The line-up is in and it’s a very strong team today.
Leno, Bellerin, Luiz, Gabriel, Tierney, Xhaka, Ceballos, Saka, Odegaard, Smith Rowe, Aubameyang
Clearly too soon for Thomas Partey, so we revert back to a centre midfield of Xhaka and Dani Ceballos.
Attack wise, we have all the tools in the box on display. Our best central defender for passing. Kieran Tierney prowling down the left. With probably the idea from 4 moving forward.
It’s the gun show today.
What are we looking for?
Goals, goals, goals.
The main worry is that we’ll be leggy after chasing shadows against Manchester City over the weekend. Post-Leeds, we weren’t really at peak physical condition, even though you’d be hard pushed to say we didn’t create enough to win.
We need a performance today. There needs to be an answer to their offside trap. We need to keep our midfield and defence super tight so we don’t give up an away goal. Everyone needs to give a 90 minutes of concentration.
I also want to see us take risks. Auba isn’t the only person that can score goals. Odegaard is capable, the same is true of Saka and ESR.
… but Auba does need to show up. We need a captains performance. Lead by example. Be the sharp shooter we need.
We need a big win.
We need to start a run of tough games positively.
This has to be a run.
So let’s see where it goes.
Enjoy the comments. See you there a little later. This will be fun.
Winthorpe
That is what I am most impressed by. If you are not messi, a Mazy run won’t be successful most of the time. A player that makes Brilliant passing decisions is special for me. That is why Saka will be a complete player.
“ Good thing I wasn’t here during the game
I would have lost my rag.”
Please tell me you are happy we are through? 😏
Berg10
The team have been piss poor all season, you plonker.
Chris
But will Martin transform into the fly after his punditry gig is over???
Ødegaard is kinda bubbling under the surface for me, he’s god mad skill hoping we get him for another year.
Mid
Feels justified, the space needs it. Arteta vs Emery.
I thought Ode played pretty well today, not great but assured on the ball. Took a few too many touches.
. but anyhow I think he is more of a Jack Wilshere then an Ozil.
Why pay 40M or so for Odegaard when we have ESR who is just as good at no10. Also, has a better understanding with Saka.
All our money has to go into CM, followed by RB and LW.
Also, where the hell is Nelson? Is he injured?
Black
Thanks for stating the obvious….
Sal
Yeah you know it’s destiny
Dracula v Dracula 😀
What a rollercoaster
Team is still developing in the right way and success is such a cliff edge of fine chances and margins
But the team is shaping well – don’t want to see us buy Ceballos or Ode
Next step – let’s blood Balogun and Azeez as soon as we can
“ But will Martin transform into the fly after his punditry gig is over???”
Hah, or I’m thinking the mathematician from Jurassic Park, just needed the leather jacket.
Good Ebening… welcome to the Le Grove Derby.
Hahaha I will feel disappointed now if we draw anyone else.
Don’t get why pundits think Willian was ok – he didn’t take anyone on and most of time in useless positions acting asa spectator
I’d prefer is to give Nelson game time than Willian – at least he has pace and worse case we add to his value
Peak Wilshere would glide past players with ease, I haven’t seen any of that in Odegaard so far
Can Tierney be given the captain’s armband already please! Legend in the making. Love him!!!
Saka is an arsenal fan and a kid from the academy he is going nowhere
Not sure why anyone would doubt Aubameyang, i said a few weeks back that he would still score 20+ goals this season now that we are creating chances. Smith Rowe needs to be put back as the CAM asap, no real chemistry between Odegaard and Saka as yet. I’m thinking Odegaard is getting the nod because he is better defensively from a positional point of view…i hope that’s not the case as we are have now lost the saka/smith rowe chemistry which changed our season. I prefer Holding and Mari at the back, no real calmness and composure at the… Read more »
I think Arteta plays ESR on the wing to accommodate Aubameyang. With out Lacazette, there won’t be enough ball players to create goal scoring chances. Auba is very poor at holding the ball up but he is an assassin on goal. It all comes down to the inability of runners from deep or we could play Auba with a winger and one of ESR/ Odegaard at 10. It seems still petty to shit on Xhaka considering the good form he is on but that is why arteta is tweaking everything on the front 4. Xhaka, Ceballos and Elneny all are… Read more »
Mr Serge
I genuinely hope he stays with us. We so desperately need to have someone in the club that lives and breathes The Arsenal.
For my next Arsenal shirt I am hesitating whether I want Thomas on it or Saka. I have to admit Saka edges it v closely.
Tom
“Peak Wilshere would glide past players with ease, I haven’t seen any of that in Odegaard so far”
Odegaard plays the Ozil of the last few seasons. He keeps the play ticking over nicely but is reluctant to take any real risks with the ball..
There will be games where Odegaard will be influential, tonight was not one of them
Fair play to the lads for turning that game around , thank we stick with auba though . Bet arteta rapidly needed a change of underwear at the final whistle
Habesha
I too think Esr is being played at LW because Auba is playing striker. The plan now seems to revolve around creating ad many chances as possible for Auba. For that we need creativity which we we get through Saka, Ode and Esr now.
Personally I think Pepe was doing very well at LW and shouldn’t have been just shunted out like that.
A front 4 of Auba, Pepe LW, Esr/Ode, Saka RW is something I’d like to see more of.
Partey is in the Top 5 defensive midfielders in the world for me easy. Not just for what he can do without the ball, but for what he can do with the ball.
What a bargain for 45 M.
Pierre
Both Aubameyang goals were borderline offside.
Rejoice for the victory,we never make things easy for ourselves. I hope the manager has a much better idea of who needs to be moved on,now-Ceballos not good enough,painfully slow and mired in square/backwards passes,Hector not as good as Cedric these days,Granit not athletic enough,Luis always has a mistake in him in every game now.Thats 4 for Mr Arteta to ponder,Willian is going nowhere it would appear and I fear Martinelli will join the bad boys on loan. I am still hoping to scrape into the top 6,but I would not be putting money on it. Enjoy the winning feeling,Brothers… Read more »
Mental this team in this season, every mistake is capitalised on by opposition to maximum effect.
Tonight wasn’t really close, silly challenge with an unstoppable free kick goal for payback at the half, then a Ceballos gifted equaliser nearly taking us out of tie.
2x mistakes, 2x goals, so true nearly beat ourselves.
Would not put it past Arteta going with the same XI vs Leicester with Partey in for Ceballos.
If Partey is not 110% fit I wouldn’t risk him this weekend.
Europa is our only real hope now and without Partey makes our team twice as good as without him.
Windthorpe
Unlike Aubameyang, Lacazette has poor movement in and around the box.
Aubameyang all day long for me.
Ruth
“Pierre
Both Aubameyang goals were borderline offside.”
And the goal disallowed was borderline onside.
Holdings still out
Blackstock – another pointless comment from you. Auba was onside – he pushed the line as he should. Offside rule totally misplaced anyway – should always give the offensive team the benefit of the doubt.
I’d like to see a bigger rotation in front four, ESR in the Ø roll with Martinelli and Pepe on flanks keeping Auba in whose definitely finding the form.
As for Partey hard to say where he’s at looked sharp tonight.
Defensively Soares in for Bellerin with Holding and Gabriel.
Gabriel has gone from Sol to Senderos in no time
I wonder if the PL officials were in charge of VAR today would those offside goals shake out the same.
Lets hope Milan, Liecester and Olympiacos go out
But ESR didn’t create any chance as LW. Most of the time, he passes the ball backward. I am afraid Arteta has destroyed the confidence of ESR by playing him as LW.
The legendary dB 10 the last time I had a name on my shirt was Thiery I have only had 5 players names on my back DB10 Adams PV4 rocastle and TH
Saka is the new king he will be immense in a couple of years we just need to build a team to help him acheive what he needs to with us
Windthorpe
The difference maker was smith rowe before the arrival of Odegaard.
Lacazette up top is fine as long as Aubameyang is on the left , smith Rowe as CAM and saka on the right .
The other option is Pepe on the left , saka on the right, Aubamayang up top and smith Rowe CAM.
For me , Saka , smith Rowe and Aubameyang are nailed on starters and then it’s a choice of Odegaard, Lacazette, Pepe , Martinelli/ Eddie / Balogun for the spare spot.
We’re drawing Villarreal aren’t we?
It’s written in the stars…
Rich
Or Tottenham.
TH has stepped down as manager for that MLS team and going back to London. misses his kids too much.
I wonder if there is any space for his experience in this Mike Arteta set up.
My guess is no since Mike wants no one to challenge his authority and usurp him!
For me , Saka , smith Rowe and Aubameyang are nailed on starters and then it’s a choice of Odegaard, Lacazette, Pepe , Martinelli/ Eddie / Balogun for the spare spot.
For some games
I’ll prefer Odegaard plays in the two with Partey while ESR players in the centre or we go 4-3-3 with ESR and Odegaard either side of Partey.
My view of recent affairs at our beloved Arsenal: Bellerin again showed tonight he’s not good enough – needs replacing. Ceballos – so much potential but when it’s not his day.. it’s really not his day! Do NOT make it permanent and spunk £25m on an average player in most games this season. Not too happy seeing ESR being played out wide. Clearly out of place there. Rotation is important with all the games this season so why not rotate him and Ode in that 10 role and play one of Martinelli or Pepe?! (preferably Gabi). Gabi not landing any… Read more »
Guns of SF
My guess is no since Mike wants no one to challenge his authority and usurp him!
This reminds me of a certain manager who also refused to have external output for fear that they would bring on better ideas than him.
Brenda and LC is in trouble now.. they need 2 goals.
Swg I agree with most of that
Gabi needs game time or I am afraid he will leave
Winthorpe
What I don’t get is why Arteta does not allow the front 3 to interchange. It will keep the defence guessing all night long.
MidWestGun
I don’t think Rodgers will lose any sleep, they’ve got an FA quarter final, and they can concentrate on the league if they go out.
” Am i the only.one who felt this game was rigged? ”
yes you are
Liecester about to go out
Doesnt matter
There are some tough teams still left and the CL rejects incoming too
Leicester upping the gears here.
There are some tough teams still left and the CL rejects incoming too……no this is it!
Will certainly matter if we draw Slavia Praha next…much rather them than Liecester..to win a cup competition you gotta stay in it
Kris
Our starting 11 is unfortunately not top 6 this season let alone squad. Our squad is full of mediocre players who have sadly been played more than any of us would like to have seen (Elneny and Cedric in for Partey and KT to name the 2 obvious ones).
The only players that could improve any of the top 6 starting 11 this season are Partey, KT, Saka, Leno.
Our squad is a million miles off. You’re living off players reputations and price tags if you genuinely think that. Let’s be realistic here
Arteta is being reported to say that Willian changed the game ,so we won.
Deluded or what
Boom! 2-0. Game over!
Foxes dusted with that.
Now if only Vardy could get injured :p
Whoaaa … Yep .. LC finished now. That was a hell of a shot… daisy cutter from some distance.
Leicester are out
Hopefully that loss takes something out of Leicester… we need to jump all over them
Milan hanging on by the skin of their teeth..against 10.men
Brenda getting knocked out by Prague
Olympiakos pulling the stunner again this year. Maybe we get a rematch.
When there’s a Will(ian) there’s a way.
Horrendous match though, Benfica looked so comfortable despite having a clearly inferior squad it was just shocking, particularly considering how everyone was so confident on the 1st leg if Auba scored we would be in full control. Well, on this one he actually scored and we definitely were praying for a miracle which Saka gave us.
We’ve fallen down hard, considering we have everyone fit and can play our supposed best XI.
Atrocious refereeing in Milan game..ref awarded corner and then blew the final.whistle before the player could take it LOL
Harsh on Praha, can’t believer Ibra didn’t hold that ball in corner.
Zlatan probably reminded the ref he is Zlatan.
I am Zlatan.. “blow the whistle”
Mid
These clowns ruined it all for me 3 out of 4..
They did?? oh man… that is harsh.
Maybe I was too quick to favour Manure for Europa, Praha worth keeping an eye on and Shaktar always good in getting to the latter stages.
Nah I’ll stick to Manure.
Are there any decent players in that Praha side that can add something to Arsenal?
Aren’t Soucek and Coufal from the Czech league?
Gotta sympathise with the ref..Italian mafia more notorious than Serbian
That will serve me right, will never bet on United again
Arteta on Saka
He’s really fatigued & he hasn’t had much rest. We asked him to go again & produce this moment & the boy has done it against a really difficult formation with the way they were so deep & there were very small spaces, but he’s found a way to do it again”
We need to rest him against Leicester + Burnley, I’m not sure what we’d do without him….
But it’s better to rest him for 2 games, than either running him into the ground, or risk injuring him longer term
Some here going on about how great Odegaard was, I just don’t see it and actually thought he was complete shit today. Since his arrival, ESR hasn’t been playing any way near as good as he was before. Send him and Cellabos back to Real as soon as the season is over.
As for Arteta brining on Willian, how much more can we take of this?
Oh yeah and what the fuck is wrong with Gabriel? Needs to be dropped immediately, rather see Chambers against Leicester.
Odegaard is too one footed..you simply dont play a one footed player in the middle because those players need more touches…Prime ozil in 10 was a different story though..his vision compensated..anyone playing in the centre has to be good with both feet..thats why Xhaka needs to be shown the door too…slows the game too much with 3 touches instead of 1 or 2
Never would of thought United would of crushed Sociedad, shame.
United have to be favourites at this stage.
Im convinced we draw Count Dracula or well the more evil Mourinho.
Arteta needs to grow one and lose of the holding players in midfield.
Partey can be the holding midfielder with ESR and Odegaard ahead of him.
Martinelli forward left and Saka forward right, that way he can afford to play Auba upfront, something he seems obsessed with.
There’s enough workrate and creativity in there.
WHAT I LEARNT FROM THE GAME:
– If this is what Arteta has to offer, we’re not going anywhere fast with him.
– Those hailing Auba don’t know jack. What exactly was he suppose to do with those chances?
– Ceballos made 2 ridiculous error but that doesn’t make him shit. You don’t judge a player based on 1 game except you are… Arteta.
“Partey can be the holding midfielder with ESR and Odegaard ahead of him.”:
THIS
Can’t agree more man, its the way forth. Better for ESR, Ø and Arsenal, this safety patrol ball has little sauce, underperformance not a strong look going the safe route. No hand break baby.
Odegaard is 22
He’s building new relationships with his teammates, and he’s not played much football this season.
Give him time….
Smith-Rowe can’t play every game, we need competition in that area of the pitch
We’ve gone from having no fit or registered No10 types behind the striker, to now having two
We’ll need to rotate between now and the end of the season
Rich
February 25, 2021 22:09:36
—————
Ok, good points there.
So, we are losing the most important game we have played all season, one that could shape the rest of the season, and Arteta brings Willian on.
Sure, we went on to win the game, but that decision really tells me everything I need to know about Arteta. Just not a good manager.
Lads.. it was the europa league last 32.. Europa.. League.
Am I glad we won? Yes.
However let’s not pretend we defeated a great side. We struggled against a poor poor Benfica side…
In a game where we should have dominated (especially with the side we fielded tonight) we laboured and barely barely barely got over the line.
This is a stay of execution. We will not have intimidated anyone in the Europa League with that performance today.
We could really do with the draw being kind to us tomorrow
Hopefully we can avoid Spurs + United
Sal
It’s like what you said earlier about how uncertain we are in possession. That seeming obsession with control by way of double pivot is paradoxically leading to less control. We only have shitty control when our double pivot pass the ball between each other and our CBs. Other we’re uncontrollably ponderous.
He needs to trust the players to work hard as a collective (apart from Auba 😀) to cover space with their quality on the ball shining through when we have it.
I’d even settle for 10 minutes of William if he tries Ode and ESR centrally.
*Otherwise
This Abdallah Sima lad from Slavia Prague looks interesting
He’s only 19 and looks lively.
I thought people were getting a bit carried away with Saka earlier in the season with some of the comments but the lad is the real deal. Absolute gem of a player.
If this is the best that Arteta can offer with the strongest squad cat his disposal I hate to think what a better team might do to us.
Completely underwhelmed and concerned.
*at
Buzzy This is what I have been saying for a few weeks. Even before we signed him, you could see it. In training you see it. Left side only like Pepe please. In the box against City, he had options but used his left only! I was like eh?? Shows how much our scouting and StatDNA come into play. its like we take any scraps from madrid thinking they are going to make us great. Ozil, Denis, Ode, come on time to stop now Odegaard is too one footed..you simply dont play a one footed player in the middle because… Read more »
Odegaard looks like a brilliant young player
If he was the finished article, Madrid wouldn’t be loaning him to us.
You buy Odegaard at 22, because he’s impossible to buy at 24/25
Arteta’s system has a serious deficiency. The game is too slow. It gave Benfica a lot of time to set up the defense. At times, they defended with 10 men. In the past when ESR playing the #10 position, we saw fast one touch football. Ode can recycle the ball. But against a parked defense, he couldn’t create anything. Our pressing is also slow and ineffective. Martinelli would have helped this part of the game a lot. ESR at LW was a waste. He has no chemistry with Tierney at all. Our attack from the left side reduced to long… Read more »
Rich, trust me on this one Players like him and Pepe who are extremely one footed are also extremely limited. Play him as a left winger and that is about it. Think of our mids of past years. Were any of them so one footed? I was told by Pedro Ill have egg on my face – i do not rate Ode. Too one footed and lightweight not suited to EPL Keep the faith in him I just have seen too much and know at this stage/age you cannot change certain things in players- it takes a really concerted effort… Read more »
Wolfsburg signed De Bruyne at 22 from Chelsea
Gnabry went to WBA, Werder Bremen, then Hoffenheim, before arriving at Bayern at 23/24