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Arsenal’s Confirmed Team to face Sheffield today – Smith-Rowe starts – Odegaard on the bench

There is no doubt that Sheffield United, nor indeed Arsenal fans, have any idea which team Mikel Arteta will be choosing today, after the news that Jesus and Thomas Partey are both unavailable for a while, and also we need to factor that quite a few of our players looked tired against Sevilla and seriously in need of a rest.

But earlier, Daisy nominated the team that she thought Arteta would be picking, and she decided on::

Raya

White – Gabriel – Saliba – Tomiyasu

Odegaard – Rice – Havertz

Saka – Nketiah – Martinelli

This is, of course, just as likely as anyone else’s choice, but it is now time to see exactly who Arteta has chosen….

 

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70 Comments

  1. Exciting starting line-up. Arteta finally tried something new

    I want to see how Smith-Rowe maximizes the chance to showcase his abilities. He wasn’t too effective on the right side, but he can cut inside more often from the left midfield today

    I’d also like to see Havertz playing in Odegaard’s position, which will allow him to make diagonal passes and movements as our captain did

    I wish Nketiah, Smith-Rowe and Saka could do Cruyff turns in tight-spaces as Jesus and Zinchenko did

    1. Team look good and desirable for fans, but Rice, Havertz and ESR all playing together for the first time may leave us quite open few times in the game, and we may also expect some lack of coordination in midfield, but Arteta know better, hope it works out well.

    2. And Ramsdale? Not surprised he isn’t chosing. Arteta is often diplomatic about issues with his players until the news comes out from reliable media plartform

  2. Wanted Trossard to start at centre forward. Nketiah didn’t impress when he came on in Seville. Agree with the rest of the starting 11.

  3. Let’s see what Smith-Rowe does with the role of his shirt number as a starter.
    Eyes on Kiwior too.
    Come on, let’s go!

  4. Hurray! ESR finally gets his LONG OVERDUE START.

    Dismay! Even now MA STILL, stupidly IMO, prefers our second best keeper. Sigh!

    1. Excellent line up all things considered, it is going to be very interesting to see the distribution between Raya and the German.

  6. Raya has done nothing to convince me he should be number 1.feel really annoyed by artetas treatment of ramsdale

    1. Ramsdale has a very big glaring weakness. He is very poor at managing his penalty area. That’s why he has been dropped, when he comes out for a ball he just falls over and never gets it 90% of the time. That’s why Arteta wanted to change keepers when opponents started pumping crosses into the box

  8. Arsenal are bad, turning up in only a few games this season. Lucky to get draw against a woeful Chelsea team who got beaten at home by Brentford today.

    We got dominated by Sevilla and got away with a win there when draw would have been fair result. They couldn’t take advantage of their aerial threat.

    The loss to Lens should have been a wake up call but they are still sleeping when turning up for games.

  9. Not happy with Gabriel being benched. CB is a partnership affair.
    Why can’t Ramsdale start in this one?
    The rest of the team I am ok with.

  10. OT: Chelsea just got their asses kicked by Brentford’s counter-attacking tactic. I hope they’ll beat Spuds next week

  11. A very interesting selection but Ramsdale must be a very disappointed young man.Patience and vigilance required against a side which is likely to defend deep and look to hit us on the break.Time for Havertz to step up to the plate.

  13. Prefers Rams in goal, Trossard on the left, to give martinelli rest, all the same Arteta knows better.

  14. I have a feeling Arteta will drop Raya like a pack of cards if he continues with this errors,
    What most people don’t realise,is Smith-rowe hasn’t regained that form he had at Arteta’s 1st Yr as coach, probably due to his injuries, this players train everyday, that’s enough to know.

  15. Happy to ESR finally getting a start.
    Thought would’ve preferred a little bit of experience in the form of maybe Jorginho, along side Rice and ESR in that midfield.
    I hope that left side is not too exposed though.
    Once again another chance for Nketiah to prove himself.

  16. Who says the gaffer doesn’t read Just Arsenal, It was here that I cried for Croydon kid to be unleashed.

    1. Is he reading the comments from 3 months ago lol…

      Can’t expect too much from ESR until he gets regular game time as he won’t be match fit or sharp.

    2. YES, MA listens to you. He always does and takes no notice of anyone else or what he himself thinks. He asked me to ask you for the numbers of the winning lottery tickets tonight.
      Meanwhile, back on Planet Earth….

    1. Agreed we rarely play a proper through ball like in the Fabregas days! Imagine Martinelli and Fabregas together

  20. Hoping Nketiah learns to make proper runs, lots of gaps for him to run in to but he’s just dropping deep to receive and then passing backwards.

    1. And thats what happens when you make forward runs 8nto the box!

      Great ball from Rice if intended for Eddie!

  21. A great striker goal from Nketiah. I rarely saw him make that kind of turn

    We should be able to score one more goal in the second half. I’d be really surprised if Sheffield United score, because they were awful

    1. I wish I was watching
      Making do with Arsenal Audio with Nigel Winterburn as a pundit …. And is Martinelli ok?

        1. And Nketiah just completed his hat trick from a well taken strike from edge of the eighteen slightly coming from the left

  24. Much has been said about Nketiah £100 gran a week, but the kid always comes alive when Jesus injury.

  32. I though Nketiah is not good enough to wear an Arsenal shirt. Left to armchair pundits over here he should not even be starting. They forget that giving him game time in games like this will preserve his market value and help generate funds if he is sold in the future or used in a swap dela to get a better and more complete striker, like Osimhen or Toney.

    28 more weeks of ranting for such fans.

  33. We must commend the the gaffer when he gets his selection right, Smith Rowe and the big German were spot on.

    1. To be fair they had to establish it was in the box but they took an age on that. This whole go to screen thing is such a waste of time ref never goes y’know what I don’t agree (almost like they want to get rid of var so they can go back to the good old days so they are deliberately sabotaging.)

      1. I hadn’t seen your post,I agree this could be his last game.i mean if you’re going to sack your manager,there is no better time than after a 5-0 beating.

        1. Very true Angus. Can’t really see either of the others staying up – unless Everton get a huge points deduction!

  38. We are winning the league this season.
    I wish we can get Partey fit for most parts of the season. Good job guys. Well done

    1. Yes @ NY_Gunner. Good goal difference.

      Chelsea are like Robin Hood. They take points off the Rich(Arsenal), then give the points to the Poor(Brendford).

  41. Sheffield United are a very poor team. I know they have a lot of injuries but still they were so poor. Credit though to our guys because we were so dominant. Great hat trick for Eddie N. We have really done our goal difference some good. When we have subs like Leo Trossard, you know we have a genuine chance at the PL title.

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