It’s FA Cup time for us. We’ve watched Jose Mourinho and OGS lead their teams to magnificent replays after embarrassing stalemates, we have to avoid that sort of indignity at all costs.
Mikel Arteta might look to Jose Mourinho for a little inspiration. When the ‘Special One’ first landed at Chelsea, he went all guns blazing in the cups, making the league cup the first win of historic tenure.
We don’t have the luxury of a league cup run, but we do have a great opportunity to progress today against a Leeds side that has promotion on their mind.
I don’t know how the manager will line up for this one, but he’s making big noises about winning something.
“I think winning brings togetherness and when you have beautiful experiences together and you win trophies, those experiences stay within that group,” Arteta said.
“You like more the people you work with and you believe more in them and share some fantastic moments and that stays.
“That habit of winning, winning and winning. After you win, you don’t want to stop winning and you become addicted to that and that is what we have to try and implement at this club.”
There’s no lack of clarity there, he’s not a top 4 merchant, he wants to build a winning machine.
I suspect the pumped-up rhetoric is part for the fans, but more for the second string players he’s going to likely have to pick this evening. We’ve had problems the last few seasons raising our levels with players who sit on the bench. Rotation of the squad hasn’t always been fair and to be honest, the depth of our bench has been fairly poor. This season, the main difference is we have a lot of kids who intro’d last season who are year older, and all should be desperate to impress the new management team.
Matteo G and Dani Ceballos are probably the two closest to the first team with the most to prove. Matteo has been all over the place this season, far too much responsibility was put on his shoulders and he’s struggling for form… worse, his attitude has been less than spotless. He has the chance to show he can play with discipline and listen to a manager that will be good for him. I’d really love him to blow up under Arteta.
Dani is very different, there’s been no lack of enthusiasm, more a struggle to keep pace with the relentless physicality of the Premier League. I think his attitude is there, the talent is not in doubt, he just needs to be given a clear role and deliver against it. No way his energy isn’t going to be useful over the next 5 months.
Nicolas Pepe could start again, if he does, this is a huge test of attitude. It’s all well and good putting on a show against United, but can you motivate yourself against a Championship side? I hope so.
As for the kids, I’d love to see Saka have a chance further up the pitch. I think this could be a good game for ESR to show what he’s made of. I’d also love Willock to deliver to productivity in the final third, the club are clearly excited about him, hopefully he can show the fans why.
… could also be a bit tasty to see Eddie land some minutes.
No idea who else is going to play, but I do think it’d be wise to put some heavy rotation into the starting 11 so we don’t suffer any more injuries to key players.
It’s a home game, Arteta is clearly looking for a performance from the fans after seeing a lot of empty seats this weekend (shame on you, Stoke City fans).
“It is too powerful, with the fanbase we have, our history and the great players they have seen and the great teams they have seen, if we get that connected it is so powerful. Without that, I think it is impossible to do it.”
You heard the man, take your vuvuzelas and makes some noise.
Enjoy the evening, I’m very sad not to be there… also listen to my podcast with Matt.
Yo!
2
It’s nice to look forward to a game with anticipation instead of dread…
Emery sucked all the enjoyment out of the game for me.
There was always the accusation thrown around at myself( and others )from the Wenger obsessives that Emery wasn’t accepted due to loyalty to wenger.
The arrival of a proper football manager puts an end to that falsehood.
It was always about having the right man for the job and hopefully Arteta is that man.
Tr4phy
Trofee
€urop£ place
Whilst I’d love Arteta to get some silverware this season I would prefer the EL.
No objection to wanting to win every game but with our squad issues I think the FA cup should be dedicated to the second string, at least until the latter stages.
If Leeds play full strength and beat our second string then I won’t be mourning the loss of a cup run.
Probably rather we went out than got a replay anyway.
For Leeds tonight:
Martinez
Saka Medley AMN
Smith Olayinka
Nelson ESR Pepe
Balogun John-Jules
Bench:
Macey, Martinelli, Mavropanos, Burton, Bellerin, Guendouzi, Willock, Ceballos
Pierre
I, like many others, was already running on empty prior to Emery’s arrival. Hence, the false dawn under the Spaniard didn’t affect me as much as it obviously affected you.
You are right though, Arteta comes across as the real deal which, after these past ten years, makes for a refreshing change.
Let’s hope our perceptions prove to be correct.
Leeds in the FA Cup.. Anyone else flash back to that magical Henry moment in 2012?
Four of the last five pieces pedro has written has started with arteta does this or that. I think pedro’s man crush is getting serious.
Aussie Gooner, that team is far too inexperienced. The gap between the Championship and PL isn’t that much these days. Also we’re not going to be playing guys like Smith and Olayinka over the likes of Ceballos and Guendouzi who generally need minutes. Leeds’ Biesla are a very good outfit btw.
Something like this i’d say:
Martinez
Bellerin Mustafi/Mavrapanos Holding Saka
Guendouzi Ceballos
Nelson Willock ESR
Martinelli
That’s more what you’re likely to see. Pepe will be on the bench as will youngsters like TJJ and Medley
Hard not to think about Henry when you think Leeds. That FA Cup springs to mind but I remember that game in the Invincble season when Henry put 4 past them at Highbury in a 5-0 win. What a phenom!
Torreira is the only natural ball winner in the squad so i’m interested to see how Arteta replaces that tonight because there’s nobody else with his skillset in the squad.
RP Mavropanos and Mustafi shouldn’t start. Sokratis didn’t play the Chelsea game so I would have him over them. Other than that your team is quite good.
Honestly don’t care about the FA Cup this year. Would play the team i’ve listed above and if it gets us to like the QF maybe then we start to take it seriously.
Habesha, Sokratis is ahead of them in the pecking order. I do not want any first teammers starting this game. PL is the priority. Mustafi I don’t care about but would rather not play Luiz/Sokratis this game. Palace at the weekend is the priority.
If it were me id rotate heavily rotate tonight and until we reach the Semi’s of the FA cup. We have suffered far too manu injuries this season to our important players and cannot risk it anymore. With Arteta making the Players press hard its visible our players running out of steam in games and that will only increase the chances of injury. Tonight id go Emi- Bellerin/academy RB, Mavro, Rob, Saka/academy LB Guen, Dani Reiss, ESR, Gabi Eddie Idc if we were to go out early this season. We need to have all of our key players fit going… Read more »
Martinelli 100% a striker imo
Arsenal have to win tonight.
Arteta needs to win trophies….like Wenger….like Graham.( who both won trophies in their first seasons)
And this is his best chance.
Failure to win tonight- would mean all his initial good work -would be wasted and the momentum lost.
He should play the best team possible.
And aim do ‘a QPR’
Aim to score 11 ( 6 and 5) in consecutive home fixtures.
QPR ain’t making excuses about tiredness- and nor should we.
Habésha, aren’t we all impressed by Arteta’s arrival? Admittedly his appeal has mostly come during interviews where he has been note perfect. The team, it’s safe to say , is already showing significant signs of his influence.
Regardless of the fact that Pedro championed his appointment, there are real reasons to be happy about Arteta being in charge. Long may it continue!
Aussie Gooner
That’s not remotely an adequate defence.
Leeds aren’t mugs . AMN and Saka aren’t defenders they are emergency wing backs
‘Have to win tonight’ – hyperbole of the highest order. Concentrating on the EL and the league would be no bad thing. There will inevitably be disappointing performances along the way. The team tonight will be nowhere close to our first team.
That being said, really hoping for and expecting a win tonight. With loads of Leeds supporters it’ll be a great atmosphere.
Romford
That Henry 4 goal game also essentially relegated Leeds that season if I recall correctly, something I relished after they beat us the previous year to cost us the title.
I’ll always remember Andy Gray’s commentary about Henry that game, to paraphrase “I’ve seen some word class players in my time, but I have never seen anyone like him”
Chris, yep it was rightful payback for Leeds costing us the title in 2003.
I was lucky enough to be at the game. Henry was essentially a cheat code at that period of time. No matter what anybody tried he couldn’t be stopped.
Generally he was often the nemesis of Leeds. Scored a ton against them.
Arteta absolutely does not have to win the FA Cup. It would be nice of course especially with our history in the competition but priority should be finishing as high as possible in the league and competing for the EL.
Bob N16 “””””Have to win tonight””” Is not hyperbole Robert It’s a mantra that should be drummed into every Arsenal team that plays a match. I think you will find- Arteta has already stated this. Leeds are a Championship club Arsenal are a Prem club. Off course we have to win. Otherwise what is the point of the game? If we were to loose tonight . It would seriously derail Arteta excellent start as coach . Our Wenger never lost an FA Cup tie to a team not in the top flight except Nottingham Forest and that was after 20+… Read more »
Martinez AMN, Mustafi Holding Saka Guendouzi WILLOCK PEPE, Ceballos , NELSON laca is more likely as this will be a tough game and Arteta will not want to risk momentum and winning mentality or a replay , would not risk Martinelli or Bellerin from the start and I would rather play Medly at left back and Saka further forward but think the first selection is more likely as much as most fans might not think that much of the fa cup and this game I think Art will be taking the game a lot more seriously than others think Martinez… Read more »
we must start to use the youngsters with some purpose and attitude,
I agree with aussie gunner about an exiting lineup .. with eddie featuring
for 70 minutes
How can the draw be made before the last game of the 3rd round, they try to bring back the magic of the cup then make decisions like this, take me back to the cup draw on radio 2 all gathered round the radio praying for a nice home draw.
Couldn’t care less about the FA Cup…..It’s the Europa league we should be all over if I’m being honest…Good enough league campaign finishing 7th/8th but we absolutely have to go for that Europa league trophy, not a lot of teams to be scared of in there
CG, your argument would extend to having to win every single match.
Much as I’ve loved FA cup runs I would completely endorse the view that today’s line up should be heavily rotated. We would therefore be playing a team that is far from our strongest. For this reason alone, a defeat would have to be put in a context that it’s not a must win game. A must win game would surely mean that we’d put out our strongest line up. Let’s see if Arteta agrees with you.
Hyperbole.
if you think about it , pretty sure you are not gonna see an inexperienced full of exciting youth league cup type of line up just not a smart way of thinking and I would be really really surprised if Art went with the youthful lineup being suggested ….EL is what six weeks away, we have won one game , no brainer really the only youth I’d bring in is Medly as he is a left back and we are woefully short in that department and it makes sense to test him out with a relatively experienced back line
I might have missed it but I dont see alot of people talking about Pau Torres…22 year old left sided Villarreal defender…6ft 3,tough as nails and can pick a pass.Barcelona and Bayern now circling around him.For some reason I don’t know why people here don’t seem to rate laliga defenders…Another one who looks good is Unai Nunez.
Playing the fringe players and a couple young players is the absolute right way to go for the game. Now, until Europa starts again in 6 weeks, we have longer breaks and times between games for Arteta to work on his methods and get the team up to scratch.
Also the team i posted above isn’t exactly weak anyway, there are no debutants. They’ve all had vast amounts of games for the first team.
Scenes when Eddie nketiah scores a brace and goes straight to bielsa and give him the middle finger
agreed , a personal opinion in my thinking is that I would not start too hamstring victims why not bring them on for run outs whilst letting AMN gain more confidence and Laca get a goal
Bellerin needs to show he’s back up to it before i start him in a league game again. Athletically he’s dropped off a cliff. Obviously it’s still early days with him recovering from his injury but for what Arteta looks like he wants, i’m persisting with AMN in the league at the moment.
Bellerin is a worry as you say he does not look right from an athletic perspective and if I am honest I would be looking for a better first choice right back even before his injury , he just looks a bit awkward at the moment and this new more concentrated AMN under Artetta looks to have about 50 % more athletic ability than Bellerin . If AMN can cut out the brain dead lackadaisical madness there is possibly a player there and if we are being fare he has not been coached for the last five years .We know… Read more »
Romford,
I’m hoping that Bellerin, with a clean bill of health, will be able to recapture his best form. As many have said, if he’s lost his exceptional pace it’ll massively effect his performances. I’m hopeful that his athleticism will return with time.
Thankfully AMN’s recent form should allow Arsenal to be cautious with Bellerin. Hopefully he’ll get minutes tonight though.
Shaun, BobN16, AMN has always been good athletically and he’s technically competent too. My problem with him was that he always seemed very lazy and looked like he lacked concentration. Under Arteta so far this RB position has suited him because he plays as a CM in build up which gives us another passing option and helps to create a spare man. It suits his qualities, i don’t know if Bellerin can replicate that as he’s not good technically. Challenge for AMN is to keep it up. I’m sure Arteta will lodge him if he’s not up to scratch. RE… Read more »
Only way FA Cup will survive.
All teams who qualify for Europe should NOT enter the Kangaroo Cup, hence, greater emphasis on FA Cup, OR, teams that qualify for Europe can enter their youth/U-21 teams only.
UEFA will not approve CL slot for FA Cup winners. That’s a gimme.
The Kangaroo Cup needs a massiverevamp, so this scenario would benefit both competitions.
Our teams in Europe would then be on a level playing field with the rest of Europe when it comes to domestic committments.
As it stands our European teams are being suffocated by these domestic committments.
As it stands, AMN all day long over Bellerin
Bat
“””””Couldn’t care less about the FA Cup…..It’s the Europa league we should be all over if I’m being honest…””””””
yes lets continue playing this rubbish on a Thursday and never getting back to playing on a Saturday 1500.
That aint soccer
Thats footballing filfth.
Only saddos or Emery types watch that.
Never watched one moment of any Loosers Cup match and never will.
Excrement packaged as entertainment for the masses.
Loosers Cup 2 coming soon.
You can watch that as well.
DM are you ever going to contribute to the blog instead of just trying to get in the top four ? It’s very childish
RP Agree with your line up. Would like to see John Jules get some time tonight, these type of young players always get over hyped so it’s nice to see what they’ve actually got. Same for Balogun, though I guess that will be a more summer thing and cups next season. But I mean…BaloGUN…the media will be behind him from the off. I also agree with your comments on Torreira being the only ball winner in the team which is pretty pathetic really. We definitely, as everyone (most everyone) keeps saying, need to add an athletic, physical CDM/CM to the… Read more »
Medley is a CB, not an LB. Bola is the academy left back and he’s 21, so I find myself wondering why we play Saka as a 3rd choice left back when he’s all of 18 and a winger, rather than a defender. Bola must be awful. We definitely need to rotate and protect first teamers. However, this isn’t the league cup and we shouldn’t be treating it as such either. We do actually want to win though because the FA Cup might be needed to get into the Europa League next season. Yes, I believe that we might even… Read more »
Un, my original post was more in argument to Wengerism being alive in Arteta. The comparison is tenuous at best.
I don’t think its helpful for us as a club or for Arteta for us to keep harping on about Wenger.
Even this conversation has the potential to spiral into a circular debate on Wenger, its not healthy.
I shouldn’t have taken the bait 👍
CA, yeah hoping to see game time for TJJ. People say he’s more talented than Nketiah. I haven’t seen much admittedly. Balogun as well is highly rated and i’m interested in him because physically he’s very good for his age. I’m keen to see how we line up though because I also actually see Martinelli as a striker as well. Think back to his games in the EL and CC. He is nearly 6ft and is still growing. Think back to the headers he scored. Very Ronaldo like. Also he loves to press from the front. Reminds me of the… Read more »
Personally, I dont think we play the “high press” consistently under Arteta. There are times in a game when we do press with intensity, but this is not consistent, especially in the 2nd half of games. Whether this is a fitness aspect, it is a possibility. I think Arteta demands that the players quickly get goalside of the ball when the opposition are in possession to limit their ability to expose our defence. Aubamayang, Pepe and Ozil are not players that can press with real intensity but they can be conditioned to position themselves correctly when we haven’t got the… Read more »
“Personally, I dont think we play the “high press” consistently under Arteta.”
We don’t because the players can’t do it yet. Luiz and Sokratis alluded to this after the United game in the press conference. Even Arteta said this is the plan long-term but they’re having to adapt at the moment.
I’m hoping to see ESR tonight. Out of all the young players he’s my favourite and I think combines the necessary physical and technical elements well. Hopefully having a good framework now will help clarify his role and get the best out of him.
We will see how Arteta’s philosophy pans out but I wouldn’t be surprised to see teams that press initially and intensely when first losing the ball or at opportunistic times but if that fails, shape quickly becoming next on the agenda.
I think it will be used in a wider package of tactics rather than the overriding philosophy.
I’m not quite getting why football fans are not bothered about Arsenal progressing in the FA cup. We are sitting in 10th place and are 17 points off 3rd place in the league so that is unattainable and are 9 points off 4th place. 4th place is attainable but unlikely due to the amount of teams competing. It would only need one of the 6 teams above us to have a decent run and we would be out of the running. The way I look at it is , we should be looking to win EVERY game with the strongest… Read more »
RP Agreed on Martinelli. That’s why I wouldn’t be that disappointed to see one of our STs go this summer and have Martinelli back up whoever is remaining. I think ahead of any of our academy products Martinelli will make that ST role his in the next 2 seasons. As you say he presses which is very important, he’s also direct, very pacey, good in the air, tough as well and has an instinctive element about goal getting which will only improve. That is going to end up being our best piece of business in years. Only £6 Million and… Read more »
I think Arteta would put out up to half kids and fringe players. Hope he’s rest the following
Laca
Ozil
Auba
Luiz
Sok – don’t touch the only solid CB pair left
Saka – unlikely
Leno
Would like to see John J. starting CF.
@Romford Pele
I’d like to see ESR as well since he was so highly rated. Biggest problem with him in my opinion is that I dunno what he really plays. It’s good to be versatile and be able to play either side etc, but there’s a difference between being Sadio Mane and being able to play anywhere along the line and just ending up a bit Jack Wilshere-ish where nobody really knows where you’re supposed to go.
Being able to outright replace Ozil sure beats being able to deputise at a push for the rest of the team.
CA, totally agree on martinelli. I’m envisaging by say 2022 Martinelli is our starting striker. He’ll be 6ft or above. Have the pace to run in behind, lead a press. Very astute business that so kudos to Francis Cagigao. Hopefully him and Edu can work together in unearthing more talented South American gems. I think one thing Wenger said which always sticks in the memory was that the best strikers come from South America. They’re used to playing street football and fighting for every scrap so they have the ability, hunger and xfactor which sometimes the European guys don’t. I… Read more »
Pierre “””Personally, I dont think we play the “high press” consistently under Arteta. Well stated Pierre. We can tell already Arteta likes proper silky technical players like Ozil and Xhaka and not ‘Knock Down Ginger’ Merchants who run around aimlessly. I would not be at all surprised if Ozil under our Art extends his contract and becomes our David Silva. Liverpool who have not lost a game for a year- don’t play this mythical high press. Indeed – Klopp and Liverpool have improved considerably since they stopped charging around the field like idiots. Bad teams High press. Good teams keep… Read more »
Should put out an intimidating bench though
Biggles – for me ESR is a 10 but he can also play as a CM and wide. So in the current guise he’s the natural Ozil replacement as Ceballos doesn’t offer that option in between the lines. Stylistically i think he’s comparable with KDB. But he has enough pace that you can use him wide like Nasri/Rosicky etc.
As a fan , watching football should be about the excitement of the 90 minutes.
Nowadays too many fans are preoccupied with the finances of the club and if winning a competition like the FA cup qualifies the club for Europe.
Who cares, it’s a game of football..enjoy it.
Let the people running the club worry about finances .
Romford
I like Martinelli. Don’t mind him playing on the left. He has the ability to make the out to in run from there. Get in the box and make a living on a back post tap ins.
He’s a decent ball carrier, nothing special.
But he has the desire and ability to be first in the six yard box from wide
Klopp has changed as Liverpool don’t press all the time. They’re more selective in how they do it because he knows it’s not sustainable over the course of the season. They’ve improved their ability to keep possession. Having ball-playing CBs and FBs helps their build up which means the CMs are more workhorses (even though there are a couple flair players there too).
Possession (the right type) is key to ensure your team doesn’t run out of steam and can reserve energy when necessary.
Dream – yeah at the moment Martinelli under Arteta will likely be used the same way Wenger used Walcott, that out to in option from the wide who helps to stretch play and offer an additional threat in behind. He isn’t a great dribbler by nature but because of his pace he’s still a decent option out wide. Much bigger threat centrally for me though.
Romford Pepe
“”””Klopp has changed as Liverpool don’t press all the time.”””””
and yes they have improved ten fold because of it.
When I watch Liverpool- they seem to be playing with a cigar in one hand and the Telegraph crossword in the other.
What they dont do- is run around aimlessly. Bad teams do that
They play with a smile ,they dont cheat or dive or scythe people down.
Just like it should be
Just like we should emulate.
Arteta has had a fantastic football education, Wenger included, he will need to call on all that to be successful.
Not disputing that at all. 👍
This would be my team for today.
Bellerin Mavropanos Holding Saka
Guendouzi Ceballos
Nelson ESR/Willock Martinelli
Eddie
I would have at least Auba and Pepe sitting on the bench just in case.
“Klopp has changed as Liverpool don’t press all the time. They’re more selective in how they do it because he knows it’s not sustainable over the course of the season” They changed to that more or less around the time VVD came in. His intelligence and calmness has enabled them to play quick, then slow, then quick again. They can play deep and take breaks as VVD is a master at reading late runners and reading the game in general, whereas before they would panic at the back if they weren’t on constantly on the front foot, which is why… Read more »
Pressing doesn’t mean “run around aimlessly.”, pretty simple concept really.
Paulinho – it’s true. It’s pretty remarkable as to how much Liverpool have transformed defensively with that VVD signing because before that they were very reckless defensively. Both offensively and defensively he’s a phenom.
Hopefully we take a step forward in that regard with Saliba and another athletic partner for him.
Just a thought. MC must have a large academy. The chance for their kids to play in their first team is minimal. Arteta could try to get some of their good ones to come over.
Unai
“”””Pressing doesn’t mean “run around aimlessly.”, pretty simple concept really.”””””
that is exactly what it is dear boy!
Any coach can get a team to run around chasing the ball.
Very few coaches can get a team to keep it.
And thats the difference.
Both Klopp and Pep have proved you can have a quality possession team that’s capable of pressing.
I doubt it will happen, but I would like to go back to the old days of playing FA cup semis at neutral grounds.
I used to love going to Hillsborough, Villa park, Old Trafford , Stamford bridge and even Highfield road Coventry for the semis, superb atmosphere.
Plus it meant getting to Wembley for the final was special .
Someone pointed out that part of the appeal of the FA cup has been lost due to it not being the only live domestic game on TV, I agree with this.
Still a great showpiece occasion though.
Supposedly Xhaka plus cash /£40 million.
https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/arsenal-target-wilfred-ndidi-transfer-21150151
Van Dyke has had a similar effect on liverpool as Sol Campbell had when he arrived at Arsenal , took their respective clubs to another level.
Tony
Can’t see Leicester taking Xhaka in a million years.
CG
You surely know that the Europa League winners earn qualification for Champions League and everything that comes with it, so it shouldn’t be dismissed out of hand, neither should the FA Cup obviously. I want us to win both.
And a big fat yes to semi finals at neutral venues, one of my first football memories on the tv was a semi final at Highbury between Portsmouth and Liverpool. Pompey went one up through Darren ‘sicknote’ Anderton no less!
Tony
You have posted a very old news (23 Dec !)
Chris
Back in the 60’s /70’s the semis were never televised live in England.
Fans had to either go to the game or listen on the radio.
It was often said that too much televised football would kill the game as no one would attend the matches.
In fact, the opposite happened as the interest has multiplied.
All seated stadiums has helped as it has reduced hooliganism, consequently nowadays you find more kids and women attending the game.
The Europa league group stages are only good for giving the kids a game .
However, the further you progress in the competition, the more it becomes relevant and very watchable.
Wenger believes in letting the ball do the work and the result is no league title in 14 years and eventual sacking ….
Pierre
The only issue we’re seeing is matches being moved to accommodate TV schedules or overseas timing.
I thoroughly enjoyed the match against ManU but it was bloody inconvenient timing with most people having to go back to work on Thursday after Christmas.
The PL need to keep a balance between TV revenue and remembering fans are the life blood of the game.
Pierre Have you read the book ‘The Club’? It is essentially about the monolithic rise of the Premier League but it also has a few passages on how football was in the times you mention. One of David Dein’s biggest ambitions was to have toilets of an acceptable standard installed in stadiums back in the 80s It’s hard to imagine now but according to the book there was only ten or so live games televised, as relatively recently as the 70/80s (unsure if that is 100% accurate). I do think there is an abundance of choice of live football these… Read more »
It shows how discredited the FA Cup is when a hopeless manager like Wenger can win it 3 times in 4 years.
Pierre
“”””””However, the further you progress in the competition, the more it becomes relevant and very watchable.””””””
You have had an outstanding 2020 to date.
But No Loosers Cup match is watchable.
Its for loosers, rejects, wastrels and failures.
Its for the naughty clubs
I always cheer the opposition when we play in it. Out of principle.
And all true Arsenal fans should do the same.
Arsenal should never do The Loosers Cup.
We should always want to exit it.
So we at least we can play on a Saturday at 1500 GMT.
The lightweight buffoon Ozil never manages to last a full 90 minutes.
His girlie flicks and powder puff shots are a sight to behold…..not
Red
Think you’re going to have to up the ante to get someone to bite.
“I always cheer the opposition when we play in it. Out of principle.”
What an asshole.
If league cup/Carabao cup is done away with, FA cup will once again regain its standing as an important tournament.
CG
Considering the Europa League is a route back into the champions league,we absolutely have to take it serious, again it’s not like we are European royalty and have a truck load of European titles in the bag…. We are probably the best team left in the league so don’t know what you mean about it being a whatever name you’ve used to describe it
Doing away with the expanded Champions league would restore the FA Cup’s credibility..
And what’s so special about playing at 15:00 on Saturdays?
Batí, it’s about meeting up with your mates before the match, going to the game and having Saturday evening ahead of you.
CG’s getting more bites than RT.
Or in CGs case the only time when it isn’t Matlock shown on the tv in the common room.
Bob
And not having to get up fro work the next day if you have a few post match!
”Pressing doesn’t mean “run around aimlessly.”, pretty simple concept really.”
“that is exactly what it is dear boy!”
Pressing is not just simply running about, it is the players moving on certain q’s in unison to force the opposition into passing to players/areas where you can force an error – be it because the opposition player is the weaker passer or because the press has restricted their passing options, forcing a risky or sloppy pass.
Chris
Will check that book out ..cheers