We need to understand that football is not just about attacking and it’s not just about when you have the ball. Tonight we were destroyed defensively when we gave the ball away, we need to organise things at the back a lot better. Our squad is very attacking, which is concerning. Tonight’s line-up left just three defensive minded players on the pitch in Coquelin, Mertesacker and Koscielny. In the Champions League, that’s not enough. Any side can tear us apart and if by some miracle we advance to the next round, I’m concerned by the damage a bigger side can do.
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Monaco (h) Confirmed Line Up: Arsene Gunning For Goals As Gibbs & Welbeck Start
Arsene Wenger looks to be going for goals tonight with a rather attacking line up. Both Kieran Gibbs and Hector Bellerin are included in the starting line up to add width and pace. Danny Welbeck has once again been preferred to Theo Walcott which implies that we will witness another 90 minutes of high pressing from Arsenal
Monaco (h) Thoughts & Line Up: Can Özil shine & hand Gunners the advantage?
It seems to be the only question mark these days. By now everyone knows what strengths both players bring to the team. Welbeck is an important cog to a team that want to keep you pressed in your own half. We saw his effectiveness against Crystal Palace by winning the penalty single handedly from what was essentially a poor Giroud pass that wasn't troubling anybody. But in a game at home where you want to score goals, what better wide right sided player is there than Theo Walcott? The other point to factor in here is the game time. Walcott has not started for the last two games, can Arsène leave him out for three in a row? It would be a big call but ultimately he has to make the right decision based on the team. Welbeck is almost a certainty for Monaco away but maybe, just
Top 4 race – Which team has the easiest & toughest run in?
Arsenal Vision Post Match Podcast – EP18: Crystal Palace 1 Arsenal 2 – Three Points Is Three Points
Crystal Palace (a) “I would much rather have Welbeck’s tenacity and workrate” – Q&A
First rule of Penalty Club is that you do not talk about Penalty Club. On a more serious take, I think it is indicative of the club having more players willing to attack the box and draw those fouls. For a long time it felt like we really only had Ox available to run at a defender but now we can reasonably expect that type of forward thinking from Ox, Walcott, Welbeck, and even down to Alexis, Özil, Cazorla, and Rosicky. It can also be traced back to a more counter-attacking system that is really putting an emphasis on throwing punches instead of just dancing around the perimeter
Crystal Palace (a) – Arsenal comfortable yet lucky in victory
I thought Mesut Özil showed some very classy touches and it's a shame we could not use him as much as we could have if we had to force the game. The German had a swagger about his game and looks really confident in his game at present. Long may that continue. We defended the inside of our penalty area very well. Ospina, Mertesacker, Koscielny and Coquelin had dealt with everything thrown at them. How many times have we played Chelsea and Manchester United in the past and had all the ball yet were kept at arms length? The
Crystal Palace (a) Confirmed Line Up: Wenger keeps faith with attacking line up
Arsene has kept faith with the attacking team that brushed aside Middlesbrough last weekend. Danny Welbeck keeps his place in the side ahead of Theo Walcott which is very interesting. Francis Coquelin comes back into the team ahead of Mathieu Flamini so it will be interesting to see how the team look with the younger Frenchman in the side
Crystal Palace (a) Thoughts & Line Up: Attacking team set for another outting? + Welbeck vs Waclott
So I expect Cazorla and Özil to remain as number 8 and 10 respectively. So I suspect that the only decision will be who plays on the opposite flank to Alexis Sanchez. Danny Welbeck was the preferred option last weekend and if Arsène wants a player who will work harder to put pressure on the ball when we haven't got it then he'll get the nod. But I'm going with the runs and finishing of Walcott today. Welbeck may be saved for Monaco at the Emirates.