How will Arteta approach this Cup this season? Does it see it as a potential trophy or more of a playground to learn and give minutes to squad players? Based on his pre-match interview, it seems he is leaning towards the second option..I think he needs to find the right balance in any case…

Brentford away is not an easy tie in the EPL and I d say even worse as a cup tie so we are in for a tough game.

Here is my preferred line up:

Ramsdale – Tomy, Kiwior, Gabs, Cedric – El Neny, Jorginho – RN, Havertz, ESR – Eddie

Most likely line up:

Ramsdale – Cedric, Kiwior, Gabs, Tomy – El Neny, Jorginho – RN, Vieira, ESR – Havertz

Predicted score: 3-1 for Brentford

What a disappointing outcome in the NLD! It really feels like two points lost. Spurs played a good game for sure but we were the better team for large part of the game and we gave away two leads and two goals very cheaply, especially the second one…

Anyways, not too much to write about:

Raya – 7

White – 6

Saliba – 6

Gabs – 6

Zinc – 6

Rice – 6

Vieira – 5

Ode – 6

Saka – 8

G. Jesus – 7

Nketiah – 6

Subs: 6, except Jorginho: 4

One thing we have learned for sure is that we cannot cope with injuries to both Martinelli and Trossard and that Arteta is not afraid of making changes (Rice out after 45 mins…)…

COYG…We gotta go and win at at White Hart Lane now.

Man City meanwhile seems unstoppable

At last, we are back in the main European competition…The anthem of the CL will ring again at the Emirates. What a thrill already!

We are facing a decent test tonight though. PSV Eindhoven is a well structured team with a clear game plan. They play very direct football on the counter attack, are not shy of pressing and use the wings very effectively. They have a good finisher in De Jong and excellent passers of the ball in Dest, Veerman and Lang but the team is not the best at defending and they concede quite some chances. Losing Sangare destabilized them. Ultimately, I believe this is a game

• For our forwards to run behind their defense. I think that Trossard, G. Jesus and Saka will cause chaos tonight.
• For our midfielders to set the tempo. I would like to see Jorginho, Rice and Odegaard in the middle of the pitch tonight with Jorginho stopping their long range shooting and passing the ball over their defense, Rice adding extra coverage and Odegaard making forward runs and passes
• For our GK and central defenders to deal with crosses
• For our full-backs to block their wingers but also come into the middle of the pitch to destabilize their midfielder. Perfect game to start Zinchenko on the left and Tomy on the right.

So here is my preferred line-up:

Raya – Tomy, Sali, Gabs, Zinchenko – Ode, Jorgi, Rice – Saka, Jesus, Trossard

Here is my prediction: 2-1 to AFC with goals from Saka and Jesus for AFC and De Jong for PSV.

Come on Gunners! Let us get all fired up for our return in the CL!

We definitely dominated the game, in all areas but it was so hard to score and break down a purely defensive minded Everton…They strangely enough played so low and let us control the game…They tried to work some counter attacks or set pieces but hardly created a chance…On our side, we did have some good shots on target especially through Odegaard but Pickford easily blocked them…Luckily, we worked out a beautiful goal out of a corner. Quick passing and finally, the Everton defense was out of position and allowed our super sub Trossard to score a wonderful goal on a Saka pass…0-1, minute 70. The scored remained the same until the end of the game although we could have scored another goal…

Key takeaways:

1. We kept cool and resilient throughout the game
2. Our training on set-pieces since last season are really helping us score goals
3. Trossard has been a wonderful super sub and with Martinelli now down with an injury, will he get the nod ahead of Smith-Rowe, Nelson, Nketiah, Havertz or even Vieira at LFW
4. Arteta made a bold decision in dropping Ramsdale to bring in Raya, who had a good game overall. What is next at GK for our team?
5. We looked more solid in our traditionnal back 4
6. Vieira came in for Havertz in midfield and he did fine but he was not as sharp as when he came in as a sub. Is Vieira more suited to a sub role in the end?
7. Nketiah was well taken care of by Everton’s defense. That defense has heart and some decent players in Branthwaite, Tarkowski and Mykolenko.
8. Martinelli is injured…let us hope we get him back quickly, he is still our best LFW by a mile
9. When is Arteta finally going to give some minutes to ESR?

3 points in the bag and still 2 behind City. Liverpool, Tottenham and Brighton having a good start as well – the race for Top 4 is on. Meanwhile, Man Utd and Chelsea still finding their feet. We finally broke our duck at Everton, at last…

Grades:

Raya – 7, solid and untroubled

White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko – 7, reliable

Rice – 7, steady but lacking a bit of sharpness in his passing and runs

Odegaard – 7.5, good positionnig and some decent shots. Shame he could not score.

Vieira – 6, a decent performance but clearly better playing higher up the pitch

Saka – 7.5, an assist and a threat on his right side.

Nketiah – 6, ran and ran and tried but without any decent output in the end.

Trossard – 8, scored and created. Excellent performance.

Others: 6

What a dramatic way to snatch the 3 points at home against rivals Man Utd! Fighting till the very end to get the win in front of our fans! The game was plagued by frail defending on both sides, plenty of miscued passes, incisive counters and great goals.

Following a good start to the game, Man Utd soon matched our pace and commitment and started becoming dangerous…Havertz misplaces a pass and next thing you know, a few seconds later, Rashford opens the score with another well taken goal against us. The defending was a bit weak on him knowing that two players were on him but we allowed him too much space to place his shot out of Ramsdale’s reach. Min 27…

Min 28 – Captain Odegaard restores parity on a well-constructed placed attach with an astute shot. No time to feel sorry for ourselves or doubt. What a frantic two minutes..

Both teams then have their moments in their game. We could have gotten a PK, Man Utd feel like Ganacho was on side (he was not) when he scored and both teams had their scare…

In the end, our “never give up” attitude was rewarded when Rice awkwardly controlled the ball from a corner kick before shooting hard at the first post. Onana touches it but not enough to keep it out of goal. 2-1 for the magnificient AFC and what a goal for Rice! Min 96.

Min 101…Gabriel Jesus scores on a great counter-attack when Man Utd was trying to score the equalizer. A good run, a little dribble behind the foot to fool the defender and the goal is open, a curling shot and a third goal for THE ARSENAL!

The Emirates is erupting! 3 points against a direct Top 4 rival! 3 points earned in the last minutes of the game…BUT…it was not easy…

What we learned?

1. Havertz needs to up his game and fast. He clearly is a hard working player and he gets himself in good positions to be lethal on the attacking front but so far, he has not been able to contribute to a single goal and he also made an error leading to goal…so, he better wake up soon.
2. The back 4 was back yesterday but it was not as solid as before. Is it because Partey was not playing in front of them? Are we missing Xhaka too? In any case, we were a bit shaky.
3. Our midfield has yet to click it seems. Rice is doing his thing, Ode is doing his thing but we need Havertz to do his thing or even better, and when fit, Partey to join the midfield party (sorry, poor joke…)
4. Nketiah is such a team player so he is great for harrassing teams but Jesus adds more to our attacking plays in terms of variety and runs. Let us see what happens when Jesus is fully fit.
5. Viera is playing better this season but I can’t wait to see more of ESR!
6. Ramsdale is not yet to his best level. Did Raya’s arrival stress him out?
7. Rice is not fazed by pressure. He is doing well in our shirt and hoping he can become a legend for us. His goal is a step in the right direction.
8. Martinelli and Saka were rather industrious vs Utd, it was good to see Martinelli be more effective.

Ramsdale – 6

White – 6

Gabs – 6

Saliba – 6

Zinchenko – 6

Rice – 8

Havertz – 5

Odegaard – 7

Saka – 7

Nketiah – 6

Martinelli – 7

Subs: 6.5

Arteta: 6

COYG!