It’s Premier League action tonight as we look to win at Stoke for the second time in just a matter of months.
It’s typically been a tricky game for us, so let’s hope we can take the three points back to London tonight.
Here are the official line-ups.
Stoke: Butland; Zouma, Shawcross, Cameron; Diouf, Allen, Fletcher, Pieters; Shaqiri, Jese; Choupo-Moting.
Subs: Grant; Johnson, Berahino, Martins-Indi, Crouch, Bojan, Ramadan.
Arsenal: Cech, Mustafi, Monreal, Kolasinac, Bellerin, Xhaka, Ramsey, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Ozil, Welbeck, Lacazette
Subs: Ospina, Mertesacker, Coquelin, Elneny, Iwobi, Walcott, Giroud
giroud and mertesacker be so pissed today..
Bit of height might not hurt
“A bit of Mert might not hurt” – you missed a chance their mate! 🙂
That too
*there (hangs head in shame)
Back to school with you
Good to see confederations cup-winning Mustafi back.
Holding out for a hero.
wrong team selections cost us as xpected.
Mert on the bench and Ox on the left again
Pandering to the ox?
Completely. Wenger just picking him to placate him in the hope he’ll sign a contract, and doing so at detriment of team.
Surely if Arsene was pandering to Ox he’d be playing him in the centre?
Damn right.
I don;’t think Ox has done anything wrong so how is picking one of our most effective players pandering to him?
He isn’t so effective on the left. For me he should play on the right and bring mert or holding in for some height
Completely agree Drew.
If that was the case he’d be playing centrally. If anything this will annoy him more playing left wing back
I’d had hoped that today we could have fielded a proper central defender at central defense like mert or holding. Nothing against Montreal but we looks like we lack a Height at the back.
Monreal
No Holding? One bad game then he is out?
Seriously. What is with this team selection? Continuing the trend of playing as many players out of position as long as possible?! Illogical. Kolasinic is so obviously a left back bloody well play him there. Holding and chambers not even on the bench. Maddening. #COYG
Protecting him probably. Give him a few games out of spotlight and reintroduce him then.
No. Clearly he hates him and that’s the end of his career with us.
He’s very young and played during the summer, so he’s just being protected.
Why are we starting with two fullbacks in the back 3. And it’s Stoke away ffs.
How can we expect Monreal to win headers against the likes of Crouch etc.
Can’t understand why he’s playing Kolasinac at CB. Completely wastes his considerable attacking threat.
Could be a 4-3-3 with Monreal and Mustafi as centre halves, Ox on the right wing of a front three, would make more sense to me…
I am starting to think Wenger will never play Kolasinac at wingback.
If there’s one thing no one wanted to see it was Ox on the left again, talk about shoehorning him into the team! Can’t wait to see him sprint down the left wing then cut inside and lose the ball.
Could be Ox on the right and Bellerin on the left
Yeah.. that’s muuuch better
It actually is
Yeah I love all the goals they helped us with… We have two capable left backs in our squad. Bellerin and ox ain’t one of them, because our left back players played central defence. Kind of finf stupid
Actually its not, Bellerin cannot cross or go around people on his left so his best attribute (pace and dribbling) are taken out of the game so he is pretty useless out there. And Ox is just an average crosser anyway. So while Ox is much better on the right, Bellerin is also bad on the left so there is zero difference
Still loving that bench. Considering Kos and Sanchez aren’t even available
Kolasinac as CB? Our formation will be 2-4-4.
spot on.. i think we revert to a back 4 today
I meant 2 at the back 🙂
Kolasinac loves going forward
If Mertesacker is on the bench then he is not injured. Should be starting as he will be needed today. Should be playing Kolasinac in left wing back role with Chamberlain dropping to bench.
Giroud is a better option off the bench.
Exactly, this is the perfect game for the likes of Mertesacker.
Unbelievable not to play the captain for a game like this. We are going to get bullied on set pieces. I hope I am wrong
In my wildest dream i believe this give us the option to swith instantaneously to a 4-3-3 with OX moving up in the middle or thé park….
Anyway. play hard, smash dôme près and Get 3 points. COYG !!!
“smash some orcs”
I just don’t agree with this selection. I was really hoping Kolasinac would get a run at wingback. But COYGS!!
New season, same mistakes – square pegs, round holes springs to mind. Full backs at CB and Ox at LB. Poor Holding totally dropped – joke!
No Wenger, not two left backs at cb again, please no.
He’s tryna please the Ox by giving him playing time. Thats why Kolasinac is being played at Left CB. Poor choice.
Not happy with the back 3, or Ox on the left…but COYG!
I’d love to be wrong, but this is classic WTF Wenger. Sometimes I wonder if he experiences the same reality as everyone else. Dropping Holding after a bad performance will do nothing for his confidence. I’d have picked Cech, Holding, Mert, Mustafi, Kolasinac, Bellerin, Xhaka, Ramsey, Ozil, Iwobi and Laca. I think Iwobi and Laca are going to have some dangerous chemistry and I see Welbeck as essentially the Elneny of the front line. Love him, but he lacks that cutting edge and creativity.
So you’d drop Monreal? Our most consistent defender??? Good job you.
Time to step it up! In need of a big performance.
The Manchester clubs are already looking like a force to reckon with.
Come on you Gunners.!
Rather have , Mustafi, BFG, Chambers/holding at the back…
What kind of madness is this! Playing centre backs at centre back?!? That’s how we do things around here.
Ox is not good from the left!
We could do with the BFG playing today!
On the plus side…. I like our midfield and attack and the bench looks impressive! COYG!
Have some faith for fuck sake. Some of you sound like you are over from Le cunt, sorry I mean Le grove
Many people have faith that the team will win. The irritation is from not picking the best team. Chamberlain is not a left wing back and after the poor defensive showing last week most would rather see Mertesacker start and play Kolasinac at left wing back in order for him to pose an attacking threat.
Most are not managers now reel your neck in and support the team. Ox has done ok at left wing back
“OK” is not really what we are looking for with respect.
What you mean like winning fa cup Community shield and opening game of season where he was threat for most of game
Am i the only one seeing a 4-2-3-1?
Where’s everyone getting the 3-5-2 from?
The reaction here…
No Holding anywhere? Hm..
Where is Holding?
Why are we player small defenders at centre back?
His stubborn refusal to use Chambers is baffling.
As Samuel L. Jackson said in Jurassic Park ‘Hold on to your butts’.
Maybe we’re playing a 4-3-3 with the personnel out on the field today. Who cares as long as we win!
Mertesacker at CB.
Monreal at LB.
Kolasinac instead of Ox.
And 50/50 Iwobi instead of Welbeck.
Other than that no complaints.
Telling that he doesn’t trust Mustafi in the centre of the pitch.
His Career at Arsenal will be short lived if he can’t cut the rash challenges from his game.
It looks to me Wenger is playing a back 4- I can’t see how a back three can be comprised from 4 defenders on the pitch. Unless I’m missing something? Mustafi and Kolasinac as the centre backs, Bellerin and Nacho as full backs…Ozil, Ramsey, in the middle, Xhaka as the holding midfielder…Welbeck abd The Ox playing either side of Lacazette…that’s the logical formation (to me, based on the players on the pitch). Unless I’m overlooking something?
I think it will be Kolasinac at LB and Nacho at CB
Would rather we had more actual centre halfs today. Windy night vs a big team, where are mert and holding?
I think it’s because Mert has only played one competitive game in 12 months while Holding might not be ready for an away battle at Stoke…?
Perhaps, but mustafi has played no football yet this year. Would at least leave holding in even if a little rocky last week but hey. Atleast ox is on the right, much more output than on the left or bellerin
I think Mustafi is more match fit than Mert, considering he played pretty much the whole of last season and the Confederation’s cup
terrible performance
COYG… ANOTHER 3 POINTS
For Stoke.
Frustrating game so far. Suppose that is to be expected.
Really ? we are being beaten by this dross ?
Ugh…..well that was bollocks.
Why does Arsene insists of playing players out of positions?
SHOULD start Giroud. This plan B nonsense again. You start the striker that suits the team you play against. That is not at detriment to Lacazette either bc they clearly can be played together. IF anything Welbeck should be sacrificed. He does not anticipate enough and he lacks finishing. It’s the height of idiocy to keep relying on Giroud to dig us out of a hole. He needs the time to affect the game. And the subs today were completely farcical. Why take off Granit who can find Giroud with a ball over the top. Wenger torpedoed himself again as… Read more »