Match Preview: Cardiff City v Arsenal; Building Some Momentum

Last week against West Ham, Arsenal managed to get their first win under new manager, Unai Emery. This weekend, we head to Wales to take on Cardiff City and continue to build on  the momentum last week’s win gave the Arsenal.

The first two weeks of the season were difficult fixtures even under the older managerial regime, but for a team trying to learn a new way to play, facing Man City and Chelsea were always going to be tough. It as the 8 games after those two people looked to for this team to really establish itself and build a foundation for the season.

The thing is if you look at the first three matches you see distinct improvements from match to match. Especially in our attacking play. Against City we struggled to build the attacks out of the back, with the team looking very uncomfortable in possession.

Against Chelsea, possession still looked labored and uncomfortable when building from the back but it didn’t look as bad as the week before. Had Arsenal managed to bury some of the chances they did create, its quite possible we might have gotten something for it.

Finally, last week, we showed even more improvement with attacks coming from the back and building into the final third. Of course, it helped that West Ham don’t press like City or Chelsea, but as the saying goes you can play against what you see.

This week we take on a team that has yet to find the net at all.  Only the mere fact they got a 0-0 draw last week against Huddersfield Town, prevents them from sitting on the bottom of the table below West Ham.

Arsenal will look to continue its improvement and gain some further understanding of their new manager’s playing philosophy.

The real test will come in how much our defense has improved this week. While Cardiff doesn’t present the challenges of City or Chelsea or even West Ham for that matter, their playing style under Neil Warnock definitely could give us something to think about.

There are two things that Cardiff like to do that could give the pairing of Mustafi and Sokratis an issue. First, they are a direct team who against the bigger teams likes the use of direct play to break against the opposition defense.

We’ve seen our defenders get beat on this already with each of the defenders being slow to react when that ball breaks through the Arsenal midfield. Emery will need to make sure whomever is playing the 6 role is providing cover for that duo and isn’t caught too far forward.

The other area of concern must be Cardiff’s penchant for living off of set pieces. Be it free kicks, corners or even long throws. Last week Harry Arter made himself a nuisance in front of the Huddersfield keeper. It eventually led to a response from Jonathon Hogg, getting him a red card.

Arsenal’s defenders are going to have to be the biggest area of improvement if we are going to mount any run at finishing in the Champion’s League spots. Individual mistakes due to bone-headed thinking or poor positioning on attackers must be cut out in order win matches. Against an opponent like Cardiff, it’s a chance to establish that and build on it.

However, the biggest question isn’t about how we will play or set up, that much is pretty much established. There might be slight formation adjustments like last week when he opted for a 4-3-3 over a 4-2-3-1 but for the most part we know how he wants to play.

No, the bigger question is who does he select for the starting XI? Every week we speculate on who will make the starting XI, saying that surely this week is the week he must start so and so (e.g. Torreira) and each week so and so doesn’t start.

Using the example of Torreira, especially against better teams, he offers stability and discipline in front of the back 4 that neither Xhaka nor Guendouzi does. Xhaka improved last week but on the West Ham goal it was Arnautovic who had a free run through the midfield because Xhaka was too far forward that led him to being open in the first place.

Whether its, Torreira for one of Xhaka or Guendouzi or even Lacazette for the likes of Iwobi, I am still not convinced Emery has landed on his preferred XI. Throw in to the mix Mesut Özil or Aaron Ramsey and Henrikh Mkhitarayan and we still haven’t seen a side that fully clicks. Will Emery tinker some more to really establish a line up he has? Simple answer is we just don’t know.

Still, a match against a team like Cardiff offers us some opportunities to keep ironing out our performances and building on the foundation Emery is looking to establish. It doesn’t mean we take a team like Cardiff lightly. We did that before, a lot last season and it hurt us.

No, come at them full bore, reestablish ourselves on the road and against lesser opposition and come into bigger games brimming with confidence, that is what we can do now and we should do.

The Head Coach’s Take (courtesy Arsenal.com)

Good afternoon. It’s a lot [to take in] but it’s usually the things we need because we’ve only played three games. The pre-season is important but we didn’t have every player. After, we need to know the combinations with the players. We want to do the high pressing against the opposition. Then after this game I analysed it with the players. We started the match well but then we lost the control for moments in the game. Then we finished the last 20 minutes really well. I am very, very happy firstly with the three points but then also how the team worked to win this match and how we finished the last few minutes. I want to continue that in the next match this Sunday against Cardiff, a different game, but just to continue our momentum.

Players to Watch

Arsenal. Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang. We know what this guy can do. We’ve seen it for Arsenal and for Dortmund. He’s getting into the right spots but he’s not burying it. . . yet. His time will come and when it does watch out.

Cardiff City. Kenneth Zohore. He offers the home side a lot. He is strong, a threat in the air and leads their line well.

Probable Lineups

Injuries and Suspensions

Arsenal: Koalsinac (knee) Koscielny (knee) Maitland-Niles (tibula), Jenkinson (ankle)

Cardiff City:  Gunnarsson (knee), Mendez-Laing (knee)

Match Officials

Referee: Anthony Taylor
Assistants: Gary Beswick, Adam Nunn
Fourth official: David Coote

Broadcast information

UK: Sky Sports 13.30 BST
US: NBC Sports Network 8:30 AM EST

Match Facts (courtesy BBC.co.uk)

• Cardiff are winless in their last 13 games against Arsenal in all competitions (D5, L8).
• Their most recent victory against the Gunners was by 3-2 at Highbury in February 1961. They also won the corresponding home game that season (1-0 in September 1960).
• Arsenal won both of the previous Premier League meetings, scoring a total of five unanswered goals in the 2013-14 campaign. All but one of those five goals were scored from the 86th minute onwards.
• The Gunners have lost eight of their last nine away league games, with their only win coming at Huddersfield on the final day of last season.
• Their last 16 Premier League goals have all come from open play.
• Arsenal allowed their opponents more shots on target (24) than any other side in the opening three rounds of Premier League matches.
• Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s next league goal will be his 150th in the top five European leagues.
• Danny Welbeck could make his 200th Premier League appearance.

YAMA Predicts

Arsenal 3 – 0 Cardiff City