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Arteta hints that Holding and Tierney will start tonight, but doubts that Jesus can play 90 minutes

Arsenal are ready to come out of the blocks this evening firing on all cylinders, but we have got an injury list that doesn’t seem to decrease in size. Luckily Mikel Arteta has great faith in the players we have as backups are fitting seamlessly into the starting line-up.

With William Saliba out for the long term and Oleks Zinchenko also out for tonight’s game against Southampton, it looks like Rob Holding and Kieran Tierney will be stepping up to the defensive plate once again.

This is Arteta said about the pair in his pre-match conference: “Their contribution is huge. First of all the way they behave around the team, how patient they have been, and when they have to play what they have produced in terms of performances.

“Now, they are playing more games, they are playing more minutes and will continue to do so. This is why you need top-quality players with the right mentality to be ready when you need them – on the pitch, and when you are not using them that much on the pitch, to contribute to the team in the right way. Those two are great examples of that.”

So Arteta has no worries on that score, but the boss has also indicated that there are good reasons for not playing Gabriel Jesus in every single game yet, or at least not for the full 90 minutes. This is what Arteta said about the Brazilian: “We’ll see. We’ve been really careful. There have been some issues within that period when he was doing the final stages of the rehab and we have to be really attentive.

“We have players that can change the game, that are fully fit, that deserve to play as well and we have to be mindful of that.”

I wonder if that’s hint that it may be time to play Trossard from the start for a change. If Arteta can’t rest Jesus against the bottom club in the Premier League, when can he?

Darren N

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164 Comments

  1. Rotation is part of managing a team, as well as substitutions. This facet of management separates the good from the great, and really shows hom important these tactical decisions are.

    Easy for people like me to criticize after a match, when these decisions have to be made without the benefit of hindsight by the manager.

    A master of their craft knows when to bench a player and when to unleash a player from the bench. It requires a bit of ruthlessness to make those decisions, and no single player should be immune from the chop.

  2. I think making Trossard play ahead of Jesus at the beginning of the game is a good idea, because Trossard was productive before Jesus returned to the CF position and we’ll need Jesus to play against his former team

    Jesus can come in the last thirty minutes of the match, to prepare himself for the bigger game

  3. I don’t this our attack is the issue. Partey has been immense all season but gone off the boil….Saliba a big miss

    However we now have 7 games left inc against City and Newcastle Away plus Brighton and Chelsea at Home. Everyone saying we are throwing it away doesn’t understand a 38 game season! Points on the board count but also meant we had potentially played weaker teams than City

    BUT.. everything to play for. Win 7 games you win the Title. Even 6 games and a draw against City brings the same result!

    So COYG and let’s back all the players in the team!

  4. We need to move Ben White To CB to replace Saliba. Rob Holding is not good enough.

    2. No point playing Trossard as CM, that’s just my opinion. Weird ESR isn’t playing though instead.

  6. Well if Vieria cannot do it against Southampton he’s got no hope ,let’s hope he puts in a good performance give him abit of confidence going forward cause the lad needs it .

    1. There’s a good player in there somewhere let’s hope he just needed a season and a proper pre-season to adapt. Shame ESR wasn’t given a chance in Xhaka role.

      1. Smith Rowe’s on the bench, so hopefully gets on early in the event of Vieira cocking up.

    2. And Vieira does nothing against 20th placed Southampton. Bit odd how anyone thinks a 14 year old Vieira is ready to play in PL.

      Pushed, bullied, did absolutely nothing in CM.

      Pity ESR can’t beat out a poor poor Vieira, don’t want to hear anyone say Vieira is ready for anything but a loan.

      Giving Willan 2.0 flashbacks how such a poor performer keeps getting on the pitch.

  7. Personally I don’t think now is Viera’s time, especially with Trossard fit and playable. I’m afraid it like playing with a weak link

  13. What a frustrating people are they..
    It’s 12:40’in midnight and watching Arsenal down and that to against 20th Position Southampton..

  14. What a clown. You can’t make this up, unbelievable. Always find a way to make things harder for themselves.

  15. The Mistake which Ramsdale did, generally I do it when playing PES football on my mobile..

    1. Game over
      League gone
      Tv off
      I really cant believe what I was watching
      No passion
      Too slow 🐌 and far far to passive

  16. Bottlers
    Collapse..
    If we don’t win this then no matter what happens on 26th April.
    This is so frustrating

  17. It’s over! What an embarrassing end to our season. These players should be ashamed of themselves including the manager.

  19. Aretha again. Why does that monstrous failure Viera get pretence . He should be wrapped up and sent back to Portugal on a Free.

    1. Really can’t explain or defend his selection. How in the world does Vieira get selected over ESR? Over anyone else in midfield?

      Expected garbage performance from Vieira, a loan at least would have looked wise instead of wasting 35 million.

      Too timid, too lightweight and frail.

      Send Vieira on loan until he finishes puberty and sheds his 14 year old frame.

  22. Our collective nightmares coming true right in front of our eyes. Ohhh arsenal fans world wide 😂. This team never seizes to let us down in new ways.

  23. I don’t like Viera sincerely

    But Oops! we collapse under pressure like last season again ?

    1. I think we climbing ladder..
      Last year we bottled top 4
      This year we will bottle title..
      May be next year we will win title
      🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

  25. The capitulation started at Anfield. This is just the continuation. Most us knew it. We just didn’t want to believe it! Typical Arsenal..

  26. Oh lol it already happened what did Vieira have to do with Thomas losing possession there what did him being light weight have to do with that goal, Saka, Thomas and Ode were involved then Gab got beat.

  27. Let’s not panic,there is a lot of football left to play.i’m very optimistic.one goal back.

  31. By the way we are also one goal away from Ward Prowse’s free kick..
    He can do it anytime..

  33. Win or lose Arteta has to address why the team concedes so early in a lot of games, world record early. This has to stop if this team is to be taken seriously. We always seem vulnerable no matter are position on the table.

  34. Problem is Viral has nothing to do with anything, whether it’s attack or defence. Ten man Arsenal.

  35. Guys. Let us calm down. We should support the team and be positive no matter what. We still have a chance to win this game

  37. What is the point of Vieira. He has to come off. Jorginho or ESR has to come on.

  39. Both full backs booked with multiple fouls already, good chance at a red if we continue attacking them. Ref having a good game only need to book their gk now.

    1. I don’t think even a red will help us. Southampton can just park thr bus and hit us on the counter.

      Gutless performance in front of the home crowd and the Invincibles Henry and Campbell.

    1. Half has already gone..
      And we are still down..
      If this not the time to panic then don’t know what it is..

    2. Signings like Tavares, Lokonga and Viera really make me doubt Arteta and his scouting

      Those people are not at our levels at-all

      The fact that Trossard was available (for cheap) and we wanted to go for Mudryck is an annoying thought too

      So if Chelsea didn’t step in we’ll see a cheaper, premier-league-proven quality player in Trossard available and go for Mukailo – It’s not sensible

      1. Actually we should scout Brighton’s scouting team..
        Don’t know how but they get so many talented players for such cheap price..
        Caicedo
        Trossard
        Mitoma
        McAllister

  48. Ten man Arsenal shooting themselves in the foot. If we had a proper wingback to cover, I’d even put Ben White in Viera’s position. White’s passing and crossing is useless but at least he’ll fight for the ball.

  49. Surely Vieira should be rested at halftime, Zinchenko must be told he has five minutes to wet his bread after the break

  50. Yes we can win but where the hell is the passion. We are playing Southampton ffs not real Madrid so many player awol where is their pride. I know we/I didn’t expect us to be in this position last Aug but we are so go on and win the bloody league but we won’t if we don’t turn this around

  51. It’s half time. Everyone make yourselves a strong cuppa coffee or cuppa tea. I’m running down to the newsagents for a packet of cigarettes. The strong ones

  52. We were winning freely until Arteta decided to dump our best goal contributor on the bench for no just reason

  53. Subs at key moments are going to be VERY IMPORTANT.
    We need MA to not be stubborn.

  54. I like Rob Holding, he is a solid squad player, but how much do we miss Saliba. COYG, big second half, we can do this.

  55. Surely the second half looks sets with goals the problem is Southampton could have a say in it

  56. That first half just typifies the defensive frailties of Arsenal. Viera gives us nothing. Midfield is not very reasuring and looks shake. Just hope we can turn it round. Ramsdale needs a kick up the ar*e.

  57. Vieira for xhaka was a bad move from arteta. Xhaka has a ridiculous workrate and superb positioning attacking and defending. Vieira can get us a goal with his vision but little else right now

    2. I wonder how many times a week the players see a sports psychologists, because they do need it every week to deal with the pressure. It does help the athletes quite a lot, there are several evidenced of this

  60. How many goals have we conceded this season “Fannying about” by passing out from the back. The last two games and this one have shown lack of maturity from players and especially the Manager!!! 🙂

  61. What a time wasting this…
    FA has to do something on this..
    It’s not about winning or loosing but crowed pay so much money to watch football and not watch this time wasting..

    1. The moment a ref is bold enough to send off a gk that will stop.

      Partey has just cost us another goal, terrible the past few games.

  63. Partey always guilty of passing the ball in his own box. He has done that twice today. Same as last week against west ham.

  65. It’s a wrap! Can’t wait for this shameful season to end already. This is the team we hoped to beat city away lol

    1. Not losing ? Lol city will destroy us just to prove a point. They are not worried at all.

  69. Title gone arteta has lost it. The board need to back him with some decent signings and get rid off the deadwood. Probably one of the most embarrassing 2 weeks I have known as an arsenal fan in 55 years

  70. One thing I do known is everyone in and around City are laughing and locking their lips at this pile of crap implosion from an bottling Arsenal team!

  71. When you see Eddie Nketien coming on you may as well go home. Thankfully the season is almost over. But we still have City, Newcastle, Chelsea and Brighton to get possibly humiliate us.

  72. So Gary Neville was right indeed
    We unnecessarily ranted him all the time..
    He was spot on..

  73. Weak pathetic bottle jobs. Please Arteta take Rael Madrid job and take holding with you!

  74. This team was never serious contenders to start with. The pundits were right. How does a teaming leading the league lose to the lowest ranking ? Maybe is true and we got lucky.

    There is no shame losing the league to city, they are probably the best team in the world right now but to lose it in this fashion and at home is unforgivable.

  75. Arsenal the bottler, there is no position they can’t bottle. What excuse are we going to make now for losing against the last team on the table in ur own turf. Arsenal as been woeful this past few weeks, we have been playing so badly that I knew we had lost the trophy after that Liverpool game and the fact that we only had the epl to concentrate on so what happened to the team.

    1. The game at Liverpool was the beginning of the usual capitulation. This is the continuation. Mentally not ready still. Will they ever be?

  77. They way they are playing, they are not overcoming a 2 goal deficit even if saints are reduced to 9 men

  79. This has to be one of the.most disappointing two weeks in Arsenal history. We’ve literally thrown it away. Why can’t Arsenal just stop bottling it?!

  80. It seems concentrating only on EPL was mistake..
    We should have taken Europa League seriously..
    At least we would have had trophy to show

    1. God help us at City will get totally destroyed could be 5 or 6 depending on what Man City turn up worse case scenario at least 3 they will score we are finished and will get a football lesson from champions that know how to handle the pressure certainly won’t be watching this one!

  81. Credit to Southampton. They playing with more heart and passion to stay in the EPL than we are to win it!

  82. If we could at least not lose but we are producing nothing which is much more alarming than the result.

  83. Being an arsenal fan and pain is so synonymous 😭😭😭
    Now I’m a joke with my colleagues 🤣🤣🤣

  86. The problem is a thin squad. Beside the starting 11 Arteta can only trust Tomiasu and Trossard. The rest are mediocre. So with two players missing we really suffer. That is the sad truth. Next season with CL we need six more quality players to really have a go at the league and do well in CL.

      1. But we really doesn’t have that Financial Muscle to compete with City, Chelsea and Newcastle..

  92. Why bring in jorginho when u know u needed extra leg in midfield? And the jorginho doesn’t even play that much so what was the essence.

    1. The only success we had during our January transfer window was trossard. Both jorginho and kwiowr are bad transfer and a lot was spent on both players

  94. This game was lost at the first minute.

    These players play once a week but bother to show up for the last 10 minutes? That’s disgusting

  95. All those extra touches…falling like a fool… Overemotional…..mehn…

    Jesus dissapointed me in this match

  96. Maybe the plan is to draw every game from now on 😂. It’s still feels like a loss though.

    1. This is a loss. 4 points dropped against the worst team in the league. That is relegation form, not form of someone gunning for title.

  97. I hope Arteta has learnt that he has to find a way to incorporate more than 11/12 players

    Almost no injury can affect Man City

    We lose Saliba, then start conceding too many goals

    If Partey gets injured defensive-midfield becomes open like basket

    Zinchenko doesn’t play at West Ham, we can’t win

    Xhaka doesn’t play Southampton and we can’t win even at home

    Told my friends when Ten Hag said our form is cos we’ve been lucky not to have too much injuries this season that he was very right.

  98. Three games straight where the finger of blame can be pointed in any direction, Holding, Partey, Zhivchenko, Jesus, Ramsdale Saka, the manager . I guess they have only themselves to blame for getting themselves in this situation and probably losing a title that was only theirs to lose.

  99. As Durand said earlier hindsight is 20/20 but Vieira instead of Trossard is baffling especially with Xhaka missing, Trossard offers much more off the ball too.at least we didn’t lose,too bad for those who left the stadium early!!

    1. Because just like Willan’s continued selections that year there is a point to prove. Better choices available, but too stubborn to acknowledge that the transfer was a mistake, and rather force square pegs into round holes to prove to naysayers how smart you are.

  100. Why do we always give the bottom teams a leg up. It does my head in the amount of times we do it.

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