Arsenal aiming to blow Ostersund away in the first leg

After losing the North London derby this weekend, Arsenal are very unlikely to finish the season in the Champions League places so it looks like the Gunners only hope of qualifying for the elite competition will be from winning the Europa League, which recommences this coming Thursday with Arsenal playing against the Swedish minnows Ostersund.

By virtue of losing to Nottingham Forest in the Third Round of the FA Cup, Arsenal will not be playing next weekend so we can simply concentrate on the Europa League without worrying about the need to rest any of our stars. Wenger has already confirmed that he will be playing a full strength side. “I would have anyway gone for it, especially as we have no game between the two matches,” Wenger said.

“I will play the normal team because it is one of the opportunities we have especially because we don’t play in the FA Cup. There is no reason why I should rest players.”

It is very important that the Gunners get a good lead to take back to the Emirates, as the second leg is just three days before the League Cup Final, and Wenger will definitely want to rotate for that one with the chance of a first-ever League Cup trophy for Arsenal. Although Le Prof will be playing his first team this week, it doesn’t mean he will continue to do so in the later rounds, as he said he would not be prioritising the Europa League after our defeat to Spurs: “Football is not about switching off for three games and then switching it on for one game. Manchester United decided that once they were in the semi-final.

“We are far from the semi-final and we have to fight to have a chance to come back. For me, it’s a very disappointing result because the priority has to be to get into the Champions League from the Premier League [top-four finish]. I’m not a great fan of qualifying through the Europa League because I don’t think it’s right. If it’s an opportunity, we’ll have to try to take it as well. The priority is still to be in the Premier League.”

Does anyone still think we can still make the Top Four? Or should we be making the Europa League our priority and playing our very best side in every round?

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29 Comments

  1. well we need to win the first leg by 4 to 5 goals at least so that we can play the reserves in the 2nd leg….

    we have a league cup final to play 3 days later

    1. Ostersunds in the Europa at home:

      vs Galatasaray – won
      vs Hertha Berlin – won
      vs Athletic Bilbao – draw

      away:
      vs Galatasaray – draw
      vs Hertha – draw
      vs Bilbao – lost by 1 goal.

      So, no, in -10 degrees we’re not going to win by more than a goal. If at all. These guys are the worst opponents for our primadonnas like Holding.

    2. This dude never learnt nothing. Always nagging about how arsenal players get burn out because of to many games in a week. Spurs played midweek and arsenal had a week without play. Now dude, who got burned out? I hate weaklings!

  2. The Europa league was a very viable (and of late the only) route into the champions league until the late inclusion of Napoli, Atletico Madrid and BvB threw a spanner into the works. As we have consistently wilted under any formidable, defensively-sound opposition this season and more so in the past, I’d comfortably say next season we will find ourselves in yet another drawn out, unwanted europa league campaign. All in all it may be for the greater good if we keep losing our games..it may finally force out the dinosaur driving us into Tottenham’s shadow.

  3. No no no. Absolutely no.

    We must park the bus. This is one of the games where we will stoop to opponent’s level no doubt. If we try to blow them away, we will concede right away.

    Just park the bus, get one goal in, then defend defend defend. 1 away goal even if we draw, is more than I can hope for from Wenger’s team.

  4. I’m tired of the Wenger bashing. Is he perfect? No. No gaffer is. But, he has done so much for the team. When he changes tactics, he’s a fool. When he doesn’t, he’s a dinosaur. I think he’s doing his best and he sets up the team to win. The problem is that the team isn’t performing like they should. Sloppy and maybe just not good enough. Until Wenger quits or is sacked, he and the rest of the team will have my full support. That said, do I think we could use a new manager? Sure. Of course. Anything to take us to the top again. However, I fear that replacing Wenger would only serve to hurt the team for many years. I don’t want revolving doors of overhyped managers.

    Wenger and the board should name a successor (Tuchel) and bring him on next year to work with Wenger to ensure a smooth transition and allow Wenger to have his farewell tour in his final year. If they don’t do that we will have managers in and out as we struggle to find a new identity. Much like ManU, Chelsea, Etc. I don’t want that at all.

    This might be an unpopular opinion. But frankly I don’t care.

    1. The team doesn’t perform because THEY DONT HAVE TO. Mkhitaryan spilled the beans about it, Wenger is NOT DEMANDING manager.

      If no one DEMANDS you to perform, why would you then?

      This team has a lot of potential, so much. But there is no one to fulfill it or get the best out of it.

      Wenger, get the f*** out of our club. You are done.

    2. Slating that idiot is the only good thing about following Arsenal at the moment
      Its the only thing that keeps people going, knowing that eventually by hook or crook we will be finally rid of him.
      And why would the new manager need to work alongside him for a smooth transition – the idea is to move in an entirely new direction not have him influence things and make the same mistakes once again.
      Its like bringing in Stalin to work alongside Krushchev.
      Arsenal need to move on – he has had his day that has stretched many years beyond what it should have done.
      A farewell tour in his final year
      This is a premiership football club – a billion pound franchise no some f**king retirement home for old biddies.
      People pay a lot of money to see Arsenal play and the product he has been delivering for years is garbage.
      As we struggle to find a new identity?
      We have a f**king identity – if he stays that identity will be a laughing stock…

    3. I want a change too! But thinking that a change of manager is the magic wand that will transform our team into a world beater overnight is a delusion. I’m willing to wait until end of next season when Wenger is most likely to leave. Let’s hope that his replacement will be a well planned and coordinated affair, not a knee jerk reaction to the noises from fault finders

  5. I struggle to believe there are people out there that truly believe Wenger can turn things around.
    Every year we get worse.
    And they still cannot see it.
    I hate the sight of the man – having to listen to that french has been make excuses, blame everyone but never himself.

    1. Ridiculous statement. 2 years ago we finished with 72 points, and in 2nd place. Last year we finished with 75 points but in 5th. So we actually did get better, it’s just that the teams around us got better too. Do I feel like we’re underperforming at the moment? Yes, I do. Is it all Wenger’s fault though? I don’t think so. We’ve had a lot of distractions lately, namely the Sanchez saga, and it affected the mood and the results, IMHO. We’re moving in the right direction though. Getting a director of football operations, hiring a new head of recruitment, signing quality players – all points toward progress. It just takes time, and I for one, am willing to be a little more patient to see where this is going.

      1. So you’re using pts to defend wenger so let me destroy that excuse for letting you know that we are 5 pts worse this season l(45) than last season(50) at match 27. We finished with 75 pts last season which was not enough for 4th place but in the unlikely way that we win all our remaining matches we will finish with 78 pts. So basically if we lose more than 3 pts we can wave goodbye to 4th place.
        We are becoming Liverpool stuck in 5-6 place and only twice in champions league in the last decade.

      2. “2 years ago we finished with 72 points, and in 2nd place. Last year we finished with 75 points but in 5th. So we actually did get better”

        Unbelievable statement Vlad.!! Simply unbelievable!! It’s quite sad that you can’t see the main problem from your analysis. If 72 points could get us 2nd place 2 seasons ago and 75 couldn’t get us 4th last, then it simply means other teams are improving much faster than we are. This is the sole reason I want Wenger out. What scares me most is that if this trend continues like this qualifying for the Europa cup will need a miracle.
        Secondly because we finished last season three points more than the previous season doesn’t make us better. Teams get better by improving player quality, tactics, techniques, philosophy and psychology.. Rate the team by these attributes for the last four years and tell me if we have made any real improvements.
        I support Arsenal fc and not Arsene Fc. Let’s keep sentiment aside and face the facts as it is. We are spiraling downward and collectively we need to act to save our beloved club before it turns into a free fall from limelight to obscurity.

  6. Identifying Arsenal,s best team is a problem but now that we are out of the chase for the top four we should give the likes of AMN,Chambers,Holding and Kolasinac an extended run as a back four.The fact is they simply could not be worse than a rapidly declining Koscielny ,Mustafi and of course Xhaka.

  7. I suspect Wenger isn’t prioritising the Europa league because he knows full well he’s not good enough to win it so he’ll eventually start putting a weakened team out in the latter rounds providing we even get past Ostersunds which is probably 50/50 so when we fail in the competition he has an excuse “We didn’t play our first team, we don’t believe qualifying for the champions league through this competition” the man is unbelievable! So he reckons by finishing 4th rather than winning a European trophy is more justifying ? And when we don’t get top 4 (we aren’t even getting top 5) his excuse will be the Alexis Sanchez and mesut Ozil situation affected the team.. I’m so sick to death of listening to his rubbish and I for the life of me do not understand how Wenger still has a fan base he’s mugging every supporter off like we’re a bunch of idiots and the AKBs seem to think we should just let Wenger run this club into the ground because what he’s done for us.. look Arsene Wenger is an employee of AFC anything he has done he has been paid to do so he hasn’t worked here for free his bank account is a lot bigger than any of yours! So stop living in the past and making out this man has shed blood for Arsenal football club he gets paid 8 million a year we’ll never see 1 million in our lifetime.. because of this man’s greed we’re seen as a joke of a club he should of been gone years ago it’s blatantly obvious he’s finished what makes anyone think this relic is all of a sudden going to roll back the clock 14 years in his supposedly final year and win the big honours? Your kidding yourselves it will never happen he doesn’t know how to run a modern day football team his tactics are a joke his team selections are a joke we’re the joke because of him and next season is gonna be an even bigger joke! Wenger needs to go ASAP him being at this club is just toxic now!

  8. Arsenal have become bisexual. Love giving it. But will happily take a pummelling by anyone.

    You never know what your gonna get…

  9. i assume we are already in the europa league next season as even if (or rather when) man city win it they wont take that slot … so job done by wenger for the season … he should do like the yanks in viet nam declare victory and LEAVE

  10. To answer your questions
    We will not finish in the top 4 and will probably not even get the Europa spot.
    We will not win the league cup but hopefully it will not be a thrashing.
    we will not win the Europe league use the teams we will need to face later on are not ostersund.
    Hope for the best gooners but prepare for the worst because our current manager has cursed us with the most humiliating defeats in our clubs history. FACT

  11. How many titles and trophies would George Graham have won, if he had been manager as long as Arsene Wenger?

    1. Arsene wenger 10 trophies in 1215 games = average 1 per 121 games (aprox 2.5 seasons)
      George graham 6 trophies in 460 games = average 1 per 76 games (aprox 1.5 seasons)
      In contrast to wengers pathetic record on the continent Graham has a European trophy under his belt and was in charge back when only the league champions played in the CL unlike the ridiculous qualification standards of today.

      1. Show me what stadium Graham helped build by selling best players and nurturing academy players. Why didn’t Graham go elsewhere and win what he supposedly would have won at Arsenal if he weren’t sacked?

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