Strong line-up CONFIRMED for Arsenal v Seville Emirates Cup decider

Arsenal has released their starting line-up to take on Seville at the Emirates this afternoon.

Arsene Wenger has opted to field a strong team for the deciding match-up this evening, with Ozil, Bellerin, Ramsey, Koscielny, Cech and Monreal joining new signing Alexandre Lacazette in the starting XI.

 

Our team yesterday was more than strong enough for Benfica however, earning a 5-2 win to put us top of the table going into the final game, and due to earning a point per goal as well as three for a win, we are currently clear of today’s opponents by four points already.

It would be good for Xhaka and Kolasinac to come into the team first, to give us a closer look at our probable favoured XI, with only Alexis Sanchez and Shkodran Mustafi not able to feature who would most likely be starters.

Will this team be able to match yesterday’s dominant win? Should this team get more goals than we did yesterday?

We will soon see

Pat J

Tags Arsenal Emirates Cup Seville

102 Comments

  1. Can someone remind Wenger that Elneny is not a CB, If his waiting for Mustafi and Gabrieal then he should have played natural CB at least…How about Naby Keita for £30-40million and give them both Elneny and Jack Wilshire (Buy Back Clause for him) avenue to play and re-invent himself

    1. Leipzig rejected £70 million
      Why on earth would they accept £30-£40 million plus Eleny (worth £5-10 million) and Wilshere worth at the most £20 million. And they may not even want these players.

      I don’t even think Keita is worth over £70 million. He is a very good player and definitely what we need but he isn’t world class yet. He has potential

      We can find cheaper alternatives like Goretzka, Seri, Carvalho

  2. No we are not playing the same team would love 5 goals today but i just want to see a good performance and good effort and a win of course.
    Lacazette better be up front and not behind….

    1. I like experiments however I would have preferred to see more young players learning the ropes on their natural positions. Dont we have a young defender to play Elneny’s position? Or a young left back to play from the left?

  3. Elnemy should be playing in midfield and not as a centre-back.He should have picked either Chambers or Holding to start in the back three with the first league fixture in mind when Konscielny will be sitting out a ban.Playing the Ox as a makeshift left sided wing-back is hardly going to persuade him to sign a new contract on the basis that he’s an integral part of the squad….especially when it looks as if he’s picked Willock to play in the centre of midfield….Welcome to the 2017-18 Season…another year of trying to fit square pegs into round holes and then wondering why the Premier League has slipped by once again.

        1. Yeah that afro is supposed to decorate in a central position instead of at the back.

          Okay but on a more serious note we shouldn’t be experimenting players so close to the start of the season and instead buy accordingly for players suited to play those positions…

  4. As much as i like this new formation, i am getting tired of wenger moving players around. Chamberlain now is playind Lwb, no wonder he is trying to leave. Elneny is playing center back, Maitland- niles plays cb, lwb, rwb, cm.. lol. I am hoping its because of preseason he’s experimenting. We have too many things to improve in the team for wenger to be playing players any where he likes without any real thought to it.

    1. you do know that the ox played at that position in our fa cup final win against Chelsea? and when should he try out players in different positions or give them the experience of other positions if not in preseason games…

      1. Why should we do that when we have specialist players in their positions. We are wasting time. Instead of the team gelling during preseason they are learning new positions and the result is always poor season starts!

      2. @ krish
        You do know the season starts soon right, why are we still trying stuff out. Have you seen the other friendly games from real madrid, barca, bayern and other top teams. Why are they not trying players in new positions that doesn’t make sense. Don’t they win trophies. And Because ox played there in the win against chelsea doesn’t make it a suitable position for him, later, it is fans like you that will judge ox if he decides to leave. The frendly results aren’t very important but the players need to gel fast because the teams that have won the epl for a while now did it with settled teams with players that knew their positions and roles, so the earlier the better. Some of our players like elneny, ox don’t even know the position they will be playing this coming season and it starts like in two weeks.

      3. Krish I’ve read almost most of you posts and I figure you can just about make an excuse for anything as long as it justifies your cause. Pre-season is for experimenting tactics and perhaps players but not at this level of chopping and changing. Players should know their position and be able to play with other players in the team that play adjacent to their positions to gain a familiarity with one another and to work on tactics. In reference to Joel’s quote earlier, we are fitting square pegs into round holes.

  5. i have to say that the hate on elneny as a cb is just because there are a lot of bandwagoners, he wasnt event that bad as a cb till now and i have to say i like the idea of ball-playing cb in a back three, and wenger is just trying it in preseason games so nothing wrong there..

    1. All our defenders are ball playing! There is no need to groom new defenders. He may buy some if hebthinks the current onea are not good enough. No wonder why he hasn’t given Perez enough playing time. He is so obsessed of proving a point instead of trying to won something.

      1. look at how many centre backs we have. Gabriel, Mustafi, Monreal, Kolscienly, Metresacker, Chambers, Holding, Bielik. Surely we dont need a 9th one?!

        AND look at how many centre mids we have. Xhaka, Coquelin, Ramsey and maybe Wilock (whos not ready at all!). Tell me we dont need Elneny there?

    2. Cut in two by a pass that left him staring into space as Seville hit the post…
      He seems fine in this new position as long as he is just “sweeping up” and not called upon to actuslly defend!!
      Willock looks to be clearly out of his depth and Bellerin is doing a good impression of Gervinho’s best “headless chicken” routine!!

    3. Elneny looked great in both positions. Xaka got genuine challenger in both Elneny and Coqueline –

      All offer something different-

      No one significantly better than any other

    4. Oh Krish believe me if you label supporters who have an opinion and rationality as their own as bandwagoners then you sir may as well label yourself one too. Just because a person have the same reasoning or sentiments as another supporter you label them bandwagoners? Please…

  6. I would have preferred he played one of his CBs instead of Elneny and play Elneny with Ramsey in midfield. no need for experiments now since next week we have community shield.

  7. I doubt that we’ll see 5 goals getting shipped past Seville. I get the feeling that yesterday’s starting eleven will makes today’s lineup look like the reserves ???

    1. Me too but it doesn’t add anything to our season as it will be naive to play him there during competitive matches

      1. Carling cup and Europa League are definitely games where he can play.
        I would let Ozil, Lacazette, Xhaka, Koscielny, Cech and Sanchez (if he stays) at home when we face EL teams at their ground. It’s just a waste of energy and we’ll go through anyway.

          1. Yes…if the Manager already knows who and what his best combinations are in Defence;Midfield and Attack….and had half the squad not returned late from their Summer break.

  8. Why the hell did he play 2 defensive players yesterday and play without one today? Now we are being over run in midfield

    1. Good point but maybe he expected more from Wilcock but lesson learned i hope tho hes done some good things they didnt amount to much where as the mistakes can cost us big time against a more clinical team.

    1. Bellerin is definitely regressing and should have been allowed to return to Barcelona if they were prepared to pay big money for him.The Ox should have been given the right wing-back slot on a permanent basis,which might have persuaded him to sign a new contract.I believe he is looking for some form of real continuity rather than angling for stupid wages.
      Meanwhile…is Ozil actually playing.?…His combination with the inept Willock and a permanently out-of-position Ramsey means that Arsenal are currently playing without a Midfield!!

      1. You’re right about Ozil, Wilock and Ramsey but I have to disagree with you on Bellerin issue. Bellerin is by no means poor nor exceptional. He needs to work on his passing, shooting and ball control. So far his positioning and running into space has been good. He’s still young and I hope he realizes he needs to work on these finer things to become a greater player because he definitely has the potential. Ox on the other hand doesn’t want to play the wing-back position so it’s a no brainer.

  9. Hopefully Lacazette will improve, so far I haven’t seen anything from him justifying the price tag. Why Wenger doesn’t Raye Perez is beyond me!

    1. Lacazette hasn’t been bad, he just haven’t been getting the service from his team mates~ a la Welbeck and Ozil…

  10. Ok 30 minutes is enough to know now that elneny willlock Ramsey welbeck is no spine to take on top teams … Problem is no one to control midfield

      1. Exactly …. at brentford … Desperately in need of skillful player in middle of park .., Ramsey against half way decent teams is out of his depth … Lateral football will never get us back to the top

  11. There’s a gap in quality players here you can see us missing cazorla and sanchez. Ozil needs someone to click with let’s hope lacazette warms up soon. He looks to be in shock a bit and very nervous to me.

    Bellerin for goodness sake cut your hair, welbeck learn to use your left foot and wilock sorry but you’re not ready fit this level.

    Saville a good benchmark for us playing Europe League this year having won it 2014 15 and16

  12. Ozil looks like hes just playing for the money awaiting January to come along to strike a deal on a bosman…. Alexis will be the exct same! Ox however if given assurances that he is one of the rwb or lwb each game wld keep him but that free kick ??? cmon kid leave that to the big boys.

    Few things Elneny looks decent in the cb but thats for Europa League trust me as Boss will need looked after as his fitness is a mssive concern & is needed for the League Only. Bellerin few good touches just feel he wants to go & is being forced to stay as he signed a 6yr deal… bet he regrets that!!

    Laca just needs time like any new signing needs to come to England. Not putting a downer on this but after the chelsea scalping, 2own goals yday & really not looking good today we are defo not ready for this season. Again same shit with the same manager & same average players like Ramsey, Welbeck, Theo & Per.

    We need a new CDM, RW, CB & LW if Alexis goes. Id send Ozil on his way too n replace him with Cesc. At least he wld bloody try

  13. Whoops the Emirates like a library again!
    I’m looking forward to seeing our best 11 line up and this isn’t it, kolasinac and xhaka would be on the list.

  14. Welbeck has been impressive but he can be oh so selfish. I can count two chances now where he could have squared to Lacazette for a tap-in.

    1. Welbeck is such a mule. He couldn’t even tap in Ox’s pin point low cross to him, which Lacazette finished with aplomb.
      Wenger should leave Elneny in midfield and instead, use Welbeck in Central Defence. Who knows, he may turn out to be another Kolo Toure. He has the height, strength and pace to make a great defender.
      Vigil van who?

  15. The idiot frog had better be on blower tomorrow to barca or nice or schalke or someone with a skillful midfielder … This is the ffing 4th best team in Spain dominating the midfield completely by out passing us

    1. We don’t currently have a midfield…Ozil has gone AWOL;Willock is completely out of his depth and Ramsey has predominantly been sitting behind Lacazette.
      Luckily the Ox has the necessary ability to play as a creative wing back!

    2. People down voted me here when I asked why is it that we don’t have a defensive midfielder yet we played 2 yesterday . I don’t know what people watch!

  16. Why would you pay so much for Lacazette and then no give him a chance, play him with the best forwards ??? Looks like giroud will start the season and then Lacazzette will struggle for confidence?

  17. Kkkkk. It looks like we wasted our money on Lacazzette. He is invisible and when he gets a chance he passes to the goalkeeper. Having him and Ozil means 2 invisibles!

    1. Yea, I’m so tired of ozil, he’s so lazy, it really shows when we play a top team, he makes us look like we are playing with a red card………..ozil lovers, what do you av to say, he should be called Wenger’s son, at least Ramsey still tries his best, but ozil?…….., Na, d most hateful thing is wenger will never believe there are players that will offer more than just ooooone moment of d so called genius…………..
      Don’t worry, lacazette will come good, even with wenger, though there are coaches that will make the arsenal players better

    1. Welbeck is such a mule. He couldn’t even tap in Ox’s pin point low cross to him, which Lacazette finished with aplomb.
      Wenger should leave Elneny in midfield and instead, use Welbeck in Central Defence. Who knows, he may turn out to be another Kolo Toure. He has the height, strength and pace to make a great defender.
      Vigil van who?

  18. Does wenger understand the phrase closing down …. Get fing elneny off and give a proper defender a chance … Ridiculous management

  19. UP CASSETTE SHAME ON YOU DOUBTERS…I think some fans are just waiting fir arsenal to fail so they can justify there ideas, Sh** happens in life and we have to get over it, this is a new season and why don’t we just give the team a chance first. plus this is still Pree season

    1. Pre-Season doesn’t mean that you stand and watch as a ball breaks out of your penalty area and continue to watch as your opponent is allowed to have a shot at your goal without anyone bothering to close him down…Pathetic defending…again!!

    2. SHAME ON WHO?? Lacazette got a tap in then they stand off Sevilla and let them slowly set up nzonzi for a slow motion finish! We have a team full of glory hunters who don’t pass to each other in the box unless there a goal down it’s a disgrace! Giroud looks better than lacazette and the midfield can’t defend so it’s all to familiar! Wenger loves a big mess on the pitch and hopes we score more then the opposition but we don’t have Henry bergkamp pires anymore

  20. Yes Nelson for welbeck.
    @otunba.
    Yes people are just waiting to have a moan and say told you so. Just support each game and pray that our players all gel and get asap.
    Let’s hope for lemar/mahrez and hopefully another midfielder.
    Lacazette injured??!!

    1. We need a defensive coach coz as it stands arsenal are the worst at defending as a team in Europe! Even mid table teams defend better as a team than arsenal do! They need to taught how to press properly coz Sevilla do it with ease

    2. For not asking to leave!…Although no other team would pay him the same salary…with or without an additional transfer fee!!

  21. We are really poor and last seasons failing are so obvious we don’t have a CM who can take and keep the ball. This playing players out of position is ok when your 12 years old but at a club that makes millions it shouldn’t be an issue

    1. We all thought the Chelsea loss would be a wake up call for wenger to spend but nothing happened and this time it’s the same thing! Better to loose in pre season IF ur gonna learn form it and get what’s needed so let’s see if wenger wants to risk having a team that can’t defend or attack

    1. The hesitation in the final third is not of a big club it’s one touch or forget it! Iv counted 7 times we should of passed it first time to score a tap in but it never happens! I’m worried that even if we don’t concede in the prem that we won’t be able to score coz there’s no decisive passing OH how I miss Bergkamp

  22. As soon as I see Ramsey and Walcott on the pitch at same time I realize we are still going backwards as a club

  23. Any coach will do wonders with our players. Look at AOC’s energy and run, imaginenif he was playing through the middle instead of Ramsey. Look at Nelson, imagine him playing on the right wing dazzling players…we wouldn’t even need Lamar but wish, we have a dictator of a coach!

    1. Prefer Oxlade in that wingback role. He looks so suited to it, really surprised at how good he is in it. His positioning and power look great back there and he can still make those inspiring bursts of pace going forward. He could come good in a similar way if moved centrally, but the way I see it is ..if it ain’t broke leave it alone.

  24. Arsene Wenger, his team selection, and his tactics has been our downfall over the years. We have good enough squad to do better than we have in recent years. But we do not have a manager to get the best out of this players. I won’t be surprised if Walcott and Welbeck plays ahead of R,Nelson this season. But any ambitious manager would go for Nelson.
    I hope we’ll win the community shield to boost the players moral. No wonder Alexis wants to leave, he knows Wenger cannot help him achieve anything.

  25. Well we lost, but a good work out, let us take a look

    Forwards
    Ok, Ozil is an important player and its pre-season, but the energy I hope to see from him is just not there, once couple tackles come in on him, he fades out of the game, for one of the biggest, if not the biggest earner in the squad, just passing is not enough. If it was him having the contract issue, I would be in church praying that he goes.

    Laca eventually started to move about in the latter part of the first half and in the second half getting more touches off the ball gradually and finally got his goal. i expect to see more of that from him this season.

    I expect this to be Welbeck season, but I am concern about his gait, the way he moves gives me the idea that he has some back or hip problem, he can only run in a straight line no flexibility, therefore I am of the opinion he is an injury that is about to happen. Showed good pace today, but passing and finishing is weak.

    Midfield
    Ramsay, ever moving forward and should have said let that task fall on Willock, Ramsay was more involved in the game than Ozil and did the work, good day for him.

    Willock basically had to fend for himself against two very experienced MF, Banega, Nzonzi(could have had him when he was at stoke), but it was a good day of lessons for him.

    Defenders
    Bellerin should what he lacked compared to Nelson a final ball and getting to the byline more often. He is out of game practice, so i hope to see improvement soon (wonder if barca still wants him hahaah)

    Kos was too undecided and this called the problems at the back.

    Elneny also undecided and this will happen when it is not you customary position. I am hoping this experiment has now been put to a stop, but doubt it, because Wenger loves to show he his right. Stupid i figure since Kos will be suspended for the first match he wants to use Elneny there, which needs to be sorted.

    Monreal did fairly well, actually looked better than both Kos and Elneny.

    Ox played well right through the ninety on both flanks

    Keeper did not have much to save but pick 2 out his net.

    Second half

    was hoping to see Nelson, but no chance, Iwobi, Walcott, Xhaka, bramal still did not create enough chances, but let’s get ready for a bigger fish, next weekend

  26. Like I said few days ago and sum people didn’t like it nzonzi is our veira he is wat we need I said it last week today proved my point

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