Arsenal to start with Elneny alongside Coquelin

In our quest for a third FA Cup trophy in a row, Arsenal have to eliminate Watford today at the Emirates, and we are hoping that the team is as clinical as they were against Hull City in midweek.

In central midfield we saw Elneny and Flamini holding the fort, and our new boy was impressive and regularly joined the attack and took an occasional long range shot. It seems that the Egyptian did enough to show Wenger he is good enough for the first team and with Coquelin returning from his one-match ban, Elneny is now expected to line up alongside the Frenchman this afternoon.

“He looks like he is ready to play,” Wenger said. “I consider every formula that is possible to give us a balance. At the moment I think Elneny in central midfield can cope.

“We have Flamini, we have Coquelin who can cope as well. They have shown [that] already. The formula can change as well if needed but that depends on the games. Every game will be different now.

“In our job, you want to perform in the next game and the next game is an important one because we have fought hard to get there and that is our purpose. After that we deal with the next one.

“If you have a good run, you sometimes absorb them without any problems. If you have a bad result, of course there is no time to digest sometimes and to get the belief back in the squad. We want to do that and what is very important is to be in there and have a chance to show how good you are.“

Although most JustArsenal readers think Elneny had a good game against Hull, I personally think that he will be even better with Coquelin as his partner, as he will have more freedom to go marauding upfield when we are attacking. He certainly doesn’t seem to be intimidated by the physical play in the Premiership and I think he could be very influential in the rest of our season if Wenger gives him a run in the side, and with Ramsey now out of the picture this could be his big chance. It’s about time his efforts were rewarded with a goal as well and I am hoping that will come today.

Onwards and Upwards!

—————–A LITTLE BONUS!——————
If anyone fancies a bit of Schadenfreude..
Here are the highlights of Lukaku destroying Chelsea and Diego Costa getting a red card….

Bye Bye Chelsea…..

Tags Coquelin Elneny Ramsey

10 Comments

  1. I hope Coq and Elneny starts this game, I want to enjoy seeing them play together again.
    And Chambers is really developing, he has been so sharp and lively whenever he is called upon…coyg!

  2. When talking about fans
    criticism Arsene felt
    the need to assure people
    that he actually is not God.
    You mean he believes many
    fans think he is God?
    Or does he mean only God
    can win the Premiership
    and that’s why he has struggled
    these past 11 years?
    Arsene said “I try’s hard to make sure the club
    does well after that it is up to others to judge”.
    He does not say he try’s hard to win the EPL and ECL.
    Just to do “well”. What does to do well mean?
    4th place and a large bank balance especially his own perhaps?
    And who is he referring to when he says “the others can judge”?
    May be he discounts the fans who want big trophies
    so the “others” are the Owner, CEO and Board who have all
    stated publicly that winning trophies is not essential
    but large profits are essential. Maybe he is just following orders?
    Mind you 8 mill a year makes following orders worth while.

    1. David’s,how does your comment even relate to today’s game? Some times when I read these comments on just arsenal I get a sense that people’s hatrid for Wenger is stronger than their love for the team. Anyway back to topic. I’m looking forward to seeing a coquelin and elneny pairing in midfield.COYG!

    2. @david.
      “Arsene felt the need to assure people that he actually is not God”
      LOL. I actually spotted that one and I must confess it left me scratching my head.

      On a more serious note though, when he talks about being judged on the basis of the work he does… I think the “judgement” he is referring to is the one that matters the most: That of his employers.
      Aaandd… their judgement has been favorable so far. Arsene does his job well. I mean, how else do you think the payment for Alexis Sanchez was spread over two seasons budget(14/15 & 15/16)? That is some good work right there, Arsene!… considering our poor owners could only afford 15 millions for this years purchase.

    3. “Mind you 8 mill a year makes following orders worth while.”

      Mind you, Arsene is just a part of “the problem”. He is not entirely “the problem”.

      He is… maybe… just a man the owners think is best for the job because -frankly- he shares the same ideas/philosophy and economic orientation.

      1. Read some stuff from Kroenke today, underwhelming to say the least. He talked about winning championships, couldn’t believe my ears/eyes. He basically says that the only reason for wanting on the field success, is because financially it will bring better reward. He makes it extremely clear that he will not try to go the extra mile to make this happen

  3. I don’t think we should laugh at Chelsea yet, especially we have to progress against Watford and we will face Everton at Goodison next weekend. Don’t want to be destroyed by Lukaku as well.

  4. Yes I too am looking forward to the much anticipated ElCoq duo. Both are very energetic and we needed that before now. Hopefully Elneny will learn from Coq, rather than being influenced by our attacking nature (like so many before). Cazorlas influence too, if he can stay deep and only charge forward when necessary, or safe to do so, that will be ideal. I hope himself and Coq show great discipline together, and only venture forward when our attacking players are not firing on all cylinders.

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