Arsenal bounced back after two defeats to take the three points off Burnley on Saturday, but after losing to Southampton on our last visit to the South Coast we are now going back down to face Brighton on Boxing Day. The Seagulls are doing much better than expected this season after starting the campaign as one of the favourites for relegation, and are comfortably placed in mid-table.
This has mostly been due to their home form where they beat Man United earlier on in the season, and have won 3 and drawn one of their last 5 at the Amex Stadium, beating the likes of West Ham, Wolves and Palace and drawing with Leicester. That run was arrested when Chelsea came to visit and left with a close 2-1 win, but that hasn’t dented the Seagull’s confidence. Their defender Leon Balogun told the Standard after the game: “We are always very confident when we play at home and I think that the whole performance today just showed everyone why,”
“We really gave Chelsea a struggle and a hard time. It wasn’t an easy game for them to just carry away those three points, we gave them gifts.
“So, I think, we definitely can be very confident about playing against Arsenal at home.”
Brighton will have been encouraged by our defeat at Southampton and our defensive worries are also a big problem, but we really can’t afford to drop points after closing the gap to Chelsea this weekend….
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But we’ll have Mustafi and Kolasinac back right? Our away form has definitely improved from last season. This won’t be an easy game, but we can overcome e
No, Mustafi is not yet match fit and will not play.
Bellerin, Sokratis and Kolasinac are vital players at the minute. Mustafi, whether you like it or not is also important, without Holding the options get much worse. Players aging, or out of form with no game time, or else we pick midfielders for CB. I’ll be interested to see what we do in the transfer window. I hope we take it serious, don’t bring in anyone who we wouldn’t also target in the summertime. No point in bringing our shopping list to a budget quicki mart. Throw a wide net, and be extra choosy.
Rabiot would be a great grab for whoever gets him, wonder if he esp liked working with our management. Defenders, I have no idea who we could or should be looking at, other than expecting them to be your modern day ball playing type defender. Almiron is still being mooted, but I wouldn’t expect to see more than two players arrive, I feel we might be lucky to bring in one.
with miki out with a fracture on his foot, we need at least two, a winger must be done quickly and urgently as early as possible, at this rate i might even think of recalling nelson if no deals are done this january !! we are seriously lacking in depth due to welbz and holding out and ozil being in and out of the team, the other short term injuries don’t help either…to me the cahill loan must be considered if we cant get a cb as it’s a fantasitic short term solution, i would try to get Callum odoi on loan as well if we can, we have an ok relationship with chelsea ever since mourinho left, so those two loans would cost us nothing and benefit both clubs as both these players need game time.
we need to buy urgently that’s all i have to say, hope the board backs the manager this time around! if that doesn’t happen i blame the board as the manager has made the most of the team, and the changes that won us so many points in the second half is all him maximizing the potential of the squad, us playing with a back 3 again him trying to get the best out of his squad, now i want us to really back him up with signings, as if we don’t those fickle fans, will all be out blaming a manager who has done wonders so far, signings are needed for that extra push to reach our target top 4!!!
I don’t want Arsenal to benefit Chelsea by giving their hot prospect game time. If Arsenal really want Odoi, they should buy him instead
Another option is Ismaila Sarr. He is not an inverted winger like Odoi/ Iwobi/ Lozano, but he likes to race with the opponents on the right side
Sarr is a little raw but a fantastic talent that
would be a terror down the flanks for AFC.
Was very impressed with his marauding runs
and technical ability during the WC for
Senegal.
I’ve been banging the drum for Arsenal to take
a serious look at CB Jonathan Tah from Leverkusen for a while now and considering
the Germans side current domestic form it
might be the time for AFC to lodge a cheeky
bid. Dude has VVD qualities and played at the
highest level in Europe for many years.
Tah and Sarr wiwould be a fantastic winter
window for the Gunners!
I have read a rumor regarding Ismaila Sarr and how Martinez could be used in the deal, the report I read is that Arsenal have offered 16 million euros plus Martinez for him as Stade Rennais are having GK issues… Depends on how much they value Martinez for considering they not long bought Sarr for 17 million. If this holds any truth then I’d expect us to go back with another bid.
Lastly their is a CB rumor for 10 million, Fernando Calero. Watching him on YouTube and again, he looks good… but so do a lot of YouTube clips. His isn’t short of examples of good defending like some only have a few moments repeated over and over, this guy has a LOT of good defending examples in his clips.
I hope Raul will consider spending some in Jan to help us obtain UCL which can bring in more cash than we spent in Jan.
spending depends on Kroneke Entertainment and Sports agreement
mustafic has been outstanding this season and scoring goals….if he had been playing for Utd or livefool he would have been in the headlines multiple times or if hes English
Are we talking about the same Mustafi?Ive seen an improvement but “outstanding”?I think you have been on the POP a little bit too early my old son.Go and have a lie down somewhere quiet and try not to drink so early in the day in future
I think hyped language harms our club. To call Mustafi “outstanding” is clearly untrue. He may be a litle better than last season. But 19th is also better than being 20th but hardly “outstanding” either. MORE ACCURATE, LESS HYPED LANGUAGE, HELPS OUR CLUB, BUT HYPED DESCRIPTIONS HARMS US BY PAINTING FALSE PICTURES.
I can’t help but think of the what ifs!! If only we hadn’t lost at Southampton!!
We have to take all 3 points at Brighton… I suppose we’ll be wearing that horrible green kit?? I know it shouldn’t have anything to do with what they wear, but we don’t seem to play very well in that kit. So every time I see them in it, my heart skips a beat!!!
Won’t the boys be wearing the away kit instead of that horrible 3rd kit.
Yep you’re right, I just looked. I really like that kit! Mike Dean is the ref…..sigh!
The turquoise kit should be consigned to the “dustbin of history”. Bring back the yellow and royal blue please.
OG-Happy Xmas Cobber.From what has been leaked the 2nd kit next year is indeed Yellow and Blue with a faint background of the “Bruised Banana” pattern on the shirts.
As a traditionalist myself I want to see RED SOCKS with the first kit.Who was the idiot that changed our socks from Red to White?
We are THE ARSENAL.
Kit manufacturers owe it to the supporters to recognise tradition and values and stop dissing with our kit just for the sake of it.
And do we really NEED a third kit?My feeling is they would sell more shirts if there was only TWO to choose from.
Sue, you had me frightened for a while telling us Mike dean is the referee, especially with Torriera one yellow away from suspension, so I decided to look it up. As it happens Sue it’s actually Anthony Taylor, whether that’s any better only time will tell. Dean’s doing the Leicester -Man City game. Don’t mean to correct you Sue just thought you’d sleep better.
I looked on Arsenal.com to see what kit we were wearing & it said Dean was the ref on there! Oh that’s one good thing then Kenny, although I think they’re all a bit dodgy! Let’s just hope for 3 points Kenny & for once the ref has a good game! ?
No Sue , they are not all a “bit dodgy”. To call them only a bit dodgy would be to grossly overpraise them. They are almost universally useless IMO, though I do not think as KENNY does, that any are actual cheats. But just incompetent. We get, overall, many mistakes made in our favour, even by Dean, as well as the many ones that harm us. My personal only exception to them being useless is Michael Oliver, the best by miles IMO.
Jon, cheats is a strong word, I know I’ve sometimes described them as crooked but in no way have I ever said their cheats in regard to receiving money or gifts. However I do think their bias towards certain clubs and should imagine Sue thinks the same with her “dodgy” analogy. One thing we can certainly agree on is they’re all useless. I’ve always thought a good idea, with the amount of money involved in football these days, would be to revolve referees around Europe instead of sticking to English referees who’s son’s or daughter’s wear Manchester United pyjamas.
Sue All fans of any team can, and most do, play “what if” games. But they are always pointless and a waste of energy.
Away at Brighton
Then 3 days later Away at Liverpool
It will be interesting to see how Emery deals with the line-ups
While Liverpool, Sky’s new favourite team, have the most rest over the holiday period. Coincidence I suppose.
Exactly! I’m shocked they’re not being shown live today… they have pretty much every other game!!
Sue my friend, we’re on the same wavelengh.
Surely Torreira won’t play at Brighton as he’s one booking away from a ban and we certainly need him against Liverpool.
If he’s suspended for that game & we have a dodgy defence…. I don’t think I’ll be watching!
I do wish Pleg was fit, he hasn’t played in the u23 since 22/10 and that was the last time our u23 kept a clean sheet.
I assume he is injured but can’t find news easy on the u23 compared to the mens.
I think Medley could do a decent job against a lesser EPL team if he has senior players around him.
If Bellerin and Kola are fit then it could be a good chance to give AMN a go in the middle, maybe partner him with Guendouzi as I do believe Emery will stick with 3 at the back and Xhaka I think will be deployed as the left CB, not that I want this, I’d give Medley a chance.
I think this will be the team, assuming some players do come back by reported dates that I read.
Leno
Mustafi/Sokratis/Xhaka
Bellerin/AMN/Guendouzi/Kola
Ozil
Auba/Laca
It would rest Torreira and not risk him being susp for the ‘pool game.
Yeah, himself and Mavro, they had huge opportunities this season so it’s unlucky for them and very unlucky for us. Would’ve been good to see if one of them could’ve risen.
So another one bites the dust, Miki out for 6 weeks. With both Guendouzi and Torreira needing a booking to be banned it’s getting a little desperate.
Miki injury is good news, his the worst attacker we have. I would play Walcott ahead of him. Hope this forces us into a winger signing.
PS United should refund all his wages
If we want United to refund his wages, they would certainly want us to refund Sanchez’s wages and I think we would lose out heavily on that one.
Toreira should play, Brighton game is 3points, Liverpool game also is 3 points, but one is easier. The later is going to be a hard nut to crack, though it is winnable if we take our chances. Ozil should be played at Brighton while he should not be selected against the fast flowing Liverpool team.
Torreria should play against lfool….we need a hard tackling DM for that game…
those days….even if we lose to a strong teams we would ensure their team would have casualties
Merry Christmas All
Play with a back4 against Brighton… play with a back3/5 against Liverpool.
Vs BHA
…leno
Lich,Sokratis,Koscielny,Kolasinac
……….. Xhaka.
…….Ramsey…Iwobi
………….Ozil
.Lacazette……Auba
……subs: Bola for kolasinac , Nketiah for Auba, Guedouzi for Xhaka.
…..
vs Liverpool
………leno
….Sokratis,Mustafi,Monreal
Niles…Torreira.Xhaka..Kolasinac
……………….Ozil
……….Laca…Auba
January transfer window
1st week: increase the bid for Ismaila Sarr to 20m plus Martinez and confirm his transfer b4 other big clubs get interested.
He is as good as N.Pepe n Zaha that are priced at ostentatious value.
..
2nd week: go in for Jonathan Tah.
Don’t want to see Koscielny play again this season, never mind next match. It was like being a man down with him in there, the game passed him by. He can’t seem to read simple passages of play, he’s still marking space, and he has always been one of our worst at holding an offside line. He steps up at wrong times, he steps up when he should be dropping off, and he drops off when he should be stepping up. He rarely knows himself who is the last man, never mind trying to catch the forward out. I’m sorry but, he’s finished. His pace and strength has always been his biggest attributes, now that he’s getting older, I can see that clearly. Players in Per mold age better than Koscielny types. We’re talking, years, since we’ve seen any good consistency. He’s an accident waiting to happen, maybe at home if a game became comfortable, he could deceive. If it’s a tight affair, you don’t want him in there, you really don’t. Usually someone of his age with all the games he played, usually their experience will stand out. They will make younger players look naive, with allot to learn, that’s not the case here, the case here is Kos making rookie mistakes. I’m not trying to tick off Koscielny’s fans, not at all, this is what I believe ..but I hope I get proven wrong.
I have thought Kos way over the hill, and well BEFORE he got the final achilles injury. Your post really recognises the obvious truth , as you rightly say.
Very worried we’re being linked with Sarr and Calero (combined transfer outlay of £26 million) mainly because that looks exactly like the type of money we’d be happy to pay.
This is not the type of spending that’s going to get us from 5th to challenging for the title. While the fee being demanded for Pepe is unrealistic, we really should be looking at the likes of Pavon and Rabiot.
I would be interested to see if Rabiot would want to work under Emery again – if not, that’s a bit of a worry for me.