Friday night kick off. Reminds me of 26/5/89. A similar result would be lovely.
OGS has walked into a perfect situation, any team relieved from the yoke of Merino-dom is certain to play better, especially one which contains so many highly-priced egoists. Dropping Pogba and Martial in order to inspire them was never going to work.
Will we see the blood and thunder of previous MU cup ties? I hope so but very much doubt it. Gone are the days when Arsenal had players who would “get stuck in” though we are better than under Mr. Wenger in the art of sh*thousery, Sokratis, in particular, is Lauren-esque in his attitude. As always, we will need a strong , unbiased, efficient referee
I expect Mr. Emery to start with his strongest team because this is an important game for him. Having beaten a poor Chelsea team Arsenal will want to cement the growing confidence in the squad. After beating Spurs we lost our mojo, we do not want a repeat
Will Mr Emery continue with the midfield diamond which worked so effectively last weekend? MU have so much pace upfront, it would seem the best tactic but perhaps he will revert to a Back 3 given the injury to Hector.
The Corporal, AMN or Licht at right back? My choice would be AMN simply because of the pace on MU’s flanks; Martial, Rashford, Ratface Lingard and the Dog Fancier.
Sanchez is an odd case – I expect him to get a frosty reception but why should he? He scored some wonderful goals for us and for a season or two carried the team, why the hostility? It is not as if Sanchez was a Gooner; he was just a hired hand who left to get more money. I don’t blame him. €400k a week is quite an incentive to leave the Arsenal.
Winning the F.A. Cup is part of the Arsenal tradition, it remains high on our priority list. United are our rivals for a CL place and our long-term rivals in terms of glory. We need to beat them.
Let it be So
COYRRG
Arsenal News 24/7
arsenalarsenal.net 
Thanks BR, top read.
If Mustafi is fit I think we could see him at RB, that would still work well with the diamond. Lichtsteiner would be my second choice; I think we need experience to deal with the Dog Fancier more than the pace AM-N offers.
I also think we could also get a shock and see Ozil in for Ramsey.
Should be interesting.
COYRRG
Thanks, BR.
I’m looking forward to it in my normal, anxious way.
As far as booing Sanchez goes, I always think it’s far better to ignore him as if he’s just another MU player which, after all, is exactly what he is.
Burns night tonight so I’ve bought a single malt and vegetarian haggis to have with some mashed neeps and tatties. Should be well oiled by 7.55pm. Might write a match report now (Kelsey-style) while I still can!
Thanks Raddy,
I would prefer AMN at RB but I also like the Corporal.
We need to win tonight to follow up on the Chelsea win – I can’t remember the last time we had back to back wins against two top 6 teams.
Chas you made a good choice getting single malt it will certainly oil you up – but I’m not sure about veggie haggis.
GN5
I thought the rancid bit about haggis was the dodgy meat, so I’m 100% convinced I’ve made the right choice.
Unless, of course, you include not buying haggis at all. 😊
I think we are going to play with 3 at the back and I think we should rest Kos so I would play: Mustafi, Sok, Monreal
As my wingbacks, I go for AMN and Kola
In the middle of the park, we need movement and grit so I put Ramsey, Torreira, Guendouzi
Up front, I trust Laca and Auba to cause some issues.
This game is for AMN to show how good he is and for Torreira to cement his place as our midfield warrior: 3-5-2
Leno – Mustafi, Sok, Monreal – AMN, Ramsey, Torreira, Guendouzi, Kola – Laca, Auba
We need to block Martial, Rashford, Sanchez (if he plays) and Pogba.
I think Laca will cause all sorts of issues to Man Utd Defense and that will free up Auba. Otherwise, I think that Auba’s worst nightmare is called Bailly so somehow Laca should keep Bailly busy while Auba terrorizes the rest of the defense.
COYG!
Chas, I’ve never tried haggis but I’m not a veggie lover, but who cares when you can wash it down with single malt?
Ants and I will toast all AAers, haggis eaters or otherwise, at the match tonight, with a few ciders and 5* Cognac as our tipple.
May the great spirit of Robbie pervade us all, and for the haggis eaters remember,
“Fair far your honest sonsie face,
Great chieftain o’ the puddin’ – race!
Aboon them a’ ye tak your place,
Painch, tripe, or thairm:
Weel are ye wordy o’ a grace
As lang’s my arm.
(To a haggis)
(Translation – “Come on you Gunners”)
A glass of Rioja and the job’s a good un………..
hey everyone can someone tell me what would be the easiest way to get tickets for today’s game
Fred. Try prayer or a tout
Hey Fred
Being in the Country might help!
What a tout BR ? A scalper?
The guys who does be at the games selling tickets?
LBG it not for me my work colleague travel for and he realised that MNU was playing so he was asking me how to get tickets
Fred. He will need a very large wallet. Tell him to go to a pub near the ground and enjoy the atmosphere.
Ok thanks BR
Any recommendations of pubs to go, I only know the FFB
I often see a lot of touts (scalpers) in the Horsey road near the little roundabout.
As for how much they will be selling tickets for I have no idea — £300
If he cannot get in you might suggest ‘The 12 Pins Pub” in Finsbury park they will be showing the game and there is always a good atmosphere. You did say he was an Arsenal supporter didn’t you?
If not there are a lot of ManU supporters in Hampstead I am sure they will be showing the game up there lol.
Thanks LB
Do not want to see Mustafi and Sok on the line up sheet together, a disaster that will happen. Would rather see AMN slotted on the right in a back 4 or Jenks. Is Monreal fit?
Can see the Arsenal edging this one as Emery is getting the set up right for most games.
manure will regress to the mean, and they have a few physical games after ours, and then have to deal with the other oilers in CL.
Will sols field a super strong team? Not sure, but they are due a Loss.
Play well today and the Arsenal will be moving in the right direction.
Think he said he was fielding a strong team today Aaron, sanchez for sure will be getting a start
That what I wanted for Christmas how did you know
I am going out this evening and recording the game to watch on my return.
Please do not tell me the score (which reminds me of a Likely Lads episode.)
Whatever happens tonight it will be better than the disastrous First Test in the W.Indies 😦
Thanks Raddy, I’m hoping it is a close game with the ref being anonymous. A close game will mean we are up for it …. and then a late winner for us would make it perfect … and we can end their 7 game unbeaten run as they did our 49
You like the west Indies to BR
So bloody glad that week is done 🙄
Ok, where are we?
Thanks Erik, and certainly agree the FAC is part of the Arsenal tradition as you say
Not looking forward to bumping into Chas later after that lot 🙂
Ok, fish and chips then back for team news and stretching
Thanks AAers for all the fine posts each day and the many comments. Always great reading.
I can’t watch the game as the FA Cup is the only comp tied down to foxtel. So I’ll be wanting regular updates.
113F yesterday, nice.
COYG!
Haggis was excellent.
Faggoty without the lips and arseholes.
Single malt is banging.
Up the Arse.
p.s. just don’t stand downwind.
Fred
Brilliant. A slider and assault all in one. Superb
Chas
Am safely up wind
Mesut rested again for this one 🙂
surprised he’s gone for Iwobi and Ramsey rather than firming up with Ouzi alongside Granit and Terry. Very attacky, just hope we’re not too flacid in the middle
If you’ve got nine inches but the middle inch is flaccid, you’re going nowhere.
yeah, never thought of that 🙂
ps you’ve got a job on your hands to beat the Fred slide/attack
Maybe losing Catwalk’s attacking prowess necessitated some Wobbly magic, though he is better on the left.
In fact, I’ve no idea how we’re going to set up.
Good job, Unai knows.
Catwalk!!! always makes me chuckle
hope it’s a fullish house at The Ems and we score early to get them going
how’s the whisky Chas
can you still see the telly
The second goal is completely down to Mustafi not going with Lingarde
Damn 2 already
ok here we go
I do not think I am going to watch the Arsenal play ever again with Mustafi with either Sok or Kos play. The second Sok came off, a goal for manure was inevitable.
Thank goodness for out attackers- they are excellent!
ha ha Aaron, I remember saying I’d never watch Arsenal if Giroud started
It’s tough though. We’re all weak 🙂
Whisky is very nice, thank you.
I enjoyed sneaking one back before half time.
Without Catwalk we have no right side.
I was about to slate Iwobi’s final ball and then before I could finish writing my comment he sent Ramsey away down the left for our goal.
It’s so frustrating watching an absolute cock womble like Lingard do nothing but ultimately effect the game, and then see a thoroughly nice guy like Iwobi look really busy but actually have zero end product and struggle to find a red shirt in the final third. He needs to find goals and assists in his game to have a future at Arsenal.
I thought we did ok other than 2 poor goals. Usual story really. Hopefully the attack can get us back into it second half. We could’ve done without half time though.
Is it me or does AMN think he’s playing Fifa? He just doesn’t really care about what’s going on and takes as many touches as he sees fit regardless of where he is on the pitch.
There’s composure, and then there’s AMN!
We are making it far too complicated around their box.
How is Lacazette not in our starting 11 every week?
He gives so much and has real quality. A very intelligent player
I’d love to see some Özil magic right now.
Yea emery baffles me sometimes
Or he and Lacazette could lose the ball on half way and cost us the game….!
🙄
Seen it too many times before.
No match report from me, sorry.
Ozil gives the ball away and walks around throwing his arms in the air …. doesn’t even consider trying to get back and try to win the ball back …. I hope he never wears an Arsenal shirt again
Absolutely no issue with Emery. This is not his team yet it looks a lot better than the 18 months before he arrived.
Rasp,
One thing you expect when a new manager arrives is a reaction. It’s pretty obvious that he’s asked Özil to give him more to fit in with his ideas, but rather than put the effort in he seems to have sulked. When you see the effort of players like Geundouzi, and the professionalism of Ramsey who isn’t even staying at the club next year, Özil looks embarrassing. If he’s seriously on £350k a week then we will never get rid until his contract runs out.
I totally agree FGG. I think UE was challenging Ozil to show he’s got some balls …. and the first thing he did was to pull out of a tackle. I wouldn’t be surprised if UE sees this as his last chance.
Maybe one of you two could write something for tomorrow?
United are a counter attacking side and they took advantage of our weakness (especially with our CB’s going off). The first goal is always vital in these games and them scoring it made it very difficult for us and easy for them to counter.
I hate listening to the ‘experts’ because they compare the sides as if they were on equal footing. Shearer going on about Arsenal lacking a player driving at the defence as if any of our players had more than 5 yards to move into with United having 10 men behind the ball. Yet apparently Pogba is an inspiration running into space on a 3 on 3 because all our players are up the pitch. They talk so much shite.
We finished with AMN Mustafi Xhaka Kol
Is there anything else to say?! It’s been our problem all season and United took advantage of it tonight. I thought we did ok but going 2-0 down is not a position you want to be in against any team, let alone a confident one. It allowed United to counter and it was only ever going to end up with us equalising and possibly nicking it, or their keeper making a save or 2 and them scoring on the counter late on. Unfortunately, it was the latter.
FGG
I think you’re right about us needing to score the first goal
Emery set up wrong I reckon
Iwobi Laca Auba
…….Ramsey
…Granit Terry
Wrong. Auba is better closer to Laca, while the midfield too weak, especially given our shite defending (as opposed to shite defenders as Sok and Kos are ok)
Better would have been as v Chavs
….Laca . Auba
……Ramsey
Terry . Granit . Ouzi
Mickey,
I do agree to an extent, but I think that Emery may have looked at their side with Lukaku in it and thought he could’ve been a bit of a mismatch in the box. We allowed Chelsea plenty of space out wide knowing that a forward line of Hazard, Pedro and Willian couldn’t hurt us in the air, but I wonder if Emery saw Lukaku in the United line up and thought different.
Mmmm, dunno. Emery got it right against Totnum and right against Chavs, but I commented my concerns about Iwobi and Ramsey before the game.
Auba and Laca are way more likely to score than Iwobi, so I think it’s a mistake to sacrifice a bit of Auba by forcing him into a less effective role
Well that was humiliating.
Can someone tell me what happened to Koscielny?
Remember the point you made about us needing to score first in order to prevent them being able to play on the counter.
LB
He received an accidental boot to cheek from Lukaku
Ok, before I run (and I have my tin hat on), with a more defensive midfield three with Laca and Auba together up top, I still think we could afford the luxury of Mesut as, excused from pressing and all that bullshit, he’s way better at setting up the strikers than Ramsey
Nite. Ruuuuuun
I take full responsibility for tonight’s defeat, didn’t watch Chelsea game as I had boys on my own and we had a lads weekend of (mini) golf, bowling and trampolining (my back is still recovering!). Anyway hard week of work was going to be bookended by a triumphant victory over ManUre and quitening of the hype around Solskjaer. My fault I am obviously a Jonah.
No matter that we were on top for most of the first half we had zero killer instinct, the first goal was frustrating, the second was unforgivable. Yet again people will ask question of our defence, but we need to ask why we have to commit so many men forward? This reminded me too much of losing away to Everton some years back when Lukaku tore us a new one being used on the right flank. He had more pace then yet still managed to do it today.
Lacazette our centre forward probably did more defensively than PEA, Iwobi and Ramsey combined. But apparently that’s ok. Lacazette like Ozil has spent more time on bench than he should if Emery demands work rate, because he shows far more of it than some others. Yes I like Ozil yes I know he is not going to work as hard as some would like although I happen to think he does more than most think. But show me clips of Iwobi, Ramsey and PEA tonight doing more. Rarely saw Ramsey in the midfield let alone in our box.
I know I am against popular wisdom here but you can’t expect to throw Ozil on and him to change the game we were already lost and out of shape.
I’ve got no problem dropping and axing the big names just don’t single out one player, drop them all have some balls. 4th is a dream, rebuild from bottom up, put as much faith in Other youngsters at the club as you do in Leno, Guendouzzi and Maitland-Niles, mould them, coach them, show us the future. Right now I see too many past failings.
So rashford injured holding and lukaku injured Koscielny
We must have been watching different games GiE. Ramsey was equal Arsenal motm along with Laca by my estimation … and yes, for work rate and commitment. I also thought Iwobi had one of his better games constantly running at their defence … most of our attacks came down the left hand side. The loss of Socrates was crucial … and then the loss of kozzer compounded that. I would agree that we seem to continue with the ineffective intricacy that we’ve been demonstrating for many years … but we did try to get the ball forward more quickly. We were not as clinical as manu when it came to finishing but we actually had nearly twice as many shots as them. If Ramsey’s header had gone in it could have been a different story.
Agree Micky.
With hindsight, Wobbly’s actual contribution amounted to his pass for the goal. We had some good chances in the first half that might have been ‘purer’ from Mesut. Aubang is wasted out wide because he does not work, and expects a Mesut type ball. I think the three across midfield Xhaka, Terrier, Ouzi might have given more solidity for the back four.
All conjecture, and the pivot point was a breakaway goal at 2-1 with no central defenders. We felt before that we were going to come back. Two Romero saves kept them in it.
Disappointing but I would not fault effort.
Rasp, I don’t disagree that Ramsey was one of our better players but that’s damning with faint praise as I’m not sure other than Lacazette who had a particularly good game in terms of effort.
Iwobi was good going forward until he got to 18 yard box, our midfield was not pressed, we were allowed to move it up through to the final third with ease. There was zero discipline shown in terms of leaving some players back and we were left conceding to 3v2 breakaway goals with our central midfield totally bypassed. Which as I say is no different to what we have seen for many years.
Question about Ramsey is not one of his attacking game and movement that was fine. it was more about his defensive work, if that’s why Ozil is left out I don’t see a major difference.
I can’t find any heatmaps or touch graphs but my guess is Ramsey’s will be concentrated in their half.
I’ll send some match feelings rather than a match report
Be warned: I’ve read the experts and still agree with me most of all 🙂
Cheers, Micky. I was just cutting some of the comments above together just to put something up but your match thoughts would be infinitely better. Thanks.
It feels like one of those weekends where it’s FA Cup games but you’ve already been knocked out, so football doesn’t exist on a Saturday morning. Odd.
Next one will be on the 16th/17th February squeezed between the two Europa games against BATE.
Ok Chas, give me another cup of coffee and we’re in business
Put up some porn or su’ink in the meantime
yes chas, watching MotD after a loss feels like one masochistic punch too far
I am beginning to doubt Emery. Why tf he plays Iwobi while Mezut is warming the bench??
EDDDDDDDDDDIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEE
I don’t understand how we can have great plans to defeat the spuds and chavs and then lose to Man U in exactly the same way that we would have done in the late Arsene era.
Maybe I’m just responding to the result and losing both CBs was dreadful, appalling luck.
Dunno, fed up with the Jeckyll and Hyde performances anyway.
POST SENT
Eddie Dear
Brighten my morning please
Fights with lesbians?
Cars on fire?
Alien abductions?
Thanks, Micky
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