Manchester United preview: just do it

“I don’t believe too much in history. I just believe in the performance on the day. At the moment, we are doing very well away from home. The size of the pitch is exactly the same everywhere, it’s just down to how much we turn up and how much effort we put in to win the game.”

And I think most Arsenal fans can relate to the second part. History is history, we all know statistics can be twisted to prove any point. Every game is a new game, a new chance, a new opportunity.

And let's be honest, we all think United aren't up to scratch this season. Even their fans admit it. They don't demonstrate anything that even remotely approaches the form of the title holders of 2013.

It's our performance we are worked up about. Whether we turn up or not. It's the self-destruct button Arsenal sometimes press and often flirt with that will keep the fans awake at night prior to the game. Schrödinger's Arsenal.

Team news update

We have lost Gabriel in our clash against QPR:

"Gabriel has a little hamstring injury and he will be out for two to three weeks. He has a scan today. That means he’s not available for the weekend and certainly not for West Ham United or Monaco, but after that he should be available again."

Which is sad both for the player, who has finally found his way into the starting XI, and for us, because I, for one, am not so sure about Mertesacker's abilities anymore. However, I also don't think he's a liability. Bottom line is, he's a very good backs-to-the-wall defender, but struggles when we adopt a high defensive line. So whether his frailties will be exposed against United depends on what approach we take.

Szczesny and Monreal, meanwhile, both have sustained slight injures, though both have a chance to be back:

"Nacho Monreal might come back. He will have a test. Szczesny will also have a test. If he comes through, he will play on Monday".

Nacho's injury finally explains why he didn't play the last three games. Out of these three the Spaniard only made the bench for the Monaco game. However, Nacho will now face an uphill battle to regain his spot in the starting eleven. Gibbs did okay against Everton and was very solid against QPR, so I won't be surprised to see the Englishman start even with a fit Monreal.

But I have my reservations about Szczesny and secretly hope he won't make it. Ospina has been a calm and solid presence in every game he's played. He didn't make rash decisions, had no downright blunders and has a calming effect on our defense. Hope he plays.

The approach

I'm really interested in which one we'll adopt. Do we seize the ball and try to suffocate United in their half:

“But overall I still think it is very important that the sport rewards people and teams who take initiative.”

Or do we try and pull off a City? I somehow think it's the latter. We know United have difficulties breaking up organised defenses, so I suggest we give the ball to them and play on the break. We have seen how this approach can be deadly if done right. Moreover, it will suit Mertesacker better. I don't think Arsene will risk playing Chambers alongside Bellerin so that he can adopt a high defensive line. It's way too risky fielding two 19-year-olds. Any miscommunication can prove quite costly indeed.

One last argument in favour for this theory. Arsene played this way not only against City, but also against Tottenham. It's not like we couldn't try and take the initiative at White Hart Lane, yet Wenger opted for a more cautious strategy. United are hardly worse than Tottenham.

So, if we assume Arsene adopts this approach, here's how I think we'll line up.

The defense

Bellerin-Mertesacker-Koscielny-Monreal. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, Monreal looks a better backs-to-the-wall full-back than Gibbs. Besides, we'll have a romping right-back in Bellerin on the other side, so I think it's important to balance him out with somebody more conservative.

The midfield

Coquelin-Ramsey-Ozil. Another controversial decision here. And once again, this midfield looks more balanced to me than the one with Cazorla for Ramsey. Santi has been brilliant recently, but he's not a conventional number 8 and United will try to exploit this weakness, especially if we play "defense first". And no, I don't consider dropping Ozil to make room for Cazorla.

The attack

Oxlade-Alexis-Giroud. Yes, I know Arsene bigged up Welbeck during his press-conference, but dropping Giroud on this form will be mad. The Frenchman doesn't bury all his chances, however:

1. his current conversion rate is 20%. Not bad for 12 million and definitely not bad for the BPL. People in Spain struggle to get such a high completion rate (Sanchez, for example, was third last season, just behind Messi and Ronaldo and had something like 21-22%)
2. he arguably is a more complete striker than Welbeck. His finishing is way better, but his hold-up play, distribution and positioning are also far superior to these of Danny

Alexis and Oxlade, meanwhile, are our best wingers for the occasion. Walcott is a less keen defender than Oxlade, while I'm a strong believer Welbeck is not a winger at all. In my opinion he should either be used as a focal point or shouldn't be used at all.

The verdict

“We go to Manchester United to qualify and to give absolutely everything. That’s the target of the day - hard work, team effort and to give absolutely everything. Both teams will do that and I believe it could be a very interesting game."

I hope it will be interesting in a sense that we rip them apart 5-0 with Welbeck scoring all five and celebrating in front of Van Gaal, but, of course, this won't happen.

We are in for a tough game and our opponents will be not so much United players as ourselves. We most definitely have a psychological issue with United and there's only one thing we can do about it: go there and win. By hook or crook. Anyhow. I'll take a scrappy 1-0 with the goal coming in the 89th minute. The key is not how we do it, but that we just do it.

Come on you Gunners.

Back with a review

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QPR 1-2 Arsenal: another massive win

"It's another PL game with all that entails. QPR look decent at home, it's their away record that keeps them in the relegation zone, so I'm expecting a tough game. However, if we combine the commitment we showed on Sunday with a little more fluency up top, it's a winnable game."

That's what I said before the game and that was exactly what the Gunners did. This game was no walk in the park, though we really should have sealed the win after going 2-0 up. Three points are three points, though, and these were massive three points we got at Loftus Road. They allow us to stay a point above United (who had a lucky bounce again) and three above Liverpool. However, let's start at the beginning.

The squad and tactics

I honestly didn't anticipate some of the changes Arsene made. Gabriel kept his place, but instead of dropping Mertesacker, Wenger dropped Koscielny. Ramsey wasn't reinstated straight away, while Rosicky was preferred to the Ox. Sanchez and Cazorla, those who arguably needed a rest more than anyone else played the whole 90 minutes.

As for our game-plan, it looks like sitting back and absorbing the pressure in the opening stages happened by accident rather than design:

"I felt the first 25 minutes were very physical and they stopped us from playing. They had a direct game and for us it was important to put the ball on the ground and get good passes together and not only fight, but fight and play."

The beautiful thing about not playing the way we wanted for the majority of the first half is that we adapted. We understood that defending was the only option for the time being and so we defended. And were pretty good at it.

The first half

Nothing of note happened up until the 20th minute and that's a compliment to our defenders. QPR had the ball, passed it around, but the closest they came to scoring was when Austin fired an effort wide from outside the box.

Our first chance came in the 22nd minute. Giroud found space for a shot from a tight angle only for Green to get down well to save. Immediately Austin saw his effort blocked by Ospina and you could sense the game was opening up.

However only two moments of interest happened before the whistle blew for half-time. First Phillips's inswinging cross was batted away by Ospina and then Giroud set up Cazorla only for the Spaniard's volley to be parried away for a corner.

The second half

We started it on the front foot and I wasn't really surprised by that: QPR gave a lot during the first 20-25 minutes and it was a question of when, rather than if, the intensity of their game drops.

60 seconds into the half we should have seen a penalty and QPR reduced to ten men. Our move started on the right flank where Rosicky fooled everyone and burst into the box. His consequent low cross was destined for Ozil, who would have had to just tap the ball in. The German didn't and replays explained why: he was simply hauled off his feet by Karl Henry. Had Friend been even a remotely competent referee, he would have shown Henry a second yellow and awarded us a penalty. You noticed how I used a conditional here? That's because Kevin Friend did nothing of the above and the game went on.

We continued poking and probing and Alexis was close to opening the scoring twice in the follow-up. He first hit the post and then dilli-dallied his way through the defense only to poke his effort wide.

But the goal did come. In the 63rd minute Alexis created space for Gibbs to exploit, the Englishman fired a fierce shot straight into the post and then Giroud was first on the rebound. 1-0.

The goal broke the dam and chances came flooding in. It was all us for another 15 minutes or so. Fired up by his contribution Sanchez created three more chances in the next six minutes: one shot was parried by Green, another was actually a pass to Ozil, when Sanchez should have scored after he and Giroud forced an error from Caulker and his third was a goal.

The Chilean received a pass from Ozil, stormed into the box from a tight angle, feinted left, feinted right and then lashed a low shot between the defenders that went in. At first I didn't understand what happened. The angle was so tight I thought it was impossible to score from it. Replays showed it wasn't.

We could have a third minutes later. Bellerin's cross ended up with Ozil, the German sent the defender to the year 3000 and unleashed a shot destined for the far corner. Only a combination of brilliant goalkeeping and a post denied Ozil.

But it wasn't over yet. In the 82nd minute Austin got on the end of a pass on the edge of the box, spun around and shot to make it 2-1. I initially thought Gibbs was guilty for allowing Charlie so much time and space. The replays demonstrated Kieran was actually doing the right thing by moving away from Austin in an attempt to mark the wide man. It was Koscielny who was tasked with putting pressure on the QPR's striker and the Frenchman made a complete mess of it. I also wonder whether Ospina could have done better with this one. Albeit the shot was powerful, the Colombian was standing in the right corner. Oh well.

QPR smelled blood after this goal, but, luckily, they haven't been able to do anything sensible in the time remaining even when they had the ball. 2-1 it ended.

The aftermath

It was a massive win. Every other team from the top seven has won and doing likewise allowed us to keep the status quo. We have also played some very good football in the second half and have built a bit of momentum ahead of our clash with United in the FA Cup.

Finally, a special mention should go to Alexis Sanchez. He has that "never-give-up" attitude and it pays off:

"He never gives up and that’s the strength of a good striker as well. He’s resilient and I don’t know what happened before because it looked like, for someone who was desperate to score, he could have taken the chance and he waited for somebody. After that, the fact that he could still score shows that he has the mental strength to respond."

There was only one downside to this game: Gabriel sustained a hamstring injury that will keep him out for the minimum of three weeks. Which is a real shame, he looked very good prior to the injury. Mercifully, we now have some depth to our squad, so fingers crossed we won't miss Gabriel much. By the way, there's a good article on him (and our defense) written by Dave Seager. Check it out, well worth your time and attention.

That's it for now, back with a preview most likely.

Until then

Follow me on Twitter (@AlexBaguzin)

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QPR preview: Rambo's back

Hello everyone.

It's Queen's Park Rangers away today and, rather surprisingly, there's a lot of anxiety on the Arsenal's fans side. I cannot quite get it: yes, QPR are fighting not to go down, yes, they have some quality players like Austin and Vargas, but the team is, after all, in the bottom three.

It is down to our recent results or, rather, result? Because, Monaco debacle apart, we are on a good run. Six wins in the league from the last seven games and 24 points in ten games. Only Liverpool garnered more: 26.

Personally, I think the most challenging moment (psychological) was left behind when we've beaten Everton. Of course everyone said post-Monaco that Champions League is Champions League, while we are doing fine in the BPL, but, as Arseblogger duly noted, you don't compartmentalise competitions like this. It doesn't work this way, your last game will always affect your next.

As such, I don't really see what there's to worry about. We'll have to work for the points, no doubt about that, but this game is hardly different to any of the previous ones. I even think there's room for rotation.

Team news update

The big news is that Aaron Ramsey is back and it seems he's back for good, with Wenger admitting Arsenal medical staff have found the cause of the problem.

Arsene also underlined the importance of Ramsey's qualities, saying:

“We’ve missed his energy level, his transitional play from offence to defence and from defence to attack and his box-to-box qualities."

I personally think Ramsey's return is massive. We really have missed him, because, as good as Cazorla did, the Spaniard is not a natural number 8. Ramsey is. It was a race between him and Wilshere and for now Aaron is in a better position.

While we are on the subject of Wilshere, Arsene also shed some light on the Englishman's situation:

"He’s doing well but it takes some time to heal the wound after the surgery. It will take him a few days.

I don’t set any dates, but what is for sure is that for Man United he will not be available."

Which is sad. As we've seen against Monaco, having a leader on the pitch can sometimes become absolutely vital, and in Wilshere we have a leader. The speediest of recoveries to him.

Finally, Flamini had suffered a set-back:

"Mathieu Flamini is not far away but not close enough. I think he will miss the next two games."

... while Coquelin should make it:

"We have to check Francis Coquelin with the medical people this morning in training to see whether he’ll be available or not, but there’s no obvious reason why he should not be available."

At which point all Arsenal fans regained the ability to breathe normally. How Francis has grown into an undroppable figure in two months is astonishing. Even Arsene admitted it (link):

“It is a surprise to everybody. The only thing I do is that I never say never to anybody. In my job you have to be open-minded like that. You have to make decisions at times. But never close the door completely for anybody.

He was not in my plans at the start of the season. I told him to give absolutely everything until Christmas, then we would see together where he was."

So there you have it. Much like everyone else, Arsene thought it was over for Francis at Arsenal. And just like everyone else, he was wrong. You never know how life is going to turn out, eh? You can read the rest of the interview here.

Back to how we should shape up for the game, however.

The back four

With Wenger hinting Mertesacker needs a rest, while also stating he's happy with what Gabriel has shown so far, I'm pretty sure GADA will start his second game running. I'm fine with that, the Brazilian had a good outing against Everton, not the simplest of sides.

The other three should be Koscielny, Bellerin and Gibbs. With Bellerin it's pretty clear, Koscielny ought stay simply because playing Chambers alongside Gabriel is too great a risk, while Gibbs has played two games now. It'll look odd if Wenger drops him for the third, and this is the part where I sympathise with Monreal.

The Spaniard has done nothing wrong while Gibbs was out and about. In fact, he's been outstanding first as an emergency centre-back (a position completely new to him) and then at left-back. I couldn't believe my eyes when the Spaniard was dropped against Monaco. I let that pass because there must have been some underlying reason for the change, that I didn't see and patiently waited for Monreal to be reinstated for the Everton clash. However he wasn't, and again I found myself searching for an answer.

If it was up to me, I'd drop Gibbs in a heartbeat and wouldn't give it a second thought. During these two games he showed nothing that hints at him being better than Monreal. Moreover, Kieran's continued miscommunication with Koscielny on Sunday left Gabriel mopping up for the pair of them. Can't remember the last time Monreal had such problems with the Frenchman. And finally, I'm convinced Gibbs and Bellerin are too similar in that they like to go forward. One should stay back to cover for the other, something that didn't happen against Monaco, albeit was somewhat rectified against Everton. I say "somewhat" because it would have been better if Gibbs ventured forward and helped out an exhausted Sanchez, while Bellerin stayed back.

The midfield

Both Cazorla and Ozil need a rest in my opinion. Ozil less so, that's why I think he'll start, but Cazorla is second only to Mertesacker in minutes played this season. I think he played even more than Sanchez, if that's humanly possible. Rambo is the natural solution. I have a feeling the Welshman will start anyway, after being talked up by Wenger, so it's more a question of who will be dropped: Cazorla or Ozil. It's Santi for me. Coquelin in a mask should be the final piece of the jigsaw in midfield. I wonder whether Arsene is tempted to rest BOTH Ozil and Cazorla, introducing Rosicky and Ramsey respectively, though something tells me Arsene will be reluctant to drop an in-form Ozil.

The attack

If someone needs a rest even more than Cazorla and Mertesacker, it's Sanchez. The Chilean already looked knackered against Monaco and was a dead man walking on Sunday. He may say that he's ready, but the manager is here for a reason: he shuld know when to rest players. The players themselves are really bad at determining whether they need a breather or not (or the length of their injuries, for that matter). I still remember how Giroud (after Everton) and Ramsey (after Gala) stated they should be fit to play the next game. We all know what happened next.

But I'd keep the other two. With Walcott (hopefully) coming in for Sanchez, Giroud and Oxlade look the best options available down the centre and left respectively.

The verdict

“It is a big test and a welcome test as well because you know what you’ll get at Loftus Road. It’s a tight ground with a bit of a Highbury atmosphere, with people very close to the pitch and it will certainly be a very committed game. Let’s prepare mentally to be confronted with that kind of commitment and respond well to it.”

I think Arsene is overstating it a bit, but one thing is clear: there is no room for complacency. It's another PL game with all that entails. QPR look decent at home, it's their away record that keeps them in the relegation zone, so I'm expecting a tough game. However, if we combine the commitment we showed on Sunday with a little more fluency up top, it's a winnable game.

So come on you Gunners.

Back with a review.

Until then

Follow me on Twitter (@AlexBaguzin)

Arsenal 2-0 Everton: e pluribus unum

So, we are back to winning ways. And the world feels a much better place to live in after an Arsenal win, doesn't it? Surely, the performance wasn't particularly bright and shiny, but the important bit was to just get the three points. Which we did.

The squad and tactics

Gabriel for Mertesacker and Oxlade for Welbeck were the only changes compared to our midweek squad. There was no return for Ramsey or Flamini, Ospina and Giroud kept their respective places and this turned out to be the right call from the manager. Both had a brilliant game and made amends for the Monaco debacle. I was a little baffled to see Gibbs start his second game in a row, but I think there may be two reasons for this:

1. Gibbs needed to get his last game out of the system. AW later talked how it can be detrimental to a player to be dropped immediately after a bad performance and you have to agree with it
2. It's a bit far-fetched, but I somehow thought back to the mare we had at the Goodison last season. Monreal was the left-back for that game and Lukaku just destroyed the Spaniard. Could Arsene too have such thoughts before the match?

Exhaustion can in my opinion be safely disregarded. Monreal had a week between games, he should have been psychically up for the game.

Our approach was an odd one. Few would argue Arsenal defended for the most part of the game, yet we completed twice as many passes as Everton in the final third, registered twice as many shots and created a lot more clear-cut chances. Even the possession is 48%-52%. Despite everyone getting a clear impression we sat back and defended we only enjoyed four percent less of the ball!

As the game wasn't chock-full of moments, I'll just go over a select few and also over some individual performances.

Our chances (and goals)

There were very few in the first half. In fact, we managed only one half-chance during the first 38 minutes when Alexis's cross was met with a brave header from Ollie, but his effort was just wide.

In the 39th minute we scored. Ozil's low pass from a corner found Giroud and the Frenchman made it 1-0 with a deft touch. The relief in the stands was palpable.

Cazorla and Bellerin each had their moment before the whistle blew, but Santi's effort was tipped over by Howard and Hector's blocked by Jagielka.

The second half was more of the same. I don't think we had any credible moments up until Ozil failed to put the ball into the net in the 80th minute. Cazorla then blasted his effort over after a great one-two with Giroud, but, finally, the goal came. Substitute Rosicky was in the right place at the right time and his fierce effort went in after a deflection off Jagielka. Rosicky and Giroud could have added to their tally in the dying minutes, only for a combination of good goalkeeping and wastefulness to prevent them.

Individual performances

For some Cazorla was MoM with his calm and commanding performance, WhoScored voted Oxlade as the best man on the pitch, Barclays decided to give the award to Giroud, Ozil and Coquelin were both nominated by Arsenal, while a healthy portion of fans admired Gabriel's performance. That just shows you that all our players did well on the day and picking the best is immensely hard.

But I'll stick my head out nonetheless: for me Ospina was the top man and I think the majority of fans will agree with me. The Colombian started his brilliant afternoon by denying Lukaku in the 16th minute. After the Belgian pounced on Gabriel's mistake he rushed out of his goal, batted the ball away with his hand and then followed it up with a brilliant sliding tackle. David went on to make at least two more important saves to keep the score intact, first when Lukaku found space for a shot at the near post, then when Coleman set up Lennon. But that's not to say these saves were the only things Ospina accomplished. He punched, headed away and claimed everything in his range, taking a hit to the ribs in the process. In the end he got the clean sheet he deserved.

Others dug in too. From Ozil, who had a quietly influential performance, bagging two assists in the process, to Giroud who worked his socks off and won the air completely, as well as scoring the eventual winner, everyone looked much better than against Monaco. Not quite fluid, but resilient and compact.

A special mention should go to Gabriel and Coquelin. The former was a little nervous during the first 20 minutes but grew in stature as the game went on. In fact, he looked better than Koscielny, a seasoned pro, whose level of performances almost never drops. At one point Gabriel made a vital tackle on Lukaku and a minute later we scored the first.

And Coquelin. His performance flew under the radar somewhat, but he hasn't put a foot wrong all game. It was exasperating to see him break his nose in a collision with Giroud. Francis tried to stay on, but a minute from time got a whack on the nose and had to leave the pitch. It is unclear whether he'll require surgery, however if he does, it will be a big blow. FIngers crossed he won't.

The aftermath

It was obvious from the start our target №1 was not to concede and give chances away. It's understandable: last year when we suffered these big away losses we invariably played our next game this way. All three were followed up with a 0-0 draw. It's psychological: we needed to regain confidence in ourselves, to know we can stay compact and keep clean sheets. We did just that and scored a couple of goals on top.

But what I really liked was the unity. Everyone ran that extra mile for the good of the team and that is the most pleasing thing.

The win takes us back to third, above United who just scraped past 10-man Sunderland. It also widens the gap on Southampton (to five points) and Tottenham (to seven) and allows us to maintain our distance from Liverpool. We are now a mere four points behind City. Beautiful.

That's it for today. Back tomorrow or Wednesday with a preview of the QPR game.

Until then

Follow me on Twitter (@AlexBaguzin)

Everton preview: walk the walk

Morning everyone.

We play Everton tomorrow and there are two obvious reasons why we need the three points badly:

1. Teams around us will drop points. Chelsea and Tottenham play one another in the Cup, thus we have a chance to catch up on the former and widen the gap from the latter; City play Liverpool. One of them will drop points (both, hopefully) and thus we'll be presented with yet another chance to cement our place in the top 3. I'm not even excluding Sunderland and West Brom causing problems to United and Southampton respectively. Fingers crossed
2. Psychological reasons. We need to put that debacle of a performance behind us, the only way to do that is winning as many games as possible

All of this brings us to team news update

We'll have to make do without Jack Wilshere for at least another week:

"Jack Wilshere had a little surgery to take his two buttons off his ankle because they were irritating him but it’s a very minor procedure...Next weekend will be a bit quick. I don’t know exactly. It’s days, not weeks."

Very unfortunate and highly exasperating. Jack is one of the few with an actual spine, we could use it (and him). It is what it is, no point moaning about his absence and wondering what might have been.

But we have a positive bit of news on Ramsey and Flamini:

"They come back into normal training today and tomorrow. They are nearly there, not completely there."

"Tomorrow" means "today", as the presser took place yesterday. Both haven't been out for long, so I hope both can be reinstated in the squad. Rambo is our most pressing need, we can't, it seems, carry on with Cazorla in such a deep role.

Alright, I usually try to guess, which squad Arsene will put out, but this time I decided to go about it another way: I'll give you the squad which makes most sense to ME and explain my choices. Starting with

The attack

Funny as it may sound, choosing who will play on the wings depends on whether we decide to actually play through the wings or not. If Arsene will try crowding the middle of the park, then we should pick Welbeck and Alexis once more. However, playing people in not the most natural positions to them will hardly bring about the desired effect. I don't know what position Alexis Sanchez prefers, but Welbeck is definitely not a winger and he shouldn't be used on the flank.

And so, going from the personnel we have, I'd introduce Walcott for Welbeck and Oxlade for Alexis. In case with the Chilean I just think he needs a rest. Sanchez looked absolutely knackered against Monaco. We might also ponder the idea of giving Gnabry a go, though it would be a bit controversial with a fit Walcott. However, it has to be said Theo likes to drift inside. Less so, than Welbeck, but more than Gnabry. And so the German becomes our second most natural winger after Oxlade.

Up top I definitely wouldn't play Welbeck. Bar his pace, he's inferior to Giroud in every single way. It's what Goodplaya said in this piece and I agree with it wholeheartedly. He also argued that subbing Giroud was the wrong decision, because, though the Frenchman was having an off day in terms of finishing, he was getting into the right positions. Something that Welbeck didn't. It leaves us with a question of where exactly Welbeck fits in in this Arsenal side, but that's a subject for another day.

The midfield

I've seen one too many posts recently crying to deploy Alexis in the middle, with people pointing to Sunderland and Burnley performances as the example. And to such people I say: you are insane.

Alexis is simply not the material for a №10. He is too erratic. He loses the ball a lot, fails dribbles, gets dispossessed and, most importantly, he cannot dictate the tempo of our play with his passing. The Chilean is frenetic, he often both holds onto the ball for too long or makes a rash pass. Alexis is brilliant when it comes to creating space for himself, he has an outstanding sense of positioning and his finishing ability is second to no one at Arsenal, but these are not the attributes you are looking for in a CAM.

With that settled, we can move onto the midfield and I don't see how it can be changed from the previous four games. That means another outing for Cazorla in a deeper position, something I don't like. Ideally, I'd play Ramsey alongside Coquelin. Question is, will the Welshman make it in time for the game and if he will, should he be thrown in right away? I think that if he's fit, than yes. In Wilshere's absence he's the best №8 we have.

I don't want to see Oxlade there and I don't think Rosicky in an option either. The Czech is a playmaker, not a defensive midfielder. Cazorla also isn't for that matter and that brings us back to Ramsey.

Supposing he makes it, Ozil and Cazorla will fight it out for the only position left and I don't know, who should play there, if both are fit. Cazorla is on brilliant form, but so is Ozil. Bar the Monaco game (when everyone was bad, mind you), the German had a flying return from injury. Personally, I'd pick him over Cazorla with both fit.

The back five

Monreal on the left please. Why Gibbs was picked over the Spaniard in the Champions League will forever remain a mystery to me. Nacho was (and still is) on top form, Gibbs was plucked out of the cold and asked to perform in the last sixteen. Bollocks.

Most importantly, you just don't play two romping full-backs at the same time, and so a Bellerin-Gibbs duo won't do. You can play Bellerin with a more conservative Monreal, or Chambers with Gibbs, but playing Hector and Kieran simultaneously is suicide. So bring Nacho back and keep Bellerin.

Whether we drop or keep Mertesacker for me hinges entirely on what approach we take. If it's a high pressing line like against Monaco, then Gabriel should get the nod. If we, for whatever reasons, will opt to sit back and absorb the pressure, then the German suits us better. For now, at least, till Gabriel hasn't adapted and we haven't seen what he's capable of.

Finally, the goalie. Szczesny or Ospina? Ospina had two shaky games now, but Chezza had a whole lot of these this season. If we drop Ospina after one bad performance it will send the wrong message to both keepers: that one bad game can be your last. Which is not what we want, do we? So I'd play the Colombian and see how he recovers.

The verdict

It will be tough, but we need to bounce back as quickly as possible. Everton, despite sitting just six points above the relegation zone, have a lot of quality players and they, unlike us, won their midweek game. We, right now, are a Schrodinger's cat. I really hope tomorrow shows that we are alive.

So come on you Gunners.

Back with a review on Monday

Until then

Follow me on Twitter (@AlexBaguzin)