admin

As mentioned this morning, Arsenal have reverted back to a 4-1-4-1 system. Jack Wilshere and Aaron Ramsey are likely to play just ahead of Mikel Arteta unless Arsene goes with the 4-2-3-1 which is probably unlikely. It is a shame to move Alexis away from the central position he played so well in but against a side of the quality of Manchester United the idea was always going to be to try and wrestle control of the game.

Not really. We could well go into the game with a defence of Valencia, Smalling, McNair and Blackett (and you thought Monreal at centre back was bad) so it could get very messy indeed and, if that is the lineup, I would be surprised if Arsenal don't score at least a couple. Hopefully De Gea has one of those games that Brad bloody Friedel used to have against us every season. Of course there is a chance that our attack has one of those golden days but the game plan that has served us so well against Arsenal since 2007 or so is no longer feasible, as we simply aren't solid enough

Oliver Giroud returns to the bench for the first time since he was injured by a ball at Everton while Theo Walcott apparently misses out with a 'little tight groin' as Arsène said. Interestingly though, Theo Walcott was spotted in the training pictures

That kid watching from the colonies is now 55, with three grown-up daughters, three grand-daughters, and a grandson due in November.
Despite my age, I still sulk for two days if the Gunners lose a big match and my wife and kids can instantly tell the result by the shouting and banging coming from the downstairs TV room.
I blame Charlie G and his ’71 team-mates for all this as, 43 years later, I’m splashing down the road on a wet Bank Holiday Monday towards the Emirates Stadium at 9am, ready for a Legends Tour with George as tour leader

That was Jack Wilshere's 4th man of the match award in a row for his country which in itself is pretty amazing. Clearly the level of opposition has not been very high, in fact most of the teams have been below average so his new deep role still needs a proper going over by quality opposition. I would like to see  game where England have little of the ball so Jack's concentration can be judged as well as

Unless we have a team of goldfish, I wonder what the players feel about being caught out twice in the same manner in a matter of days. At a goal up I'd imagine that keeping our shape, making us hard to break down and then using the pace we had in Alexis, Chamberlain and Welbeck. That's even before Theo Walcott comes onto the pitch. Why are we risking being caught after we have fought so hard to get ahead in the first place? Arsène Wenger said in his recent interview that he would have been slaughtered for sitting off at 3-0 and getting punished and yes he has a point but surely it is more difficult to concede when you attempt to protect a lead rather than invite the opposition who are desperately looking for a goal, to exploit huge spaces that you have charitably left behind.

I’ve defended Aaron Ramsey against so much vitriol the last few years, and I was so happy that he had the season he did last year, but he’s making things complicated for himself. In the lead up to Gibbs conceding the foul for the equaliser, Ramsey lost the ball high up the pitch. He seems to have become obsessed with scoring as many as he did last year, and this lack of discipline is costing us dear. As for Flamini, well the less said about his (lack of) positioning, the better - we can’t hope to challenge for the league with a player as indisciplined as him

There has been a lot of focus on our back four and in particular Nacho Monreal. I can't help but feel there is a little confirmation bias going on due to the lack of a fourth choice centre back signing. Firstly Monreal has put in better performances than Per Mertesacker since moving to centre back this season and Per was our best defender last campaign. When the midfield have done their jobs instead of focusing on scoring Ronaldo free kicks then the defence has been equal to that of our rivals. In fact Arsenal have conceded the same as table topping Chelsea. The team managed by bus parking specialist Jose Mourinho. Once the team shape and attitude of the players around the defence is correct then we will have little problems against

I think Mertesacker hasn't been at his best all season - maybe he's permanently past his best. Flamini might be in the same boat. Monreal's best isn't really very good, especially in the middle, so I don't expect a lot. Szczesny's poor form has been slightly hidden by the lack of shots he's faced, because he's been letting in a large proportion of shots he does face. I'm not a Rosicky fan, I rather gave up on him years ago. Podolski made no impact, but was hardly given a chance to - once again Arsene's substitutions seemed to come at odd times, but obviously not as odd as bringing on Podolski to close a game out in the 80th minute

Aaron Ramsey is back in the starting 11 following a bout of sickness that ruled him out of our 3-0 victory over Burnley on the weekend. Mathieu Flamini is the fella to miss out. I wondered if Arsène would rotate a little more to the team but he has kept the rest of the team the same as he looks to keep the momentum of the side.