday night. His confidence is a little low at the moment, but maybe successive home games against Liege and Bournemouth might just be the tonic he needs.

As I’ve said far too often already this season we’re not playing well, but our best two results came in the Europa League and the Carabao Cup when our team was pretty similar to what it will be tonight. We might have been a little lucky to win 3-0 away to Frankfurt, but the 5-0 win at home to Forest was an excellent display all around even if they are a Championship team. More of the same tonight would do very nicely and put us in a strong position in our group just ahead of the next dreaded international break.

That’s it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Arsenal’s Trip To Manchester United Previewed

The season has started reasonably well for Arsenal in terms of results even if the performances have been mostly far from convincing. They cruised to a 5-0 win at home to Nottingham Forest in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night despite Unai Emery making 11 changes from the team that just about took the three points against Villa a couple of days earlier. It means we’ve had almost a week to prepare for this game after playing in the previous three games in the space of six days.

Other results over the weekend mean we will have to beat United tonight to keep our place in the top four and we will have to win by seven goals to overtake third placed Leicester. While seven goals might be a bit of a stretch our aim tonight has to be to take the three points. It’s not going to be easy when you look at our away form which has continued on from the second half of last season into this season. The manager has a few choices to make ahead of the game in both his personnel and the team formation. 

First up he has to decide if Kieran Tierney is up to keeping his place from Tuesday night which was his first game for us having joined us injured. Tierney is going to move ahead of Sead Kolasinac in the pecking order very soon, but I’m not certain it’s going to be in this game. Much could depend on the formation and our away games to date suggest we will play a back four which surely would point to Tierney, but I still think Kolasinac will get the nod for the moment.

He has a choice to make on the other side too with Ainsley Maitland-Niles back from suspension, but Calum Chambers gave himself every chance with his performances after Maitland-Niles was sent off against Villa and again against Forest. He played well in both games and he did enough to give the manager food for thought. Of course the position will belong to Hector Bellerin who also made his comeback in that game against Forest, but only from the bench and I imagine he will be eased back into the team.

We have been treated to a central defensive partnership of Sokratis Papastathopoulos and David Luiz in our last five league games and it’s one which really isn’t working. We have conceded 10 goals in those five games and Sokratis and Luiz look uncomfortable beside each other to say the least. Rob Holding also returned from injury on Tuesday night and it’s hard not to believe he’s the future of the centre of our defence.

Unfortunately I think we’ll see Sokratis and Luiz again tonight when either Holding or Chambers might be a better option with one of them. The return of those three players on Tuesday night certainly gives us plenty of options in defence and hopefully they will help us to improve our defending. To do that we need to get the midfield right too and cut out the individual errors which are so costly to us game after game.

As good as Matteo Guendouzi has been at driving us forward to get back into games in recent games he has also been part of the problem. His tendency to dwell on the ball and get caught in possession has cost us dearly at times and he still has a lot to learn about the defensive side of his game. Having said that I still want to see him in the side because he has the ability and desire we need to help us to move forward.  

I have no doubt Granit Xhaka will be in the team too seeming as he is now our captain and I can see the qualities he adds to the team, but his errors and lapses have caused us so much heartache and he’s at the stage in his career where he should know better. Like any other player in an Arsenal shirt he deserves our support, but it won’t stop me worrying about his ability to throw the game away all on his own. I suspect the third midfielder will be Dani Ceballos which would make sense, but it leaves no room for Lucas Torreira or Joe Willock in the team and that’s without even mentioning Mesut Ozil.

I hope it’s a midfield trio we go with and we play a wide man either side of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to give as many problems as possible to a very average United side. It’s been far too long since we won at Old Trafford in the league and tonight we have a real chance of doing so if we can get things right. Besides the struggles United are going through at the moment they also have some injury worries and very little in reserve to replace anyone who misses out.

Of course our away form hasn’t exactly been something to write home about and the 2-2 draw at Watford a couple of weeks ago was one of our worst displays in a very long time. If we play like that against United we will lose and we could lose heavily, but with the right approach they are there for the taking. A win for us would leave them in a lot of trouble already in the fight for a top four finish, but it would leave us right on schedule. Having said that I’d still gladly take a draw when you consider how bad we have been away from home and our chances of actually changing that. 

That’s it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Arsenal v Nottingham Forest: Carabao Cup Preview

After the very exciting comeback at home to Villa on Sunday Arsenal are very quickly back in action tonight when Nottingham Forest come calling in the Carabao Cup. As cup competitions go the Carabao Cup is at the bottom of the pile and it gives Unai Emery a chance to rest a few players. The number one priority this season has to be a top four finish and I can’t imagine he will risk the likes of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in this game.

When we trailed Villa late on and we were down to 10 men it didn’t look good, but the players managed to find it within themselves to get the goals we needed. Massive credit has to go to Matteo Guendouzi for driving the team forward in the second half and to Aubameyang who yet again scored us the goal to take all three points. The result was just what we needed, but like our other performances so far this season it was far from impressive.

With only two days between the games the manager will have to use his whole squad which could see the return of a few players from injury. Rob Holding is the one most likely to get his first game of the season while both Kieran Tierney and Hector Bellerin are more likely to come off the bench at some stage. We should also see those who didn’t get a run out on Sunday getting a game from the start .

We might even see the rare sight so far this season of Mesut Ozil in the team while I would imagine Reiss Nelson and Gabriel Martinelli might get a game too. With Aubameyang surely having to be rested and Alexandre Lacazette injured Martinelli might even be the one to lead the line with Nelson on one side and maybe Bukayo Saka on the other. 

Saka was unfortunate to be the one sacrificed on Sunday when Ainsley Maitland-Niles was sent off and he deserves a chance to show what he can do again after a very impressive display in the Europa League last week. Callum Chambers came on to play right back when Maitland-Niles was sent off and despite some defensive frailty he managed to score our second goal. I thought he was very unlucky to lose his place in the team after the opening game against Newcastle and he must surely be given another chance at some stage as the centre of our defence is shambolic at the moment.

I didn’t think signing David Luiz was a good idea and we have seen the worse side of his game all too often in an Arsenal shirt. He seems to have had a detrimental affect on Sokratis Papastathopoulos too because their partnership is one which scares the life out of me at the moment. If Holding plays tonight it will probably be alongside Shkodran Mustafi and he’s our only central defender who scares me more than Luiz or Sokratis.

Forest put four goals past us a couple of seasons ago in the FA Cup in what was one of Arsene Wenger’s worst results in his many years at the club. We had a young and inexperienced team that day and there was no experience on the bench in case we needed to call on it. I imagine the manager might just have a little bit of back up tonight in case things aren’t going our way.

Forest have started the season quite well with 15 points from their eight games and they’re currently in the top six in the Championship. They have only lost one game and they have only conceded six goals in their eight games so they’re not going to be a pushover. We have some pretty good players available tonight though and I don’t see why we can’t make home advantage pay and progress to the next round.

I’ll be happy to see Holding, Bellerin and Tierney make their first appearances of the season though and to see some of the young guns get a run out too. Progression to the next round is always preferable, but I’m not so sure we want too many extra games at the moment. The younger players will still get a few run outs in the Europa League group games I suppose even if it does go pear shaped tonight. 

I might not sound overly confident, but I suppose watching Arsenal so far this season has given me that lack of confidence. Having said that we’re in the top four and won our toughest Europa League group game with what looked like relative ease if you only saw the score line. I’m still very worried that we won’t take advantage of the crisis at other clubs to cement our place in the top four and bring back Champions League football. Enough of the doom and gloom though and here’s hoping for a great performance and a victory tonight.

That’s it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Arsenal Move Back Into Top Four Contention

The defeat at West Ham last week left me feeling Arsenal had blown their chances of a top four finish this season despite having 16 games still up play. It was the manner of the defeat which gave me that sinking feeling and I couldn’t see how a team who could perform so poorly could seriously hope to push Chelsea and United. They needed to beat Chelsea on Saturday evening to show there was some life still in our challenge and they needed to do it in some style too.

We got exactly what we hoped for in that game with Arsenal coming out of the traps with all guns blazing and Chelsea struggling to cope. A few chances came and went before Alexandre Lacazette put us ahead and then Laurent Koscielny doubled the lead before half time. It was a very strong and disciplined performance, but of course Chelsea had their moments and some chances too like almost any opponent will have.

Overall we were far superior to them and in that first half in particular we showed the desire which had been so obviously missing against West Ham. Our home results have actually held up very well with the only defeat coming in our opening home game against City and we have deservedly won at home to both Spurs and Chelsea now. It’s very hard to reconcile those home results with our inability to win in our last five away games though and we won’t challenge for a top four place unless that away form changes.

There are too many similarities between this season and last season and none more so than in our away form. We started well away from home last season before an awful run saw us fall completely away in the chase for a top four finish. We fell back on the Europa League and hoping to quality for the Champions League by winning it, but we came up short and had to settle for a second season in a row in European football’s second tier competition.

We need to change our away form right away or this season will end up like last season and hopefully that win against Chelsea can restore some confidence on our travels even if it was a home game. We didn’t push on after the win and performance against Spurs or the impressive home draw with Liverpool, but we quite simply have to do it now. It’s not going to be easy in our next away game against City, but a win against Cardiff in our next home game is an absolute must.

The formation we used against Chelsea worked well, but the loss of Hector Bellerin to a long term injury is a real blow. We lost Rob Holding a couple of months ago just when he looked to have become the most important central defender at the club. Bellerin and Holding were the youthful pair in our defence and we will certainly lose some momentum and attacking flair on the right side with Bellerin’s absence.

Thankfully the return of Koscielny has at least helped to strengthen the centre of our defence again, but it has taken him time to come up with a performance like the one he gave on Saturday. We need more of the same from Koscielny if we’re going to improve defensively and the signs are he could be developing a good partnership with Sokratis Papastathopoulos. The problem could be replacing Bellerin with Stephan Lichsteiner the most likely candidate, but maybe Ainsley Maitland-Niles might be the best one.

Before that mideeek game against Cardiff next week we have the small matter of an FA Cup fourth round game at home to United on Friday night. They’re on a great run since they disposed of Jose Mourinho, but their defence is their weak point and a performance like the one against Chelsea will give us every chance of progressing. I can’t imagine Unai Emery will even consider playing anything other than his strongest team against United with a win surely adding to the confidence boost of the win against Chelsea.

As bad as we have been away from home recently we’re only three points off the top four with enough time to catch Chelsea and finish ahead of United too. It’s amazing what a good win and performance can do for the confidence and a week ago I could never have imagined we had a chance of finishing in the top four. Hopefully it has done just as much for the confidence of the players too and we can look forward to a strong finish to the season. I can dream can’t I.

That’s it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Arsenal’s Trip To Liverpool Previewed

With a top four finish this season our main target Arsenal sit in fifth place two points behind fourth placed Chelsea at the halfway stage. On the face of it we’re in a good position to push on and qualify for next season’s Champions League, but our form is very worrying at the moment. We go to league leaders Liverpool today looking to turn that form around and somehow do what no other team has managed so far this season.

We need a win to try to keep pace with those above us and keep ahead of a rejuvenated United who look a real threat now that they have disposed of Jose Mourinho. Liverpool have only conceded seven goals in their 19 games and only two of those goals have been at home. Of course a draw would be a very good result and far from a disaster, but I would be very surprised if both Chelsea and United didn’t win their games.

We started the season with two defeats, but then we couldn’t stop winning games even if the performances weren’t always the best. Since our winning streak needed we have only lost one league game, but we have drawn five out of 10 and those draws are killing us. We probably didn’t deserve to win most of those drawn games though and our current results are mirroring our performances while earlier ones didn’t.

How does the manager get more out of the players he has is the question and it’s hard to see where the answer lies. With Rob Holding our for the season and Hector Bellerin currently injured our defence has a very aged look to it. That isn’t helped by niggling injuries to Nacho Monreal and Sead Kolasinac while it’s difficult to believe Laurent Koscielny has recovered enough to be in the team and he could be a reoccurrence of his injury waiting to happen.

In midfield the situations with both Mesut Ozil and Aaron are very different, but it seems the manager doesn’t trust either of them. You can put Ozil’s almost continued absence down to injuries, but surely the smart money is on lack of faith in him from the manager. The Ramsey situation seems a lot clearer with the player free to sign a pre contract agreement with any continental club from Tuesday and it seems he will be gone at the end of the season. As a result he’s being left out of the team just like Ozil, but it seems our performances are suffering with both of them as good as unavailable.

Added to that we simply have no natural width in the team and we’re becoming too easy to predict and to stop. The solution could be bringing one or two of the younger players like Zech Medley and Bukayo Saka into the defence and out wide, but the manager seems more than reluctant to do so. He needs to find a solution quickly though because our season is on the edge of unraveling and we’ve all seen how the majority of these players have reacted to that scenario in the past.

It’s almost as if we’re watching Arsene Wenger’s tactics at the moment with the team sitting back when we go ahead, but unable to defend a lead. Our strength has to be in attack with the leading goal scorer in the league in Pierre-Emireck Aubameyang, but we just are not playing to our strengths. It’s been a long time since Arsenal had the best striker in the league, even if he does miss his fair share of chances, but we need to push forward and take advantage of having him in our team.

If he has the personnel today I think Unai Emery will play three central defenders and three central midfielders and it’s a system I fail to understand. For a team currently lacking creativity and width it looks like we will forego both of them in the hope of protecting our defence and it’s a tactic which just doesn’t work for me. I would like to see Ramsey given a chance to be the playmaker and it’s a role he’s capable of playing, but I doubt if we will see him there.

I suppose the problem for the manager is he raised expectations with that fantastic unbeaten run and it’s now impossible to lower those expectations. The fans believed a top four finish was obtainable and despite faltering the display against Spurs reinforced that belief, but performances like that have been few and far between in reality. There is still the Europa League and the possibility of Champions League qualification by winning it which cannot be discounted.

Our away form had held up well at the start of the season, but seven points dropped away to Palace, Southampton and Brighton when we were winning two of those games has an awfully familiar ring to it. It was our away results which saw us finish sixth last season with only City taking more points at home and it seems those away results are heading the same way at the moment. We travel to a team unbeaten at home today, who have only conceded two home goals while we haven’t kept a single clean sheet on our travels in the league.

It all makes for a very depressing scenario, but still we have had glimpses of what this team can do at times this season and we have to hope for a similar display today. If he can get his tactics right to frustrate Liverpool and somehow make the chances for Aubameyang then we can get something from the game. I’d be delighted with a draw, but the prospect of Arsenal being the team to insure “the Invincibles” record remains for another season is one I would love to see happen. It’s an unlikely scenario, but hope springs eternal and that’s what being a fan is all about.

That’s it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Arsenal v Huddersfield Preview

It’s been a very busy week for Arsenal with games against Spurs and United on Sunday and Wednesday night. The four point return from those games was very welcome considering the opposition, but the feeling was we left two points behind us in Manchester. We have a run of games coming up now where three points per game are a must if we’re going to keep pace with Spurs and Chelsea in the fight for a top four spot.

Unfortunately we have a few injuries after those games and the injury to Rob Holding is the worst with a projected absence of six to nine months. It’s a big blow for a player who had become a mainstay of our defence under Unai Emery, but hopefully we can have him back for the start of next season. Meanwhile it looks like Laurent Koscielny is just about ready to return to first team action after his six month injury absence.

If the manager wants to continue with three central defenders he needs Koscielny back as the only other alternatives are Stephan Lichsteiner and Nacho Monreal. Lichsteiner filled in quite well when Holding went off at United, but Monreal is out injured at the moment too and it’s not the preferred position for either of them. The only other option is Konstantinos Mavropanos, but he’s injured too and fairly inexperienced to boot.

At least we can welcome Granit Xhaka back after he served his suspension in midweek and he’s a very important player for the way we play. Matteo Guendouzi played well against United, but the partnership between Xhaka and Lucas Torreira is very important for the way we play. I have no doubt Guendouzi will continue to improve with each game and he has a great future to look forward to with us.

Pierre-Emireck Aubameyang led the attack in both of those games and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him start from the bench with Alexandre Lacazette starting today. Lacazette was carrying a knock which meant he was on the bench against Spurs, but I think the manager also wants to keep one of his two strikers in reserve so he can change things from the bench. His in game management is fantastic and our second half performances so far show his ability to switch things in a game to our advantage.

There is a train of thought that United set out to kick lumps out of us on Wednesday night so we would lose players to injury and the manager wouldn’t be able to affect the game from the bench. It certainly worked out that way, but I don’t think it was the case although I don’t doubt Jose Mourinho would have set out to do so if he thought it would have worked. 

Aaron Ramsey will also miss out today after the knock he picked up at United, but it looks like Mesut Ozil is fit again. Whether you believe Ozil was injured or dropped is irrelevant, but if he does play today his attitude and work rate will be under scrutiny. With Ramsey out I wouldn’t be surprised to see him in the team, but it has to be in a number 10 role and not wide if we want to get the best out of him.

Huddersfield lost away to Bournemouth on Tuesday night, but from what I saw they were very unlucky and dominated the game. They are the lowest scorers in the league so far this season and their inability to find the net is their real weakness. We certainly won’t have it all our own way, but we should be too strong for them if we can bring the intensity of our last two games to this game.

It’s the first time we’ve played a home game at 3pm on a Saturday in a while and I’m sure the home fans will be happy. The atmosphere for the Spurs game was fantastic and our away fans are always brilliant, but we could do with a better atmosphere in the Emirates for “run of the mill” games. The belief is returning on the pitch and in the stands though and with the attitude the players are showing it certainly encourages the fans to get behind them. Let’s hope they do just that today and they get a performance from the team that they want.

That’s it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Road To Nowhere For Arsenal

With qualification for the last 32 of the Europa League already in the bag Arsenal face the long trek to play FC Vorskla in the Ukraine tomorrow night. Due to the current political climate and the introduction of Martial Law in some parts of the Ukraine the game has been moved from Vorskla to Kiev and even then it’s not certain to go ahead. It’s a crazy situation and who knows what the outcome will be if the game doesn’t go ahead.

With not too much to play for and topping the group a certainty if we win our final game at home to Qarabag Unai Emery has opted to rest most of his first choice players. The only players from Sunday’s starting 11 against Bournemouth who have made the trip are Rob Holding and Henrikh Mkhitaryan and I can only assume they will be in the team. It looks like Holding is the one player who the manager has decided he needs in every single game.

Petr Cech should return to the team with Bernd Leno still at home while Stephan Lichsteiner and Karl Jenkinson should both be in the defence too. In midfield we should see Matteo Guendouzi paired with Mohamed Elneny while I assume Aaron Ramsey will play too. With Danny Welbeck injured it looks like Eddie Nketiah might get the chance to show what he can do from the start.

I wouldn’t be surprised to see Emile Smith-Rowe as the final player in the attack which only leaves a central defensive partner for Holding to find. If Ainsley Maitland-Niles can be snuck into the team somewhere that would finalise the lineup and it’s possible he could play in midfield with Elneny dropping back to play in defence. I don’t pretend to know enough about any of the other youngsters in the squad to predict which of them might play, but I’m sure we’ll see one or two at some stage.

Up to now the manager has had a pretty strong bench in our Europa League and Carabao Cup games, but he will have no such luxury in this game. If things are going awry he won’t have any cavalry to call on and he will have to hope the players he has brought can get the job done. With Premier League games against Spurs and United coming up in the next week the manager has to cut his cloth to suit his measure.

We were too strong for Vorskla in the game at the Emirates, but a couple of late goals from them made it look a lot better for them than the final 4-2 scoreline. Vorskla still have a slight chance of qualifying from the group, but only a win will do for them at this stage and even then they would have to win away to Sporting in their final group game. It’s a highly unlikely scenario, but I have no doubt they will give it a go and of course they would like to get one over on Arsenal.

It’s really all about getting this game out of the way for Arsenal and moving on to the important business of Spurs and United. A win would be great, but avoiding defeat would be perfectly acceptable too given the travel and the squad we have brought. The most important thing is that the first choice players will have had plenty of time to prepare for Sunday and hopefully that will pay off.

We are unbeaten in 17 games though and it would be great to continue that run ahead of two huge games for us. All good things must come to an end though and if we have to sacrifice that unbeaten run for the sake of being ready to face United and Spurs then so be it. I have a feeling that run won’t come to an end though and we will get at least a draw from the game.

That’s it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Football Is Back As Arsenal Play Bournemouth

After what seemed an interminable two week wait real football returns for Arsenal today when they travel to play Bournemouth. After yesterday’s games we’re four points behind fourth placed Chelsea and a win would put us only one point behind them. Our main goal for this season is a top four finish and we need to keep as close as possible to that top four as the season progresses.

Our next two league games after today will be really tough challenges for us and three points today will put us in a better position going into those games. I don’t think Spurs have been at all impressive this season, but they’re winning games and we will have our work cut out against them next week, but it’s certainly a real opportunity to put one over on one of the teams above us. We travel to play United only three days later and again they have been far from impressive, but they’re never easy to beat at Old Trafford.

Before those games we play a Bournemouth team today who have been very impressive so far this season. They slipped up away to Newcastle in their last game, but they will be only one point behind us if they can get the better of us today. They play some good attacking football, but their defence is their weak point and that’s something we have to exploit.

We haven’t exactly set the world alight this season either, but a great run of seven wins in a row after losing our first two games put us on the heels of the leaders. Three draws in our last three games have seen us fall back a little, but we didn’t really deserve any more than those draws against Palace and Wolves in particular. The performance against Liverpool was impressive though and it’s that level of skill and commitment we need to aim for far more often.

Unai Emery should have a few more defensive options today at least and I wonder if he will be tempted to pair Rob Holding and Sokratis Papastathopoulos in the centre of the defence. Holding’s performances this season make him a first choice for me and it’s a case of whether he opts for the error prone Shkodran Mustafi or goes with Sokratis now that he’s available again after injury. We have the prospect of the return of Laurent Koscielny fairly soon I think and he will certainly make the job of choosing a central defensive partnership more challenging.

With Nacho Monreal still injured and Stephan Lichsteiner doubtful the full backs pick themselves in Sead Kolasinac and Hector Bellerin. Kolasinac needs to improve, but injuries have limited his game time this season and hopefully he can improve now that he’s fully fit. On the other side Bellerin has done very well going forward and he’s an important part of how the manager wants to play even if his defending still needs improvement.

Both Lucas Torreira and Granit Xhaka have to be nailed on in midfield with Matteo Guendouzi as back up. After that I can only assume we will see both Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette in from the start even if it means we don’t have an experienced striker to make a difference from the bench. The real poser for the manager could be who he picks to pull the strings behind the attack and wide.

He has to choose two from Mesut Ozil, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Alex Iwobi and Aaron Ramsey and he needs to make the right choices. We have struggled in attack in our last few games and he might need to change things around a little to give us the creative boost we need. Before this weekend only Spurs had scored more away goals than us and they have played three more away games.

I think we can make the chances we need to score a few goals today and the outcome will depend on how we cope with a Bournemouth team who have been very good going forward this season. They have some very dangerous players who play well together and we have to be very mindful of their movement off the ball. We have been far from convincing in our defending all too often this season and they will take advantage of that if they’re given the chance.

Despite having a new man at the helm we are suffering from the same problems that have plagued us for too many seasons and Emery has his work cut out to change what seems like a mindset at the club. We have the ability to go out and win comfortably today, but none of us would be too surprised if we put in another performance like the ones against Palace and Wolves. At least we drew those two games, but a draw really isn’t enough today and we need a performance and result to boost our confidence and belief ahead of the upcoming games.

That’s it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Arsenal Go For Their Elevenses

Arsenal went to Sporting Lisbon last night looking for their eleventh win in a row in all competitions. This was the third game in their Europa League group and the other two games came during that run which meant we had a 100% record. Sporting had won their opening two games too which gave an added edge to the game with the winners becoming favourites to win the group.

The Europa League might be European football’s secondary competition, but Porto had only lost once at home in almost two years and the team that beat them was Barcelona. They were more than capable of giving a rotated Arsenal team a tough ride if we weren’t up to the task in hand. While winning wasn’t ultra important in the group the chance to keep our winning streak going was one we didn’t want to give up on.

Unai Emery made six changes to the starting 11 that came from behind to win 3-1 at home to Everton on Monday night. Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Mohamed Elneny, Aaron Ramsey, Matteo Guendouzi, Danny Welbeck and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang came into the team with Hector Bellerin, Shkodran Mustafi, Lucas Torreira, Mesut Ozil, Alex Iwobi and Alexandre Lacazette making way. Granit Xhaka continued in the left back role that he played in for the last 20 minutes on Monday night while Stephan Lichsteiner switched to right back as Rob Holding kept his place yet again. Xhaka switching to left back meant we saw a combination of Guendouzi and Elneny in midfield and it’s still a combination which fails to convince me.

Guendouzi is making so much progress since joining us in the summer that it’s a joy to watch him, but it’s hard to see where Elneny is going at the club. He’s not the most spectacular player and he looks a fair way short of the level of Guendouzi never mind Torreira. It can’t be easy for him and our squad needs the depth he offers, but I can’t see us controlling a game with him in the team.

The first half wasn’t much to write home about with very little happening at either end, but Arsenal picked up the pace after the break. They dominated that second half and that domination only increased when Torreira came on for Elneny around the hour mark. His ability to control a game and drive the team forward is a joy to watch and he looks more and more like the player we have needed for years with each passing game.

In that second half Aubameyang had a couple of one on ones with the keeper after we found good passes in behind them, but he couldn’t make either chance pay. The first was wide on the right of the goal and he probably should have gone for the far post, but went on the near side. He got in on the left the next time and had to go with his left foot which meant he couldn’t do an “Henry” into the far corner and the keeper made a good save from an attempted clip over him. Maybe he wasn’t as spectacular as he was when he came off the bench on Monday night, but then again he didn’t have Ozil to pull the strings.

When the goal came it was Welbeck who got it after he took advantage of a slip from the Sporting central defender to finish crisply through the keeper’s legs. He had an earlier effort disallowed after he was rather harshly adjudged to have push a defender before an excellent header back across the keeper in the top corner. He has only had a bit part to play with Aubameyang and Lacazette ahead of him, but he has done very well and has five goals already from his limited chances.

All in all it wasn’t exactly a game to write home about, but it was a job well done in a stadium where away teams simply don’t win. It’s kept our incredible winning streak going and can only help to strengthen the belief and confidence in the team as well as letting the first choice players know they need to keep looking over their shoulders with others looking to take their places in the team. As I said in my preview the game away to Palace on Sunday is far more important, but it’s nice to be going into that game on the back of 11 consecutive wins and a clean sheet too.

That’s it for today.

See you tomorrow.

10 Of The Best As Arsenal Beat Leicester

Arsenal faced Leicester last night as they looked to keep their winning run in all competitions going. They had won nine in a row which included six Premier League wins and a win would have brought them within two points of City and Liverpool. In a game that could have gone either way in the first half in particular they ended up winning 3-1 and they played some delightful football at times.

Unai Emery made two changes from the team which won 5-1 at Fulham in their last game two weeks ago. Stephan Lichsteiner came in for the injured Nacho Monreal and Mesut Ozil came back from his injury to replace Danny Welbeck who was on the bench. It meant Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was on the bench again despite scoring twice when he came on for the last 20 minutes in that game against Fulham.

The first half belonged more to Leicester than Arsenal as they continually got behind our high line and we were probably lucky on a couple of occasions that they didn’t score. When their goal came it was a trifle unfortunate as a scuffed cross from Ben Chilwell clipped Hector Bellerin to roll past Bernd Leno into an empty net. Leno had done very well up to then to keep Leicester out, but there was very little he could do about the goal.

That goal sparked Arsenal into life and they scored in the crucial last few moments of the half. In a flowing move down the right Ozil played a huge part in the build up and he was on hand to guide a cross from Bellerin into the corner of the net via the far post. It was a typical Ozil finish and it was exactly what the team needed to set them up for the second half.

Arsenal came out in a much more positive fashion in the second half and Leicester were very quickly doing everything they could to try to slow the game down and take the sting out of Arsenal. It looked more and more likely that we would go on to win, but there was a scare when a header from a Leicester corner hit the bar with Leno struggling badly to get anywhere near it. The boss decided it was time to change things on the hour mark and his substitutions worked almost immediately.

Aubameyang and Matteo Guendouzi came on for Lichsteiner and Henrikh Mkhitaryan which meant Granit Xhaka was playing at left back. It was a bold move considering Xhaka was already on a yellow card, but he did very well in that position for the rest of the match. To be honest Arsenal were in so much control Xhaka didn’t have an awful lot of defending to do and within six minutes of making the changes they were 3-1 up.

The first of those goals came at the end of a flowing move when Aubameyang was on hand to tap the ball home from another Bellerin cross after more great play from Ozil. Before Leicester even knew what was happening they were two behind when Aubameyang was again on hand to finish off a magnificent move in which Ozil was sublime. I don’t think I could find the words to describe how great it was to watch that move as it was a thing of absolute beauty.

I don’t subscribe to those who say we’re getting our Arsenal back though and I think it’s more than a little disrespectful to Arsene Wenger. The football they claim we are getting back is the football he brought to the club, but it was time for him to go though. We’re on a great run at the monent and I’m really enjoying it, but I’m not naive enough to believe we are anywhere near the finished article.

We have some pretty tough challenges coming up and they might not go as well as things are going at the moment, but our current run is absolutely fantastic. Our second half against Leicester was probably the best we’ve played so far this season, but the first half left a lot to be desired. We won’t get away with playing like that against the better teams in the league and we’re going to be facing three of them over the next six weeks.

We still have an awful lot of work to do defensively, but we are getting better in attack with each game. We have some very good finishers in our team and they are proving to be the difference between us and the opposition at the moment. If we can improve our defence we have a real chance of finishing in the top four and qualifying for the Champions League and that has to be our first priority this season.

Our third goal reminded me of my favourite song by The Cure which goes by the name of “How Beautiful You Are.” Every time I watch it again I can’t help smiling and I just want to watch it again and again. As good as Aaron Ramsey’s goal was against Fulham, I thought that goal was so much better and the parts Ozil played in it were fantastic.

We’re off to Portugal on Thursday night to play Sporting in our Europa League group. It looks like the group is between us and them already and the results of our games against them should decide who wins the group. At the moment the Europa League is all about getting through to the knock out stages while keeping our first choice players out of the picture as much as possible.

Playing in the Premier League on a Monday night is hardly ideal preparation for a trip to Portugal on a Thursday night, but the manager will be making a fair few changes for that game. He might not have too many options in defence at the moment, but he should be able to put out a fairly strong team. It will be interesting to see if he goes with a slightly stronger team in this game than he did in the other two group games as Sporting will definitely be tougher opponents. I’ll look into that a little more in my preview of the game on Wednesday.

That’s it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Arsenal’s Premier League Trip To Fulham Previewed

Things couldn’t be going too much better for Arsenal at the moment with eight wins in a row in all competitions. Some might point to the quality of the opposition in those games and also to the defensive performances in particular from the team. While we might not have beaten any high profile teams in the current run it’s infinitely better than some of the results which we had away from home in particular last season.

The real tests will come against the better teams and while I still don’t think we’re up to those tests yet it’s very important we take as many points as possible against everyone else. We’re through to the last 16 of the Carabao Cup and looking very healthy in our Europa League group too. Most importantly we have won five Premier League games in a row after losing our opening two games against City and Chelsea.

After we lost those games I said we needed to get some points on the board quickly with a run of eight winnable games in a row before we face Liverpool. I hoped for 20 points from those games and Unai Emery has already delivered 15 with three games to go. We have the opportunity at Fulham today to make up more ground on some of the teams above us with Liverpool playing City. A win for us would see us close to within one point of whoever loses that game or to within two points of the league leaders if it’s a draw.

Fatigue shouldn’t be a factor after the long trip back from the 3-0 win away to Qarabag in the Europa League on Thursday night. Most of that side won’t start tomorrow except for Bernd Leno and Nacho Monreal and the possibility of Rob Holding, Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Alex Iwobi. The players who came off the bench should all start too, but their game time on Thursday night should mean they are OK. I said before that game that I think Holding might be doing enough to keep his place and I wouldn’t be surprised if he started today. If Holding does keep his place I would prefer to see Sokratis alongside him with Shkodran Mustafi on the bench.

Iwobi is another player who is really pushing for a regular first team place and seems to be blossoming under the new manager. If he is to keep his place it would mean one of our high profile players missing out with Aaron Ramsey the most likely candidate. Of course if Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang doesn’t recover from his knock it opens the way for either Iwobi or Henrikh Mkhitaryan to play.

Aubameyang has been pushed out to a wide role because of the form of Alexandre Lacazette and as frustrating as it might be to see our record signing striker played wide it’s hard to argue with the decision. I would still like to see Aubameyang through the middle on occasion and particularly away to teams who will put us on the back foot, but give us opportunities on the break. His explosive pace is something we haven’t got to see too often, but hopefully we will see it in some crucial games.

Fulham haven’t had the greatest start to their return to the Premier League and they need to get a few more points on the board quite quickly. If we think our defensive record is poor then theirs is an awful lot worse and it’s something we can take advantage of today. We have become rather good at taking our chances when the opposition don’t and emerging with wins despite our opponents having just as many good scoring chances as us.

While that statistic won’t hold up forever and the better teams will punish us for poor defending we are profiting from having good finishers in our team. Fulham have a very good finisher at the moment in Aleksandar Mitrovic and we could be in trouble if he is presented with the sort of chances others have missed against us recently. Even if Mitrovic does his job I still think we will create enough at the other end to take the three points and head into the international break in very good nick.

That’s it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Arsenal's Europa League Trip To Qarabag Previewed

Tonight is Thursday night and we all know what that means. Unfortunately it means Europa League football for Arsenal for the second season in a row as we look to progress from our group and maybe do better than last season when we lost the semi final to Atletico Madrid. It’s a poor imitation of the Champions League, but with the winners qualifying for next season’s Champions League it’s a competition we have to take a real interest in.

It doesn’t help when you have to make the long journey to Azerbaijan and then try to get back in plenty of time to prepare for a Premier League game away to Fulham on Sunday. At least there will be no real travel involved in the game at Fulham, but such a long midweek journey can be energy sapping. I have no doubt Unai Emery will rotate his players as much as he can to try to insure victory in both games.

The injury to Petr Cech last weekend means we should get to see a fair bit of Bernd Leno and get to judge how well we spent all that money on him in the summer. He fits the bill in terms of how the manager wants to play the ball out from the back and it’s a matter of how his other attributes fit. Cech has looked very good in all aspects of his game this season except with the ball at his feet and Leno needs to improve from what we have seen so far if he’s going to keep his place in the team.

In defence we should see Stephan Lichsteiner play again and there’s a possibility of the fit again Sead Kolasinac playing at left back. Rob Holding has impressed in the last two games, but I think he will play as it gives him another opportunity to show the manager what he can do. With Sokratis Papastathopoulos recovered from his injury I think it’s 50/50 between him and Shkodran Mustafi as to who plays with Holding.

In midfield there should be outings for Mohamed Elneny and Matteo Guendouzi while I would expect Danny Welbeck to lead the line. I would be very surprised if Alex Iwobi didn’t play and we should see Emile Smith Rowe in the team too with the final spot probably going to Joe Willock. Neither Aaron Ramsey or Henrikh Mkhitaryan have travelled for the game for very different reasons.

Ramsey is staying behind as his wife is due to give birth and I imagine he didn’t want to be thousands of kilometers away if the event was to occur. The chances are he wouldn’t have played although the absence of Mkhitaryan might have meant he had a role to play. The less said about the Mkhitaryan situation the better, but the club have said he has stayed behind with a “cold”.

The comments of the Qarabag manager have hardly helped the situation, but how UEFA can allow teams to play in their competitions when opposition players can’t get a visa to play in their country is beyond me. It’s not as if Mkhitaryan is a Serge Aurier with a criminal record who can’t get his visa. The official line is he’s not well though and we have little choice other than to believe it despite doubting it to the extreme.

The 4-2 win in our first group game has put us in a healthy position in our group and three points against Qarabag would put us in a great position. For me the group stages are all about qualifying for the knockout stages while getting a chance to rest most of the players who will be playing in the league. The teams playing in the Champions League can’t afford to do that and it possibly gives Arsenal a chance to make up some ground in the league.

Qarabag have done reasonably well in European competitions in recent seasons and they certainly won’t be a pushover. The manager will have a strong bench to draw on if needs be and that’s something his predecessor didn’t do in the Europa League group stages. Emery has won this competition three times before and I have no doubt he will have at least one eye on the possibility of winning it again.

I’ve never been the biggest fan of Danny Welbeck, but he has done very well with the limited chances he has got so far this season. It would be interesting to see how Welbeck might progress if he could manage a prolonged period without an injury, but he has spent most of his time at the club on the treatment table. A goal from him would make him our leading scorer so far this season and that’s not too shabby for a player who is clearly seen as back up.

As always in Europa League games the priority is getting all the players home fit and safe and raring to go on Sunday. Three points would be an added bonus and it’s something we can certainly do despite resting up to 10 of the players who beat Watford last Saturday.

For those of you looking to have a flutter on the game you can get a boosted price of 10/1 for Arsenal to win when you sign up to Bookee and place a bet. It sounds like a very good price to me and well worth considering.

Arsenal Can’t See The Wood For The Trees As They Lose To Forest

In a season where Manchester City have being breaking records by the week it’s good to see they’re not the only ones. Arsenal have managed to break a record or two of their own as well, but they’re not the sort of records they want to break. If you start at the end of last season we have achieved our worst league position under Arsene Wenger, gone out of the FA Cup in the third round for the first time under him and conceded four FA Cup goals to a team outside the top flight for the first time in over 100 years. They’re not the sort of records you want to set, but as the rot sets further and further in they could easily be added to this season.

The manager made wholesale changes from the 2-2 draw with Chelsea as I predicted in my match preview, but the failure to have any of our top class players on the bench was a mistake. I thought they might be needed to save the game late on or to press home an advantage, but the likes of Mesut Ozil, Alexis Sanchez and Alexandre Lacazette all got the day off. In the end they might have been able to come on and save us, but I doubt it given the defensive performance on the day.

For the first Forest goal I’m still trying to understand how the defence tried to play offside on the six yard line when a two man wall were four yards behind them at the side of the box. A Forest player took advantage of our generosity to head past Ospina, but you also had to question why Ospina didn’t move towards the ball. It was a defensive error a schoolboy team would be embarrassed by and the team we put out had seven full internationals on display.

We equalised very soon afterwards when Per Mertesacker poked home after a Rob Holding header from a Theo Walcott free kick hit the post. I hoped we would wake up and dominate the game after that, but we created virtually nothing despite having the majority of the possession. Forest pressed us on the ball in our own half and we continued to cough it up and give them chance after chance only for Ospina to rescue us.

Forest regained the lead shortly before half time when the same player who scored the first goal planted a shot beautifully in the top corner. The defensive header from Rob Holding which fell to him left a lot to be desired as did the speed of those trying to close him down, but it was an excellent finish. We still had all of the second half to try to get back into the game, but things only got worse after the break.

With 20 minutes of that second half gone they increased their lead to 3-1 when Holding was later than a 46A bus in rush hour to bring one of their players down. That would have been the time to bring the big guns on, but they were probably out shopping with their better halves. We did pull one back when Danny Welbeck took advantage of a slip by their keeper with a little over 10 minutes to go.

Any hopes of a grandstand finish disappeared when Armand Traore ghosted past our defence and was taken down from behind by Mathieu Debuchy for another penalty. There was some talk of it not being a penalty, but it was a tackle from behind and I thought Debuchy made contact with the man before the ball. He could easily have seen red for denying a goal scoring opportunity, but the referee only gave him a yellow card.

Penalty decisions haven’t exactly gone our way recently and the manner in which this one was despatched didn’t do us any favours. The Forest player slipped as he went to take it and the ball hit the foot that slipped after he had kicked it with the other foot which was definitely double contact and the goal should have been disallowed. The referee consulted with his assistant, but they gave the goal which I assume means they didn’t spot it.

We had one last chance before the four added minutes were over, but the keeper saved well from Chuba Akpom with three added minutes still to go. I’m not quite sure how the referee only added four minutes considering all the substitutes and the amount of time lost to the decisions on the second penalty. That’s only a small complaint though and it shouldn’t take from a very good Forest performance and a fully deserved victory for them.

It was yet another low in a season littered with them for Arsenal and again it was down to the manager. We luckily scraped through against Doncaster and Norwich in earlier rounds with a similar team and it was only a mater of time before we were found out. It took a team without a manager and with an awful defensive record in the bottom half of the Championship to do it, but it was coming for our cup team.

I can only presume the first team regulars were left out because they will be called upon in the Carabao Cup semi final first leg at Chelsea on Wednesday night. Playing a similar team to yesterday at Chelsea would be an awful move and it could end in a very embarrassing result for us. It would mean those players will have to play four games in two weeks if that’s the case with a second leg against Chelsea to come as well as league games.

Where to start with yesterday is almost impossible to figure out, but it has to be obvious to one and all that a change of manager has to be the first step. It’s just not working for the manager any more and it’s got worse and not better since he extended his contract. We’re lurching from one crisis to another with the worst ones possibly to come still. 

There doesn’t seem to be a person at the club who can coach the players in their defensive duties and players contracts have been allowed to reach the stage where they can leave for free or attempt to hold the club to ransom. If the rumours are true Alexis could be off to City shortly at a fraction of his true market value and we will struggle to score enough goals to offset our awful defending without him if he goes. What top class player would want to join a club in such disarray and yet we need to make so many signings as soon as possible.

It’s not a good time to be an Arsenal fan for so many reasons and it looks like getting even worse. I’ve been through worse, but we weren’t the sixth richest club in the world then and that’s probably what makes it so unacceptable to so many fans. We are boxing so far below our weight that it’s not even funny and there doesn’t seem to be even a semblance of a plan to improve our lot.

That’s it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Arsenal v Chelsea Preview

The Festive Programme hasn’t gone too well for Arsenal so far as they have lost a little ground on the other teams chasing a top four spot this season. They have only won two of their seven league games since the start of December, but alternatively you could say they are unbeaten in six league games. It depends on how you look at it I suppose, but personally I think the current spate of draws does not auger well for us.

We drew away to Southampton, West Ham and West Brom and all three of them are struggling at the wrong end of the table. While the point at Southampton was welcome as we hardly deserved it we should have taken full points against West Ham and West Brom. We can point at the referee all we want for the ridiculous last minute penalty he gave West Brom, but we didn’t create enough good chances in either game for my liking.

The draw with Liverpool was a trifle fortunate too as we were awful that day except for the five minute spell where we got our three goals. A return of 10 points from seven games isn’t going to keep pace with those chasing a top four finish and we need to turn some of those draws into wins. I commented earlier this season on how the amount of defeats we had suffered was being offset by not drawing other games, but now it seems we have lost the knack of winning tight games.

Speaking of tight games the game with Chelsea should be just that and we really need to come out on top. Our home record so far this season has been very good with eight wins  in our 10 games, but the two games we didn’t win were against teams above us. We conceded three goals against both United and Liverpool at home and we cannot concede that many agsinst Chelsea or we will lose.

We have big problems with injuries going into the game with Nacho Monreal, Sead Kolasinac, Aaron Ramsey, Olivier Giroud and of course Santi Cazorla definitely out and Laurent Koscielny almost definitely out too. Mesut Ozil is still a doubt too and it leaves us with what could best be described as a depleted team. Arsene Wenger has some big decisions to make before the game and those decisions could have a big impact on our display and the result.

I’d take a draw if you offered it to me right now even though we badly need the three points. Chelsea won’t be far from full strength and they had the luxury of leaving Eden Hazard out of their 5-0 stroll against Stoke on Saturday. They have had a day longer to recover and that can make a difference at such a busy time in the season. So many factors point to Chelsea getting the upper hand in this game and we will have to be at our very best to get anything from it.

Speaking of which it’s been a very long time since we were at our best against anybody and doing so with so many players out is a huge ask of those who will play. I hope Ozil is fit because we lacked so much creativity against West Brom without him and Alexis Sanchez tried to drop back and fill that role, but we need Alexis in a more advanced role getting on to passes from Ozil. Whatever our issues might be with two players who will not sign contracts they are still the best players we have.

I would assume the manager will go with three at the back and that would mean Ainsley Maitland-Niles coming in on the left and either Per Mertesacker or Rob Holding as one of the three central defenders if Koscielny doesn’t play. We coped with similar problems defensively against Chelsea when we beat them in the Cup Final in May, but we had more attacking options in that game. We need to get our midfield spot on tonight and that’s a difficult task with the personnel we have available. A win is not beyond us though, but it will take one of those once or twice in a season barnstorming performances we used get so regularly in the past to get the three points. 

On a side note the manager looks like he will probably get a stadium ban for his comments about and to the referee after the West Brom game. I know there are many who would like to see him permanently banned from the stadium, but I can’t see it being of much benefit. I can understand his reaction, but did he really think his comments to the media and the referee would go unpunished and you have to think he is feeling the pressure of expectation. 

When he extended his contract in May or June there were promises of taking the club forward and building for the future, but it’s surely clear to one and all that we’re heading in the opposite direction. For me the only solution is changing the manager because the ownership won’t change and even if it did I can’t see how that would improve what the manager does now. He was a great manager in his day, but for me that day has well and truly passed and if he loves the club as much as he professes to he should open his eyes and do what is best for the club.

That’s it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Arsenal v Red Star Belgrade Preview

Arsenal's busy schedule continues tonight when they play at home to Red Star Belgrade in the Europa League. It's a competition that has gone quite well for Arsenal so far with three wins from three games and qualification for the knockout stages looking fairly certain at we stand. As I've said before it's a competition we can win and we should be looking to do just that with a Champions League place for the winner besides the nice shiny trophy.

Of course as important as this competition might become as the season progresses it's nowhere near the top of our list of priorities at the moment. That means we're going to see a mixture of fringe players and youngsters tonight and they have done very well so far. Besides the three Europa League wins they have also progressed to the last eight of Carabao Cup where they will meet West Ham a week before Christmas.

To be honest the team is being thrown together by Arsene Wenger with players having to fit into positions they're not accustomed to most of the time. That's most obvious in the defence where the only recognised defender playing in position has been Rob Holding in the centre of the back three. He has had Matthieu Debuchey and Mohamed Elneny in the center of that defence with him and that's something neither of them are used to and it shows at times. They have done well all things considered though, but we are vulnerable to a quick break right through the middle of our defence. 

You have to feel for the two players at wing back too because both Reiss Nelson and Ainsley Maitland-Niles must be delighted to get so much time in the first team, but it has to be tempered by where they are being asked to play. Nelson looks like he might really make an impression in an attacking role while Maitland-Niles would love the chance to display his wares in the centre of midfield. They are being asked to play out of position because of our lack of options in the wing back roles and it's difficult to understand why we didn't bring in cover in those positions if we were going to continue with five at the back this season.

We will of course get another chance to see Jack Wilshere ply his trade as he continues to try to regain a place in the first team. It's a little odd to hear the manager suggest he should be on the radar for the England team when he can't get a genuine look in at Arsenal. I still think he has a long way to go to fulfill his potential, but it's not easy to shine in a team without the club's real stars. I would like to see how Wilshere performs in a team with Alexis Sanchez, Mesut Ozil, Alexandre Lacazette and others rather than the makeshift one he's currently having to perform in.

These games are an opportunity for players to let the manager know they still exist or even to try to make an impression. As I said it's not always easy, but Eddie Nketiah showed in the Carabao Cup against Norwich that it's most certainly possible. His two goals from the bench to turn the game back in our favour made a name for him instantly and he'll be dying to get another chance as soon as possible.

A win tonight would put us through to the knockout stages and we're one of the favourites to win the trophy at the moment. That should leave us in a situation where we can rest a few players if needs be, but we're already resting the first choice players anyway. It's a good situation to be in and long may it continue.

If we do progress to the last 32 I would imagine the manager will gradually reintroduce the first choice players as the opposition improve. I suppose it could depend on what the league table looks like at that stage and whether we're still challenging for a top four spot. If we are the team could be stretched with the FA Cup to contend with too and given the choice I think the rewards of the Europa League outweigh those of the FA Cup.

Red Star were unbeaten before we beat them 1-0 a couple of weeks ago and they will still be hoping they can progress to the knockout stages. They made plenty of good chances against us at their ground and they will be looking to exploit our jumbled team tonight again. It's something that's quite possible given the team we will have out, but they have come through every challenge so far. I'd love to see Wilshere or Alex Iwobi grab the game by the scruff of the neck tonight and maybe Olivier Giroud or Theo Walcott could show us why they think they should be in the first team. 

As usual it's going to be difficult to get to see the game in my part of the world. BT Sport will be showing it live on one of their channels I suppose, but it's not a package I subscribe to. Hopefully I will get to see it, but it's not the end of the world if I don't which is probably an indication of how the group stages of the Europa League are judged. 

That's it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Arsenal v Norwich Preview

After a fairly comprehensive 5-2 win in the Premier League at Everton on Sunday it's Carabao Cup action for Arsenal tonight with a home game against Norwich in the last 16 of the competition. Sunday's win was the best performance of the season so far for me even if we did hand the two goals to Everton. Not only did we score five goals, but we had 30 attempts on goal with 14 of them on target.

We looked a very different team to the one which had only scored one away goal in four games before Sunday and we finally managed to punish a team we had on the ropes. I'm not saying it was a perfect display, but we could have done with a lot more of that attacking intent in the defeats against Stoke and Watford. I don't think it's any coincidence that we performed so well in attack in the first game that Alexis Sanchez, Mesut Ozil and Alexandre Lacazette all started together.

Of course we'll have a very different team tonight as we had in the 1-0 win at home to Doncaster in the last round. Our Europa League and Carabao Cup team has done pretty well so far with four wins out of four. Considering it's a team made up mainly of fringe and reserve players with many of them playing out of position that's an impressive record.

With David Ospina injured the chances are Matt Macey will play in goal as I would be very surprised if Petr Cech filled in like he had to do at Red Star Belgrade last Thursday. The defence will probably be pretty similar to the one which managed to keep Red Star scoreless and I don't expect too many changes at all from Thursday night. It's the fifth chance for those players to show what they can do and I certainly think they have every chance of winning tonight.

Olivier Giroud will lead the line hot on the heels of winning the "Puskas" award for the best goal of the year as voted by the public. We all know how adept Arsenal fans are at voting for their team or players in online polls and he was the most prominent player up for the award. His "Scorpion Kick" against Crystal Palace on New Year's Day won him the trophy and he wasn't too far off repeating it with a fairly similar goal to beat Red Star last week.

I would imagine we will see Theo Walcott and Alex Iwobi in the front three with Giroud while Jack Wilshere and Francis Coquelin should man the midfield and the defence will probably be the same as it was against Red Star. The defence struggled at times in that game, but they somehow managed to keep a clean sheet. To be fair the only one of them playing in his actual position was Rob Holding and he's still quite raw and inexperienced. 

Norwich have started the season reasonably well and they're in the play off places in the Championship after 13 games. Promotion to the Premier League is their goal for the season and anything outside of that would be a huge bonus for them tonight. I am sure they will bring a large contingent of fans to the Emirates and they should make themselves heard as long as their team are in with a chance.

As with the Europa League games so far there isn't a huge amount of interest in this game compared to the Premier League, but it is good to see how those fringe and reserve players fare. Jack Wilshere is the one who could be closest to getting into the first team considering the issues we have had and continue to have in midfield. It will be interesting to see how he gets on tonight and if he can keep himself off the treatment table long enough to make a real impact on the first team.

All in all I won't be overly bothered if the result goes against us, but it would be good for the players given a chance to progress. There's a Wembley final to play early next year and it will be interesting to see if the manager strengthens the team a little if we do manage to go through tonight. The more game time each of those players get the better for the first team I suppose and long may it continue so.

That's it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Arsenal's Trip To Watford Previewed

The second international break is finally over and when the third one finishes next month we can actually have uninterrupted real football until next March. It wasn't without it's problems for Arsenal though as Shkodran Mustafi picked up an injury and it looks like he'll be out until December. Despite the club's apparent desire to sell him in the summer he is still an intrical part of our defence and I can only assume we attempted to offload him as we had a replacement lined up.

It's a trip to Watford for Arsenal today in the evening kick off which will of course be live on BT Sports. Live TV games are a part of life for football fans and the switching of kick off times to suit the TV stations. On that point the prospect of Arsenal's home game against Liverpool on December 23rd looks almost certain to be switched to the next day.

It's a decision that takes no account of the wishes of the fans if it goes ahead and it just shows those TV companies care not a jot about about the match going fans. Besides those possibly attending the game I would be surprised if they get a good TV audience on a day when most people in this part of the world already have too much to do. 

Back to Watford and it looks like the bad news about Mustafi will at least be countered by the return of Mesut Ozil, Danny Welbeck and Francis Coquelin. None of them play in the center of defence, but at least our options in other positions will be increased. The manager has a few decisions to make ahead of a game which is a very important one for me. We have recovered somewhat from our poor start to the season and we now need to push on to try to keep pace with the top four.

United and City have started really well and will be hard to catch, but United's season gets underway today when they start to play some of the other contenders. City are a different matter and we need to have as many points as possible on the board before we play them in a few weeks. We need to target three points from today and follow it up with a maximum haul against Everton and Swansea before that trip to City on November 5th.

Watford have started the season very well under Marco Silva and their only defeat came at home to City a few weeks ago when they were thumped 6-0. They haven't won at home yet though and they have conceded more goals at home than any other team too. That statistic is somewhat skewed by the loss to City and as I said already that's their only defeat.

On the other hand Arsenal's turnaround has been fairly impressive and we have managed four clean sheets in a row in the league. It's been a long time since I can remember four clean sheets in a row for Arsenal. That run included an impressive 0-0 draw at Chelsea, but the three wins in it were all at home to teams we would be expected to beat.

Our only away point so far came in that game at Chelsea and we are one of only two teams who have failed to score away from home with the other one propping up the table without a point to their game. Our away form in the second half of last season was just not good enough and if we can't get it right this season we will not finish in the top four again. Only the top two took more points at home than Arsenal last season and we have started this season with four wins out of four on our own patch.

It looks like Laurent Koscielny will be fit to play and if he is the only change from the 2-0 win over Brighton might be a replacement for Mustafi which would be one of Per Mertesacker or Rob Holding. Ozil might come back in too of course which would probably see Alex Iwobi miss out unless Alexis Sanchez isn't up to the task after his late return and World Cup qualification disappointment. I suspect we will see both Holding and Ozil in from the start and we should have a bench with some real quality options. It's going to be a busy few weeks with with Premier League, Europa League and League Cup games to come and the strength of that bench will be tested in those games. 

As good as Watford might have been so far we still have the quality to dominate them and take the three points. I think the first goal will be crucial and I hope we can get it because I'm not sure how we will react to going behind. Besides the defeat to Liverpool we also lost at Stoke and I thought we did well in trying to get back into the game after they scored.

For me the equalising goal was coming until the manager made some quite bizarre substitutions and he should have kept faith in the players he had out there. There's no point in making changes just for the sake of it in a case like that and I hope he remembers that if today's game follows a similar pattern. If we score first and keep up our momentum I think we will win and anything other than three points would be a real blow for the team's confidence and the morale of the fans which is slowly improving. It's never easy to lose, but losing to teams you are better than is very hard to take and I think that's something that has happened too often in this calendar year.

That's it for today.

See you tomorrow.

The Great Switcheroo Sees Arsenal Reign On A Night Of Chaos

To say it was an eventful night at the Emirates last night is an understatement, but at least Arsenal managed to come through it with the three points. I saw the video clips during the day of Koln fans marching and singing through the streets of London and it was fairly obvious there was a lot more than the 2,900 away fans allocation. It seems there were up to 20,000 of their fans in London and at least half of them descended on the ground before kick off.

It led to a very scary situation for Arsenal fans with riot police eventually being called in to ensure safety inside the ground. From the reports I have read the Koln fans did their homework and many of them joined as Red Members which gave them access to tickets not taken up by Arsenal fans on the night. I have no doubt others tried to force their way in and it led to Koln fans taking over many of the sections reserved for home fans.

I know from the experience of a friend when Arsenal play in another country that a U.K. resident cannot purchase a ticket for a home section of that team's stadium. I wonder if it was the same for Koln fans and if Red Members purchasing tickets from Germany were blocked from doing so or if being a Red Member entitles you to a ticket regardless. There are ways around those rules of course, but it would be interesting to know whether the club actually allowed German residents to buy tickets for the game.

Thankfully the trouble was kept to a minimum and there was a lot of light hearted banter I'm led to believe. I have no doubt a lot of Arsenal fans chose not to enter the ground when they heard of the events unraveling and it must have been scary for those with children in particular. The decision to go ahead with the game was probably the right one when you consider what might have happened with so many Koln fans there if the game had been called off. It meant the kick off was delayed by an hour though which meant plenty of Arsenal fans had to turn around and go home as they could not have got home by the normal methods with the later finishing time.

In the game itself Arsenal started poorly and a bad clearance from David Ospina led to Koln going ahead early on. The three central defenders again didn't look good and the team just aren't playing well when they are deployed no matter what players are chosen. It's a system which worked really well at the end of last season as we searched for something to change our fortunes, but maybe it has run it's course.

Arsene Wenger changed formation to a 4-2-3-1 at half time with the unfortunate Rob Holding making way for Sead Kolasinac and it paid an instant dividend with The Tank scoring a cracking volley. The lead goal was an absolute beaut too with Alexis Sanchez eventually waking up and deciding to take part as he buried a shot into the top corner. The icing on the cake came when Hector Bellerin put the rebound away after a Theo Walcott shot was saved and we deserved the three points in the end.

It was good to see Jack Wilshere make his return and Reiss Nelson make his debut and they could both have a part to play this season. We are very short in the centre of midfield and the passing seemed an awful lot slicker when Wilshere came on. He has a lot to do to convince the manager to use him, but last night can't have done his case any harm.

It leaves us top of our Europa League group with a trip to BATE Borisov in a couple of weeks, but we have a much more pressing matter this Sunday. The manager has a lot of decisions to make before we travel to play Chelsea on Sunday and the first one has to be what formation he uses. It's clear that the one he's persisting with just isn't working and we're only at our best when we ditch it.

Besides the formation he has to decide if Alexis will regain a starting place and if he does it's a matter of who misses out. Opting for the second half formation against Koln would allow him to play with one less defender in the team, but it would mean more defensive duties for Aaron Ramsey and Granit Xhaka. They have been found wanting in those duties at times already this season and if we play that formation they will have to be a lot more disciplined.

Finally for today it seems the only UEFA charge we will have to answer to after last night is for blocked stairways and the ticketing situation seems to have been ignored. Koln have charges of their own to face, but thankfully their fans didn't come looking for a fight or who knows what might have happened.

That's it for today.

See you tomorrow.