Hello everyone.
So, Arsenal kick off tomorrow with a game against Aston Villa and, needless to say, three points is a must. If we do get them, it will give the players some breathing space and allow the manager to play his mind games a little longer.
In terms of availability, the boss has confirmed, that Arteta has sustained a serious injury, that can keep the Spaniard out of action for up to six weeks. Not a pretty picture at all, and I'm not just talking about this injury making our short numbers even shorter. Arteta is, at the moment, one of the most important players (if not the most) we have. His metronomic passing (92% - that's how many of his passes found their target last season), tactical awareness and the amount of defensive work he shifts in, made him a constant presence in our midfield. Remember a spell two years ago, when we only just scraped our way into the top four, winning two or three games out of last seven or eight? We played these games without Arteta. And mind you, van Persie was in top form back then.
Besides, Arteta is not our only problem ahead of the game. Ramsey is all right (thank God), while the manager didn't mention Walcott or Rosicky being out, but Sagna's injury was confirmed (by Sky Sports, though). Add a question mark over Cazorla's physical shape after a long flight, and the task of predicting the squad for the upcoming match has never been so simple. Assuming Rosicky and Walcott are fit, the squad will most likely look like this: Szczesny-Jenkinson-Mertesacker-Gibbs-Ramsey-Oxlade-Chamberlain-Whilshere-Walcott-Rosicky-Giroud. Cazorla will, probably, only be used as a sub (taking his long flight into account), while Podolski just doesn't seem to me like a regular starter. The Ox, under these circumstances, should be paired with Ramsey, with Whilshere playing under the striker and Rosicky out wide. The reason for that seems to be simple: Cazorla, Rosicky and Whilshere have similar play styles and I just don't see any of them pairing with one another.
The bench, however, is a different thing entirely. Fabianski, Cazorla, Podolski and Sanogo are obvious choices (or the ones, they will play for, should they start the game), but it's hard to see, who else can make the bench. Probably some youngsters like Zelalem and Gnabry, because there really is no one else.
Even with this squad, however, I think we can hope for a win. Though both games against them last season weren't easy, since then some time has elapsed, allowing our players to gel and forge better understanding between themselves. This pre-season showed us Giroud can be deadly in fron of goal, Walcott's form hasn't dipped, Cazorla is still Cazorla, so the quality is there, to do, what is necessary. I don't know know, whether the villains (if I may) have brought in new players and, frankly, I don't care. Should we demonstrate the kind of football, flashes of which we saw last season, I see no reason for us not to take three points. Come on you Gunners.
Elsewhere, there are also fresh updates on the transfers. Not the real ones, as you may have guessed, but the ones,that concern our reported targets . Sad news (for us) has emerged from the Liverpool camp, where Suarez apologized for his behaviour and returned to trainig with the main group. That seems to put a stop to all our efforts to snatch the Uruguayan. These efforts could have been better placed from the start, I guess, but as I said, the manager must have had his reasons for choosing Suarez over anyone else. It'll be interesting to see now, whether he has a plan B.
And just a few words about Gustavo. The Brazilian signed a contract with Wolfsburg, so it's another blow for us. That being said, Wenger never confirmed we were interested in signing him, so farewell to Luiz.
And finally, today's press conference deserves a mention. The boss was quizzed heavily about his transfer market inaction, to which, apart from all the usual guff, replied we will most likely sign two or three players closer to deadline day. I think, the manager has secured some pretty good deals right at tha last, so here's hoping it's not all talk and we'll actually see some additions we now have an urgent need for.
That's it for today. Back tomorrow with a full game review
So, Arsenal kick off tomorrow with a game against Aston Villa and, needless to say, three points is a must. If we do get them, it will give the players some breathing space and allow the manager to play his mind games a little longer.
In terms of availability, the boss has confirmed, that Arteta has sustained a serious injury, that can keep the Spaniard out of action for up to six weeks. Not a pretty picture at all, and I'm not just talking about this injury making our short numbers even shorter. Arteta is, at the moment, one of the most important players (if not the most) we have. His metronomic passing (92% - that's how many of his passes found their target last season), tactical awareness and the amount of defensive work he shifts in, made him a constant presence in our midfield. Remember a spell two years ago, when we only just scraped our way into the top four, winning two or three games out of last seven or eight? We played these games without Arteta. And mind you, van Persie was in top form back then.
Besides, Arteta is not our only problem ahead of the game. Ramsey is all right (thank God), while the manager didn't mention Walcott or Rosicky being out, but Sagna's injury was confirmed (by Sky Sports, though). Add a question mark over Cazorla's physical shape after a long flight, and the task of predicting the squad for the upcoming match has never been so simple. Assuming Rosicky and Walcott are fit, the squad will most likely look like this: Szczesny-Jenkinson-Mertesacker-Gibbs-Ramsey-Oxlade-Chamberlain-Whilshere-Walcott-Rosicky-Giroud. Cazorla will, probably, only be used as a sub (taking his long flight into account), while Podolski just doesn't seem to me like a regular starter. The Ox, under these circumstances, should be paired with Ramsey, with Whilshere playing under the striker and Rosicky out wide. The reason for that seems to be simple: Cazorla, Rosicky and Whilshere have similar play styles and I just don't see any of them pairing with one another.
The bench, however, is a different thing entirely. Fabianski, Cazorla, Podolski and Sanogo are obvious choices (or the ones, they will play for, should they start the game), but it's hard to see, who else can make the bench. Probably some youngsters like Zelalem and Gnabry, because there really is no one else.
Even with this squad, however, I think we can hope for a win. Though both games against them last season weren't easy, since then some time has elapsed, allowing our players to gel and forge better understanding between themselves. This pre-season showed us Giroud can be deadly in fron of goal, Walcott's form hasn't dipped, Cazorla is still Cazorla, so the quality is there, to do, what is necessary. I don't know know, whether the villains (if I may) have brought in new players and, frankly, I don't care. Should we demonstrate the kind of football, flashes of which we saw last season, I see no reason for us not to take three points. Come on you Gunners.
Elsewhere, there are also fresh updates on the transfers. Not the real ones, as you may have guessed, but the ones,that concern our reported targets . Sad news (for us) has emerged from the Liverpool camp, where Suarez apologized for his behaviour and returned to trainig with the main group. That seems to put a stop to all our efforts to snatch the Uruguayan. These efforts could have been better placed from the start, I guess, but as I said, the manager must have had his reasons for choosing Suarez over anyone else. It'll be interesting to see now, whether he has a plan B.
And just a few words about Gustavo. The Brazilian signed a contract with Wolfsburg, so it's another blow for us. That being said, Wenger never confirmed we were interested in signing him, so farewell to Luiz.
And finally, today's press conference deserves a mention. The boss was quizzed heavily about his transfer market inaction, to which, apart from all the usual guff, replied we will most likely sign two or three players closer to deadline day. I think, the manager has secured some pretty good deals right at tha last, so here's hoping it's not all talk and we'll actually see some additions we now have an urgent need for.
That's it for today. Back tomorrow with a full game review
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