This should have been a big game, an exciting step towards the title, instead it is virtually meaningless. We are finishing 6th, Leicester have avoided relegation. That’s it. You can tell my enthusiasm by the title of the post 😀
Worth watching? Of course it is. Likely to arouse some passion amongst all right-minded folk (i.e. Gooners) – not really. Will we see some Yute? Possibly as many of the players will be fearful of injury pre-World cup. I really feel for Koscielny.
Will we win? Our record of not winning an away fixture in 2018 does not make happy reading but Leicester have injury problems which gives hope.
Leicester: Been a poor season for them. Hard workers relying upon the finishing of Vardy and the inconsistent brilliance of Mahrez. Bit like a GG team with IW8 and Merse.
Vardy will score – he usually does. Lacazette or PEA will score for the same reason.
My Team:
Cech
Chambers Mustafi Monreal
Bellerin Ramsey Xhaka Wilshire
Mhki
PEA Laca
It will be very interesting to see how the team lines up when Ozil is fit. Who gets dropped? Can Mhki play a deeper role or will Mesut? And more significantly, do we need Jack?
As to the future, Koscielny’s injury and the retirement of BFG mean we will have a new Club Captain – perhaps we can have a poll on Friday (if someone has the tech skills!)
Time to break the away hoodoo.
COYRRG
Arsenal News 24/7
Great work, thanks Raddy.
I’m hoping AW will persist with Mavropanos …
Big f***ing Greek, we’ve got a big f***ing Greek 🙂
Ramsey for captain (assuming he stays)
We will win comfortably, the handbrake is well and truly off.
More free flowing attacking football please. We don’t need Ozil for this game …. and Mahrez wants to come home on our coach.
Thanks Erik
Tricky one on a few fronts. Injuries pre WC as you say, and then none of the players, young or old, are playing for the manager of next season.
As I said earlier, may as well do a “hands up anyone who wants to play” as hopefully we can field an XI who want to be on the pitch.
I’d like to watch your XI
Regarding your questions over Jack, Mhki and Mesut
Clearly the new boss will have his own ideas but many would wager a stiffening of the midfield would be just behind organising the defence as his priority.
That leaves Jack at biggest risk in my book as I don’t think he comes close to Mesut or Mhki from an offensive point of view, and those two stay for sure as they’re both can fit pretty much any formation (s) the new man prefers
Thanks Raddy, just before commenting I wanted to say to Eddie that I am sorry to hear about the loss of your good friend.
Oh God, he’s still typing 🙂
Thanks, BR, my juices are well and truly flowing after that. 🙂
A few goals would be nice plus 3 pretty meaningless points.
Stream only, I presume,
…….still typing 🙄 🙂
Hey Chas
Would you like to disrespect the GB comment before it arrives?
A kind of pre-emptive strike so to speak
He will have been called away by Miserable Chris to tend to his athlete’s foot.
While treatment continues, Miserable Chris will be providing the ammo for GoonerB, the highly-trained assassin.
I shudder to estimate the extent of the casualty damage.
ha ha ha
Thank you Raddy for all of the great PM’s you have entertained us with – it must run into the hundreds.
Eddie,
I fully emphasize with your feelings of loss. I’ve lost several very close friends in recent years and the ache has never really left me.
Often I read something interesting and think “oh I must call so and so” which causes memories to come flooding back. Fortunately the memories have changed from sad, to reflective, to a warm glow.
I just remind myself how lucky I was to know such wonderful people, but it will always hurt.
Excellent post Raddy with a couple of interesting questions, and I just wonder whether Sunday has raised further questions with potential answers moving forwards.
Like Rasp I think it would be nice to see Mavro again and, based on recent form and the last game, Chambers probably deserves a spot next to him to see if that partnership can blossom. A different type of forward line with Leicester, and likely more dangerous than Burnley, so I would like to see how they cope and we have nothing to lose to give it another go.
I would like to ask the question how we managed a 5-0 thumping of the joint 3rd meanest defence in the league on Sunday? I haven’t seen us that good and dominant from the first to last whistle for many a year, and it felt like a throw back to the Henry, Dennis, Freddie, Pires era.
Did Burnley just roll over and lie down for us, either because they felt they had nothing to play for or out of kindness to AW so his final home game was a good one? I really don’t think that would be the case. Did we just turn it on more for the big man’s last game and have just been cruising and taking it easy until now? I don’t believe that either as there have been plenty of games we have kind of struggled in but where you couldn’t fault the effort.
It felt much more like we suddenly found a fluidity and balance in the team line up that has been missing for a long while. It leads on to the interesting questions you ask Raddy about Ozil, Micki, Mesut and Jack. I would add Ramsey, Iwobi and Xhaka to that because they are also part of that “best midfield combination” conundrum.
I know we all have our different players out of these that we would prefer to see in the starting 11. For instance Raddy I know you really like Rambo and maybe see a team built around him and ask whether we actually need Jack, where I prefer what Wilshere brings and feel the opposite.
Starting at the front, a top attack minded team needs goals, so needs goal-scorers. I would say that Aube, Micki and Laca represent our 3 best goal-scorers beyond any others. In pretty much all our chances and goals all 3 of them had instinctively placed themselves in dangerous goal-scoring positions, and if that movement and understanding they showed on Sunday becomes the norm then this trio shouldn’t be messed around with.
Going to the base of the defensive midfield, Xhaka seems to be applying himself to a more disciplined deeper role now so there is hope there. I have not been sold on him for much of the season due to his lack of discipline in the role, and maybe there are still better options out there, but he certainly is now giving us more protection and balance and can really create play with that left foot of his from there.
That leaves the bit in between those front 3 and Xhaka with 2 places available out of Jack, Rambo, Ozil and Iwobi. Iwobi was interesting because he played deeper alongside Wilshere in this game just in front of Xhaka. It looks a role he is far more suited to than say the number 10 or wing forward positions, and he put in an excellent performance in that transitional midfield area.
Similarly Jack did this alongside him and what I love about Jack is that he is excellent in that transitional role in midfield and gives us a good blend of defensive work mixed with driving us forward through midfield and getting us on the front foot.
Looking at Ramsey I feel his skills are less than Jack’s in that sense in the transitional midfield area, and he is far happier higher up the pitch where he can get into goal-scoring positions. However, if we do not rely on his goals as much then for me he is not as good an option as Jack in the heart of the midfield. Have we gone a bit too much towards what we had with Sanchez in Ramsey, in relying on him popping up with key goals?
What needs to be looked at is how far forward Ramsey is on a regular basis to achieve this, and whether this leaves the team as a whole less balanced, despite some goods goals now and then. Do we lose out in our build up play from back to front in another sense when he plays so high?
Ozil, well, he is a sight to behold on top form but again is mainly the free roaming man to unlock the opposition. However it seems that Jack, Micki, Iwobi and the front 2 were no slouches in this and the overlapping FB’s seemed to be more effective and balanced in their play as well in Sunday’s formation.
In reality we should keep all these players, but can we only accommodate 2 from the 4 in the starting line up. I think the partnership and team balance that Iwobi and Wilshere showed in front of Xhaka and behind that front 3 should make us think a bit more about what is our best line up.
Hahaha. Couldn’t finish the season without a couple of humdingers. You all have the summer to recover 🙂
I was aiming to tackle that subject as a post for yesterday but didn’t have time, and then it was match day and the season is almost over. Read it or not as you all deem fit, see if I care 🙂
Right, now for the normal buggering off for a while 🙂
BOOM
Drops 250 megaton of explosive and leaves.
Just to add my tuppence ….. they’re talking the usual bollix on TS ….. apparently we need a new back 5, new midfield and maybe keep a couple of our strikers ….. oh, and spend £450m 🙂 🙂 🙂 … yeah right.
Surely the first thing the new manager will want to do is to work with the squad and see what he can achieve, I have hopes that he will bring some youngsters through … especially M-N and Mavropanos … and including Iwobi.
It’s no bad thing if the players are worried that they may not fit into the new manager’s style of play …. competition is healthy.
GB,
Yes 🙂
Rasp
I hope the new man doesn’t wait to assess the squad, but dives headlong in to the transfer window 🙂
🙂 Micky … he’d need a lot more than £50m to do that …..
I could reshape the side into a CL contender for 50m and some flogging of players
Easy. Fact.
Yaw yaw
Does anyone know of a stream for the game this evening?
Rasp
BT Sport ESPN
On what used to be liveonlinefooty as usual
Thanks Micky
Hello, All, 🙂
Back in circulation and thought I would pop in and see what is going down, and I enjoyed the Pre-Match Post, as usual, some interesting but incomprehensible Micky-Did-It comments, and then I happened across a GB cluster-bang of a relatively short 1,000 word comment that made me feel I came back too soon — look at this, as an opener — “Excellent post Raddy with a couple of interesting questions, and I just wonder whether Sunday has raised further questions with potential answers moving forwards” — whaat the fook? 😀
I had to go get another coffee as it made my head reel!!
Undeterred, I resumed a gallant assault on the aforesaid comment and got about half-way thru when I nodded off for about an hour, (which is about par for GB’s epistles) then came back and finished the task.
And you know what?—– I enjoyed the read, and I actually agreed with much of what I think was meant — and felt good about dipping my toe in an AA football blog again!
Thank you GB — and in truth, I do like your style, tho’ Chas’s comments about you make me feel I am missing something?? 😀
Thanks, guys — hope to be around tomorrow, with a bit of luck.
Micky at 2:17
Please write a post documenting the details of your suggestions, who you’d sell/buy etc.
By the way, Rasper, I read your 1:40 pm — “Just to add my tuppence ….. they’re talking the usual bollix on TS ….. apparently we need a new back 5, new midfield and maybe keep a couple of our strikers ….. oh, and spend £450m ”
And have to ask — what’s your point? Seems spot on to me!!! 😀
Hi Redders, we need a new GK for sure. I’d be happy to see Mustafi sold and we can’t rely on kozzer any more …. but Mavropanos and Chambers are doing well, and maybe the new manager will get Holding back on track. I’d say we need 1 first team ready central defender.
Nacho has been great this season, if he can last one more year, he doesn’t need to be replaced.
Hector has been frustratiing this year … but who knows how he’ll perform under a new manager .. there is a great player inside him, only a few years ago we were worried he was going to be pinched by Barca …. he’s young, he didn’t become a bad player overnight.
I’d like to see a specialist DM brought in and a midfield maestro to find the runs of our already very good forward line. But then M-N was great as a DM, he could blossom under a new manager.
So I reckon we need no more than 4 new good quality signings.
I reckon whatever the revolving door of the transfer window brings, we will see as many departing as coming in.
This keeper Leno we’re lining up is top notch … I’d be very happy to see him in the pink and lime green 🙂
Hi RA, good see that you are out of hospital and back blogging, I hope everything is fine health wise.
I usually keep well clear of any dialogue on new signings as I don’t watch other leagues and my only knowledge of non PL players comes from watching Euro and CL games – which is not enough form an opinion.
But it’s obvious to all that our leaky defense needs a plug or two, and I do feel that a top notch goalie is required.
Hi GN5,
Thank you — but early days at the mo’ — so to speak. 🙂
Hiya, Rasper
Just teasing you — you make good sense, as usual, and I agree with you — slowly, slowly catchee monkey — whoever the new guy is I think he will take his time assessing our current players — altho there are some obvious things, like the GK replacement, as you said, and Per’s retirement, Kozzer’s chronic injury record and Mustafi’s inconsistency make central defensive a priority.
[I am frequently wrong — but Holding, Chambers and Adonis, the Greek God could be very good — maybe in a different tactical set up??]
Overdone things a bit today – so ta-ra for now. 🙂
RA. Good to see you back on the blog and hopefully of hospital
GB. Don’t go yet – much to discuss before season’s end!
Thanks Redders, good to hear you are on the mend ….. take care, wish you well, no reason for your blood pressure to rise for the rest of the season, we’re all done and dusted 🙂
Koscielny or wilshere will be captain ( we all know or captain doesn’t play)
Micky, how do I find the BT Sport ESPN you mentioned earlier?
I think it’s the channel that LiveOnline Footy are broadcasting, P.
Allo Peaches
Chas is correct
Here’s the address https://hd-streaming.tv/watch/livehds
I think it’s £7 for two months. Not sure if they do a per game rate. For years it was £27 for a year, so bit of a bugger you have to keep signing up, but, you do get every Arsenal game
Thanks Chas. Can you just pay for one match? I don’t subscribe to it any more.
Thanks for team Chas
Looks like M-N at right back. Must find his best position
Surprised not to see Lacazette starting. Must be WC-itis
Phew, RA is alive. Happy Days 🙂
Enjoying a few minutes of Barca, Tommy Vermaelen is playing! He is only 32.
Dembele upfront. Barça paid well over €100m for him. The chap has played 9 times and scored just one goal. Makes Mustafi look a bargain.
I deserve a seven goal thriller
That you do Micky.
1st of 7 😦
Another dreadful goal to give away.
And a stupid red card. The new BFG has been harshly treated by a homer referee but very silly to take the risk
This ref is completely crap!
This is where we need a really strong captain on the field to galvanise the troops
Let’s hope they dig deep
End to ebd game. Two poor defences.
Ramsey playing poorly – maybe GB is right
All true Erik
Grab a goal and Leicester may get a little less excitable 🙂
Such a shame we’re down a man with a tache
😀
Sadly it was the inexperienced yute who have suffered in that half. M-N naively gives the ball away to set up their goal, no-one marks Inatizzy.
The new Bubble was silly but it was a harsh decision from a dreadful referee. Too many missed fouls by Leicester – the one on Mustafi was at least a yellow and yet not called at all.
Ramsey playing crap – has to do better in the second half as we are playing with 9 men.
Liking Iwobi’s work.
Micky. Are you watching Liveonline? The American adverts are so condescending. One would think that folk from the USA were stupid.
Yip 🙂
Guilty secret: I’d happily take the loss here if Totnum could lose tonight and Chavs win 🙂
Its nice to know that LFC have not won an away game this year.
Also nice to know that they have never beaten AFC
In summary, I hold hope that even though 1 goal and 1 player down, we wont lose.
All the best RA and Eddie.
Thanks for the post BR
oh yes
Terrific goal from PEA. Great pass to M-N and wonderful play from him to get in the cross.
Really enjoyable game. We would be smashing them with 11 men
I would take the loss as well. Highly unlikely though.
re the M-N best position
can he cross better than Bell?
know what I’m saying?
yes, chavs just conceded. ‘king idiots 🙄
monster effort from the lads. very impressed
Once again stupid defending which allows the referee to screw us.
Yes, Mhki touch Gray but he was already diving
Vardy scores as usual
Horrible little rat faced man
I hope Leicester are ashamed of themselves for taking so long to beat ten men. Pathetic 🙂
And Leicester had 12 men
Of course, Erik 🙂
No match report from me, chaps, sorry. Didn’t see enough of the game.
Match thoughts anyone?
I have a few ideas for the title of a match report
“Shafted by the Ref….Again”
Can we play all of our Games at Home?”
“Another defeat – Who Cares?”
Morning all, I couldn’t find a stream yesterday either, so the only thoughts I can have our general observations. From the comments on here, it sounds like Ramsey had a poor game, quite unlike him. This makes me wonder if he’s not already on his way out the door in his mind?
I watched, but have my morning crypto skype in 20 mins
First time ever, I’ve only just woken but will do something v short
a bit later
Let’s not use the ref line. I only tolerate the excuse thing to stay in favour with Erik 🙂
Didn’t see the game so can’t really comment on it. The only thing I would draw comparison on, and could be a topic of conversation, is that our past great team with a strong disciplined back line and Vieira, Henry, Bergkamp etc in it, were the masters of winning with 10 men. I seem to remember a couple of wins against Liverpool even when we had 10 men.
What factors have made us less able to grit a game like that out now? I don’t know if like me you all got that feeling that we would lose once we were down to 10 men, whereas in the past you always retained more hope and felt we could pull it off even against decent opposition. The types and qualities of players must be a key factor but I doubt they are the only one.
Sent POST to Chas personal email
but on crypto laptop so not all contacts
On Ramsey Rasp, I really like him and hope he stays but I wonder whether those goals he pops up with have masked our assessment of him in a more general sense. This is his main hallmark but I have tried to watch his positioning a lot more recently and he pushes right up and plays more like an advanced number 10 or wing forward most of the time to me rather than as a deeper midfielder that arrives late.
I just question sometimes whether this unbalances our movement of the ball from back to front and if we now play 2 strikers and Miki is there really any reason for him to play so frequently high up the pitch? I kind of feel it is almost like he is abandoning his post and main responsibilities, and I do question whether he is the best option in our strongest starting 11?
Maybe for me he has become more of a specialist in a certain type of role, when we are only playing 1 striker and have extra midfielders behind him, and then his advanced goal-scoring number 10 play is more warranted. It wouldn’t be my regular favoured starting line up though and would be one I would adopt for a specific game.
NOW SENT TO ARSE NUTS
LATER
GB
I’d defo flog ramsey
later 🙂
GB – “when we are only playing 1 striker ” – as opposed to no striker scenario?
Morning all
There’s a New Post …………………
Attention, mes amis —
scarf— insert “scar” = je suis un idiot. 😀