Match Preview: Arsenal v Fulham: EPL Match Day 20
Arsenal kick-off the new year as the last game of the day. A win at Craven Cottage would see them move throught he tricky fixtures undefeated and taking 7 from 9. A win also would (for a short time at least) move the Gunners level with Spurs on points.
But any trip to Craven Cottage is going to be tricky. Fulham are a good side even if their results don’t show it. They are well coached, work hard and are a club you can respect. Even though Arsenal have had the better of the encounters over the years, it will still be a tricky match.
Arsenal will likely rest the likes of Robin Van Persie and others. This means that either Ji-Young Park is going to play or Chamakh. My projected lineup calls for Chamakh but the more I think about it the more I wouldn’t be surprised to see Park get some time. Also look for the likes of either Rosicky and Benayoun to get the call up to allow Arteta and Ramsey some rest. It is also possible that Song will be rested and Coquelin starts. But I am still projecting Song to fill his normal role.
Thomas Vermaelen is out for 2-3 weeks with a thigh strain. Which either means Ignasi Miquel will start at LB or Coquelin will – depending on whether or not he fills in for Song. Coquelin was impressive against QPR and in my opinion actually offered us more going forward than Vermaelen does. Vermaelen and Djourou slotting in as fullbacks have a hard time overcoming their central defender tendancies when they go forward. It is like a restrictor plate in racing. The go over the midfield line and get a little nervous. Coquelin is used to going forward as midfielder and is more comfortable doing it. What Coquelin needs to do is similar to what Frimpong has to do and that is control his youthful exuberance.
All in all, Arsenal are in a position to start off the new year that I don’t think many thought they would see us in. And based on what I’ve seen of others, we are the team best primed to continue being the “Steady-eddies” of the table. The others are hitting some rough patches with Chelsea and United looking the most precarious. Arsenal will certainly hit another rough patch. The key now is to accumulate as many points as you can before the rough patch comes. if the new found spirit in the team is any indication, I think we’re going to be fine.
For now though, its off to Craven Cottage with an attempt to keep our impressive run alive.
How the Match Should Play Out:
Any away match should be hard. Craven Cottage is no different. At the Emirates Fulham were lucky to have a 1-1 draw as Vermaelen scored at both ends. They’ll need to have a go at Arsenal if they want to get something from this fixture. So I look for them to play an open game looking for a result. What they will need to do however, is secure themselves from letting in the late goal. 9 of the last 20 goals they have let in have been scored beyond the 88th minute. If Van Persie does rest and CHamakh starts it is going to be a test of their crossing ability as they will likely be trying to use the Morrocan’s primary scoring ability. That means lots of wing play with both Gervinho and Walcott testing the Fulham fullbacks. All in all I believe it will be a highly open affair which should favor the visitors.
Players to Watch:
Arsenal: Theo Walcott. With Robin Van Persie set to have a spell on the sidelines the focus switches to those players who should step up. In this case the erstwhile Theo
Fulham. Clint Dempsey. He is the best American player in the world right now. he’s done it on every stage. He has also been the one player who has single-handedly helped Fulham stay competitive lately.
Probable Starting XI:
Injuries and Suspensions:
Arsenal: Wilshere (ankle) Sagna (ankle) Gibbs (hernia) Jenkinson (back fracture) Diaby (hamstring) Santos (knee) Fabianksi (knee) Mannone (shoulder) Vermaelen (thigh)
Fulham: Zamora (achilles) Johnson (groin) Wickham (knee) Davies (knee) Schwarzer (back) Grygera (knee)
Leading Scorers:
Arsenal: Van Persie 22 (17 league)
Fulham: Dempsey 6 (6 league)
Last Meeting (EPL):
Arsenal: 1
Fulham: 1
Goals For:
Arsenal (away): 2.1
Fulham (home): 1.6
Goals Against:
Arsenal (away): 2.2
Fulham: (home): 1.6
Last Five:
Arsenal: WDWLW
Fulham: DDLWL
Goal Difference:
Arsenal: 9
Fulham: -5
Match Official:
Referee: Lee Probert (Matches 12, R0 Y33)
Broadcast Information:
US: Fox Soccer Channel 1230PM EST
UK: ESPN UK 1730 GMT
GAMEDAY CHAT: It’s Open!!!!!!
www.youaremyarsenal.com/gamedaychat
YAMA Prediction:
Arsenal: 2
Fulham: 1
The Final Word:
Emmanuel Frimpong has left Arsenal for a loan deal to Wolves that takes him to Mick McCarthy’s side until the end season. The hope is that the chance for regular play with Wolves will do for Frimpong what it did for Wilshere when he went to Bolton. Some people have questioned why one of the people’s favorites had gone out on loan.
Its clear to me that Wenger sees Coquelin as being further along in the devleopment process. Frimpong can only benefit as Coquelin has and Wilshere has from time away from Arsenal. Frimpong is a fan favorite and he seems to have a solid work ethic which bodes well for the youngster.
With the injury to Vermaelen and Gibbs at a minimum of three weeks away, Wenger has admitted getting a defender is necessary. He’s gone on to say that losing points because you don’t have a LB is silly. I agree. The two most likely candidates are Manchester City’s Wayne Bridge and AC Milan’s Taye Taiwo. Wayne Bridge has a big question mark. He hasn’t played consistently since Mancini took over at the Etihad. There was a time when he had talent but it hasn’t really been nurtured or developed over the last two years. His spell at West Ham last season was woeful – think Theo loved playing against him? However, like I said he does have the talent and you can never underestimate what a player who feels like he has something to prove can provide a team.
Finally, the site re-design is still going through some minor tweaks. I apologize ahead of time if you find any issues. Let me know about it and I will fix it. In the mean time – my favourite part is the image scrolls that happen when the home page loads. If you haven’t seen it, take a look at the initial stream of images.
Until next time – Stay Goonerish!!
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Dare I say it, but maybe we should of taken some inspiration from Spurs when they went to the Cottage. They took advantage of the fact that Fulham were all over the place and scored 2 first half goals to give themselves a platform. Thats exactly what we should have done, and I think Wenger should’ve kept Walcott on, although he had a poor game he would the stop the Fulham back line from pushing right up, as they would’ve been vulnerable to his pace in behind. That might’ve relieved a little of the pressure, and had we done that we might have take 3 point or at least 1
Love the boss, but what he said yesterday is only detrimental to ourselves.
When he (and a lot of fans) comes out and complains like this, it makes us look like whingers & then when we have genuine gripes (e.g. the last 2 games we played at SJP) they’re not taken seriously.
Say the penalty was a bad decision – fine. That’s ok, I can understand. But the whole Djourou thing is ott. Fact: the guy is thick. Like Song, he is thick. That’s not knocking their footballing ability, just their ability to get two stupid bookings. We always get players sent of for two silly bookings that could be avoided. And btw, in between the two cards there was another incident where Djourou on Frei could’ve got another yellow. It was ridiculous and cost us the game.
I understand that the boss never wants to criticise a player or the team, an understandable stance. All he had to do after the game was say “I’m frustrated we didn’t win, we should’ve taken another one of the many 1st half chances.” Done and dusted, no dramas.
This squad has worked absolute wonders over the last few months, so let’s not beat ourselves up too much after this. However, the team should definitely be looking at how (every single game) they don’t finish teams off in that period of dominance. From 10-40mins, we controlled the game and should be 3 up, there is no excuse for not finishing these sides off.
At the end of the day, that’s 1 point from Fulham this season. 1 measly point. Just like WBA and Newcastle last season, you can’t be taking 1/6 from these teams and expect to be going places.
A quick suggestion DAG.
Why don’t you do away with Match Preview in the headings.
i.e. We can just have Arsenal vs Fulham – EPL Match Day 20 in the title.
Starts with the preview, and then the comments.
In case there is a post-mortem it can start with a separate article, with some other random heading e.g. “The loss of heart” or “The weekend that was fixed”, etc. :)
Stevo, I want to be positive about my club so I try and imagine how things might improve despite the demise of our manager. Teams are a sum of their parts, a series of combinations and an overall playing strategy. In the Henry, Gallas and Fabregas captaincy era’s we lacked in all dimensions. The sum of our parts was never enough (e.g. always at least 3 players light), the combinations often didn’t work (Gallas/Toure is one example yet we flogged it like a dead horse) and the playing strategy lacked balance (i.e. too offensive).
It looks to me as though Wenger has been forced to make some changes due to the ongoing failure of his youth-focused experiment, some woeful results and a near crisis early season, and the growing list of players he fawned and who then betray him.
All these aspects have forced him to restock and to be more pragmatic. And yet…..I sense he is too advanced in years and too jaded to reinvent himself the way Fergie has done. I think Wenger has the GK, defence and midfield to win stuff IF he reworked his attack with genuine pace and quality. I’m not saying the GK, defence and midfield are stellar but they are either sufficently capable (like Arteta, Merte & Song) or have real promise (Wilshere, Sneez). Add in a few real quality players like (a fit) RvP, Sagna and Vermaelen and we’re closer than we’ve been for quite some time.
I have to say I’m glad the Fabregas (Nasri, Clichy, Eboue, Denilson) era is over, I don’t think we were ever going to win again with that lulling lateral metronomic style. I’d have Fabregas in my team in a heart-beat but not with (the now) Wenger who is only too happy to wait eternally for things to organically evolve. Like Walcott. Meanwhile we watch season after season slip by and celebrate 4th.
No. I want action, change, aspiration, players busting a gut for the shirt, more direct incisive face-paced play, Walcott gone. Whilst we’ve culled out some of the deadwood we seem to have restocked with a bit more – Benyanoun, Park, Squillaci, Chamakh – and we still need to flick Walcott and Rosicky….and (sadly for me) Arshavin. If we flicked those 6 attacking players (+ Squillaci) we could afford to buy in some quality up front to capitalise on the chances our play still generates and to happisfy the next beautiful betrayer Robin van Persie.
Will any of this happen? Probably not, that’s the deflating reality of being an Arsenal supporter in this time in the wilderness.
As I said in the GDC, I like the site re-design. Currently I’m having trouble trying to reply to other posts….Just as well as some of those appear awfully light grey for my old eyes….
Stag, you’re getting almost as bad as Fred was about trying to pigeon hole people into AKBs while twisting arguments to your F*CK WENGER perspective. I’m generally supportive of the manager, but can see the flaws too. It’s disingenuous to say things like “but AW says….” or “lots of people like Frimpong so why are we loaning him out?” Why not just say what you think? (For example, I have no clue if you think we should’ve kept Frimpong around, for me, he’s not ready, Le Coq looks a player and mmm, mmm, M’Vila–though, like you, I’ve never actually seen him play…..)
Kiwi, I wish I was as optimistic as you are about the squad. I think Ramsey is improving and will be rock solid in a couple of seasons. And Song is playing at his potential right now but has clear limitations. Frankly, Arteta has exceeded my expectations and looks great playing within his skill set. We haven’t replaced the quickness, in thought and deed, of Cesc AND we need a MF who can make both assists and goals. If anybody today looked the part it was Coquelin, but he’s one for the future….IMO we need to spend biggish on a creative AM who can produce now AND in the future. Josh (in the GDC) wants Dembele, but Fulham would hold us to ransom….
When we’re in need of goals I can accept the do-or-die, make-something-happen approach of players like Gerv and Theo. (Theo’s sickly lookalike twin needs to make way for the pre X-mas version…..) Arshavin, is that sort of player too, or at least he was…. But sometimes 1-nil can work too. Unfortunately, AW transmits anxiety to his players when trying to protect a lead, but I thought Rosicky for Theo seemed a good sub. I agree that taking Gerv off for Benayoun was maybe not the right call (Makh for RVP, might’ve been good….Henry on to kill the match, even better….. ) but sacrificing Ramsey (instead of the Captain) for Squill was the percentage play. Stag (and others?) however, are probably correct in saying he shouldn’t even be on the team….
We need to act in the window. AVB/Chelsea got a HUGE let-off today when Torres, Cole and Lampard combined for their very late winner. Chelsea will be buying in the window and strengthening. The best would be if they made Daniel Levy an offer even ‘Arry couldn’t refuse (pay off his tax bill?….) and they were able to prise Modric from Spurs, who, in the end, I think, we’re gonna have to beat out for the CL spot. We really need Spurs to drop points in their two home matches or they will be nine clear of us. Ugh….
Finally (and Sorry Stag) but you don’t need red tinted glasses to know that Zamora conned Probert into the sending off or that he would never get the call in an away stadium. But refs make bad calls all the time and we needed more than the single goal (which we’ve only had once in our last seven matches)…. Overall, not the best way to start the New Year….
@HighburyTerraceSteve, If we are bringing PLAYERS, (plural) in… and that
is the 40 Million Dollar Question… then fine, I don’t mind Frimpong being loaned out…
But if we aren’t bringing in players of note, quickly, why the HELL would we loan out Frimpong?
He’s played first team football, and performed reasonably well.
You said we are THIN… and we are loaning players out.
That’s ALARMING to me…
so my feelings will be based on if we are buying…. as well as loaning and selling.
since we RARELY make moves we should, I am concerned with that loan.
and… since we are SCREWED at FB, I reiterate… what the HELL are we WAITING FOR?!
Find a short term loan for FB… and BUY Podalski or Neymar or Hazard or M’Vila or any of the numerous
players just dying to come to Arsenal!!
I haven’t seen Henry in a press conference lifting the shirt with a number yet either…
@stag133 Pardon the haiku style
Only way to make it fit in the “reply” box….
So you’re on record that Frimpong is Arsenal Quality and it’s
A mistake to send him on loan. I disagree. Instead we need
REAL Quality….I haven’t seen M’Vila play, so I cannot say.
Have you, NO! But anybody who “wants” to play for Arsenal is
Good Enough? Stupid…. Sorry, hard to be as kind as I’d like
When I’m pissed about today’s result. Keep Hating….
If you must….Happy New Year
@HighburyTerraceSteve, DAG,
The above is essentially unreadable (grey on grey)
Which is maybe for the best….
@HighburyTerraceSteve, I am ON RECORD saying
if we do NOT buy a midfielder, there is NO REASON to loan Frimpong, who has
played in the first team.
It doesn’t make sense.
If we buy a midfielder, then OK, loaning the Frimp is OK.
It is NOT MY JOB to watch M’Vila, or Hazard or whomever the flavor of the day in
the rumor mill is… apparently we pay scouts to do this.
So, while I have seen highlights and video of M’Vila… they aren’t going to show his
shite matches.
But again, because I don’t know the players, doesn’t mean they aren’t out there.
Because I don’t know WHO the club should bring in, I shouldn’t want us to go
buy player(s)???
Really? does that truly make sense to you?
I assume we’ve scouted some “SPECIAL PLAYERS”… its Arsene and the clubs job
to GO BUY THEM.
Hey DAG, the font colour needs to be white in the responses section. The grey on grey tomes don’t stand out and kill the eyes.
So much for the points we gained on all the big boys over the weekend…
@ChicagoGooner, if this actually pushes Wenger to make
moves quickly… or quicker… instead of waiting to see how it goes… then maybe it was
for the best.
@stag133, Sadly, this is too true.
Squad’s too thin….I figured we had trouble when Zamora (rested at Norwich) started. First half was fun, end to end stuff, but (of course) we needed that 2nd goal. Is Theo still sick?….
Still, Lee (“let-em play”) Probe-Bert got conned on the sending off. Djourou had the better position and Zamora made contact and fell….Home cooking, fo’ sho. Down to 10 and with our 5th choice CB playing at RB, calamity had to be expected. Squill heading across goal is why he’s 5th choice but Sneezy looked more Mooney (or De Gea) on the first one…
Gotta say, I agree with Stag about the need for reinforcements. Henry will be great but we need him, Sagna, Jack, Gibbs AND Vermaelen to come back and contribute ASAP, while getting no further injuries AND Ox-Cham (or something) lights a fire under Theo Walcott. Is that all nine planets? Only eight these days….Tiny pluto having been downgraded…..
F*cking, f*cking, f*ck, f*ck, (as they say)…..
@HighburyTerraceSteve, You realize Mr.Wenger just recently said we have
a “BIG SQUAD”… and we just loaned out Frimpong…
Teams that are thin shouldn’t be doing that, right?
I don’t agree on Djourou… he fouled him, and he was on a yellow…
But we didn’t deserve to win, or even a point in the end… based on that 2nd half.
Have to agree Stag. Fulham dominated us in the second 45 min’s, yes Fulham, it was embarrassing.
Some observations that caught my eye:
Sneez, played well aside from 2 or 3 terminal flaps.
Ramsey, has an awesome engine, he played a crucial role in closing Fulham players down all game. Surprised he was pulled off when we were in need of his workrate and the pressure it exerts.
Song, is playing really well in defence and attack.
Walcott, just awful.
Subs, just awful reading of the game by Wenger. He should outsource this role. He took off Gervinho and Walcott for Rosicky and Benyaoun – that’s our only 2 face outlets for two pedestrian lightweight technicians. So we were left with a shagged RvP and two wholly ineffective pass-merchants. It beggars belief. I had an awful feeling in the pit of my stomach as I saw these subs unfold. These subs literally handed the match to Fulham.
Attack, I’m a stuck record, but….if Wenger wants to win anything he needs to invest in this area. He’s stumbled upon a plausible formation….RvP flanked by 2 jet heeled attackers – it works. The midfield, defence and GK are all ok. We ‘just’ need to ramp up the attack.
Bottomline we got what we deserved 100%. We were horrid in the second half – woeful. We then compounded our fragile situation (down to 10 men) through retarded substitutions that highlights the lack of effective attacking options we have.
Truth is, if not for RvP’s stellar form we could well be in the lower section of the EPL.
@Kiwi, The substitutions were TERRIBLE.
We take off all the speed we have, for pedestrian players… and why Ramsey was taken off, I haven’t a clue.
RVP should have been taken off.
He was ridiculously fatigued, or else, he couldn’t give a shit… walking around the pitch is not acceptable.
Wenger has NEVER been good at substitutions… rarely does he get it right… especially when we are trying
to protect a lead.
But he thinks we have a really big squad, so we loan out Frimpong… and for some reason, we haven’t sold
Arshavin, Rosicky, Chamakh or Squillaci yet… I mean its been like 48 hours, GET THEM OUT!!!
Squillaci coming on at the end is LAUGHABLE. He shouldn’t be allowed to play for us. He is not an EPL
Upper Crust player…
Though he could play for one of the leagues minnows.
Look at Senderos!
He is actually OK playing for Fulham FC… he’s at the right level for expectations and skill.
OK. let’s call it like it is….
absolute SHIT. Rubbish football by Arsenal in the 2nd half.
Wenger said … it would be silly to drop points because we didn’t have proper fullbacks… well??
I know we looked really tired, but Fulham plays the same schedule as we do.
They controlled the ball and game in the 2nd half, and we created nothing.
RVP. He’s been OTHER-WORLDLY.
But please, give the guy a rest.
I don’t want to watch anyone WALKING AROUND THE PITCH.
He was freaking WALKING… most of the 2nd half… or rolling on the ground looking for a call.
FFS, take him off… and get a proper 2nd striker in Podalski or whomever, because today we were exposed.
Chelsea play like shite too, but they win it late.
We’re back looking in the window.
Go SIGN PLAYERS NOW!
@stag133,
Waiting till the end of January or however much time it is till one of our
fbs gets back, Wenger needs to buy a Full Back (Taiwo would be my choice)
and another striker, RVP was so exhausted its unreal.
Why the Manager picks Djorou I have no idea, Coquelin at RB with Miquel at LB would’ve been so much better. He was exposed all night and after we went down to 10, well it was just a matter of time really
@George, George, we have NO F’N FULLBACKS! Coquelin or Djourou or Vermaelen or Miquel.
NONE are fullbacks.
The window is OPEN, go get a real FB on loan, before your drop even more points.
Hmmm.
I think we really need the 3 points!
and I am not sure we get them without RVP in the line-up.
Just don’t see where the goals come from…
I am looking for Theo Walcott to have a big game and big impact.
That team looks spot on, although depending how confident he is in the defence, he make pick Coquelin over Rosicky to offer a bit more protection. Rambo definitely needs a break though – I’d send him on a cruise for 2 weeks and tell him to put his feet up; the guy is running on empty right now. Excellent player, just his stamina isn’t quite there yet – probably stemming from the ‘incident’. Oh, and Aaron, please don’t attempt a backheel every 30seconds. Thanks. ;-)
Completely agree re: Frimpong and Coquelin. Frimmy is going to be an excellent player and we all love him, but right now he needs to get his head down and concentrate on the football. It seems at the moment that his career in marketing is overtaking his career in central midfield. Once he wins us a league title, I’ll happily get my Arsenal shirt printed with #DEEEEENCH