The international break allows our injured chaps to recover at home rather than tread foreign fields in search of their country’s honour. I am sure that Mr. Ramsey would much rather have been out beering it up with his Welsh colleagues but instead he has been under the delicate ministrations of our medical team, hopefully he will be fit for selection on the weekend.
If he is, will he play and more to the point where? And who gets dropped?
Where does he play? Alongside Xhaka? Neither Xhaka nor Santi have played for their countries so both will be fresh. Will AW change a winning formula? It seems unlikely though certain AA’ers predict AW will settle upon a Ramsey/Xhaka combo as his preferred midfield.
Further forward? An attacking midfield role has always been Ramsey chosen position and one he plays in so successfully for Wales. Iwobi has triumphed in his first game for Nigeria and the flight home from Africa plus the excitement of his first goal will perhaps rule him out of the game at The Emirate – Ramsey is the obvious replacement. But …. AW may prefer to play Elneny alongside Xhaka with Santi further forward.
My choice would be for Ramsey to sit on the bench until the CL game and let Ox take Iwobi’s position on Saturday. What do you think?
written by Big Raddy
Arsenal News 24/7
arsenalarsenal.net 
Thanks Raddy, this is a question I have asked myself. Ramsey is excellent for Wales where he is the binding quality in midfield, but surrounded by players of better quality at Arsenal, he is unlikely to be the main pivot in the same way. An Arsenal side on top form is a slick machine with every cog functioning perfectly.
What worries me about AR is that he tries to play the Wales way for Arsenal. He has a fantastic engine, and times his runs into the box to perfection, but when you have a team schooled in quick passing, someone running around all over the place and at times holding onto the ball too long can be disruptive to the flow of our play.
Erik pulls one out of the hat. Again. Thank you.
As you say, both Xhaka and Santi are rested, and on that basis I don’t see Arsene changing things. However, I’ll look up the fixtures, as perhaps congestion may alter things
Back in a mo
Here we go:
15 Oct – Premier League Arsenal vs Swansea City
19 Oct – Champions League Arsenal vs Ludogorets
22 Oct – Premier League Arsenal Middlesbrough
25 Oct – Football League Cup Arsenal Reading
29 Oct – Premier League Sunderland Arsenal
1 Nov – Champions League Ludogorets Arsenal
6 Nov – Premier League Arsenal Tottenham
That lot, all very winnable, before next Interlull
Certainly, some room for rotation
Rasp
I think Iwobi keeps the ball moving, and usually forwards, far quicker than Aaron. Ditto Mesut and Santi, so I agree with your thinking
I agree Micky, the key to unlocking tight defences is often to invite them onto us and then slice through them by getting the ball forward quickly with slick one or two touch passing – pinball football 🙂
We need to see Ramsey shooting again, in the past few games he has lost the ability.
Of course, the main problem is that when he does shoot it is rarely on target – I wonder what changed?
Yip, and given Arsene’s clear tactical changes from last season, this does appear to be company policy
As for Aaron, he’ll still have a big part to play this season, as the inevitable injuries will arrive, and his versatility will be valuable
ps In my heart, I still see him as a 4-4-2 player and therein lies the big problem for m in terms of finding him a starting berth. I just think Santi is better, and I also think Arsene will find games where Santi is resting and he prefers a stiffer, more positionally stable pairing of Coq and Xhaka in the middle
I know LB and TA disagree. Only time will tell what Arsene is thinking
Erik
His hair?
Seems an age since we last played 😦
Bloody hell. Tony Adams is 50 today. Tempus fugit
Ray Parlour was telling a story on the radio about the differences between the English and foreign players at Arsenal in his era. Basically the English boys liked to drink to excess and the French preferred a coffee and a fag to relax. The French couldn’t understand how the English could play after heavy drinking and the English felt the same about smoking.
Apparently Giles Grimandi was a character and decided he wanted to join the English after a game for a change. He met them in the pub and ordered a cognac, Steve Bould joined the English contingent of which there were 5 (including TA before he dried out) and ordered 35 pints in one hit before they moved on to another pub.
True about the age between games during interlulls
Shame the Arsenal world don’t share a mutual “B” sport
I recommend this as a B sport …
Cheers, BR.
I voted ‘don’t know’.
https://twitter.com/Cataphonics/status/785449480502018048
And now…..the Everton goal
Pleeeease
Charlie George is 66 today, as well.
…ya go
Who’s got a good memory? When Rambo was playing his socks off for the first 4-5 months a few seasons back and scoring all those goals, what position was he playing? Was it the same starting position for the whole period or did he change during it? And who mostly occupied the other midfield/striking positions around him?
The way Rambo has been playing this season and most of last, then he certainly doesn’t deserve to get back in the team at the moment.
Clearly the answer is his hair as Micky has already pointed out..it’s obvious!
Tell you lot something
I see those goals by proper Gunners like George and Adams, and it makes me understand that however good Bergkamp, Henry and so on were, they just don’t do it. You know, like deep down do it.
Ant 2:41
Yip, the hair
Micky. 3.40, You are getting old 😀 😀
That is very true Erik, and I bloody hate it. Only the bear minimum of my machinery still functions properly
Actually, its why Jack’s failure hurts.
bare minimum even
I wonder if Iwobi is a Gunner. Came to England aged four, then been at Arsenal since primary school, so maybe
Of course he is, the man is a proper Gooner. Shame he chose to play for Nigeria
These are a couple of ‘proper’ goals. Remember this was with a much heavier ball – the first goal here would have carried the keeper into the goal with it if he got in the way ….
Looking at Ant’s vid @ 2:41, Ramsey was on fire that season. I remember him being interviewed at a pre-season game and Theo and The Ox were taking the p’ out of him due to his lack of pace – he shut them up that year. It is true that he wasn’t surrounded by the same quality then as he is now but playing like that he’d have to be in the starting line up.
A German?
Why not
I thought Hummels wore the 5 shirt for Germany.
Who is that? He has a touch of the Mad Jens about him
The writing across the middle of my screen says Thorsten Wagner
Ok, tonight on telly
On ITV4, you can watch the pathetic Dutch taking on the wet French, or, on BBC4 at 9pm, there’s a documentary about the Painted Lady Butterfly.
Get this, apparently the little fellas clear off to North Africa for some winter sun. Unbelievable. How do they steer through even a gentle breeze?
Micky
What do you think about the English?
Weak, really weak
Good sense of humour though
Unlike everyone else (ok, apart from americans)
Do you reckon Cocu dived? 😆
🙂
What a top man, Tony Adams
English weak?? you are off your trolley mate, they are the toughest bastards I ever came across, both physically and mentally
thanks Raddy, I don’t care where Aaron plays, as long he is not warming the bench, far too good for that.
Hi all, I don’t get chance to comment much, but I try to read most days.
I have been trying to work out why a picture of Jeff Blockley is on Tony Adams birthday tweet at 1.53 ?
Sid. That is a very good point. I will speak to The Management.
Good post BR. A topic that regularly comes up in comments.
Sorry to answer a question with a question but how many goals has Cazorla scored from open play this season?
Want to think again about what Wenger is going to do?
Ramsey could still play since Alexis might also be rested
Maximum respect to the Painted Lady butterfly 🙂
https://twitter.com/Highbury_74/status/785442816549847040
https://twitter.com/Crazy_Cole79/status/785469068241408000
https://twitter.com/AsTallAsHerEyes/status/785459057201143808
Sid
It was a bit of a theme on twitter yesterday. Soz. 🙂
micky – why?
ha ha ha Chas
Poor Sid. Lost in translation stuff. Have to say I looked at it, and then the gravatar of a cat in a hat and just thought…leave it 🙂
Eddie
My 6:58 last night
ok, you watched a documentary about butterflies. I was just about to be sarcastic but I remembered I watch all the documentaries about bees 🙂
Oh, and, I didn’t want to show my ignorance because I hadn’t a clue who it was 🙂
Eddie
They can do 100 miles in a day!!!
micky – sign them for Arsena, play them on the wings, could destroy defences 🙂
Nature is unbelievable. Cuckoo is an African bird that regularly flies between Europe the 2 continents and thinks nothing of it
Cheers Raddinski,
Ramsey is the final piece in the speed and movement revolution. Xhaka or Coq sit deep, Ozil is as free as a bird up front and Rambo connects the back with the front together with the full backs. Rambo is the quintessential box to box midfielder and Elneny is his back up. Santi is the super sub, and when we play the top top teams who like to dominate possession in our half we can play Rambo, Coq/Xhaka and Cazorla in midfield (Rambo on right). We also need a good sub for Ozil and that is Santi’s role. All good options for us. Hope Rambo stays fit for a long time now…. And get the engine running.
TA
I know you and LB think the same way, and I’d be absolutely delighted if Aaron surpasses Santi’s role alongside Xhaka or Coq as we’d then be dynamite
As for your Rambo on the right. I reckon we played our best last term with him there, but during those games, Theo was through the middle, and I can’t see AW dropping Theo from the right
As I said yesterday, it’ll be exciting to see how AW plays Aaron
Strong looking squad options for sure
TA
“We also need a good sub for Ozil and that is Santi’s role”
I was just penning a quickie on that very subject!
Morning All,
Love the TA birthday cards.
Last night I kept being woken by the noise of geese flying south, thousands of them. Probably have a week of this nonsense.
POST SENT
Bloody migrants Erik 🙂
ha ha ha, I love that you refer to one of the wonders of the natural world as nonsense 🙂
7:21 is the best Tony Adams
I think it’s Jimmy Nail
Why can’t the big bastards fly during daylight? No consideration or respect.
It is Jimmy Nail and this is TA in another guise
BR
Are you doing Micky’s post or shall I?
Micky, Santi is a great player to have, and the fact that despite not being a good runner/ having a Seat engine he claimed that position, tells you all about his talents. But the B2B role cries out for Rambolala imo.
NEW POST
Great vid Chas. That total control of the ball in and around the box is such a joy to watch
Thanks for posting some more tweets Chas, it’s obvious now….