Carrying the Big Mo!: Arsenal v Stoke: FA Cup Preview
Rest For The Weary?
So let me ask you this – you’ve gone top of the league. You’ve got league matches against Aston Villa, Manchester United, Chelsea, and Liverpool over the next two weeks. In order to stay in the hunt for the title you need a healthy 1st team. It’s a challenge because you don’t really have a healthy squad. Throw in added pressure of not winning any silverware over the last 4 years. How seriously do you take the FA Cup and what squad do you field?
Well we should get the answer to all that Sunday when Arsenal travel to the Britannia stadium to take on another set of hackers – Stoke. Stoke are a side more intent on trying to cut your legs out from under you than actually playing the game. They figure if they can’t play with you, they’re sure as hell going to make sure you can’t play at all. Jamiacan striker, Ricardo Fuller believes all you need to do to beat Arsenal is play a physical game with them.
“It has been proved in thepast. Chelsea and Bolton have them up and tried to bully them. We can be rought and aggressive when we need to. But we have quality as well, so we can mix it up.
It couldn’t be a better draw, as we did well against them here last year.”
Well, Mr Fuller I would say the operative word in your statement is TRIED. Against Chelsea the only one bullying anyone in that match was Drogba – which he pretty much does to every team (when he is not diving). And against Bolton did he really watch the match? A physical side was absolutely dismantled on TWO occassions by Arsenal. The bogey of physicality may have been true in previous seasons, but this Arsenal squad have shown a very un-Arsenallike quality of absorbing the beatings and focusing in on their game. Still in a few occassions they have meted out their own punishment. Rosicky (when healthy) and Vermaelen have shown themselves to be more than able to dishout as good as they get.
Still, the quandry for Arsenal is what squad to start in light of what happens in the fixture list right AFTER this FA Cup tie. Arsenal Their league hopes while they wouldn’t be quashed would take a hit if they weren’t healthy for the next four games. Players need to rest and be ready for that quantlet of matches. Surely coming out that with 8 or 9 points keeps them in it or still in first. Arsene confirmed that reserve players Jay-Emmanuel Thomas, .Kyle Bartley, Francis Coquelin, GIles Sunu, and Craig Eastmond have all been called up. All of them starting is unlikely but some of them should feature.
However, the best story of the match is the possibility that former Arsenal Captain Sol Campbell is set to get the nod to start at CB for the first time since he left the club in 2006. By all indications the former England man is in pretty good shape. Reporters following the club seem to think he looks like he is in pretty good shape and the manager has been pleasantly suprised at his fitness. And frankly if Stoke do want to play physical, I can’t think of anyone more suited for that type of game than the brick wall of a defender.
Stoke have to be wary of Arsenal, they are undefeated in their last nine matches in all competitions. They’ve won their last three on the road and have not lost a domestic away match since the 3-0 loss to Manchester City in the Carling Cup. Stoke for their part have won have gone back and forth in their league form winning their last match but drawing once and losing the previous three matches. Their challenge is tob ump an Arsenal side out of the FAC that have only been dismissed in the 4th round of the FA Cup once in the last nine seasons.
The task for the Gunners will be to beat a Stoke side that haven’t lost to Arsenal at home since 1990 (FA Cup). However, in the last seven times Arsenal and Stoke have met on in the FA Cup, Arsneal have proceeded to the next round each time.
Regardless of the stats the match is important if for anything else it continues the momentum that Arsenal have carried since their loss to Chelsea. And while most of the first teamers will rest and heal there should be enough talent to draw on to have an effective match against the Potters.
How the Match Should Play Out:
Look for Stoke to try and to do exactly as Fuller as said be physical with the Gunners. I think that this is at the peril of the club. If they are intent of just clubbing their way through the match and not playing it will only be a matter of time before they are carved open. If they don’t adopt a pressing style similar to what Everton and Bolton did they will surely be the next team vanquished. Look for Vela or Walcott up in the central role. I’d go for Walcott in the central role but knowing Wenger he is likely to put Vela there because of his ability to dish the ball. I expect Arsenal to try and outrun the Potters early and take the Britannia faithful out of it. A goal early opens up the game and takes away the possibility of a more physical match.
Players to Watch:
Arsenal: Sol Campbell. The link back to the glory days. He is set to return and is chomping at the bit to show he still has the class necessary to compete. Many will argue that Sol has lost his pace. Can I ask – when did Sol ever have pace? His ability to read the game was his strength. He has an uncanny to see a play develop and get himself in position to make the play he needs to make. When he featured against West Ham’s resereves he was clearly more talented than any reserve play and in dropped right back into directing the players on the pitch. It will be interesting to see if the experiement works. If it does – good one for Arsene if not – let the moaning begin.
Stoke: Robert Huth could make his 100th club start.
Probable Starting XIs:
Might be some slight changes
Injuries/Unavailable:
Arsenal: Nasri (hamstring), Merida (ankle), Diaby (ankle) Bendtner (groin) Djourou (knee) Gibbs (ankle) Van Persie (ankle) Senderos (foot), Ebou (ACoN) Song (ACoN)
Stoke: Beattie (knee), Delap (groin), Faye (ankle)
Match Officials:
Referee: Martin Atkinson
Assistant Referees: David Richardson & Jeremy Simpson
Fourth Official: Lee Probert
Recent League Form:
Arsenal: WWWWW
Stoke: DWLLL
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YAMA Prediction:
Arsenal – 2
Bolton – 1
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http://www.onlinegooner.com/blog/index.php?id=214
“When I was at Cardiff in 2005, sat high up behind the Arsenal goal, close to Alan Sunderland and two geezers who had Alan Sunderland wigs on, we had failed to manage a decent defence of our invincible League title that season. Many observers and some Arsenal fans derided an FA Cup Final as a bit of a let-down, a come-down. Not me.
As far as I was concerned the 2005 FA Cup Final was there to be enjoyed, another chance to win something. We’d enjoyed a few halcyon campaigns of winning titles and FA Cups and in no way was it an embarrassment to ‘only’ get a cup final that season.
Arsenal may have played bizarrely that day but we lapped up winning that FA Cup in 2005 and celebrated wildly and with a conscious awareness. It doesn’t matter how much you win and for how many seasons in a row, you never know when you’ll next win something. You might never win anything again.
Plenty of clubs have had success – but there is no surety that it will continue. We’d won the FA Cup in 2002, 2003 and 2005, three times in four seasons, incredible. It might have been a disappointing league season in 2005, but we’d won the FA Cup and who knew when that would happen again. And therein lies the rub – who can afford to pass up the chance for silverware?
You often don’t recognise history when it’s happening, you recognise it later, often when time has passed and meaning has settled. Huddersfield Town won the title three years in a row in the 1920s, from 1924-26. Before they won that first title they didn’t know that success was on its way. When they presumably celebrated that glory they had no idea they would defend that title with back-to-back triumphs. When they celebrated doing that, they probably had no real expectation that they’d come back to take a fantastic hat-trick of titles. After that feat, they may have reasonably expected more titles, or FA Cups. They probably didn’t expect that they’d never win anything ever again. But, over 70 years later, that’s what happened so far.”
How true!
exactly. you NEVER know if you will ever win something again.
It is assumed that the championships will continue forever.
Its all about money. That much is quite clear. Trophies are good for the club coz it means even more money. The players aren’t bothered about the club .. well apart from Ryan Giggs and a select few anyway coz they get paid a lot anyway. The players want trophies coz that’s all they got to show for THEIR career. Club wants money coz they got to live up to the increasingly high standards that they continuously set themselves. I think all that is fine.
–Club wants money…player wants trophies. Absolutely fine.
–Club sells players ruthlessly. Player behaves like mercenary. This also while unpleasant makes business sense.
The only thing that never makes any sense is fans who contribute zilch to the club, well apart from TV viewership increases who DEMAND trophies as if it was their birthright. Well, sure they have a right to get frustrated if Arsenal don’t win but that’s about it; it wasn’t written anywhere that Arsenal would win a trophy each year. So when a lot here complain on that – “We havent won for 5 years” – I never quite have ever got it. Don’t get me wrong – I’d love one too but its just not a big deal. As long as we try our best out on the pitch evry single game.. that IS all that matters. All IMO anyway before the bulls sharpen their horns ;)
Did AW throw the Cup? Hell no. Not this time. He had 12 players completely fit to choose from – Cesc included. Cesc’s had a stop start season too , so it’s probably ok playing him. Probably.. time will tell. Subs were ok ..rt? Why does ppl playing 20 minutes also bother everyone. Yeah injuries are a possibility – but he’s gambled on throwing on Arsh to win it with a little bit of magic. Ramsey for Coquelin at RB though he never went there and was in CM instead. And Dudu well cause he needs goals. Tried to win it with a “gamble”. Something people here would drool over Mourinho or Rafa or Fergie if it came off and talk about their “tactical genius”.
Anyway Cameroon’s gone and IC’s gone. Song and Eboue should hopefully be ready in a week to play.
We’re in “The Clutch” guys.. as Stag says… and I’m so happy we’ve made it till here. Hold on for a wonderful and hopefully fruitful ride :).
LDE?
what the hell?
“fans who contribute zilch to the club”?
Those would be ??
FANS fill that big ass corporate metal monster stadium, every single match… rain, shine, ice, cold, snow… whatever.
60000, always and forever.
FANS buy tickets, merchandise, PPV, cable TV, online, etc.
Without the fans, there is no football.
If they aren’t trying to win a trophy, what the hell are they doing, trying to make the most money they can?
;)
what about fans of all the rest of 90 (except a few top clubs) something pro clubs in England?
wonder what they are following their teams for?
Andez, do you not think the other teams fans WANT TO WIN?
That the clubs owe their fans … the EFFORT to try and SUCCEED? to move up the ladder in the lower leagues, etc?
They also OWE it their supporters to TRY AND WIN, not to just make a profit from them.
I said the TV fans Stag – Television. Not those in the stadium. They obviously ARE THERE. Asia isnt. Africa isnt. What abt those? They watch TV. Is that how they contribute?
“They watch TV. Is that how they contribute?”
If you’ve seen the numbers attached to the last few TV contracts, somebody clearly thinks they do. It’s precisely TV that has been responsible for the growth of major sports internationally.
I don’t recall Arsenal is paying for my cable TV bill either. So, watching TV fans do contribute money to the product Premier League is selling.
If it’s up to me, I would award the 4th CL place to the FA Cup winning team.
First, that would help to ease the “rich gets richer” scenario today. That even a lowly club, or indeed a lower league club would have a shot for the CL. Imagine Portsmouth got a financial boost with their FA Cup win two years ago, it would help to make the smaller clubs more competitive. With the current format, except for the traditional big guns and the newly rich sides with a sugar daddy, the rest of the clubs basically have no daylight that if they EVER will challenge for the league title.
Second, it would make the FA Cup become valuable again. I recall Ian Wright once said he would rather winning the FA Cup than the World Cup. Tongue-in-cheek perhaps, still, back in the yesteryears, FA Cup was the world’s most famous and romantic domestic cup competition. Players participated in the competition with a great PRIDE.
Finally, imagine Reading for Champions League! Although even with the change of format, it’s still extremely hard for lower league side to win the FA Cup, or indeed, even tougher as the big guns now would be filling their strongest side. But at least, now that’s a HOPE, and lowly league clubs can dare to DREAM.
In the event that a club winning the “double”, then the 4th place team in the league would get the CL place.
Well Andez, I like that idea, but you KNOW the teams that would NEVER ALLOW that to occur would be the big 4. Not a chance in HELL would they go for it. (or the “next 3” in City, Villa, and Tottenham)
It’s about keeping what you have, and not letting the minnows in for a bite at the pie.
I’d LOVE for the FA Cup to have significance again, but trying to get the bigger – richer teams to sign off on that is… highly doubtful.
Arsene doesn’t care about the CC and FA Cup. That has already halved the # of trophies we can win. Among the other two, the CL is notoriously difficult to win. In the last 20 years, ManU have won it twice, Liverpool have won it only once and Chelsea haven’t won it at all.
In short, Arsene is putting all his eggs in one basket. That too, the toughest competition to win – the league title. Where you need quality and consistency over 38 games – something which is most difficult to achieve with a set of young players.
What does that say?
To me, it is all about business. The further you go in the CL and the higher you finish in the league, the more money you make. Advertising, television rights, prize money, everything goes up. The FA Cup and CC are nothing in comparison. Arsene (and Arsenal) need that money for all sorts of reasons – debt, buy more kids, put it into the academy, more than average contracts for young players, etc. etc.
So in a sense, this is more about business than about glory. I find that ironic at times. Because on and off the pitch, we cry hoarse about playing football the right way, running the club the right way, etc. But winning trophies doesn’t seem to be high on the agenda. Sigh!
Nip, it IS about business with the Arsenal. I have been CROWING about it for years. Of course the CL and Top 4 place brings cash, but its for PROFIT and lining pockets.
You don’t sell Ade and Toure, make profit from that (minus Vermaelen’s incoming) and have a problem with finances.
Its about making money.
If Arsene plays a weak team, it is called prioritizing.
If Mick McCarthy does it, it is called throwing away the game?
LOL.
Well, I agree with you in principle, but we can’t say that about Arsene on this site!
The difference is, Arsenal have better players … so our 2nd string players and a few starters have a much better chance to win, than Wolverhampton’s 10 changes v. United…
that’s the theory anyway…
Did you guys hear the story that Arsenal had conversations in November with Jan Macha’s (GK) agent about bringing him to Arsenal? The quotes around it are from the player’s agent. Supposedly he has a deal in principle to join Everton in the summer as the backup to Tim Howard.
If its true at least Arsene may realize we don’t have a true number 1.
Anyway, thought I would bring it up.
then why would he be going to Everton over Arsenal… as a back up to Tim Howard?
I’d take Tim Howard over any keeper we have…
“What is your rationale for him bringing on Arshavin, Eduardo, & Ramsey in the 69th minute? and also put them at risk?”
_______________________________________
I think Arsene’s thinking on this match seemed a bit illogical so I can’t explain it – that’s my point.
With the 3 players getting 20 min’s game-time. It was good for Ramsey who was coming back from injury to have a short run before the upcoming big-4 games. Frankly Eduardo needs all the game-time he can get to find his game and sharpness so I don’t have a problem with 20 min’s for him. Arshavin…..no idea, I can’t explain it, he’s the only fully fit guy in the attacking/wide contingent of players – so why Arsene would play him????
Whilst I said I think Arsene would be happy out of the FAC I think there is a truth that sits alongside that statement which at first glance seems contradictory. That other truth is that whilst being happy to exit the tournament he is also happy to take a ‘cheap’ win. ‘Cheap’ meaning he plays a ‘B’ team and that he doesn’t need a replay. In that context throwing on 3 players for 20 min’s probably seemed an acceptable risk with limited downside.
Using the word prioritise in this context is a bit mischievious. It is a publicly acceptable way to say you will play your best available team in the EPL and CL whilst in the FAC (and CC) you won’t ;-)
As for Arsene wanting to win the FAC and CC – I can’t agree with that. I have seen way too much evidence to the contrary and heard him say many things over the last 5-6 years that make me think the opposite. He wants out of the domestic cups relatively quickly so that the fixture list becomes less cluttered.
I’ve never agreed with this approach of not going for the domestic cups. I think part of a big clubs allure and wipespread appeal for fans, sponsors and players is winning trophies regularly. If you half the trophies you genuinely compete for it seems illogical. I know I’m in the minority – and perhaps it’s a hangover of the fact that I have followed Arsenal for a long time. A time when winning trophies (incl FAC and CC) had glory and was important. Now, 3rd or 4th in the CL is more important – albeit with no glory.
I like the FA Cup competition. I think the Wenger SHOULD try to win the FA Cup, especially when we have not really been in the hunt for the league in years, and the CL is even tougher.
But it is obvious he no longer cares about the FA Cup, he already won it… he has disdain for it.
I think in terms of rate or doesn’t rate a competition, it’s more a “relative” term. I believe every manager wants to win EVERY game, even if it’s a friendly. In the world of sports, everyone involved (except the greedy chairmen, agents and brainless media) has a “competitive” nature. They want to WIN.
But relatively speaking, FA Cup is not as important as CL and EPL. It’s merely a matter of “priority”. No manager would set out going out there to throw a game unless his name is Mick McCarthy.
When AW put on Arshavin, Eduardo and Ramsey, it looked to me his intention was to WIN the game and to prevent a replay. As AW normally doesn’t like to adopt such a bold substitution approach.
The way we conceded our second goal was also another proof that we were going for a win. As at that point, there was no need to go gungho, all out attack when the scoreline was 1-1. But gungho we did. When Stokes caught us on the break, LB Traore was no where to be seen. I don’t really know where he was at that point, as I couldn’t spot him on the TV camera. I assumed he was pushing up to join the attack.
Wenger’s post-match interview tells the story.
(someone might have linked or mentioned)
He was asked about bringing on the 3 players, and he said… “I wanted to avoid a replay, and… it worked!”
He smiled, and everybody laughed.
It was a good line by Arsene!
I didn’t read his post match interview, but I think it’s the only logical explaination when he brought on 3 players at the same time mid way into the 2nd half. Make or break, just don’t get us a replay.
If he wanted to give up the FA Cup, he wouldn’t have played Fabregas at the first place.
The killer 2nd goal we conceded, I think Ramsey gotta take a share of responsibility.
I remember there were 2 options at that time when Ramsey had the ball. One player was positioned deeper to his right, but was wide opened. Yet Ramsey tried to force the way forward with an through pass attempt towards a crowded area. And we lost the possession, led to their counter.
That, to me, shows that sometimes sideway pass may not be a bad idea. Important thing is to read the situation and depends on circumstance before trying a through pass forward or swinging the ball around looking for opening.
Passing forward to a crowded area is not a good idea especially when your own back 4 had all pushed up.
Isn’t it obvious?
I can’t speak for others, yet to me Fabregas is uber important to our title challenge and our CL campaign. IMO we actually stand a chance in both. Arsene doesn’t rate the FAC, he’s said as much and that line-up and past line-up’s prove that, so why risk Casc? Even if Fab insisted – say no. Say rest. He’d played twice in 4 days after injury, he didn’t need game time so what was there to gain?
Personally I don’t agree with Arsene’s ‘throw the domestic cups’ approach, I’ve said that many times. Yet if he is going to adopt that approach, risking his captain seems illogical.
So maybe your hunch is right, past line ups and Sunday’s reinforced that Arsene didn’t rate the FAC.
What is your rationale for him bringing on Arshavin, Eduardo, & Ramsey in the 69th minute? and also put them at risk?
Wouldn’t you deduct that he saw a chance to win, and thought these subs would be decisive (for us)?
I’m wondering why so many want to blame Arsene for the risk to play Cesc v. Stoke.
Maybe our captain insisted on playing?
We played a bunch of kids, and rested key players, but our BEST PLAYER, most importan, most influential, the one we can’t afford to lose during the next 4 games… our captain… PLAYED 90 MINUTES!
Why wouldn’t you question that?
He can insist all he wants, but if Wenger says YOU, ON THE BENCH… he goes.
He shouldn’t have even been in the squad, on hindsight.
OH, AND I DIDN’T SEE KIWI’s RESPONSE BELOW, until after I typed!
sorry.
I’m with Kiwi!
Excellent, Song’s going to be available for Chelsea at the latest.
Anyone noticed how nobody in the press is mentioning Ferdinand’s “assault” on a Hull plyaer: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xbywcv_rio-ferdinands-apparent-punch-on-ch_sport How is that not a direct 3 match suspension? Ridiculous.
Wenger’s approach to the Stoke FA cup tie was no surprise, he wants out of the competition soonest, and we know from history that composite Arsenal sides seem to fare even worse than the young-ones – so the 3-1 defeat was very much a case of sowing & reaping. Arsene got what his actions deserved.
Can’t fathom Fabregas playing, utterly bizzare. He did have a 3-week break but had since played 90 min’s twice against Bolton in 4 days so he was match fit and in-form – did he really need another game in a fixture we played to lose???
If Song returns fit and reasonably able to resume duty soon that is great. His value to this side was glaringly obvious to me after the first 3 games of the season. His consistency has confirmed that for the wider viewing audience.
I see Theo is taking a bit of stick. Many are saying what I’ve said for quite some time, there is precious little evidence to support the hype around this guy and the 60,000 pound remuneration. A handful of highlights fades pretty quickly when you see the nothingness that you get over 90min’s on a regular basis. We all hope there is something more to come, yet you do have to wonder if Arsene was blinded a little when he signed him with the hype, his English passport, the Chelsea interest, his fit with project-youth and the need at the time to appease the fans.
That brings me to an interesting observation. I can recall 2 times when Arsene appeared to respond to pressure to sign players. The first was in 2001 with a £20m+ spend on the trio; Richard Wright (GK), Francis Jeffers (S) and Giovanni van Bronckhorst (CM). As history tells us none worked out for Arsenal. The second trio signed was in Jan 2006. Arsene splashed out on Adebayor, Diaby and Walcott. At the time fans were simply happy that we signed a number of players (sound familiar?) even if we had no idea on their ability. Fast-forward 4 years and what transpired? Well, the player who actually produced has since departed for a nice profit – vintage Arsene. Diaby’s experience is perhaps an individual illustration of the teams malaise. His 4 years has seen, a bright start followed by a serious injury, followed by frequent injury interruptions and a struggle to re-establish himself, and a real sense of not knowing quite where he fitted in this side. Alas, to be fair, there are real glimpses of his talent emerging. Walcott was discussed already.
So what? Well, overall you can see that large-scale responses to public pressure haven’t gone that well for Arsene so it might show over time why he has become MORE disinclined to go down this route. The other observation is that it normally takes 3-4 years for young players to become productive in a meaningful sense. And even then that isn’t guarranteed it might take longer of never happen. I don’t call Walcott productive yet. Similarly Bendtner is borderline – you do get a return in as much as he fills a role in the team without setting the world on fire. Song seems to have made the breakthru, Diaby maybe – but time is the only proof. Sometimes a player has a rare blend of talent, maturity and fitness levels. Fabregas was such a case and perhaps we’re seeing Ramsey follow suit – but these guys are rare.
First if I am Arsenal there is a private jet waiting in Angola for Alex Song.
Secondly, my thoughts on the match are this:
It was clearly evident that AW didn’t care about the FA Cup. Had we been buried in the league I think that would’ve been different. Or had we more healthy people maybe so. Anyway, with our position in the league and the CL still out there he completely devalued the match and the cup.
Thinking of him as a business man, the money lies not in the FA or Carling Cups – it lies in the League title and the Champion’s League.
I had a faint hope maybe it was different with the inclusion of Cesc in the squad – but Fab seemed to be playing not to get hurt.
Anyway when the score was 1-1 with 70 minutes, I think AW kind of figured maybe I can snatch this one. Which is why I think he subbed the way he did.
Had he known Traore would’ve been playing footsie with someone and Denilson’s brazillian ankles don’t give him any kind of speed and would let us down on the second goal then maybe he wouldn’t have made the sub.
I don’t kow how I feel about Walcott and Vela . I do know they were absolute shite yesterday. No ands ifs or buts about it they were just awful. I might cut Walcott some slack on the injury front- then again I might not. Either way both of these promising talents have not made enough of the opportunities they’ve been given.
I would not sell them now but if there isn’t any improvement between now and the end of the year – Vela goes to Spain and Walcott to Siberia – I mean Newcastle.
I thought Sol played an okay game for someone who hasn’t played in as long as he has. He was slow in the beginning – no the first goal was not his fault – he had his man blocked out beautifully. He improved as the match went along. What makes Sol such a good defender even in his halcyon days – is his ability to read the play. There were a couple of times yesterday where I thought he was going to get burned on a play only to have him make a read, adjust and make play. Much better than Phillipe and Silvestre. I’d be quite comfortable if our back up CBs were Sol and Djourou.
JET is going to be a star at some point. He has size pace and ability. Just didn’t see enough of it yesterday but what I have seen from reserve matches he is going to prosper.
Anyway, at least we came out unscathed. We will go into Villa with only one player missing from the win at the Emirates – Song. So we’ll see how that pans out. But we will have Nicky B back – I wonder what that will equate to.
For United we should have Nicky B, Song and Eboue back.
These 4 games are crucial – 7 or 8 points should be enough to keep us hip to hip with Chelsea and United. More than that and I might actually believe we are going to win the league. Less than that I dunno. We were 11 points behind at one point after a disasterous two matches – so anything could happen – hell we could even win all the matches and still lose the league ( that would be so Arsenal wouldn’t it).
But hey I said after Bolton I wasn’t going to doubt. I am not giving up on that.
Cameroon lose. That result could be BIG for a league challenge!!!
I really hope that private jet is leaving London headed for Africa as I speak. I imagine it should take the plane about 10 hrs or so … pick up Song, put bags of ice all over his body and put him in an oxygen tank or whatever it is that helps. THEN FLY HIM out to London ASAP!
No excuse not having him in London by tomorrow morning at the latest. Will probably still miss the Villa game, but at least start prepping him for Man U.
Denilson, Almunia are giant red trojan horses about to explode our team. At least if we can do without Denilson then we would be playing with 10 men instead of 9.
unfortunately, Almunia is playing the most important defensive position, as when he screws up, its in the back of the net.
Cameroon are out. Song should be back for the ManU game.
“When is he ever going to learn? If your gonna treat the F.A Cup like a distraction,”
Doesn’t Wenger usually say how beneficial he thinks it is when other big sides are knocked out? So they can concentrate on the Prem or Champions League? The message to his own side couldn’t be anymore obvious. Cemented by his choice of lineup.
So, that mission accomplished. Let’s see how quickly he has them re-focused on what’s important.
True, but only if his view corresponds with those of his players, and in Fabregas’s case, I’m not sure it does.
He ran his ass off, playing with inferiors, and I’m sure he’s pretty pissed off now. As I said before, if Fabregas and Arshavin had been left out completely I think it would be easier to shrug the defeat off and view it in a trivial fashion, but they were part of it so it might be easier said than done.
Hopefully it doesn’t have an affect but after the last few years, I’m doubtful.
That’s a really good point, as was Fred’s above…why even play Fab?
Cesc lately has been talking about having his head right this season, and his play has demonstrated it’s more than just words. Wenger did him a disservice. Hopefully, injury won’t be added to insult.
Well once again Wenger decides to rest players, but still manages to make them dip their toes into the sewage dump in the process and better yet, makes our best player swim in it all day.
Way to go Arsene! Great way to prepare our sharp shooters for the testing times ahead.
When is he ever going to learn? If your gonna treat the F.A Cup like a distraction, go the FULL HOG and rest them all. You think he might have learned, two years ago, not to mix the first teamers with the stiffs, when we got spanked at United, but no.
Again, he retains this little hope that his youth/fringe players will step up to the plate, and that’s why he sticks Fabregas in there, and again they fail. It’s becoming a consistant pattern.
We know what happens know don’t we, we’ve seen this movie before. Fabregas turns up tired at some point over the next two games, we get rolled over, and once again we’re out of both comps in the space of a couple of weeks.
Arshavin, Fabregas, Eduardo(this ‘generation’s stars) have once again been saddled with the mental baggage of getting kicked out of the cup by a limited bunch of scrappers before embarking on the most testing run of fixtures of the campaign. It simply beggars belief.
If we win at Villa, then fair enough, but I’ll stick my neck out and say we will suffer a noticeable hangover from this defeat and will probably lose on Wednesday. If we don’t, then this bunch have definately improved mentally from previous groups, but if things go as they have been going for as long as I can remember under Arsene’s nursery, we know what’s gonna happen. Yep, “we will be lacking a little bit sharpness”.
Agreed.
Honestly dont understand why Fabregas travelled to Stoke at all. We should have used Bartley as RB instead of putting in a CM there … and played both Eastmond and Coquelin as DMs.
Denilson should have played AM … as far away from the defense as possible.
In that kind of game, no need putting in subs. Just let all eleven play the full 90 minutes no matter the scoreline.
It is a very good point… if we don’t really want to advance, as we are playing mostly the kids… (something I have absolutely no problem with)…
why would you play Fabregas a full 90 minutes?
What exactly was he trying to do, win with a makeshift team… and then do that again in the next round, etc…
mixed signals and messages. strange.
Then Egypt come back and score a ridiculous goal from like 100 yards. I thought I liked Kameni but maybe not. Well, atleast Egypt have equalised.
My computer is dodgy this morning and I can’t seem to get a decent stream of the match.
I think it’s still 1-1 but here’s some narrative from the Guardian…
Not for the first time, a promising looking Cameroon attack breaks down once Alex Song enters the equation. He’s not having one of his better games and keeps giving the ball away.
hmmmm….
Egypt has scored twice in the opening minutes of extra time….The first a terrible mistake by Geremi on a short back-pass to his keeper. The second was a mis-handled FK that never actually crossed the line but was still given.
Alex Song’s coming back to London (barring a miracle….)
Cameroon jst scored.. Dammit!
Egypt with the own goal to give Cameroon a 1-0 lead.
Fred, you can go on verbally whipping Denilson for ever; everyone (here) agrees he has little to offer in defensive attributes. So we must hope that Arsene finds other options for his play rather than at DM.
As I said prior to the match, if the midfield is weak, then you’ll have too much pressure on the back 4 – eventually the pressure increases, mental fatigue leads to mistakes, and you can see where the score line ends. With so many players unavailable, our manager had little choice for line up selection.
So, what good can we take from the match?
What I saw as a positive:
1) Campbell’s play; he can contribute to our CB depth. He shows much more
calmness on marking (sheparding) over Gallas and Sylvestre.
{ I prefer not to see another match will Denilson at DM, so until Song returns, I’d have Gallas & Sol at CB and move Vermaelen to DM.}
2) JET – first time to see this youngster perform and he showed me talent and composure under pressure. I could see him at the DM or at CB. He started the match with some heavy 1st touches (nerves), but later his play settled nicely, was very comfortable winning high balls and making smart passes. Maybe a young Song?
3) Eastmond – another okay performance, deceptively quiet, but smart in reading play and good vision – passer. Can also see him being a back up option at RB.
4) Traore – yes, again he looked out of position on some Stoke goals. From my limited camera views, I cannot accurately judge the defensive assignments in relation to the flow of play.
However, everyone is ignoring how much of an attacking effort he provided Arsenal. Next to Cesc’s effort, Traore was the most consistent offensive option.
Every ball he crossed was dangerous and while our usual midfield play to attack down the middle was absent, Traore provided left flank threats. Nothing came down the right flank!
Also on Fabianski distributions, Fabianski rarely played the ball to Coquelin or to Eastmond: the confidence was to distribute to Traore and I can’t remember any instance where Traore lost possession after receiving the pass.
I’d like to see Traore given the chance to play up front on left wing. I see Traore with more maturity, a better decision maker than Vela!
Imo, Vela is not getting it done; we wonder why he rarely see PT, and then when he does play, people (myself included) grasp to find anything positive ! Why isn’t everyone raking him over the coals for yesterday’s play?
The first half, he and Theo were at siesta. These two are reason enough to go out and look for that big ass striker!
Two years ago, when Rosicky went down, I was screaming for Traore to replace him. I know it was only the reserve team but he was destroying everyone he came across. Wenger, however, persisted with Diaby out wide. It wasn’t until we were out of the title race that Traore got the nod. He came off the bench and promptly created goals. He destroyed Hibbert when we played Everton.
I think we should try and hold on to him. He’s a big, strong kid with serious pace, descent skill, and a good cross. We don’t have anyone like him except for Eboue so he’d certainly be a good squad player and he’s still only 20. He’ll continue to improve.
No one is dogging Vela because we want for him to succeed. He’s been less than convincing but he’s more of a second striker than a wide player. We’ll see how that develops.
Oh and gonna watch the Cameroon game tonite.. praying they lose.. If not, then I hope they go all the way..
Didn’t see the game. Probably a good thing. I’m a bit disappointed that we won’t be able to put another second string out in the next round of the competition but my thinking is similar to Fred’s, we would’ve kept fielding second string sides (rightly so IMO) until the semis. That would’ve been ideal, but all in all, we can focus on the remaining 2 competitions.
Villa away next up. The fact that we are in with a shot at this stage is awesome and these are the games that a fan loves to watch. Each one is going to have the feeling of a big cup game almost- ironically, even more so than the cup game we just threw. I love it.
I think we are capable of 10 points. BIG ask I know. Villa isn’t going to be easy but we do have the capacity to take them. And we need the momentum a win would bring. In some ways I just get the feeling a win at Villa will see us go into the Utd game with that much more hunger and determination and I think we can take the Mancs. Shrek will (should?) find it much harder to get every decision go his way at our home (BTW, haven’t seen Mike Riley ref in a long while, anyone know anything about that?).
The big one is Chelsea. But its full magnitude depends so much on the 2 games before it that I think it’s a bit premature to start talking about it beyond the obvious point that a loss may be catastrophic.
Anyway, can barely wait for the Villa game. Haven’t been this excited about a season in a looong time. Let’s hope it lasts.
Ozi?
10 points from the 4 matches?
Really. LOL
If we get 10 points from those 4 matches, we’ll win the league.
I can’t see 10 points happening. Not with this team, not based on what we’ve seen when Arsenal play good teams, especially away.
To be fair, after the Chelsea game, you had no hope for the 20/24 either..
And like I said, I know it’s unlikely. Yet we DO have the potential to do it. If we play to our potential, yes we will get the 10 points.. It’s just a matter of whether we show up for the games.
True. I was at the Chelsea match, and we were humbled.
The response has been great.
However, who have we beaten… we haven’t beaten anyone of note.
I’d take 6 out of 12, if we can beat Chelsea.
If we don’t show up against these 4 teams, what does that say about the team and mananger?
I knew this game would test our resolve. Stoke are a good team that beat our first team last year; a team that included the likes of Bendtner, Fabregas, Alex Song, and van Persie. You can’t possibly expect our youngsters to just show up and expect to win.
I wrote in my preview that I expected Fuller and Etherington to play significant roles. They are both underestimated. They contributed to all three of Stoke’s goals. Those crosses between the back line and the keeper are so dangerous and killed us in the Chelsea game. We’ve got to learn to cope with those better.
Fred, I agree, Denilson is not a DM. No one would never argue that point. On the second goal, I thought he was poor. For some reason, young guys will see help rotating over (Silvestre) and relinquish all responsibility to that help. If you are the closest guy to the man with the ball, that’s your man and the guy rotating over is your cover. You either double up on that guy or you play as if you have no cover. Regardless, that’s your responsibility. Bad play by the Brazilian.
I thought Sol Campbell looked like and old ass man. It was good to have a vocal leader in the back but he as the game went on, he looked older and older. I know he hasn’t played in the Premier League but it’s not like he’s been inujured. He’s also looks 12-15 pounds heavier. Hopefully, we won’t need him to play for ninety minutes again.
Overall, not an unexpected result. It would have been nice for the youngsters to advance and gain more experience this season but Stoke are a good team. I only hope the psychological impact of this loss doesn’t effect the attitude and morale of the players that were actually involved.
We cannot lose to Chelsea. Head to head games are six pointers, so we must avoid defeat at all costs. I will take a draw.
Similarly, we must beat ManU. We are at home and ManU are being carried by Rooney at the moment. We already have a point lead over them (considering game in hand) and we must stretch that.
We must beat Liverpool. We are at home, Liverpool are shit and they might be missing Gerrard and/or Torres.
Ideally, we should win at Villa (we used to do that in our title winning seasons), but if the above results go as I hope, a draw is not the worst result.
We need 8-9 points. If we must lose one game, I’d prefer the Villa away game as long as we win the other three. But considering that it is the first in the sequence, a loss could be potentially very damaging.
That is what makes this run so difficult. We need to be near perfect.
B4 i tuned in Goal 1 was gone – can’t comment. Route 1 I guess.
Goal 2 – There’s 2 options for Denilson. Either he goes to tackle the runner, sliding in and trying to win the ball or he looks for an interception preventing the cross and possibly conceding the corner. Now the tackle is a risky one – many a time we have seen the winger ride it and run on , making it an easy cross so the slide has to be spot on. He didn’t do that – fine so far. He’s even kept up with Sidibe? till the end despite his lack of pace etc if you actually note carefully. Its fine till here. What he’s then done is drop his left shoulder and run away from the crosser instead of sticking there and forcing the cross… that is the mistake. He should have just remained close to the crosser.
Vela n Theo were quite poor all game sadly. Both didnt get a thing right either. Midfield was ok’ish. I like Eastmond too.. keeps it relatively simple. Coquelin made quite a few errors at right back but we didn’t get punished. Campbell looked ok.. though he should have eaten that cross for the second goal. Its not some super pacy cross … he gets beaten in the air. Overall I like what I saw of him though. Traore’s gone backwards.. I hope Clichy gets back to form fast. Eboue should be back too since IC got knocked out and he didn’t even play against Algeria..so he should be reasonably fresh.
Eduardo needs to step up..now. Did he even touch the ball after coming on? Ditto Arshavin. Ditto Rosicky. Hopefully even NB52 if he gets back.
We have to beat Villa and Liverpool, try to nick a win or draw at home against Man U … then go to Stamford bridge and play 10 man defense.
Whatever we do, Denilson MUST NOT play DM. I really, really, really hope Cameroon loses today. We should send a private jet to get Song ASAP.
The next 4 games SHOULD determine our destiny…
4 in the league, (and then CL opener against Porto)
HOW MANY POINTS do we need from these matches,
and what are your thoughts…
I’ll give my predictions as of the moment:
Villa away… DRAW
ManU home… DRAW
Chelsea away… LOSS
Liverpool home… WIN
I think this is where Chelsea wins the title.
Their schedule is:
Birmingham home
Burnley away
Hull away
Arsenal home
United have:
Arsenal away
Portsmouth home
Villa away
Everton away
I think United could drop points in ANY of the three matches besides
the home match against Portsmouth. That’s a pretty tough schedule with
3 away matches.
If we are going to REALISTICALLY have a chance to win the league,
we either have to BEAT CHELSEA… or draw and win at least 2 of the other 3 matches.
It will be an exciting next month or so, but it could all be in tatters.
Scary thought.
Stag, ideally, we would like to have 10 LB, 10DM, 10 strikers. But if that happened in real life, we would probably hear players coming out moaning for “lack of first team action” EVERY bloody day.
Let’s have a look of our depth:
We got 3 keepers. Not top class. But ok, otherwise we would be 2nd from the bottom rather than from the top.
LB – 3.
RB – YOu can do worse than having Eboue as backup.
CB – when AW was preparing the new season, we had Vermaelen, Gallas, Silvestre, Senderos and Djourou. He couldn’t have known Djourou was out for season before a ball being kicked. Now with the addition of Sol, it look better than Man U with Wes Brown.
CM – The talents like Ramsey, Merida, Wilshere could hardly get a game. Cesc, Song, Diaby and Denilson as the starter rotation. It’s as good as any team. DM? which team has TWO top notch DM anyway? Chelsea ok. But who else?
Wide positions – it’s the DEEPEST in the league without doubt. Nasri, Theo, Arshavin, Rosicky. Can’t get a deeper lineup than that. Plus the fact Eboue, Vela, Eduardo, Bendtner could also play there.
Strikers – van Persie, Bendtner, Vela, Eduardo. Not the best. But look at Man U, behind Rooney and Berbartov who they get? Michael Owen? I would take Eduardo any time.
Andez,
here’s my take.
Keeper. We have NO NUMBER ONE.
That is NOT GOOD ENOUGH. Sorry. No excuses. We know what Almunia is all about, and Wenger did too.
LB – no problem, I like Clichy, Gibbs is a good back-up.
RB – no problem, I like Sagna, Eboue is fine as the back-up.
CB – PROBLEM. We have known about Djourou being OUT for a long time, Senderos was noever going to play, and Campbell is a big ???
To expect Vermaelen and Gallas to play every single important match, is IDIOTIC. If either went out for a month, we’d be screwed. Not smart.
DM – Song, and then there is NOBODY worth a damn in that spot. You can list young players and Denilson, but they aren’t good enough, and it shows when it matters most.
Diaby Ramsey Merida and Wilshire. If they are good enough to start at the defensive midfield spot, why aren’t they regularly with Song away. It means Denilson is the best option in that spot. Really? I don’t think he’s terrible, and at times he plays well, but he is NOT the answer for a team that SHOULD/COULD be playing to win the league and compete in the late rounds of the CL.
Wide positions. Yes, lots of talent. How much of it can stay on the pitch regularly? You can’t debate the amount of time most have been out injured. Can NOT be counted on to play… other than Arshavin.
Strikers – Other than RVP, HUGE question marks. Eduardo is not the same post injury, Bendtner never done anything special, Vela – if he can’t get matches now, will he ever.
Lots of depth in some positions, and not so much in others. NONE at a few.
I wouldn’t want 5 players deep at any position… but I don’t have ANY problem, buying an Arshavin type, played at this level and done well, and to FECK with the players who can’t compete for the spot.
I am ecstatic that United and Chelsea haven’t bought anyone yet. Seriously… but it makes it even MORE dissapointing that WE have not… we could win the league and challenge for the CL with right buy(s).
It is different opinion and debate, that’s all.
When we win a trophy, I’ll be thrilled to say you are correct… but the fact that we COULD win, and don’t go for it, is insane to me.
the 2nd goal we conceded, I was actually upset with our left back. where was Traore? He was not even in the camera.
Personally, I believe our squad is the deepest in the league. But when you have almost an entire team out injured, that makes it look thin.
I don’t think any manager would prepare and start their season expecting they are gonna have 12 players injured at the same time. It’s not a normal figure. Every team would have their share of injury list, but none has such a long list. Imagine Chelsea or Man U if they had 12 first teamers out at the same time, their squad too would look very thin.
The key here is not about players getting injured. Players injured in a season is normal. But the TIMING of it. When they out at the SAME TIME, like it seems to always happen to us, that’s tricky.
we’re the deepest team in the league?
at DM? at keeper? at CB?
where… in some positions we are deep, in some we are without real cover.
at keeper, I’d say we are without a true #1.
But we have the deepest pool of keepers who shouldn’t be playing in the EPL!
This is every Arsenal’s fan worst fear, isn’t it?
The squad is not strong enough to challenge on all fronts. And in the last few years, it has not been good enough to challenge for the top two trophies either. So it has been a case of getting dumped in the Cups and getting close but no cigar in the league and CL.
Ivory Coast dumped out of the ACoN.
The positive of this game is – I think we now have a very good back up CB in Sol Campbell.
For a player who hadn’t played for half a year, he did really well in his “debut”. Or put it simply – from now on if, touch wood, Gallas or Vermaelen suffers a injured, I would be less worried.
As for the FA Cup, I never felt it’s a competition we had the best chance to win it (as a trophy this season). You have the best chance to win a competition only when you put on your strongest available lineup in every match.
Anyway, with out unreal injured list at the moment, challenging 3 fronts was never a realistic target.
Yeah, Campbell looked good. I expected him to cover Fuller on the second goal. I guess he will get better, but he won’t play any more unless the first choice are injured. So it could be a case of baptism by fire.
Glad to see a general consensus about not worrying too much about exiting the tournament, and AWs line-up. Funny stuff with his post-match quote about subbing because he wanted to avoid a replay and that’s what he got!
I was surprised that the oddsmakers had Arsenal at even money to win and Stoke at 3-1 (or more). But whatever it’s come to, I won’t take a punt against my team….
Truth be told, they took their goals extremely well. I hate the narrow pitch and the throws but they had enough goals from open play to beat us anyway.
Re: individual players…Fabianski to carry us home over Manny? I dunno, couple of simple mistakes (the goal and the low cross that he let through and some weak punches…his trial by fire left a couple of scorches. Sol looked pretty good, I thought, esp. surrounded by so much inexperience and Sylvestre (who gave about what you’d expect). The teenagers played as such, Cesc can’t quite carry all of them, etc.
For me the saddest part were the subs…I liked the gutsiness of the triple change but I just didn’t buy that Ramsey, Dudu and Arshavin (with his lingering foot injury) were gonna make the difference, though with Cesc pulling the strings anything seemed possible. Diaby and Nasri subbed in at West Ham were more convincing, and, of course, they did the job….
Oh well…Villa away next and that will be a tough one, gotta take them one at a time, etc. There was some talk on the GDC about the team unraveling like the 07-08 squad…fingers crossed that we show the proper resolve, belief, etc., and that the ball bounces our way….Maybe a little late January window action might act as a buoy…Unfortunately staying afloat DOES seem the immediate priority.
No need moaning about this, if we didnt lose today we would have chucked it in the next round anyway as the fixture piles up on us.
For me the turning point was when Denilson moved to DM.
Denilson as a DM is such a big pile of crap that even Eastmond is a better DM than he is. And people are still wondering why we were utter garbage last season. We were garbage because Denilson was playing beside Fabregas in a two man midfield for most of the season. The fact we even got fourth place at all was more an artifact of Villa collapsing and Arshavin’s arrival.
Denilson is NOT a DM.
Officially Traore is in complete nightmare world. Completely vacated his post for the second goal and completely lost his man for the third. Considering he is behind Clichy and Gibbs it is safe to say he is a goner this summer.
Watching Denilson try to chase Sidibe for the cross on the second goal is probably the most bemusing thing you would ever watch. Denilson is the SLOWEST of ALL our midfielders, he is the weakest, he loses all headers, he loses all tackles, zero bite, zero short distance acceleration. His interception stats are even lower than that of Fabregas, Song and Diaby. Oh, well at least he scores some deflected goals!
——————
Positive outlook, at least injuries will be less of a problem … and our fixture load lightens a bit after the next two weeks.
Hard to argue with anything you’re saying.
There is no defending Denilson, but I think he is playing hurt. He’s bad enough to begin with (or at least needs a couple of years to reach his-limited-potential) but to throw him into a crucial role with his broken back or whatever it is….
So we’re missing Song AND Eboue who would’ve been handy as a right back OR in Theo’s spot, that’s how bad I thought he played! Those who had suggested strengthening for the ACN absences should get a pat on the back…
Vela at least has ball skills (Theo doesn’t) but is no match for a “committed” defense at this point…He NEEDS to toughen. Meanwhile, JET looked handy, but it was a big ask to lead the line on his debut.
Re: Traore…He’s looked like what he is…a wide mid-fielder gone walkabout trying to be a defender. The only time he’s looked remotely useful lately was when he played ahead of Clichy in the Bolton away match. He could be useful there again with our MF so banged up, esp if we need goals, late in a match..
There was a moment right before Stoke got their second goal. Ten seconds that said so much. Denilson just got left in the dust, then looked pathetic and small chasing, and failing to catch, whomever it was for Stoke who then crossed the ball, which led to the goal.
In that moment I saw everything that you and Mazza have said about him all along.
While it is likely that the FA Cup would be our best chance
for a trophy this season, I was under no illusion that Arsene cares
at all about the FA Cup, or winning a trophy … for the sake of winning a trophy.
He only cares about the CL and then the league.
Not too bothered by the loss. I expect it.
4 games… against the steel of the league.
How many points do we need in those matches to be “in the race” for
the league?
So true…..
Focus on taking 3 points from Villa and re-establish our positive momentum.
The problem is that it is sort of a “damned if you do/damned if you don’t” situation. If he (Wenger) plays a strong team and someone gets injured, then he should have been resting players for the big 2 weeks coming up, if he rest starters with an eye on the league then he doesn’t care about the cup. Even worse, what happens if he starts a strong team, they go out and now they are out of the cup and players are going to be even more tired. Particularly when thye players that would have started are Gallas and Vermaelen and they both definitely need the rest.
Disappointed by our loss.
Of the starting XI – I think Theo was the biggest regret. He is just not in sync (to date) with his teammates.
Almost like he’s on the pitch, you guys get me the ball, but when you do I’ll show you how good I am. His touch & movement might be blamed on his absence due to injuries.
If your attacking play is struggling, at least get involved to contribute defensively.
Despite the anxious start and the obvious nerves from the reserves, the first half was okay. As the match continued players started to settle in. JET – my first time to see him play and he definitely has potential – good size and understanding; willingness to come back & support in midfield.
re: our substitution
would not have been my choice for the changes; Arshavin and Eduardo, ok, but never bring on Rambo that forces Denilson to the DM role. Rambo and Diaby have the same “individual” offensive mentality – but not mature to put team 1st. (Diaby is starting to understand)
Eastmond should have remained at DM.
Villa:
This might just be the most important match for us this season.
Tomorrow Cameroon play Egypt – well, I can be selfish.
Bring on B52.
All I can say is – let us hope this is not a repeat of the 07-08 season. :(
Yeah that was has been my fear, especially if they came undone today. Fuller’s comments yesterday were annoying (but true) and was hoping that the least Arsenal could have avoided was a goal via a thrown in and not having him score.
Man City better give Man Utd a real run down so that they are beat up before next week’s game because Arsenal will have their hands full at Villa Park.
That’s it for FAC then :(
Starting XI: Fabianski, Campbell, Silvestre, Traore, Coquelin, Eastmond, Denilson, Fabregas, Walcott, JET, Vela
Subs: Mannone, Bartley, Frimpong, Eduardo, Rosicky, Ramsey, Arshavin
I like this line up:
Fabianski
Coquelin-Campbell-Sylvestre-Traore
Eastmond-Denilson-Thomas
Walcott-Vela-Wilshire
Coquelin at RB because we don’t have anyone else who can play there.
Thomas (box-to-box) because he’s the closest thing to Vieira that we’ve got.
Denilson to see if he how he does as a playmaker.
Vela centrally because he can have a go at defenders or create for others.
Wilshire because I don’t think he can play centrally.
Also, I’d like to see Watt get some PT in the front three.
However, I think Wenger will field a team that’s a tad bit stronger. Contrary to popular belief, I think Wenger sees this as a trophy that Arsenal could win or atleast get to the final.
It will be nice to do without the Delap’s throws. Faye was injured last week and it would be nice to not see him as well. However, Ricardo Fuller is a very good footballer. Likewise, Etherington might just fancy his chances against an inexperienced and out of postition Coquelin if Wenger plays him there. It should be a proper game to test squad resolve.
Tweeting with John Cross at the Mirror –
JET IS getting a start as is Sol. Cesc will at least play the first 45. Theo to start too.
I would go for a:
Fabianski
Coquelin – Campbell – Sylvestre – Traore
Wilshere – Eastmond – Denilson
Walcott – JET – Vela
Eastmond and Denilson should SIT in front of the defense TOGETHER to form a defensive FOUR in the center. Campbell should direct them and be vocal so they are all calm.
In my view, the tactic should be to play safe (it is an away game afterall) and try to utilize the pace of our front three.
Since its an away game, Stoke will attack more and have a high line. JET, Vela and Walcott are all very fast so they should be able to cause some damage if released often by Wilshere and Denilson.
Nice write up DAG.
The players who need rest are Sagna, Arshavin, TV5, & Gallas – everyone else has had their share of time off with injuries.
DAG –
the strength of our team has been to control midfield – for me I’m worried with the experience of your midfield selection. Our defense will be under tooooooo much pressure for 90 minutes. Drop Wilshere for Cesc; make Eastmond more of the DM and let Denilson roam.
The front line is fine – as Rosicky will drop back and play more of a 4th midfielder as needed.
Keeping the momentum of winning is essential.
What pressure from midfield??
Stoke are a LONG ball team. Denilson and Eastmond should DEFEND. They dont make any sort of intelligent, non-random play through the middle.
We must NOT risk Fabregas with FOUR VITAL league games in the next 2 weeks.
I wouldnt even support having Fabregas on the bench.
Rosicky should be on the bench at most.
Agreed.. If they do pressure us, no biggie, we can see if Sol is still up to the task. Some more chances for Fabianski to impress..Who knows, maybe 90 minutes of pressure filled performance might convince Wenger to drop Almunia.
But I’ll happily take the gamble in order to maximise our league chances.
Our flow of play relies on our back line linking with are creative midfielders. If the midfielders are weak (less experienced), they’ll fail to protect the ball, be bumped off the ball, or too much pressure will cause them to turn over possession – playing right into the tactics of high pressure opponents.
Stoke playing a long ball even places more importance that our defense as outlets that they have confidence to play the ball too.
“Denilson and Eastmond should DEFEND. They dont make any sort of intelligent, non-random play through the middle.”
Fred thanks for making my point.
YAMA Prediction:
Arsenal – 2
Bolton – 1
Are we able to play Bolton again?!
:)
I like the line-up you have out there, except I’d rather see Traore
in for Clichy.
But should be interesting regardless.
Bolton, Stoke or Blackburn – they’re all interchangeable aren’t they?
I was thinking of Traore too but I was figuring CLichy would start to get the minutes and then go off if we have the lead. But you are probably right.
I hope the lineup is like that. The stretch of League games coming up will define our season, and everyone needs to rested and healthy. They need tomorrow off.