Arsenal v Brighton and Hove Albion; FA Cup Fourth Round Match Preview
The question everyone will be asking after the midweek slaughter of West Ham is – is this a return to some normalcy? Normal a subjective term for actually competing week in and week out. Arsenal have a chance to show that they are turning over a new leaf as it relates to consistent form when they travel up to Brighton to take on Brighton Hove Albion in the FA Cup 4th round tie.
The win in the midweek was impressive but we’ve seen too many times this season an impressive win followed by a flat let down. It’s the model of inconsistency that Gooners are worried about seeing today when they take the pitch. The big letdowns have happened against teams of various levels but the more galling let downs have been against lesser opponents.
Players have hinted that in previous ties, like against Bradford or Swansea, they’ve taken the field assuming they were going to win. That assumption led to pretty substandard performances.
Let’s be clear, with the FA Cup Arsenal’s only reasonable chance at silverware, there can be no such approach. If the team are serious about challenging for this cup, then whomever takes the pitch needs to understand that the same second half performance they showed against West Ham in the midweek needs to be on display from the time the first whistle blows.
“2nd half” Arsenal have been mighty impressive. Their current form in the second half if applied through the season and carried on for 90 mins of each game would actually have them at 45 points (13 W 8D 2L). Conversely if evil “1st half” Arsenal were to play a full 90 mins through 23 games Arsenal would be fighting off relegation at 28 points (5W 13D 5L). It’s a pretty telling tale of a team that no one seems to have a real good sense of.
The dichotomy two halves is perplexing and while Mikel Arteta suggests that Arsenal do come out intent to tire the opposition out in the first half it doesn’t take into account the stupid individual blunders that cost them leads and then a complete lackluster attempt by the team to catch up.
Whatever gear Arsenal are finding in the second half – and if we’re critical of the performances in the first half of games we must conversely praise for the second half – they need to find it from the get go.
Does it mean the likelihood of players being gassed before the end of the match. Possibly. But imagine opening a 3-1 lead or 3-0 lead in the first or controlling the match from the start? Not only is it likely that Arsenal would gas out but the way Arsenal move the ball around with success when they are showing their talent suggests that so would the opposition.
The time for part time playing is over. If Arsenal are really desirous for the FA Cup and for a run to Champion’s League qualification then the Jekyll and Hyde performances have to stop. Regardless of the lineup today – whether it’s a team of first teamers only (I doubt) or a mix of first teamers and fringe/reserve – the game needs to be a full on push to put it to bed early.
Anything less than that and we’ll be right back to where we before the demolition of West Ham.
As for today’s opponent, Wenger rightly places them on a pedestal. According to Michael Cox of Zonal Markgin Gus Poyet has them playing a flexible system that rotates between a 4-3-3 and 4-4-2 – without changing personnel. He does this to accommodate the opposition and it has done him well as Brighton are close to fighting for promotion from the Championship. They also did very well of taking the opportunity to get past 10 men Newcastle beating them 2-0 to advance to this round.
They like to play the ball out from the back and usually have lots of possession. The style and formation suggest that it will be an open game which hopefully Arsenal can take advantage of.
FA CUP FACTS (courtesy BBC Sport & Guardian):
Arsenal have not lost to a lower ranked side in the FA Cup since they were beaten by Sheffield United in 1996, a run of 33 games
Arsenal are the second most successful club in FA Cup history (10 time winners 7 time runner ups) have only fallen as early as the fourth round in two of the last 12 seasons and it was top-flight opposition that ejected Arsenal on both occasions.
Arsenal have had the better of the exchanges with Brighton, winning nine and losing two of the 13 matches between the sides, eight of which were in the top-flight between 1979 and 1983.
The Gunners hold a 100% record over the Seagulls in the FA Cup.
The London side won 2-0 away in the third round in 1935, repeated the result at Highbury in the fourth round in 1980 and were 2-1 fourth round victors in their most recent clash at the Goldstone Ground in 1988.
Injuries:
Arsenal: Arteta (calf), Coquelin (ankle), Fabianski (match fitness), Vermaelen (ankle), Gervinho (international duty)
Brighton: Saltor (doubt – Achilles)
Match Official:
Michael Oliver (FA Cup Matches 1 1Y 0R EPL 15 matches 40Y 1R)
Broadcast Information:
US: Fox Soccer Channel 10:00 AM EST
UK: BBC Radio 5 Live 15.00 GMT
YAMA Prediction:
Arsenal: 3
Brighton: 1
Projected Lineups:
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Wanker rules out buying David Villa…
he says we have enough fire power anyway.
if the club don’t want to sell the player, what can you do?
so, does that mean Arsenal WANTED to SELL RVP to United?
I guess so… because we sold him.
Hope we win the FA Cup and finish 7th in the league.
That’s my wish.
Nice to get through to the next round of the FA cup. There’s a small glimmer of hope that we might win something this season. My expectations of new signings are zero.
I’ve mentioned a couple of times that Giroud exhibits something a little bit special in his play. He’s a big lad, and yet his first touch can be quite exquisite. On countless occasions I’ve seen him control exceedingly awkward balls – the type centre-forwards often get – and turn a situation from unlikely to possible. In some ways he does the exact opposite to Walcott. Where Walcott fluffs his lines and exhibits awful control Giroud exhibits quite delicious skills. Time will tell whether this ‘touch’ aspect together with his other skills is enough to make him a serious talent in the EPL. He does look smart though.
Wenger compared him to Alan Smith the ex-Arsenal centre-forward who was bought by George Graham for around 800,000 pounds – a player that at the time was perceived as being the poor mans John Aldridge (What’s that I hear you say… the board was ‘prudent’ i.e. tight even back then???). Aldridge went to Liverpool a little earlier and was part of the fantastic all-conquering 80’s Liverpool side – but sadly banned from Europe. Now Smith despite looking awkward and angular was an honest toiler who had footballing intelligence and a good work ethic. On those later grounds one might say Giroud is similar. But I suggest there is (quite?) a bit more about Giroud than Smith – and that’s no criticism of Smith – a very faithful servant of Arsenal and a key member of the Arsenal Renaissance under Graham.
It is exceedingly interesting that Wenger has persisted with the ‘bigger forward’ option for quite some time. There’s an evolutionary thing happening there; Anelka.. Henry.. Adebayor.. Bendtner.. Giroud. From mobile striker to centre forward, that’s a fundamental change in structure and style. Giroud migth just be the real deal. (note: RvP was an outlier with his one good season. I think even Wenger hedged his bets with him)
Changing tack a little, I see the interchange between Stag and Stevo. One of the things that has become apparent is that many of the modern supporters of AFC understandably came during the Wenger glory years (success does that – winky face). One shouldn’t under-estimate the enormity of the chasm in thinking that occurs depending on when a person starts following a club. For those introduced during the Wenger years their whole footballing worldview is seen through a Wenger lens – that is their point of reference. To those folk, the successful George Graham era and earlier times are nothing more than dry historical references. Even reading about those times won’t give a holistic persepctive. For those of us that have followed Arsenal pre-Wenger he is merely ‘another manager’, albeit a successful one for a period of his term.
Perhaps the problem (if I may refer to it as such) is even deeper for the US supporter. Fascinating to hear an interview with Auclair (the French journo – and Arsenal supporter) who mentioned that Arsenal success under Wenger coincided with an increased interest in football in the US. So many new US fans gravitated to Arsenal at that time. This helps explain the almost maternal baby at breast allegiance that US fans like 7am Kickoff exhibited for such a looong time. Quite honestly I found the intensity of pro-Wenger rhetoric from such places to be giddy stuff. Interesting even they have mellowed (another winky face).
I’ll be the exception that proves your rule. My time as an Arsenal Supporter started in ’98. Yep. Total coincidence, though. My sister gave me Nick Hornby’s ‘Fever Pitch’ for my birthday that Summer. So I started following Arsenal, having no idea what had happened since the book was written.
But times have changed. As to whether Wenger has or hasn’t, I couldn’t really say. But he’s no longer right for the times. And I’ve obviously no problem changing my opinion of him. (winky face)
Anyway, as I think about, back then, I liked the players more than the Manager, anyway.
Exceptional in many ways ;-)
I’m surprised at the interest that football (soccer) has generated in the US. It really does appear as though the game has made a real breakthough in the American sporting psyche. Fascinating, given the false starts and the intense loyalty to the traditional US games.
couple days left in the window… I’ll reiterate the chant @ Wenger in the recent loss to Chelsea from the stands…
“spend some f*cking money, spend some f*cking money, spend some f*cking money”
I hear where your coming from, I really do, and it’s a pain that we reward AW, Gazidis and the board to the tune of over 10 million pounds/year while the product on the pitch is of the quality that it is. The paying “consumer” has a right to be heard and we can’t just switch our allegiance and buy our groceries at Costco or the A&P rather than at Stan’s wife’s place (WalMart)…..
Management, of course will point to the 25 million we just spent on Theo and the undisclosed amounts on the rest of our “British Core,” which, of course, means nothing when we’re losing to Chelsea. Still, a little originality would be a tonic. Why not, “Ro-man, ditch these losers and buy Ar-se-nal”…..
Slogans notwithstanding (nor blind hatred toward management)…. I would have to say that I’m as upbeat about our current squad as at any time this season. Results in January have been about as expected, losing to the mega-money teams and beating the ones below us. The draws at Swansea and (on New Years Day) at Southhampton were pretty sad, but we’ve got some new bodies working for us and we’re surviving the loss of our lynchpin, Arteta, quite a bit better than we did a year ago. We’re finishing the month far stronger than we began it (even without Falcao, who, notably for me, was missing from Atletico’s 3-nil loss in Bilboa yesterday)….
Assuming that Mikel’s injury (and Vermaelen’s and maybe Le Coq’s) are short-term, we have AW’s “2 players in each position” of at least adequate quality with (in my opinion) the only exceptions being at LB and GK. Santos and Mannone, even on the downward sliding scale of recent years, are not “Arsenal Quality,” but elsewhere, I think, maybe, we make the grade.
That’s not to say that we don’t have issues. Gervinho, maybe, is having a good AfCoN, but it is strange that our highest paid players (Poldoski and Walcott) ALWAYS go missing on the occasions that they actually play a full 90 minutes. If you score goals or make assists in the moments you do show up, all is forgiven, of course. Giroud looks to be finding some form and throwing his weight around (rather than pounding the turf simulating injury) and appears undroppable. Still, a finisher-for-the-future, if not right now, wouldn’t be objectionable, but maybe that’s supposed to be Ox-Cham…..
Likewise, if Ramsey and Le Coq are our “utility guys” and can spell overworked and/or injured deep midfielders or wingbacks, we might be able to (somehow) justify not buying somebody to replace Santos ASAP. And, I guess, Captain Verm can also play over there. Of course that means we’re that much closer to Squillaci doing time at CB. Given the lack of mobility of the BFG and the propensity of LK6 (and TV5) for calamity, you would think this is another area we might buy one for the future. If Kyle Bartley would hit goal rather than cross-bar he’d seem like one we’d want back….
In truth, I think a lot of our defensive frailty emanates from the keeper. He’s a good one, I think, just occasionally his confidence gets the better of him. Luckily Vermaelen saved Chelsea’s 3rd (after Sneezy went nutty coming out late on against Demba Ba) and Giroud certainly looked like Sneezy called him off for the first goal at Brighton. Over time, it will get better. Stekelenburg was the flavor of the 2010 WC, as I recall, but seems so far out of favor in Rome that somebody in the press has linked him to us…. If we’re gonna play the high line AND do it with slow guys like PM4 (who maybe should’ve left his feet to stop Brighton’s 2nd….) we might need a back-up keeper who at least plays a similar style to the Sneeze-boy. Again, not a pressing need, so you’d figure bargains could be had at the deadline….
So there you go–and like I said, I agree and think things are falling towards a little deadline-bargain speculation buying. Sorry if I got into it a little deeper than just “Spend some f*cking money,” which I think actually translates into….”We’re losing and it’s not the first time and I wish we were winning”…..
when your club obviously needs help in a variety of positions, and you have probably 50 or 60 Million GBP at your disposal… easily… and you have waited 28 days in the window and have done f*ck all… then its probably about as deep as I want to go… by saying “SPEND SOME F*CKING MONEY”. it says all that needs saying.
There is still a rumor that we are weighing up an offer for David Villa.
That would serve notice to everyone that we DO mean to attempt to win, NOW.
other than that, if we watch the window shut, and do nothing, I will literally hope for us to not make the Top 4… I’d rather we WON the FA CUP, than finish Top 4.
Do you think Wenger would rather WIN A TROPHY? or get Top 4?
we know that answer.
I watched David Villa play yesterday for Barca….He doesn’t look like he’s going anywhere even if he couldn’t hit the target or get past his marker against 10 man Osasuna…. Serious Barca watchers want him gone and replaced by a more effective, less aged and injured forward…..(But yes, waving the magic wand and getting him would be a sign of “ambition”….)
I would like 4th place AND the FA Cup. It is curious that the winning manager of the FA (and the CL!!) is now collecting his salary for NOT managing his club (Di Matteo), as is the guy who coached the other FA cup finalist and won the League Cup (King Kenny)…. In other words, not everybody shares your view of “success”…..
I cannot comment to the idea of how much money we’ve got in the bank, but it does seem worthwhile to spend it wisely when salaries are rising so quickly. Obviously, Arsenal have spent big in the past with mixed results, so it would make sense to take a “careful” approach. Clearly they’re trying to sell the wage investments in players like (your boy) Theo by stressing the total cost (25 million) rather than the cost per week, which (by the way) is designed to inflame the (typical) working class supporter of the game…..
You and I are not that far off in (actual) viewpoint, so I appreciate it when you restrain the polemics…. but here’s one of my own….. If you compare us to all the other selling clubs, we’re doing pretty well at the moment….
Cheers…..
I’m sorry that you came in after our greatness… but I could not give a f8ck about doing well for a “selling club”… I would take the FA Cup trophy over 4th place, every day of the week, and twice on Sunday…
I am HAPPY that Chelsea are stupid enough to sack DeMatteo, even after he won the CL and FA Cup… thats good for the rest of the teams in the league… because they have great financial clout, and they aren’t afraid to spend it… nor are they afraid to take a chance…
You and Arsene and the Board can dice it any way you like (and I am not saying you feel this way)… but being a Top 4 team, is NOT SUCCESS. It’s a LOSERS MENTALITY. You’ve won NOTHING, except MONEY.
And as we know, that is ALL that matters at the Ar$enal FC, PLC, LLC, Inc.
I’m the idiotic that hopes and prays every window, that something will change, and I just get more and more irate at the lunacy of the situation.
But at least, I know for sure, I am not alone… and soon enough, I won’t be in the minority… the tide is growing… the masses are getting angry…
Right on….
I think you mean, “I’m the idiot”….or “I’m the idiotic sort”…. As you wrote it, it doesn’t quite make sense….
It’s not really important, of course, just that I might want to quote you, you know, in the future, as we continue, inevitably, our back and forth….(winky face, eh…..)
Basically, I agree and my “hope” is that we get better results. The essence of the whole problem is that there’s nothing we can do except observe and react (except, of course, your internet protest, and the chants…..) As long as the money goes where it’s gonna go, what power do we have? That said, going to the Newcastle match with family and friends (met right here on the YAMA) was a good time. And as much as I hate MY money going into a transfer kitty and gaining low interest, I also hate it going to Andrey, you can’t sell me, Arshavin, and to his former club (racist, homophobic Zenit) for his transfer fee.
Dif’rent strokes, but at least I feel good when the team gets a positive result….
Absolutely AMAZING day of FA Cup matches…
Did you watch today Mr.Wenger? This is what makes English Football great…
Glad to see I’ve drawn a few old-timers out of the woodwork and I realize that I need to get my twitter on if I crave the 140 or less….Just remembering (what pass for) the good old days…..
Stag, I’m not sure you can have it both ways. You can’t cry out “buy, buy, buy” then get down on some of our purchases (Santos, who with that kick into row z, should never have another, let alone an Arsenal shirt to trade….) What is it with the Andres? Compared to our two (Santos and Arshavin–is it a case of too much money, too many restaurants in London?) Sheva looks like he was good value for money at Chelsea, even if the trophy factory did sort of dry up coincident with his arrival there….
Personally, I enjoyed the match, and it was revealing about the depth of the squad. For a bit there I was almost hoping we’d get a replay just so I’d have another 1.5-2 hours of watching the team “come together”…… Amongst the starters, Giroud has found his confidence, Sneezy (still) lets his run away with himself and Theo can do it from the bench (and the wing) so his signing da ting (along with his playing to the whistle thing) all look good. Ox-Cham is gonna need to get a lot tidier with his touches in midfield if he wants to be the 3rd leg of our English stool/core thingee. On that note, if Jenks ever gets accuracy to match the power of his right foot, look out. Nice of the ref to overlook the questionable positioning on that late cross into box….IMO there was no pen and actually reminded me of the immaculate work of Bacary Sagna…..
Another moment of individual skill(s) was Diaby’s ball for Ollie’s 2nd. Positively Song-to-somebody-ish. Between the big French guy and Poldoski (and Santi vs West Ham) we’ve got a few left footers who can at least scare the net with free kicks.
I dunno, IF everybody stays healthy and IF we get a few breaks, we MIGHT not be that sh*tty…. Plus we’ve been linked with a lot of players so we could get some fresh blood come summertime…..
Extra day of rest (‘Pool play tomorrow….) and the manager having already decided the window is shut means that we can fully focus on that one, another “do or die”…. With the right attitude, i.e, low enough expectations AND enough coffee, it almost seems…..kinda…..
…..fun…..
Well HTS.
I’m watching with one eye… the other reading the newspaper.
With the absolutely abysmal defending Arsenal have, its all I can muster.
It’s easy to see why the better teams don’t take Arsenal as a serious threat… and I am sure our CL opponent has to be watching and chuckling… because we can’t defend at all.
A set piece into the box is an adventure. Players watching the opponents take free headers… Andre Santos is a fat lazy stiff… he could care less about defending. Another BRILLIANT signing by Arsene. I suppose he couldn’t find anyone to take him in the window, like most of our overpaid misfits who can’t get a game.
Giroud had a couple of nice goals, and thank god we have Theo. 17 goals this season in all competitions. The best offensive player we have.
woot woot.
we beat Brighton 3-2.
let’s get excited.
yawn.
Brillant Giroud. Crap defense, as usual. Bit of hard luck for Brighton. Moving on. Yay.
Nobody watching, I guess, what’s the point? Just look at the final result and either say “Meh, it’s only Brighton,” or OMG, WE SUCK FIRE EVERYBODY, BUY ANYBODY—F@#$%CK!!!!!!!!
I miss the chat and the companionship…. Hey, why don’t you come to San Francisco and become a 49er (and a Giants fan, while you’re at it)….They’re WINNERS, after all…. (Hopefully my old friend, Fred, knows what I’m talking about…..) then come up to Tahoe and watch with me (and my brilliant espresso set-up)…..
If anybody IS watching it’s been innneresting so far. Rosicky is rusty (Diaby too) while the drop in basic quality and focus from Gibbs to Santos (who is NOT the next Roberto Carlos), Sagna to Jenks, Wilshere (or Arteta) to Ramsey and (even) Theo to the OX seems palpable. Hard to say we couldn’t use a body or two in the window, even if their impact wasn’t going to be immediate….
The team defense, led by Captain Mert and Sneezy relies on communication, the linesmen and recovery on the throughballs it invites. Sneezy’s save looked almost as good as Giroud’s shot from distance, but the keeper didn’t look so smart calling the big guy off on Brighton’s corner kick…..
1-1 at HT…. May have to use some of that bench power for “our better half”….
Stupid yellow card. But, seriously great goal. By the way who’s van Persie?
Continuing my plea (protest?)for some sort of Game Day Chat…. I’ll just keep posting…. (Who’s gonna join me? C’mon Arthur, C’mon josh….)
PLENTY of rotation today. Our new signings (Diaby and Rosicky) both start and we’re going with our 2nd choice RB (Jenks) and our 3rd choice LB (Santos). At least we’ve got some firepower on the bench…..
Just go on twitter for gameday chat. Way easier. Way more people.
A bit of confusion around the start time this morning so I got up thinking we had an early one. Ah well, gives me a moment to do my thing…. At least the (3 pm) match is on TV here in the States…..god bless america, I guess….
Like (my friend) Stag said before the Swansea replay it’s hard to know what the manager wants out of the FA cup. For several years he passed it off as a lesser priority. (Isn’t losing to Stoke the same as losing to a “lower-ranked” team?) Plenty of rotation and opportunities for younger guys to prove themselves. It’s all good and well if you lose (or win) those matches. The trouble is triggering the replays and adding the extra games.
This season feels different. There is both relative health in the squad AND a persistent lack of confidence and understanding between players. The injuries we have picked up seem shorter term (“illness” also seems to be a problem or at least a mask for a bit of squad rotation) and even long-termers (Rosicky and Diaby, who we may as well admit will be our “January signings”) are (threatening to be) able to play (maybe). In addition there’s a palpable feeling that a trophy is (just a hair) overdue…..
As such, these cup matches (even the replays) seem important. Given our stumbles in the league, in the CL group stage and, worst of all, in the league cup run which appeared to be falling our way, they represent a(nother) chance for the squad to come together and build a little confidence. Frankly, I think it’s a little late and if it’s not there by now we’ve got real issues. The downside of playing a “strong” team is when in fails (see Bradford City)….. The next two league matches at home are pretty much “must-win” affairs and we can afford very few stumbles the rest of the season if we want to avoid Champions League relegation. Nobody (besides me) has even ventured to talk about the elims in the CL, but without a bit of confidence going in surely we have zero chance against Bayern.
So, big match, go on, etc., etc.