Of course the games will be far from normal with no fans present as well as extra measures to help the players get through playing at the hottest time of the year. I don’t think the extra substitutes or water breaks will make much difference, but the empty stadiums are going to take an awful lot of getting used to over the next few weeks.
On the plus side the three month break has given players a chance to recover from injuries and that might help Arsenal to field the strongest team possible. The elusive Kieran Tierney might eventually get a run in the team after his move from Celtic last summer was beset with injury problems. I expect Mikel Arteta to field the strongest team he can in the hope of getting something from the game.
There’s still a lot to play for with qualification for European football next season surely a priority. The Champions League is obviously the priority, but even Europa League qualification would be better than no European football at all. There is a train of thought that a season out of Europe would help us to do better in the Premier League with fewer games to play, but surely we cannot afford to lose such a large source of income given the current economic climate.
A top four finish won’t be easy, but finishing fifth would be a little less difficult if City’s European ban remains. I think the Europa League is the best we can aim for at this stage though given our current position, our remaining games and those of the teams we’re up against. We have the FA Cup to contest too and it certainly gives us a chance of some silverware to get something from a very disappointing season.
Of course Arteta isn’t the man responsible for our demise this season and we have improved and climbed the table slowly since he took the reins. The club were too slow to realise Unai Emery was the wrong man after the collapse late last season and the awful Europa League final result against Chelsea. By the time they showed him the door and brought Arteta in we had an awful lot to do to even get back into a challenging position.
There have been other issues for Arteta to contend with too as a few players move into the final year of their contracts without a new deal being agreed. The real concerns are Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Bukayo Saka and we cannot allow them to run their contracts down and leave for free next summer. If they can’t be persuaded to sign a new contract then surely we have to cash in once the season ends despite what is bound to be an extremely deflated transfer market.
Since he joined us Aubameyang has been the difference between us being the slightly above average team we are and being also rans. His goals have been invaluable at a time when others have struggled badly to find the net and that has been even more evident this season in particular. Replacing him will be a huge task for the club and I really hope we can talk him into extending his contract.
Saka has had a great breakthrough season with the injury to Tierney in particular giving him more opportunities than he might have expected. Those opportunities might not have been in his favoured position, but he took enough advantage of them for us to believe he has a very bright future. I just hope that future will be at Arsenal because there have been so few positives this season that it would be a real shame to lose one of them.
On to the game and our prospects against a City team who will want to at least prolong the agony before they hand their title over to Liverpool. They really need to beat us to make Liverpool wait a little longer and I expect them to take the game to us right from the start. We need to set ourselves up to defend in depth when required, but to be able to take them on quickly on the break when the opportunity arises.
They are vulnerable at home on the break and from set pieces too and that’s where we have to look for some joy. Aubameyang and Nicolas Pepe are the players with the pace and ability to do damage on the break while we have also been quite effective from set pieces this season. I think we will get our share of chances and we have a chance of getting something from the game if we can take some of them.
We’re actually unbeaten in seven away games, but we have drawn six of those games which at least shows we won’t be a pushover. I would be delighted with a point from the game while of course wanting all three, but any points gained won’t be of much use to us if we don’t win away to Brighton at the weekend. Maybe Arteta might have something up his sleeve considering he was Pep Guardiola’s assistant before he took the Arsenal job.
When it comes to picking his team the ever so impressive Saka could find himself on the bench if Tierney is in from the start while I expect to see Hector Bellerin in the defence too along with David Luiz and Shkodran Mustafi and Bernd Leno in goal of course. With Aubameyang and Pepe out wide I expect Alexandre Lacazette to play through the middle despite his inability to score goals away from home.
The issues could be in midfield where Lucas Torreira still isn’t match fit after his injury and Granit Xhaka is rumoured to be struggling to make the team due to a knock. If that’s the case it’s three from Matteo Guendouzi, Joe Willock, Mesut Ozil and Dani Ceballos which leaves us short defensively. I hope Xhaka is passed fit and the decision on Ozil will let us know how Arteta sees him fitting into the team in such a difficult away fixture.
We’re underdogs going into the game of course and City have a lot more on the bench than we do, but the result is far from a foregone conclusion. Maybe the lack of atmosphere at home will affect City or we can get the chances on the break or from set pieces that could give us a chance. As fans we always have to have hope and I certainly have a fair deal of that going into this game.
Finally for today I want to express my wholehearted support for the Black Lives Mater campaign and express my disgust at the lack of compassion and understanding from so many people all around the world. I can’t understand those who believe racism isn’t a problem in society as it is so obviously in front of all of us each and every single days of our lives. The club and the players are showing their support for an incredibly important issue and I genuinely hope the attention it’s getting at the moment helps to make some badly needed changes in society.
That’s it for today.
See you tomorrow.
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