Pope John XXIII
Vital Football Legend
It only occured to me yesterday that the season was actually upon us so it was time to knock out a match thread!
Staying up last season meant so much. It gave legitimacy to the amazing memories of Wembley, as well as to us as a Premier League club. We now have that difficult second season to deal with before we can call ourselves established.
We have been poor in pre season. We have had a poor transfer window. Everyone is salivating over Aina; but stats wise there is no reason to think he won't disappear out of the team quickly. I wasn't willing to dismiss Awoniyi after one friendly, so I'm not willing to eulogise about Aina until I've seen him a couple of times. But I'm not optimistic he can be anything other than a significant downgrade on Lodi.
Elanga is a good buy, but with various players frozen out we seem to be net down on attackers and wingers, with Lingard, Dennis and Ayew all out for just one coming in. All played a part and we seem even less able to cope with injuries. For the love of god, please do not let us have to be putting Mighten on the bench again.
Turner is unlikely to be as good as Henderson or Navas either. Miles better than Horvath, which was the dire situation we nearly put ourselves in- but it's still a downgrade in theory, but I am open to being proved very wrong on that.
So, we've had a very poor window, that has done nothing to add any class or steel to the midfield and hasn't replaced players with equal replacements.
We are relying on last year's signings to do better and develop. Here I think we have more to be optimistic about.
Jonno, MGW and Awoniyi really pushed on last season and, with a full season under their belts and an understanding of each other, could be a much more effective group this season. Danilo is getting better and better, and will surely be poached before long. Mangala has his faults but adapted well last season. Williams started to look superb before his injury, and Worrall got better with experience, although there is always a mistake in him.
The difficulty comes with that hole in midfield- a Sangare shaped hole that the club desperate needs to fill. Doucoure and Onana do it for Everton; Yates and Mangala are not enough to do it for us I think.
But we have some weak sides this season. Luton and Sheffield United are the weakest promoted sides we have seen in years. Wolves look in real trouble. Everton will never be relegated but still look to have no goals. Bournemouth have taken a gamble on a manager. West Ham have largely squandered the Rice money. Brentford have lost Toney.
So, here's to the new season. Let's hope the last 2 weeks of the transfer window are better than the first 10; let's hope for fewer injuries, given we have a smaller squad to cope with them; let's hope we don't blow our whole budget on keepers. Let's hope Jonno stays. Let's hope our nightmare starting fixtures don't being a premature end to Cooper. And here's to not constantly hearing jokes about how many signings we have made.
Let's hope we push on and establish ourselves in the Premier League and have a less stressful season. Let's hope we don't suffer that second season syndrome
Arsenal style
I don't need to go far into this. Possession, passing, long shots by Ødegaard, exciting wingplay; Arsenal are very, very good. They had some of the best possession, shot and goal statistics last season. Defensively, when they had Saliba, they were also one of the best. This is a team that would have won the league easily if not for key defensive injuries and facing one of the best sides on English history.
We know what we are facing. We know how we have to play- low block, incredible discipline, incredible commitment. Whether we actually have the players to pull it off right now, especially at their place, is highly debatable. We all have this down as a loss, so it's a free hit.
They are better than us on every single metric that will ever matter and we don't have the home crowd. But, it's the start of the season. They have had one competitive game, sure- but it's the time when complacency and lack of cohesion can come into things. Big clubs can be vulnerable. You never know.
Formation
Arsenal play a 4-3-3 like we do with wingers causing chaos. Gabriel Jesus is the focal point with Eddie Nketiah deputising pretty well when needed. Jesus is injured, and they have just signed Havertz who is now taking that striker place. I thought he looked dreadful for Chelsea (but who didn't?) but Arteta thinks he can make something of him.
Players
Gabriel Jesus is injured and should not play. He didn't actually score that much, and it was delightful to see him so frustrated at the CG.
But instead we are likely to see Kai Havertz start. No one really knows what Havertz is. He has never been a goalscorer - a couple of decent Bundesliga seasons back in 2018-20 but nothing else. Every PL season he's hit single figures. He's not a massive creator either - 3 assists for the season is his record in the PL. Looking at his stats, you cant help think they should have signed Morgan Gibb-White instead. Arteta sees something, so cue the Havert renaissance starting with a hattrick against Forest.
If not him, then we'd probably face Eddie Nketiah (4 goals last season). I'd much rather face him to be honest, as he has the propensity to miss a few.
We didn't face Gabriel Martinelli at the CG last season, which made a big difference. 15 goals and 5 assists is incredible for a winger and the guy can do anything - hard to believe he's only just turned 22. He'll give us nightmares.
His deputy would be Leandro Trossard and whoever faced him or Martinelli would have to bring their A game (as opposed to the lazy shit we've seen from Aurier in pre season). We faced Trossard at Brighton; he scored 7 for them over the season, one for Arsenal. He's a great player, but he isn't Martinelli.
Bukayo Saka however is a hell of a player. Lodi had him in his pocket for 90 minutes at the CG but we don't have Lodi anymore. 13 PL goals, 11 assists. The lad is a nightmare and has everything. We saw how devastating he was at their place last season, and he'll be just as much a threat now he has had a full summer of rest.
Behind will be Martin Ødegaard, who always really worries me. He played fairly poorly at the CG and gave our goal away, but his long shots on the ground move with a pace that is unnatural and are absolutely deadly. If he gets the ball just outside the area he will blast it and your fate is with the gods. Our players have to be so alive to that and be willing to dive in every time.
Then there may be Thomas Partey. As in my last Arsenal thread, there is nothing I want to say about this player and he does not deserve to have his name mentioned in this thread again.
Of course, they now have Declan Rice, who they played on the left of the midfield three in the Community Shield. West Ham's best player (which in the PL seems to carry disproportionate weight due to the number of pundits and media who seem connected to West Ham), he was absolutely outstanding when we played at the taxpayer bowl and eviscerated our midfield and defence. Who knows what he could do with Arsenal? Whatever it is, we may be spared the worst of it as he adapts to his new role.
These three set up what should be an exceptionally strong midfield three.
Pushed out of the first XI is Jorginho, signed from Chelsea for his passing as well as defensive ability. with Xhaka gone now, he will take a more central role as the deputy to the main, strong midfield.
In defence, the mainstay is William Saliba, a 22 year old Frenchman. He is a superb passer out of defence but is just brilliant at defending all round, the Arsenal defence being a shadow of itself without him. You question whether Awoniyi scores that goal if he faces Saliba; we were a different side back then, but look how easily they dealt with our "threat" at the Emirates.
Alongside him is Brazillian Gabriel Magalhaes. He played every game last season with a 6.8 average rating (the same as Serge Aurier and lower than Felipe's 7.05). He's decent but not great, relying somewhat on Saliba to make him part of a solid defence.
They have just signed Jurrien Timber, another 22 year old from Netherlands to replace Kieron Tierney at LB. Timber is another great young find for Arsenal, but I currently have no real info on him so we'll have to see what he's like.
Ben White at right back is a strong player, as we know, although has his weaknesses.
Aaron Ramsdale is going to be in goal, knowing that Arteta is about to spend a fair bit of money on David Raya from Brentford.
Form
Arsenal have done ok pre season, beating Barcelona 5-3, drawing with Nurnburg and Monaco and losing to Man Utd. They scored a late equaliser against Man City to win the Community Shield on penalties.
Head to head
Good recent record in cups and now in the league, but only at home. Our last win at Arsenal was March 1989, Pearce, Clough and Carr scoring in a 3-1 comeback win
Weather
Should be a nice, sunny day
Staying up last season meant so much. It gave legitimacy to the amazing memories of Wembley, as well as to us as a Premier League club. We now have that difficult second season to deal with before we can call ourselves established.
We have been poor in pre season. We have had a poor transfer window. Everyone is salivating over Aina; but stats wise there is no reason to think he won't disappear out of the team quickly. I wasn't willing to dismiss Awoniyi after one friendly, so I'm not willing to eulogise about Aina until I've seen him a couple of times. But I'm not optimistic he can be anything other than a significant downgrade on Lodi.
Elanga is a good buy, but with various players frozen out we seem to be net down on attackers and wingers, with Lingard, Dennis and Ayew all out for just one coming in. All played a part and we seem even less able to cope with injuries. For the love of god, please do not let us have to be putting Mighten on the bench again.
Turner is unlikely to be as good as Henderson or Navas either. Miles better than Horvath, which was the dire situation we nearly put ourselves in- but it's still a downgrade in theory, but I am open to being proved very wrong on that.
So, we've had a very poor window, that has done nothing to add any class or steel to the midfield and hasn't replaced players with equal replacements.
We are relying on last year's signings to do better and develop. Here I think we have more to be optimistic about.
Jonno, MGW and Awoniyi really pushed on last season and, with a full season under their belts and an understanding of each other, could be a much more effective group this season. Danilo is getting better and better, and will surely be poached before long. Mangala has his faults but adapted well last season. Williams started to look superb before his injury, and Worrall got better with experience, although there is always a mistake in him.
The difficulty comes with that hole in midfield- a Sangare shaped hole that the club desperate needs to fill. Doucoure and Onana do it for Everton; Yates and Mangala are not enough to do it for us I think.
But we have some weak sides this season. Luton and Sheffield United are the weakest promoted sides we have seen in years. Wolves look in real trouble. Everton will never be relegated but still look to have no goals. Bournemouth have taken a gamble on a manager. West Ham have largely squandered the Rice money. Brentford have lost Toney.
So, here's to the new season. Let's hope the last 2 weeks of the transfer window are better than the first 10; let's hope for fewer injuries, given we have a smaller squad to cope with them; let's hope we don't blow our whole budget on keepers. Let's hope Jonno stays. Let's hope our nightmare starting fixtures don't being a premature end to Cooper. And here's to not constantly hearing jokes about how many signings we have made.
Let's hope we push on and establish ourselves in the Premier League and have a less stressful season. Let's hope we don't suffer that second season syndrome
Arsenal style
I don't need to go far into this. Possession, passing, long shots by Ødegaard, exciting wingplay; Arsenal are very, very good. They had some of the best possession, shot and goal statistics last season. Defensively, when they had Saliba, they were also one of the best. This is a team that would have won the league easily if not for key defensive injuries and facing one of the best sides on English history.
We know what we are facing. We know how we have to play- low block, incredible discipline, incredible commitment. Whether we actually have the players to pull it off right now, especially at their place, is highly debatable. We all have this down as a loss, so it's a free hit.
They are better than us on every single metric that will ever matter and we don't have the home crowd. But, it's the start of the season. They have had one competitive game, sure- but it's the time when complacency and lack of cohesion can come into things. Big clubs can be vulnerable. You never know.
Formation
Arsenal play a 4-3-3 like we do with wingers causing chaos. Gabriel Jesus is the focal point with Eddie Nketiah deputising pretty well when needed. Jesus is injured, and they have just signed Havertz who is now taking that striker place. I thought he looked dreadful for Chelsea (but who didn't?) but Arteta thinks he can make something of him.
Players
Gabriel Jesus is injured and should not play. He didn't actually score that much, and it was delightful to see him so frustrated at the CG.
But instead we are likely to see Kai Havertz start. No one really knows what Havertz is. He has never been a goalscorer - a couple of decent Bundesliga seasons back in 2018-20 but nothing else. Every PL season he's hit single figures. He's not a massive creator either - 3 assists for the season is his record in the PL. Looking at his stats, you cant help think they should have signed Morgan Gibb-White instead. Arteta sees something, so cue the Havert renaissance starting with a hattrick against Forest.
If not him, then we'd probably face Eddie Nketiah (4 goals last season). I'd much rather face him to be honest, as he has the propensity to miss a few.
We didn't face Gabriel Martinelli at the CG last season, which made a big difference. 15 goals and 5 assists is incredible for a winger and the guy can do anything - hard to believe he's only just turned 22. He'll give us nightmares.
His deputy would be Leandro Trossard and whoever faced him or Martinelli would have to bring their A game (as opposed to the lazy shit we've seen from Aurier in pre season). We faced Trossard at Brighton; he scored 7 for them over the season, one for Arsenal. He's a great player, but he isn't Martinelli.
Bukayo Saka however is a hell of a player. Lodi had him in his pocket for 90 minutes at the CG but we don't have Lodi anymore. 13 PL goals, 11 assists. The lad is a nightmare and has everything. We saw how devastating he was at their place last season, and he'll be just as much a threat now he has had a full summer of rest.
Behind will be Martin Ødegaard, who always really worries me. He played fairly poorly at the CG and gave our goal away, but his long shots on the ground move with a pace that is unnatural and are absolutely deadly. If he gets the ball just outside the area he will blast it and your fate is with the gods. Our players have to be so alive to that and be willing to dive in every time.
Then there may be Thomas Partey. As in my last Arsenal thread, there is nothing I want to say about this player and he does not deserve to have his name mentioned in this thread again.
Of course, they now have Declan Rice, who they played on the left of the midfield three in the Community Shield. West Ham's best player (which in the PL seems to carry disproportionate weight due to the number of pundits and media who seem connected to West Ham), he was absolutely outstanding when we played at the taxpayer bowl and eviscerated our midfield and defence. Who knows what he could do with Arsenal? Whatever it is, we may be spared the worst of it as he adapts to his new role.
These three set up what should be an exceptionally strong midfield three.
Pushed out of the first XI is Jorginho, signed from Chelsea for his passing as well as defensive ability. with Xhaka gone now, he will take a more central role as the deputy to the main, strong midfield.
In defence, the mainstay is William Saliba, a 22 year old Frenchman. He is a superb passer out of defence but is just brilliant at defending all round, the Arsenal defence being a shadow of itself without him. You question whether Awoniyi scores that goal if he faces Saliba; we were a different side back then, but look how easily they dealt with our "threat" at the Emirates.
Alongside him is Brazillian Gabriel Magalhaes. He played every game last season with a 6.8 average rating (the same as Serge Aurier and lower than Felipe's 7.05). He's decent but not great, relying somewhat on Saliba to make him part of a solid defence.
They have just signed Jurrien Timber, another 22 year old from Netherlands to replace Kieron Tierney at LB. Timber is another great young find for Arsenal, but I currently have no real info on him so we'll have to see what he's like.
Ben White at right back is a strong player, as we know, although has his weaknesses.
Aaron Ramsdale is going to be in goal, knowing that Arteta is about to spend a fair bit of money on David Raya from Brentford.
Form
Arsenal have done ok pre season, beating Barcelona 5-3, drawing with Nurnburg and Monaco and losing to Man Utd. They scored a late equaliser against Man City to win the Community Shield on penalties.
Head to head
Good recent record in cups and now in the league, but only at home. Our last win at Arsenal was March 1989, Pearce, Clough and Carr scoring in a 3-1 comeback win
Weather
Should be a nice, sunny day
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