Arsenal News Arsenal previews

Emery’s first Arsenal FA Cup XI named to take on Blackpool

The confirmed teams have finally been announced to take on Blackpool this evening, for Unai Emery’s first FA Cup tie as Gunners boss.

He will be keen to see some youngsters take their chance against the lower league side, while hoping his team can build up their confidence once more after some tough fixtures over the past month, including some painful losses to rivals Tottenham and Liverpool.

Earlier we predicted the team below to take on the Seasiders at Bloomfield Road:

Cech
Maitland-Niles Elneny Sokratis Kolasinac
Guendouzi Smith-Rowe
Saka Willock NKetieh
Lacazette

Confirmed teams as found on Arsenal’s official Twitter page:

As you can see we were expecting Emery to take a much more relaxed approach when it comes to the starting line-up, but we still firmly expect Saka to make it onto the pitch at some point, and I hope he does manage to impress.

I can’t wait to see the Nketiah try and continue to make his mark on the competition after goals last term, and am quite excited to see Joe Willock try to earn a place in Emery’s first-team thoughts as the season continues.

Smith-Rowe hasn’t made the squad although he has now returned to training, but it is nice to see Emery taking the competition seriously, and this team should give poor Blackpool a beating.

Is there any doubt that Blackpool are in for a beating? Does this team mean that Emery will be taking no prisoners as he looks to win a trophy this season?

Pat J

Posted by

91 Comments

    1. Meh, it will be an easy game. Of course we will give away some silly chances but Blackpool simply lack the quality to take advantage and make us pay. So it’s 3-1 for me! Ramsey, Nketiah and Iwobi ?. Goal conceded will be Lichsteiner’s blunder.

      2. you was close QD
        Iwobi did get one, Ramsey nearly got that freekick and Nketiah should have bagged one himself but yeah, your call was very close ^.^

    2. Unfortunately for Blackpool Sue they’re playing in front of an empty stadium apart from the excellent Arsenal contingent. Very sad to see but necessary in order to false out the corrupt owners especially when you look back at a marvellous history that Blackpool have. I remember watching Blackpool as a youngster at Highbury with an ageing Stanley Mathews and a very young Alan Ball playing in the same side. They’ve certainly had some great players in the past, George Farm the Keeper. Gentleman Jimmy Armfield, Harry Johnston Captain of the famous cup winning side of the 50’s also Bill Perry, Stan Mortenson, hatrick hero in that famous Mathews final. I’m sure some of our older bloggers like Jon Fox, Ken1945, Andrew E and Declan etc will know these players. Hopefully they’ll win the argument over the ownership and the genuine fans return the club to their former status.

  2. Let’s hope Blackpool’s left winger is nothing special.Other than Lichsteiner it’s a well balanced side which should see us through to the next round.

  4. Just noticed who the referee is,, Mike Dean!!!
    Care to revise your prediction QD?
    Seriously playing Lichsteiner as a CB just shows how bad the injury crisis really is.
    Was Kos injured in the warm up?

    1. Yes he was ken,are injury’s are that bad they even get injured in the warm ups ??‍♂️
      I’ve also just noticed dean aswell ,he’s so smug

    2. @Ken1945
      I can only revise my prediction upwards! We will score 5, had not known Willock had his scoring boots on! Still Ramsey’s Nketiah’s and Iwobi’s goals are coming.

    3. Did you notice how the same Mike Dean who some fans – though not me – say is ALWAYS against us, allowed a clear offside to stand for our third goal? I will remind Kenny Rolfe too, Ken. I do not say Dean is a good ref; far from it! But I do say he is NOT biased against us. Or any other team either. To effectively call a professional ref a cheat, which is what some are saying, is a very serious charge and not lightly to be done. Not by a wise person anyway.

      1. Jon, there’s genuine mistakes and biasness, This genuine mistake was made by the linesman not the referee, However I have noticed a difference with Mike Dean over the previous games he’s refereed when Arsenal have been involved. The fact is he’s finally succumbed to the pressure and realised he can longer continue cheating Arsenal. It was looking far to obvious The worst referee now without any doubt is the one you stick up as our very best, yes, Michael Oliver, 7 penalties against us in the last 10 games. Are you going to say Oliver showed no bias in those games especially the Liverpool game. Everytime a player goes down in the box he gives a penalty against us. The Salah penalty was typical. When are you going to see there is an obvious conflict going on with Arsenal and referees, instigated by Mike Riley and the PGMOL. Former referee and well known Manchester United fan Riley had continual run-ins with Arsene Wenger his whole career and we’ve been paying for it ever since.

        1. Kenny, it is not for me to deny bias by any pro ref against Arsenal or any other club. It is for you to PROVE the bias you claim and which is in effect calling professional referees – or some of them – cheats. THAT IS A VERY GRAVE ACCUSATION TO MAKE AND VERY UNWISE TOO. A referee is an arbiter and an accusation of a disinterested professional person cheating the profession that pays him is something I would not open myself to. Even if , as I do NOT, I believed it to be true. I just advise you in all good nature, that as this is a public forum and you are opening yourself to at least a theoretical charge of libel. To allege something defamatory on here is dangerous and can be very dangerous to you personally should they take action. IT IS NOT YOUR OPINION THEY WOULD BE CHALLENGING BUT THAT YOU ARE OPENLY CLAIMING IT AS TRUTH AND IN PUBLIC.

  7. I’m not being funny but our defence is laughable,I know we have injuries but I mean how much coaching do these players need before they know how to do what they are paid to do .

  11. Why doesn’t Jenkinson ever get a start in the premiership?He is way better than Liechsteiner

  14. Clear to see why Juve let Lichtsteiner leave on a free. Surely Jenks better in defense than Lichtsteiner. Wonder what Emery sees in Lichtsteiner to keep Jenks out?

    Anyway 2-0 for the heroes, a few more please.

    1. I actually agree with you on this. Lichtsteiner is just horrible. Jenkinson is nothing to rave about either, but he at least looks more composed. The amount of times this season i’ve seen Licht scampering to get back and catch up the players is embarrassing. Guy doesn’t have it anymore. 2-0 up at least, but our defense has still been very poor.

      1. RSH no doubt Jenks has more to offer than Lichtsteiner. He is only on 1 year contract then gone for sure, while playing Jenks offers 2 things;
        1. Jenks can back up for Bellerin
        2. Increase his value if we plan to sell Jenks.

        I think anyway, besides Lichtsteiner had enough opportunities to impress and has failed to perform. Plus Jenks covers homegrown quota, as well as being a real fan and loves our club.

        1. I definitely AGREE ! Lichtsteiner has shocked me, as I really thought he would be good short term buy. He is the single worst player this season, beyond doubt. I DON’T RATE JENKS EITHER AT OUR LEVEL BUT HE IS MILES BETTER THAN LICHT.

      2. I’d say Jenks might turn out to be the ideal backup for Bellerin for us, he will give 110% as a gooner and being payed well and although I wont say he would be happy being the backup… I think he could accept it and give his best.

        I don’t think we can get two WC players for each role and give them all enough gametime, some spots yeah but not all, sometimes a dedicated player with enough capability is enough.

        Jenks could save us some £££ in the transfer market as we would have to spend more than we get for him on finding a replacement, I’d say RB would be a low priority when considering other positions, add in the bonus that we do have some good youth prospects who could easily replace Jenks in 18 months time… And as much as I want to see AMN in the middle, he can also cover that spott with competence.

    2. I’d prefer to see Medley pairing Socratis and
      Jenks @ RB but Emery obviously has a
      certain affinity towards the Swiss international.
      Being the consummate professional the former Juve man will always answer the managers call
      but it’s become glaringly transparent that he
      brings nothing to the first team atm.

  15. Lichtsteiner can’t even have a good game against Blackpool…. he’d better not be in the team next week against the hammers!

  16. Thanks for info Xxnofx, we do have a hodoo on our defence.
    If EVER there was a”dross” player at Arsenal, Lichsteiner must be one of the prime candidates.
    Jenks doing well and 2-0 ok, Dein will influence it sooner or later.

    1. WELL DEAN CERTAINLY INFLUENCED OUR THIRD OFFSIDE GOAL WHICH HE ALLOWED. See my post further up Ken, for fuller comments on Dean.

      1. Jon, we get fifty bad decisions from Dean, we then get one in our favour and you can’t stop talking about it. Tell me, does this decision make up for all the bad ones over the last ten years.

        1. It’s a pity we don’t get favourable decisions in the big games such as Tottenham, United or Liverpool. Typical we’re given one in a game we were always going to win.

          1. Wow! This site has been hijacked by a single group of know it alls on every post lol anyone who rates wenger is clueless about football! Turning down lemar (b4 monaco) Kante twice, VVD, Harry M, not supporting messi’s parents to sign him either the list goes on then buying cech and no one else while £180mil sits in the bank I’m sorry but wenger is a £&&£

  17. OT: I hope there’s some truth to all this Suarez to arsenal stuff that i’m hearing – seems any new blood to this squad and it brings something of a feel-good factor from my point of view.

    *Happy for Willock – as i’m certain we all must be. #COYG

    1. dennis suarez is he any good? better than current arsenal midfielders??
      Your opinion on this?

      1. Denis Suarez is the closest thing to Iniesta and santi carzola and also we need Banega and one CB for this january transfer window.

        1. No Banega is 30 we need to stay away from him. All our 30+ years olds are struggling for form or fitness we need to consider younger players that can give at least 4 or 5 good seasons.

        2. Enagic, I must say I’ve not seen much, in fact anything of Denis Suarez however if you say he’s the closest thing to the exceptionable Santi Carzola and the greatest midfielder in the history of the game, Andres Iniesta, Why’s he so cheap?

      2. @Raja Danish – in all honesty all i know is he’s young and his cabinet is laden with winners trophies and we’re in great need of a fresher dynamic from our attacking central-midfield.

    2. 100% truth in it and according to Sky and various Twitter accounts talks are going well.The stumbling block will be if Arsenal insist on the loan but Barca don’t budge or if we also don’t agree to Barca’s full transfer demand.I hope his transfer will not represent another mismanagement of limited funds though.

      1. Right, who started kev off on his insider info stuff?
        Next post will be a done deal!
        Only joking kev, sorry but I couldn’t resist ?

    1. Yes agree Cech is past it but the clowns are the players passing back hospital balls to a keeper who cannot play with his feet.

  19. Our defence cannot do anything with balls coming into our box.
    We don’t mark, we don’t tackle, we don’t track back and we cannot defend. We could end up winning this game 6 nil only because we are playing an inept league one side. Our defence is an embarrassment.

  22. Still looking to see our actual new style of play would be smart to get anything for Ramsey the guy is embarrassing for a senior player

  23. People call Dein biased against us but he gave us a goal that Iwobi handled in the build up and now a goal where Iwobi was offside. Let’s have Dein every week!

    2. GB, hold my hands up to this, but I suspect he was waiting for Torreria to come on and then show him the red card!!!
      He really does like himself though doesn’t he?

        1. I’m just happy we’re through, it’s a cup game performances don’t matter to me it’s all about progressing ? and the team Emery put out give me a heart attack Sue so how could I not be pleased ? plus the pitch was in an awful state! The big boys get a week off now so better be well rested and raring to go against West Ham ?

          1. My palpitations kicked in (thanks a lot Cech & Lichtsteiner ?)
            My nephew has already been on at me about next week (He’s a hammer!) Normally I’d feel quite confident going there, but not with Lichtsteiner in the team!! I hope Hector’s back!! ??

            1. Tell me about it Sue ? not really for this playing out from the back we don’t have the defenders so until we do up the park! Oh the pressure is on you next week then Sue let’s hope the nephew don’t win the bragging rights ? for sure if not Carl Jenkinson must play he just must ? have you seen that star sixes ? Some of those old men would get in our team ?

              1. I’ll never hear the end of it ?? I hadn’t seen anything about star sixes John, can’t we palm Lichtsteiner off into one of the teams?? ?? doubt they’d have him!!
                Maybe Sven is there scouting our next gem? ??

                1. Blackpool wouldn’t take Lichtsteiner Sue my old school team wouldn’t take him lol. Haha it’s good it’s all ex footballers Stylian Petrov was rolling back the years with a world class goal fair play to him though battling back from cancer ? West Ham was Emery’s first win so you could always use that ? Sven needs to find something preferably a defender not from Dortmund ?

                  1. I did rub it in a little bit to him, as I was at that game ?
                    I’ll have to look out for that John, although the BDO darts has started & Cuckoo season 5 is back!! ???

                    1. Yeah I think I remember that ? oh it’s in the semi finals now Sue ? I never watch darts only sport other than football I watch is Boxing or fishing ? I heard of that Sue I’ve never seen it but only TV series I watch is Supernatural and Cobra Kai whenever it’s back on haha

                    2. I like Boxing but not fishing ??
                      Did you never watch the inbetweeners? I love it!!
                      Cobra Kai is back later this year, not sure when exactly though. It was good wasn’t it? Good old Johnny!!

                    3. I don’t just watch it though Sue I’m an avid angler ? takes the stress of being an Arsenal fan away ? I only ever watched one episode it was the one he goes into the pub pretending to be Australian ? it was far better than I expected Sue they done a great job and John Kreese is back in season 2 ? yeah I like Johnny now and can’t stand Larusso ?

                    4. An avid angler hey?! That’s one way of de-stressing after an Arsenal thrashing! I’ll walk my dog for miles- that helps ?
                      I might have to binge watch it again now! What with that & stranger things back later this year – I’m sorted!!
                      Jeez we’re keeping Just Arsenal going ?

                    5. Yeah I’d fish in a puddle if there was fish in it haha went to Spain a few years ago fished the River Ebro absolutely loved it felt like Jeremy Wade from river monsters haha. I don’t have a dog so it’s not an option for me ? you might as well it’s not back until May I hear ? I think TV series’s is taking over movies there’s so many, I’ve not watched stranger things, watched the Walking dead once or twice but couldn’t get into it like everyone else ? haha they might have to make another site Just Arsenal extra for when people go off the subject of football ?

                    7. Haha I love his show he’s a character Sue ? you heard it here first ? well I’ll let you enjoy your shows before you get a headache lol I might just watch the Arsenal highlights for a change ?

    2. See Sue… anything spuds can do we can do half as well!!
      What’s the problem??
      AND Iwobi scored again…AND Ozil has committed himself for the length of his contract…AND Ramsey still hasn’t signed for anyone else!!!
      The world is your oyster ?

      1. Happy days Ken! Iwobi amazes me ? not sure of it’s in a good way or not ??
        All I’d like now Ken is for Lichtsteiner to go & play for another team ?
        Hope you & your wife are enjoying Portugal

          1. Lovely sunny day, glass of local wine in one hand and a prawn sandwich in the other.
            Here to beginning of February, so justarsenal is my conduit to everything of importance!
            Don’t worry, UE will sort out the hammers, wonder if Jack might turn out?
            Agree on both Iwobi and Lichsteiner!!!

            1. Ken I wish I was in Portugal. We are in transit at Dubai. Just paid 30 euros for a pint of Heineken and a bottle of Tiger.. Hell on earth!

                1. Muslim country where drinking alcohol isfrowned upon or downright forbidden. Thus they extract their pound of flesh in taxes.

              2. Admin, my bottle of very nice local white wine was 3.5 euros!!
                Never been to Dubai and your post will convince me never to go there!!!
                Probably a lot hotter in hell as well!!!

                1. Ken -?You MUST getvto Dubai.Admin is probably paying Airport prices in transit.
                  Look up The One and Only Royal Mirage.Best Hotel for Service I have ever used.Beennthere around 15 times for breaks over the last 10 years.Man Utd There next week for warm weather training.Lets hope the Chefs have an off weekEnjoy Portugal

  25. Santi o Santi….once a magician always a magician…..

    at 33yo hes still very good

    Sadly many fans here still hope he retires when he was with us

  27. I am glad we got through to the next round but would someone explain why we still have Elnely in the squad ?

    1. Hi Olivia, I look at him as a good squad player, who is content to fill that role.
      I don’t recall him having a Lichsteiner type game anyway!

  29. Sub standard playing surface made it difficult to play good football.Echo all the sentiments expressed concerning Lichsteiner who must be one of the poorest players to pull on an Arsenal jersey.I thought AMN and Iwobi did well..

Comments are closed

Top Blog Sponsors