Morning all.
It's Chelsea today as we look to close our gap on the league leaders and put pressure on City and Liverpool.
This is what Arsene said reflecting on our 0-0 with the Blues back in December:
“On the day Chelsea were set up to stop us from playing. We didn't manage to create enough to pretend to win the game and that's what it will be like on Saturday.
“For us it's about being creative, making chances and, as well, stopping them from playing because they have creative players up front who can open you up when you go forward. It is up to us to find that balance between attacking well and defending well. That will decide the game.”
I'm really interested in the approach Arsene will take for this game. We can, obviously, try and seize control of possession and pour men forward, thus risking being exposed to the counter attacks.
We can also try something similar to what we've pulled off against Tottenham. However, Chelsea is much more dangerous in positional attacks, than Spurs and can thus cause real problems.
If it was up for me to decide, I'd stick to our usual playstyle, take the ball and try to pull their defence apart by peppering the Blues with endless attacks. We are still going to be relatively safe, what with Hazard being their only quick player.
We are in for a bit of luck, as Ramires and Willian will both sit this game out, giving Mourinho (who himself misses the game through suspension) a nice selection headache. Serves him right, that arrogant piece of shit.
From our point of view, no one will make a comeback, but I hope Kallstrom will this time at least make the bench. There are also doubts over Rosicky, though I think the Czech is ready to play, having seen him on the photos from the training ground.
Provided we have the same team as against Tottenham (plus Kallstrom), I think we stand a decent chance of getting the right result against Mourinho's mercs. I'd probably reintroduce Flamini in central midfield, seeing as we'll need Oxlade on the right to stretch the play.
I'd also start Cazorla on the left (Podolski can come in later, should we need him to) and Rosicky under the striker. The Czech is unlikely to play there for the entire game, but his energy, drive and willingness to track back are all handy assets, that can provide us with the edge right from the kick-off.
Apart from (basically Flamini for Podolski) we should see the same squad. It's a team that has proved it's worth and, in my opinion, come a long way in little less than a year.
To back it up with the stats, the best teams under Arsene Wenger averaged 22 wins in a season and, at this point in time, we already have 19 wins with 9 games to go:
"The number of wins and losses is yet another measure of the strength of Wenger’s squad. In the first half of his tenure he never once had fewer than 20 wins in a season and maintained above 22 wins in all but one season. In the last 9 years Arsene has only pushed his team on to more than 22 wins twice, 07/08 (24) and 09/10 (23)".
Despite this Arsenal side being amongst the lowest scoring ones in 18 years under Arsene Wenger, we still have amassed a decent number of wins. This just shows there's real grit in our current squad, that these players can grind out results despite not demonstrating the best attacking football possible.
So, the stage is set up nicely for the upcoming showdown, let's hope the players reward the manager on this special occasion. Come on you Gunners.
That's it for today, back later with a review.
Until then
It's Chelsea today as we look to close our gap on the league leaders and put pressure on City and Liverpool.
This is what Arsene said reflecting on our 0-0 with the Blues back in December:
“On the day Chelsea were set up to stop us from playing. We didn't manage to create enough to pretend to win the game and that's what it will be like on Saturday.
“For us it's about being creative, making chances and, as well, stopping them from playing because they have creative players up front who can open you up when you go forward. It is up to us to find that balance between attacking well and defending well. That will decide the game.”
I'm really interested in the approach Arsene will take for this game. We can, obviously, try and seize control of possession and pour men forward, thus risking being exposed to the counter attacks.
We can also try something similar to what we've pulled off against Tottenham. However, Chelsea is much more dangerous in positional attacks, than Spurs and can thus cause real problems.
If it was up for me to decide, I'd stick to our usual playstyle, take the ball and try to pull their defence apart by peppering the Blues with endless attacks. We are still going to be relatively safe, what with Hazard being their only quick player.
We are in for a bit of luck, as Ramires and Willian will both sit this game out, giving Mourinho (who himself misses the game through suspension) a nice selection headache. Serves him right, that arrogant piece of shit.
From our point of view, no one will make a comeback, but I hope Kallstrom will this time at least make the bench. There are also doubts over Rosicky, though I think the Czech is ready to play, having seen him on the photos from the training ground.
Provided we have the same team as against Tottenham (plus Kallstrom), I think we stand a decent chance of getting the right result against Mourinho's mercs. I'd probably reintroduce Flamini in central midfield, seeing as we'll need Oxlade on the right to stretch the play.
I'd also start Cazorla on the left (Podolski can come in later, should we need him to) and Rosicky under the striker. The Czech is unlikely to play there for the entire game, but his energy, drive and willingness to track back are all handy assets, that can provide us with the edge right from the kick-off.
Apart from (basically Flamini for Podolski) we should see the same squad. It's a team that has proved it's worth and, in my opinion, come a long way in little less than a year.
To back it up with the stats, the best teams under Arsene Wenger averaged 22 wins in a season and, at this point in time, we already have 19 wins with 9 games to go:
"The number of wins and losses is yet another measure of the strength of Wenger’s squad. In the first half of his tenure he never once had fewer than 20 wins in a season and maintained above 22 wins in all but one season. In the last 9 years Arsene has only pushed his team on to more than 22 wins twice, 07/08 (24) and 09/10 (23)".
Despite this Arsenal side being amongst the lowest scoring ones in 18 years under Arsene Wenger, we still have amassed a decent number of wins. This just shows there's real grit in our current squad, that these players can grind out results despite not demonstrating the best attacking football possible.
So, the stage is set up nicely for the upcoming showdown, let's hope the players reward the manager on this special occasion. Come on you Gunners.
That's it for today, back later with a review.
Until then