Arsenal hosts Kairat in their final UCL league phase game, and this is the team selected by Mikel Arteta.
The Kazakhstani side has struggled in Europe this season and sits at the bottom of the league, having collected just a single point.
The Gunners, by contrast, have enjoyed a stronger campaign and will be eager to maintain their momentum heading into the knockout stages. Arsenal has worked hard to remain unbeaten in the competition so far, and supporters will hope the team continues their winning form. While a victory is anticipated, pride and ambition mean the Gunners are likely to aim for a commanding performance.
This match should not pose significant difficulties for Arteta’s side. The difference in quality between the teams is considerable, and Arsenal are expected to control the game from start to finish.
Despite their struggles in Europe, Kairat remain strong domestically, sitting near the top of their league standings. With nothing to lose, the visitors could play with freedom and confidence, seeking to make the most of any opportunities against a superior opponent. Their experience this season in Europe will serve as a learning curve, but they may still attempt to challenge the Gunners and create surprises at the Emirates.
While Arsenal are heavily favoured, Kairat’s motivation and quality in their domestic league mean that Arteta’s side cannot afford complacency. The Gunners will need to remain focused to ensure they finish the league stage in style and continue building momentum for the next phase of the Champions League.
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I didn’t see that coming, Calafiori’s in the starting 11. Ordinarily I’d have liked him to be rested, but having been out he needs some minutes. As for the rest, I think the rotation is good.
The amount of quality Arteta has for his disposal is insane
He has the liberty to change entire team
It’s a shame how we are playing at the moment
I think Cala and Havertz will play only 45-60 minutes which should be fine.
Surprised to see attacking midfield of Norgaard – Eze – Havertz.
Lets hope something clicks. I really hope for a strong performance from Eze, Madueke and Gyökeres.
Havertz at 8. Skelly still stuck at his unsuited left back, we would all like to have seen him tried in midfield?
However, a chance to see how Gyok and Kai can combine in same team. Interesting.
Bonus game good for giving fringe and returning players minutes to get match fit. A comfortable win with no injuries is all we want.
Kairat squad value -29 players ,13 million euros value ,
Their wage bill per annum is 1.3 million ,3 weeks wages of Arteta.
Should be banging in a few goals ,even with with fringe players 😂
My point was how far this competition as fallen for the sake of money .
Dan Kit,
Totally agree. To call it the Champions League is laughable. But money talks as they say.
Agreed Derek
It’s literally what the super league wanted and UEFA copied to keep the money flowing into their coffers.
Except the super league would have giving more money to the lower leagues .
Literally the same as the Cartel in the prem league (us included)
Teams like Villa and Newcastle cannot spend .
I do hate this format
Personally I wouldn’t have risked starting Cala, he’s too important and just back. Would’ve preferred Hincapie to be on the cautious side
Good team, looking forward to seeing Norgaard but im sure he’s very rusty with only 6 starts in all comps this season
I agree on Ricky.
Who takes the left 8 who play right 8, as Norgy clearly 6.
The kind of mistakes Cala has made because he’s rusty is precisely why this is the perfect match for him. It’s not a physical game and he’s unlikely to get injured again. You don’t want him making mistakes in a physical PL game or getting hurt.
Could Ricky play lb, Norgi CB and Skelly 6?
There’s a strong looking Galatasaray out against a midfield and defence weakened Man City.
A big night for the Premier League title race tonight imo.
I nil
1-1
Embarrassing.
Is it still Christmas? We’re handing out presents all over the show! Good goal from Gyokeres though 👏
GK dived right passed the ball 🤣 shame I do feel bad for them
2-1 kai
And the advantage of Kai right 8, attacking box with his left.
Now Eze to bag one 🙏
Gyok is looking awful here tonight, tbh. 🫣
Not nearly as bad as MLS so far. Yikes.
Awful I don’t think so. He has missed some chances but I wont say he is awful
How many more chances has Gyok missed since you posted that?
The main take out from that mismatch is Gyok scoring boots still in Portugal. Sadly.
Other take outs, performance and threat from Kai and Maddy. And Mosky looks at home every time we see him now. Bargain of the season. In fact can we go back and say, sorry, we did fleeced you, have another 5M?
Luv Mosky.
Love Mosky too ………🤔😂
Mosky my man of match so far. He’s even better second half.
3-1 Gab
It’s just Kairat but you can tell our attack is more fluid with Kai in it. Once he’s properly match fit, he will start at right attacking midfield or centre forward.
Hes been tried in our midfield many times and it doesn’t usually work, hence why he was moved to forward where he’s much better
It is hard to say, against this level opponent, where Havertz looked very good right 8 (always left 8 to replace Granny when first in the side}. However, that first goal came from a very positive forward ball, the type the side have not “instinctively” been playing of late. Not the type of service Gyok has been getting. Surprise he didn’t miss the chance through sheer shock.
Looks like we’re getting 3 points, nice. Changing to something watchable though. Odegaard has come on and totally slowed down this entire 2nd half
Wow…..just shows how much of a micro managed team we are. Cant score in 45 mins against a team who had only 3 competitive games since October AND conceding 2 goals???????
He wants them to walk the ball into goal. Many creaked of rust cos left unplayec but still a poor performance rega
It was played like an end of season dead rubber
Nobody laid a glove on anybody and nobody as far as I could see got injured
Havertz got some minutes and a hotch potch team won. So what pray tell me did you expect?
we played ‘shocking’ ..no real synergy and as if the team had been coached by ‘Abbott and Costello’.
That was embarrassing, we have about 100 chances on goal and score 3, they have 2 and score 2. We have to get better at scoring when we’re in their penalty area, there was no low block or anything there
…totally agree.
I could hardly believe what I was watching tbh
Really enjoyed the game. Nice to see everyone getting a run, including some academy. Also nice to see Eze enjoying himself
Lol, not a great scoreline from a team that is the worst in the competition.
How that game finished 3-2 is mind boggling 😅 on to Leeds need a much better performance 🤞
Benfica goalkeeper what a goal 😅
Not in our interests.
Man City got through. So they get to rest up for their title push.
They didn’t pull up trees to help themselves Man City, other teams let us down. Not Least Real Madrid conceding four and losing, Frodo/Gimly won away at Athletico Madrid, I didn’t have that on my bingo card.
Viewers to this match would see how we hard we tried to show theirs a difference between Kairat and our teams end-product… Ok there maybe but we flattered to deceive. VG14 hit the target but he missed a couple of open goals. Madueke touch is appalling he needs to shape up, maybe he should stay behind more and improve his end product ie passing because he embarrassed himself against the worst side iv seen turn up at the Emirates. Luckily this was a mish-mash assembled side – it had no synergy and we sent out the wrong message to our opponents. Can we be honest?
Flattered to deceive you used does sum the match up.
Martin Keown was like a stuck record
Should have done better there
Should have hit the target there
Etc over and over
Moon Girl
Thanks for the comments.
Martin did his best to draw on positives like Kai’s return to the field along with his well taken strike showing poise and class by comparison. Martin was/is a real soldier for us – Man United fans can attest to that 🙂 as he demanded a lot of himself in defense. Last night’s commentary from him masked what was clear for all to see. I don’t want to ‘go in on that display’ any further as I do support these gunners.