Back to Cup Games…aka our realistic opportunities for silverware and as such, the conundrum is “Shall we play our strongest line-up?” or shall we rest key players for EPL games and play our B squad tonight?
The plus of having our best players on the pitch is that we should have a better chance of winning and also we keep the momentum with the same squad. The minus being that they get over played and our benched players get restless and the mood in the team gets affected…
I would probably opt to play a mix but there is one player I would find hard to drop for tonight’s game: Ramsdale.
He has demonstrated that he is better in the air, at commanding his defense and also at passing than Leno. I think their shot-stopping abilities are more or less similar but Leno is better at getting to the ground faster…
Anyways, if I were Arteta, I d play enough players from our “usual bench” but keep also some usual starters as well. Leeds is no push over and will field a strong team.
Ramsale – Chambers, Holding, Gabriel, Tavares – El Neny, AMN – Pepe, Odegaard, Martinelli – Lacazette
I keep Ramsdale, Gabriel, Lacazette in the first squad and I would not be against keeping Lokonga in the team ahead of El Neny or AMN either…
ANYWAYS! Let us win this game at home tonight and keep the EFL Cup dream alive! COYG
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We have good depth of players so whoever laces up for kick off will be exciting to watch.
4:1 win for Arsenal
COYG!
Thanks, RC great preview!
But I think Leno is starting today. We have to give him some playing time and responsibility if we would like to count on him anytime later if necessary. Ramsdale is awesome no question but Leno is also good.
What I really would like to see is a Martinelli-Eddi-Pepe front three and also an AMN- ElNeny-Odegaard trio in the middle.
We will see.
COYG
Las line-up:
Leno – Chambo?, Holding, Mari?, Tavares/Cedric/? – AMN, El Neny – Pepe, Odegaard, Martinelli – Nketiah
Let us see 🙂
Imagine that Pochetinno gets sacked by PSG in December, Conte could come in and then Man Utd would have to stick with Ole or go for a manager like Favre (great by the way but less experienced at winning trophies)…
I d love for Pochetinno to leave Paris and see Conte arrive.
Pochetinno is really useless tactically…Why play Messi on the right when you know he is great in the center in the last 5 years?
Navas – Hakimi, Marquinhos, Ramos, Bernat – Di Maria, Gueye, Verratti – Mbappe, Messi, Neymar
Di Maria could be subbed by Wijnaldum or Herrera…Messi on the right side, does not make sense
Was going to say I hope odegard doesn’t play but I think in open games that were he shines more
Is Eddie fit
I think Odegaard will play especially if we rest ESR…Odegaard plays decently when he is further up the pitch, he is less effective when playing deeper…
As for Eddie, I am not sure. And do you think we will Balogun?
The team is out:
Leno – Cedric, White, Holding, Kolasinac – AMN, El Neny – Pepe, ESR, Martinelli – Nketiah
So Arteta is keeping White and ESR in the team but he is not using Odegaard who is not even named in the squad…Gabriel, Mari, Laca and Auba also out of the squad altogether and Salah-Eddine in the squad on the bench.
Brave or crazy…Dunno what to say. Playing Leno, Kola is never a great idea
Leeds: Meslier, Drameh, Llorente, Struijk, Dallas, Phillips, Forshaw, James, Roberts, Harrison, Rodrigo
And in the end Lacazette on the bench
Leeds playing their best team for sure
Thanks for the pre-match RC and apologies for not being around lately to help out.
Every now and then I get overwhelmed by other stuff and its just hard to find time for blogging.
I can do a match report for tomorrow if you’d like.
As for tonight’s game…
That’s a really interesting team. I would never have expected MA to make so many changes, but I guess he’s feeling that a lot of the second string players are getting restless.
The likes of AMN, Martinelli, Eddie and Pepe have a real chance to prove a point tonight. Let’s hope they do!
Bright start
Clear identity of problem Nketiah has in this eleven. Literally no sevice from Pepe, despite plenty of the ball, and not much from Martinelli either.
Afraid the two full backs will be our downfall, if we cant get a good lead early on in second half.
LBG
Agree both Pepe and Martinelli suffer from the failing of holding on to the ball too long (until they get tackled ).
Time to sell pepe so frustrating to watch
Well done Chambo
Fred
Cant believe anyone wanting to buy him!! And as for £79m!! His original French team must be laughing their heads off.
Pepe seems a lovely lad, but it’s hard to see anyone paying over £20m for him. If that.
I am somewhat sad for Pepe, I wanted him to succeed, I really thought he will be good. He had a couple of good games but all in all, disappointed.
But Chambo and Eddie did well 🙂 I hope young Martinelli will find his goalscorer shoes. I miss his lively moves before the injury.
Decent win – the understudies did well for the most part.
Continues the unbeaten run and puts us in a QF, which can’t be bad.
Off to the next round 🙂 I thought both teams misplaced a lot of passes and did not really do well in the final third but in the end, we prevail and that is what matters 🙂
As for Pepe, I still believe in him because he was so good in France but then again I am quite hopeful 😛
@rockylives – happy if you could take up the post-match. Hope you are well buddy
COYG!
Somehow Pepe still added to his state line though with an assist for Chambers, right?
stat line
Another great win, long may the streak continue.
As for Odegaard and Pepe, I would definitely have both of them playing in my futsal team.
Yea and day won ligue 1 last year ent difinetly know what day were doing
Honesty forget the money at this point at least if we sell him we could save on wages
Only reason I not even given pepe credit for that cause am sure he was trying to go for goal
Reminds me of when he got the assist to aubameyang after hitting the post falling over and somehow directing the ball to aubameyang
The ground took awhile to fill up but eventually most of the empty seats at kick off were filled but a really positive vibe at the stadium post Villa with the Leeds 8,000 fairly quiet until they were losing and the Arsenal faithful in good spirits.
Maybe things are falling into place and we’ve picked up on it inside the ground.
There seems to be a bug going around the training ground which explained why Benjamin went off, apparently a few others have coped it so we may have a surprise absence or two at the Crisp Bowl this weekend.
Leno looked solid making some good saves and I was encouraged by our pressing as we outpressed the Leeds press, Holding had a decent run out as did Chambers and Niles, pleased to see Eddie score and hear the positive words about him from Arteta post match…
Thanks for the vids Fred…
AFC move on, barely.
Leeds had the better chances in the 1st half for sure.
Gifted two goals that only happen once in a 100 games.
Thought Eddie tried hard, could not believe ESR was in the starting line up, Leno made a couple of good saves, yet held onto the ball too long, some solid team pressure in the 1st half.
Pepe holds onto the ball to long, put the guy on 2 touch restriction or bench time.
Holding and White did fine, yet AMN, Pepe, Elneny and Martinelli’s close control need work, just game time, but they are not going to get it in league, that is the way it is.
Take the game time experience and move on.
Conflict in mind regarding overall assessment of last night. Want to be positive and enjoy the result, but….
Is it because we are so clearly in a transition phase in our history, that the cons leave a sourness that too easily strips the sweet pros from the palate.
Plenty of sweetness for sure. Rob Holding showed what he has always been capable of. Solid defending with good reading of game and now some significant advancing with the ball spreading panic. Made a good partnership with White. Ainsley had a useful game as well, and in another position, almost a No 8. A jack of many trades ( but the second part of the saying still applies). Elneny was solid enough, as was Leno, and despite no service whatsoever, Eddie ran his heart out and scored with two brilliant touches, and one…. Smith-Rowe was exhausted and no wonder.
But, when you wanted a peripheral squad player like Martinelli to shine he seems to make so many wrong decisions. Pepe may well be a lovely guy, but he does not have a football brain for the Premier League and infuriates endlessly. The two fullbacks are not even Championship level when it comes to defensive ability. Both centre backs had to bail them out more than once with under hit, ridiculous hospital passes. And that is four players being carried on the day. God help us if we had drawn Shitty or the Dippers in that round.
Still, hoping for a positive progression at weekend against a gritty Leicester team, and the real first eleven fit and back in place.
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