Good evening everyone.
Tomorrow the Orcs come to the Emirates and while we are on a strong run, I don't think Stoke can be underestimated. They present a problem every time we face them and I doubt a manager swap changed that greatly.
Last year we got four points from two encounters and though I do not recall Stoke having chances to win either game, their defensive line is something to beware. The Orcs usually park the bus, when sensing any danger and we all now how hard it is to get around a defense, which consist of ten people.
But a solution may be a simple one, albeit it also being risky. We may give the ball away, let the Orcs come to us and hit them on the break. We have plenty of players, who can hurt the opposition on counter-attack and should we pull it off correctly, we may be well out of sight by half-time.
Question is, does Wenger want to deploy such a strategy before Arsenal's own fans? We are the favourites, after all, a team on top of our game. After today's blunder from Liverpool, a win would suffice to elevate us (deservedly so) to the top spot. How will the fans take it, when their team behaves as underdogs at home, facing a much weaker (on paper) opponents?
Anyway, it's a problem the manager will have to wrap his head about (if he hadn't done this already) and we'll see, what shape the game will take in less than 24 hours. For me, counter-attacking may well be a better solution, because our defensive department is not that light at the moment. After the manager has confirmed, only Arteta will return to the squad, ahead of Stoke game (plus Bendther for our midweek encounter with WBA), we are still short on attacking options. The next one coming back is Cazorla, but we won't see him in action before the international break. Should we utilise a defensive strategy for the next five games? Will we still be getting positive results, if we do so?
We all know, how the manager likes to adopt an aggressive style of play, and I don't think, he'll change it every time a couple of players go down. Last year was the exception, because our defence was a more cohesive unit, than our attack, thus we had to rely on our back four to keep a clean sheet, while trying to get the maximum out of our few chances up front. It worked, but it wasn't a pretty picture at all, as we were cacking our pants till the final whistle of the final match.
This time around, our attack looks much better, much more capable of the style of play, Wenger loves so much and only something disastrous will see him revert to what we saw during the run-in. The team has grasped, what the balance of play should be and, it seems, there's no going back. Which may be a good thing.
In terms of team news, Arteta is the only new face and, if he really returned to full fitness, I expect him to start alongside Ramsey. Their partnership was key to our successful run-in, now it will also present a much more potent force, when it comes to going forward. Ramsey's phenomenal progress, which allows him to effectively carry out his duties at both ends of the pitch, will see to it.
While I don't have anything against Flamini continuing at our DM position, Arteta, as the manager rightly pointed out, is a leader and we need him. He brings that inexplicable calmness to our proceedings, while also making our midfield work like clock, minimising the errors in passing and such. I say start him, if he's ready.
Apart from that, I don't expect much rotation (surprised, eh?), but the players we have are more than capable of getting the three points. Time to improve our home stats.
Until later
Tomorrow the Orcs come to the Emirates and while we are on a strong run, I don't think Stoke can be underestimated. They present a problem every time we face them and I doubt a manager swap changed that greatly.
Last year we got four points from two encounters and though I do not recall Stoke having chances to win either game, their defensive line is something to beware. The Orcs usually park the bus, when sensing any danger and we all now how hard it is to get around a defense, which consist of ten people.
But a solution may be a simple one, albeit it also being risky. We may give the ball away, let the Orcs come to us and hit them on the break. We have plenty of players, who can hurt the opposition on counter-attack and should we pull it off correctly, we may be well out of sight by half-time.
Question is, does Wenger want to deploy such a strategy before Arsenal's own fans? We are the favourites, after all, a team on top of our game. After today's blunder from Liverpool, a win would suffice to elevate us (deservedly so) to the top spot. How will the fans take it, when their team behaves as underdogs at home, facing a much weaker (on paper) opponents?
Anyway, it's a problem the manager will have to wrap his head about (if he hadn't done this already) and we'll see, what shape the game will take in less than 24 hours. For me, counter-attacking may well be a better solution, because our defensive department is not that light at the moment. After the manager has confirmed, only Arteta will return to the squad, ahead of Stoke game (plus Bendther for our midweek encounter with WBA), we are still short on attacking options. The next one coming back is Cazorla, but we won't see him in action before the international break. Should we utilise a defensive strategy for the next five games? Will we still be getting positive results, if we do so?
We all know, how the manager likes to adopt an aggressive style of play, and I don't think, he'll change it every time a couple of players go down. Last year was the exception, because our defence was a more cohesive unit, than our attack, thus we had to rely on our back four to keep a clean sheet, while trying to get the maximum out of our few chances up front. It worked, but it wasn't a pretty picture at all, as we were cacking our pants till the final whistle of the final match.
This time around, our attack looks much better, much more capable of the style of play, Wenger loves so much and only something disastrous will see him revert to what we saw during the run-in. The team has grasped, what the balance of play should be and, it seems, there's no going back. Which may be a good thing.
In terms of team news, Arteta is the only new face and, if he really returned to full fitness, I expect him to start alongside Ramsey. Their partnership was key to our successful run-in, now it will also present a much more potent force, when it comes to going forward. Ramsey's phenomenal progress, which allows him to effectively carry out his duties at both ends of the pitch, will see to it.
While I don't have anything against Flamini continuing at our DM position, Arteta, as the manager rightly pointed out, is a leader and we need him. He brings that inexplicable calmness to our proceedings, while also making our midfield work like clock, minimising the errors in passing and such. I say start him, if he's ready.
Apart from that, I don't expect much rotation (surprised, eh?), but the players we have are more than capable of getting the three points. Time to improve our home stats.
Until later