Antonio Conte exited another cup, this time a semi-final against Chelsea, his side were utter, utter dross all game. No energy, no idea what they were doing, no real output.
That means they’ll show hard at the weekend and we’ll all be wondering how a team so bad can pull a performance out the bag so good just because it’s Arsenal.
Or… Arteta and the coaching gang might have a plan to take more than a point of a very average team bereft of ideas.
That does take me neatly into the game this evening. I really hope Arteta knows the most important thing for Arsenal fans this season is beating Spurs. I don’t care what happens tonight. It’s Liverpool over two legs and we know they are so desperate to win, they basically cheated to get out of playing us last week when we were in good form.
Arteta is going to have choices to make this evening. Dice to roll. I just hope he doesn’t take risks on players that are important to the season. Emile Smith Rowe is key to what we do, if he breaks, we’re in trouble. Tomi is THE MOST PRECIOUS of players, nothing hurts more than seeing his name of the team sheet, but at the same time, this is a League Cup no one cares about, and I’d rather live to fight another day with our first teamers… because we are not strong enough to make top 4 with the second-stringers. We saw that against Forest.
If there is a chance of losing a big name for Sunday, it’s just not worth it.
Granit Xhaka is different. He had COVID, I’m guessing his 7 days are done. He’ll be in the mixer and we need him next to Lokonga. That man is made of different stuff. So I’m not really that worried with him. But I think people are starting to see the reality with Granit, we’re better with him in the side, he’s very solid bar a few brain farts a season. Sambi needs experience next to him, he’s too young to carry a junior.
The big picture here is taking 4 points from the next two Premier League games. If we can manage that, Top 4 is game on. We have 2 games in February, we’ll have a little midseason break to bed in the new players, then we’ll be fresh and ready to hit the rest of the season VERY hard. 1 game a week is a huge advantage if the luck rides with you.
We could blow that in leg one against Liverpool if we rush players. It happened last season when we brought TP back early. That cost us big time. Let’s hope we’re not thinking similar things this evening.
Liverpool needs a lift. Klopp is under pressure. He needs a trophy, this is the earliest one he can take, but make no mistake… that team is stammering and he doesn’t have VVD to blame this season. It’s on him. Pep is taking him to the cleaners.
I’m saying that because it’s likely he’ll roll with the big guns. This evening might see us shithouse them with a 5 at the back jobby. Arteta needs to realise that Cedric is not very good and if he rolls him out against elite full-backs, we’ll be beaten before we leave the tunnel. Try something different. If we can escape Anfield with a draw, it’s game on in leg two and we can go for it with a fitter group of players.
We have seen a worse group of players at Arsenal beat better teams with 5 at the back. There is no shame in doing that at Anfield. NONE.
The key is not to get hammered like we have been recently. Super basic, but just don’t get railed. We need a resolute performance, everyone focused on the job, and we need to frustrate them. Liverpool were walked through over and over by Spurs a few weeks ago and as we all know, Conte’s Spurs are shite. We have power players who can make runs, we have talent that can find feet from distance… can we piece those bits together and make it count?
We’ll go big tonight with our starting 11, really, we can’t take a chance with Leno in a game like this, he’ll panic. We need to have Gabriel in the mixer because Rob ain’t it, and I suspect we might see Nuno on the bench in a game this big.
But who knows… just don’t break anyone. That’s all we ask. Spurs is all that matters. That’s the real Cup Final.
Ok, have fun in the comments. x
UPDATE: Odegaard, Tomi, Smith Rowe all out. GOOD. Arteta derisked it. I bet they’re all back this Sunday.
Put Tavares to run at them in place of Martinelli. Can’t take Laca off now.
Looked like cramps he was trying to stretch his calves out.
Just let them shoot from outside the box.
Pool look toothless without Salah and Mane
Take Saka and Martinelli off we’ve game on Sunday
Tavares was once a winger
Let him run at them and make all the mistakes upfront
Come on boys we’re playing a shit Liverpool side.
Too many players running on empty
Too small a squad
Saka looks drained.
Terra
No. It’s not a red card. He’s not the last man back so that’s erroneous
If it’s for dangerous olay (they said it was last man) then his foot is only waste high with studs down and eyes in the ball
Yellow on both counts
Keep the scouser fans quiet.
Tavares does like to run.. wouldnt be the worst idea to do a bit of kick and run.
How we gonna play Spurs this weekend with what we’ve got left?
Siege mentality keep it going boyzzzzzz.
Come on boys, hold on here
Only Sergio Ramos has had more Red cards than xhaka in top flight competition in the last ten years
Chambers has done well considering the circumstances.
Unoni
Yep it’s a red .
Gabriel was off tonight
Think Sambi has played well today.
I think actuallu all the boys second half have done incredibly well.. given the task at hand. Did anyone else’s ESpn feed go down.. wtf… hahaha now is not the time for dodgy streaming.
Arteta has to put on his galaxy brain on Sunday
He needs to play either Chambers or Ben Whitein midfield
There is no other choice because Patino is far from ready.
Terra
How? He wasn’t last man back and it wasn’t dangerous play
Explain how
Laca is not running but we’ve no one to sub him with.
Well…..one thing I will say is that Tets has this team so well drilled in defence now. We really are formidable at the back
Don spent the whole game arguing about a red ffs
Liverpool are dependent on Salah’
They better pay him what he’s asking for
I love Ramsdale. He looks so assured. You never feel nervous with him.
I would love if we got dirty and had some false positives and got the game this weekend suspended
Hopefully not a ton of injury time.
Oh the fart of Xhaka strikes again!
That was close. Rammo not looking himself.
Great defending from minamo
Ohhhh man… shweeeeew..
Haahaha, almost jinxed it. Come on boys hold on.
Deep breathe guys. Deep breathe!!!!
Come on The Arsenal!!!! We can do it!!!
5 mins for what?
Holy shit. What a miss. Thank you Headband.
Lacazette is shot, he can’t run anymore
Come on boys.. damn Im nervous… haha
5 minutes is ridiculous though.
Xhaka is at his best playing centrally like he does for Switzerland and did with Partey in their last few games together. Any further back and he is just a total liability due to his lack of pace and inability to tackle legally. I still curse him for that first Villareal goal last season. When he backed off their right winger.
What’s up with Ramsdale
Holy shit.. cleared off the line I think.
Ramsdale panicking.
Put Mika Biereth on. Lacazette isn’t running. We need any legs we can get.
Martinelli has been immense
That boy is a street fighter
Thing is Xhaka isn’t actually a dirty player he’s just so fucking clumsy. A Mr Magoo of a footballer
Diss
He’s flopping like a fish out of water at every cross for some reason.
Mid, how many nails Left???
Me?
None.
Best 0-0 game I’ve seen us play. Liverpool will be dejected by that.
Excellent game management by arteta and the boys. Tactical masterclass. Could have nicked it had saka taken his shot first time.
I’d love us to nick a goal. It’d be just desserts for us. Refs a proper Cunt, Laca getting no decisions at all.
Cmon boys! Hold it down.
Whhooop Whooooop.. Im calling that a victory… Fuck off False positive Klopp.
Super job. I like Arteta’s 5 3 1 formation.
Heroic defending. Best clean sheet we’ve kept in as long as I can remember.
What an effort from the boys!!! Ice baths and cotton wool for everyone!
We are so yo-yo
Play like gods against city
Play like shit against a championship side
Play like Spartans today with one man down
FULLY ERECT
Unoni
He took the player out with a high boot it’s debatable if it was because of the last man situation but his action was endangering the Liverpool player
“People are starting to see that we play better with xhaka in the side”… Manipulation/PR spins are not nice Pedro, you used to be authentic, wtf are you talking about here?
Arsenal Catenaccio!
I said we we would be as shit as Forest playing Liverpool with 10 men.
Proud of that effort.
Good result. Pool wanted that bad. 2nd leg is ours now for the taking.
Wouldn’t
Well done!
Solid team without Xhaka and Cedric.
Holding fits nicely into a back 3. As does White.
We need to pull a false positive stunt to cancel the NLD
The best 0-0 I have ever seen!!!!
So, So, but so Fucking proud of the boys!!!
Come on The Arsenal!!!!
Proud of that effort second half … not gonna lie I thought we were doomed after the 10 men thing.
That was gritty. We need to get rid if Xhaka in the summer though. We can’t have a liability in the team. We need to move forward and he needs to go. He always handicaps us.
Chambers was excellent and should ply right back on Sunday.
Great resilience shown. Best result we could get after the red. Just need to get some midfielders in.
Fucking brilliant!!!
What a dogged performance
Fucking proud of the boys!!!
What an atmosphere it will be next week and I’ll be there.
Can’t fucking wait.
Proud of the lads for that defensive performance.. We have a defence again.
Good battling draw with 10 men, credit where it’s due.
Well done the Arsenal. As for Xhaka and any Arsenal fan who still defends him, go fuck yourself.
What a performance especially after the pathetic capitulation from Spurs yesterday.
No away goals rule is great for us. Team and fans fully united. Our away fans destroyed the Kop too!
GX being sent off was another false positive for Liverpool.
Chambers should be ahead of Cedric.
He was brilliant when he came on.
The Arsenal fans at Anfield were unbelievable tonight. To get your chants dominating Anfield is not an easy task.
Excellent performance as a collective and individually, especially Lacazette, Martinelli and Saka who, no thanks to Xhaka, are going to be knackered on Sunday.
Yeah chambers and tierney were also excellent as well as white. Laca and Martinelli did ok taking some pressure off.
As a team the defensive organisation was really good to see
ES
Yep I suspect next The NLD may well get postponed but what would that mean for the return game I’m the EFL?
Must solve mid problem fast
Proud of the boys. Great defensive display.
So proud of the team and just hope to never see Xhaka again, he keeps letting the kids Dow and he supposed to be the experience cunt of the team.
The best thing happened in the game was Cedric injury and Eddie sub.
I hope the NLD doesnt get postponed to be honest… Would rather play them without Son.
Now to go watch Pedro gulp down some Peroni
Great result there lads will defo go to the return leg to cheer the boys
That’s exactly what we should have set out to do against Forest blunt them with a strong defensive set up then nick a goal. ARTETA obviously forget how he managed that FA cup win two seasons ago.
Bacary
I am so proud of the away fans.
They sang non stop from start to finish!!!
This is their greatest day and they deserve it.
Great result there lads will defo go to the return leg to cheer the boys is Smith ok for NLD ?
Excellent Defensive performance.
I would not be surprised that Arsenal will apply for postponement of Spurs game. If Liverpool
could get away with it last week why not us.
every man a legend tonight only Judy’s yet again
Arteta should be ringing the doctor for sick note to call off Sunday game.
A night of false positives for Liverpool Football Club!!
I’d like to know…
1) Of all our sending offs since Xhaka has been here what percentage is down to him?
2) Of all our penalties conceded since Xhaka has been here what percentage is down to him?
3) What is the IQ of Xhaka?
4) What has Xhaka got on Arteta?
I am all for postponing the NLD. We have a lot of tired legs after this game. Martinelli, Laca and Saka ran a lot.
Fans were awesome. You can clearly hear them chanting everytime. They were louder than the whole of Anfield. That was impressive.
Great result and fighting spirit from the boys despite Xhaka’s playing incredibly predictable act of self-sabotage.
I have no idea what we’re going to do about the midfield for the NLD and it’s a 6-pointer. Could sending AMN on loan without backup be the biggest galaxy brain moment of Arteta’s tenure?