According to James Olley in the Evening Standard, Arsenal’s injury worries ahead of the Sp*rs game this weekend are receding.
It had been thought that Petr Cech’s calf injury would keep him out of the team for the Wembley showdown, but the report suggests he will be available with the club ‘optimistic’ about his availability.
Nacho Monreal, forced off at half-time during the 5-1 win over Everton with sickness, has recovered sufficiently to take part, while Danny Welbeck could be set for his first involvement since mid-January after he picked up a knock in the defeat to Bournemouth.
Arsene Wenger is expected to revert to a back three for an away game, with Monreal slotting in alongside Shkodran Mustafi and Laurent Koscielny.
He will have to choose between Sead Kolasinac and Ainsley Maitland-Niles for the left wing-back position.
Jack Wilshere is also in contention for a midfield start having overcome illness last weekend to make the bench for the Everton game.
Well, I guess we signed Auba for nothing if Welbz is fit!
He’ll keep the bench warm, that’s his likely role.
He can fill in on any of the front three positions to be fair. Useful guy to have around.
I think we’ve been kinda harsh on Welbz to be honest. Chucking him on with 15 to go in games we are performing woefully is a pretty tough ask. He’s a great player on his day but not a game changer as such.
Completely agree. Although his air-shots are getting pretty ridiculous…
welbz will get you a goal every 4 games off of his little toe/ear lobe/tongue.
honestly think if he had done a sturridge and gone to a southampton/wba/newcastle/everton he would get games, confidence and goals.
Which is exactly why we should’ve kept Giroud and sold Welbeck.
And once again: Giroud to Chelsea was the price to get Aubameyang. You can disagree with that, if you like, but you are criticising a decision–keeping Wellbeck while selling Giroud–that was not Arsenal’s to make.
Nobody will pay the price for Welbeck.
That said, now that we do not have GIroud, we have Welbeck as the only cover for Lacazette in Europa.
Wise decision? Hope the injury gods don’t punish us with Lacazette.
Lol Every club is an injury away to their striker and stuck with a lesser level striker. Not every club can have elite or close to elite second striker.
If Giroud was kept and Laca did get hurt most of us would start complaining about how slow OG is or how he isn’t athletic enough. That he is only good for 15-20 min off the bench.
Tough times.
Yep, contrary to popular belief our transfers have been pretty ill planned and not structured. We got players on the last day of transfer window because we couldn’t get out first choice and end up with players who you cannot play a strong pressing or possession passing game… I E Xhaka, Sanchez, sead, giroud, mustafi, welbz. I’m not saying they are bad players. Just square pegs in round holes. And Wenger teams are famous for passing and movement. Something happened with the transfers. It obviously hasn’t been Arsene making transfer last few years ie Kroenke years, because why would a… Read more »
Spot on.
The main reason you would have a soft spot for him is because he is English. He is a pretty big load of bollocks for a striker. Old man Jermaine Defoe would probably be a more effective striker for us despite his age. Dat guy would probably find a new ridiculous way to miss the target from 2 yards out.
Who? Dat guy? Pff!
He’ll grab a goal with a shoulder or a knee for sure!
I know he plays like Bambi on Ice sometimes but he assisted in knocking his boyhood team (ie Manc Scum) out of the FA Cup a few years ago.
He has his uses.
To be fair to welbz he was our best player-ish at the beggining of the season.
Yes. Of all our player-ishes, he was the best.
I would have hoped after last week that we could stick with a back 4, but such is life. Whoever is on the pitch just has to give 100% and walk out of there with 3 points. And the bragging rights.
Come on you Gooners.
i think the reasoning is at home games the away teams will sit back more.
whereas away games vs top 6, we need a more defensive mindset than when were at home.
everton/palace’s attack isnt as potent as TeamGB’s Olympic Divers.
I gave quite the polite chuckle reading “TeamGB’s Olympic Divers”.
Cech,
Mustafi, Kos, Nacho
Bellerin, Jack, Rambo, Sead
Mikhi Ozil
Auba.
3 points. Job done.
Spot on Andy. Sadly the reality is that he will stick with Xhaka, and wouldn’t surprise me if he started with same 11 including Iwobi, which of course would be a disaster.
If he truly is reverting to a back 3 for away games, it seems like Iwobi is the obvious casualty in midfield.
Also to be fair to them, both Xhaka and Iwobi were markedly improved against Everton. Fingers crossed that can continue.
Iwobi has actually played very well over the last couple of weeks both offensively and defensively – I don’t see how his inclusion would be a disaster, he’s very good in possession even when he’s under pressure and also strong on the ball. Personally, I’ll start him on the left
Not sure about kolasinac, out of form and really poor passing… However did score on his last visit to Wembley…
I think Jack and Ramsey as a midfield two isn’t defensive enough, though admittedly I don’t think Xhaka would really help in that regard either
Jesus…. Jack and Rambo in midfield…..I can just picture Ali running through all acres of space, laughing with joy as Erickson pulls Nacho wide and kane running through the 2 centre backs….
Get Elneny in there beside Rambo.
I’ve never seen a match in which Jack and Rambo worked well in midfield. Before Jack’s gap year it was tried a number of times to disastrous effect. Aside from the obvious (neither of them fit at the same time and occupying a similar role) probably why we haven’t seen it since.
i see the reasoning, but jack needs to play.
he is the biggest arsenal man in the team and this is the NLD.
I still can’t see Arsene playing both Wilshere and Ramsey anytime soon. Obviously, he’s not going to drop Aaron after Everton which means Jack sits it out (despite his not inconsiderable form) for the time being. It’s called (a) competition or (b) having a fucking awesome bench capable of influencing matches. Whatever you think of either, whatever you think of Xhaka and Elneny, we’re playing Sp*rs away from home. And “away from home” hasn’t exactly been our forte this season. So unless you think we can score another four first-half goals it doesn’t constitute a game plan that has a… Read more »
I think we might see the back and the back four with elneny as the combo player.
———-cech———–
Bel-kos-must-Money
——–elneny———-
—–xhaka–ramsey——
–mikh—auba—-ozil—-
I think this is the formation we will use. It leaves Jack on the bench, which is a negative, and it relies on Bellerin and Monreal (or Kolasinac) for width, but it has the great advantage of choking off space for Eriksen, who is the one who makes their attack work. And our front three plus Ramsey puts a lot of pressure on Dier. I think they will start Wanyama instead of Dembele for this reason.
very amusing read. Enjoy the game! come on you Gunners!
An Elneny start could be an interesting option, where he allows flexibility to shift between a back 3 and 4. That would allow Nacho to be LB or LWB. He did it in the win over Chelski so he could it v. Sp*rs.
Would hope so…. ? I read a Mailbox entry on football365 the other day that Kolasinac could be converted to a decent DM. It got me thinking but his passing is a bit dodgy for this perhaps. However what did occur to me is Mustafi is made for the role. Proactive, excellent tackling, strong, he’s decent on the ball, and it would reduce the risk of his sometimes over casualness at the edge of box and shift it 20 yards up the pitch where it is less of a problem. In practice I don’t think it makes much difference in… Read more »
nice points but i think the theory falls apart in practice. mustafi is TOO aggressive for that role imho, and will tackle too heavily for the role. xhaka is shite defensively, switching off and when he was switched on he was reckless… but due to his passing ability gets the nod from wenger in that role.(rightly or wrongly) My point is that the DM needs to have solidarity and a passing range. for the CDM role: xhaka is too weak defensively. Jack is too weak physically. Rambo is too weak positionally. Elneny is too weak technically. The perfect DM is… Read more »
I think you’re probably right in that whatever we do it is a compromise and mustafi is definitely a risk as he’s over the top. Not sure what it means for him as a defender. Worrying aye! we just don’t have the player that we really need and could glue the team together. I tend to think we need 5 offensive and 5 defensive players and going forward we’re in pretty good shape and have options. Defensively I think we struggle by shoehorning a naturally attacking player in to the CDM role and then whatever we do makes the team… Read more »
Trouble is a last ditch slide tackle by a cb and a slide tackle in the middle of the pitch by a Dm are viewed differently, the latter leaning away from being justifiable, regardless of the skill or lack of in which its applied.
Mustafi has been too inconsistent passing, and he’s not as mobile as a DM needs to be. I agree with the chorus pushing Maitland-Niles as a DM. I think he’d be very good there now, and could be excellent by next season. He’s doing very well at wingback, but let’s hope Sead regains his form (he was a beast early in the season), and Nacho is our best LB in a back four.
Cech
Mustafi kos Montreal
Bellarin Jack Ramsey AMN
Ozil Mkhiterian
Auba
Why do people think a midfield 2 of Jack and Ramsey in an away NLD is the way to go?
Why don’t we just forget about defending and fill the team with attacking players, tell them all to play in the opposition penalty area
like normal
we have been for years
Because they just hope we play their favorites and somehow things work out. The reason Xhaka looks so bad ( main reason anyway) is because he’s playing out of position in the first place. Him , Jack and Rambo are essentially CM players. None of them is a DM and you are suggesting we drop an out of position player for another simply because you want to see Jack but would also want to see Ramsey. Forget the fact that we have Mo because he’s not a fan favorite. How about we play Ospina as a LWB while we are… Read more »
If Xhaka is not an defensive, but an attacking midfielder, then he is a pretty bad one. Compared to Rambo for example, I don’t think he has any of his attacking qualities.
Not attacking mate. Just CM
I would drop Elneny in the midfield 2 for a bit of protection. Can’t wait to see 3 players from Sp*rs booked for diving this game!
I love Mo, but if we’re going with three in the back, replacing Ramsey or even Xhaka with Elneny does not leave us with enough going forward. With a back four, sure, play him. He’s a great defensive option coming in for (say) Ozil or Xhaka to protect a lead late on.
But this isn’t an away game…..
WWWWWWWWWembley Form!
Just throw in all the strikers. We’ve got Aubameyang, Micki, Laca, Ozil, and now Welbz. North London is always red. COYG
Throw Eddie Nketiah in there too!
With the strikers we have I’d be open to him getting some minutes ahead of welbeck, who won’t get any better given his age.
But that’s in the coming seasons since he’s not really there yet.
nacho did, santi did, auba did…
theres more but I cba to name them all…
welbeck still has time to improve, though not dramatically.
cant be arsed to write cant be arsed. loved it.
A 3rd league position is very feasible and the league next season. COYG
Ugh. Think we should really be picking and sticking to 4-2-3-1 which seems to suit our new attacking toys so well. 3-4-3 should be left as a change-up formation when things just aren’t going well in the 70th minute.
I dunno it’s worked for us in the past in these games
Good to see Sp*rs have a Wednesday night game and then a 12.30 sat kickoff. Might help.
No excuses. I like it better when we beat them faire and square.
I have no problem with it being unfair
They are playing Newport of the 2nd Division (4th Division in old money) and will rest players. There is no way in will be as close as the 1st game. I expect it to be well and truly over as a contest by HT.
True but they won’t be resting everybody. Hopefully it will go to extra time.
extra time and a few league 2 challenges would be perfect.
if I was newports manager i would be telling my defenders, after recent revelations, that if you are going to tackle spurs in our final 3rd then make sure you hit hard.
If they are going to dive anyway like theyve admitted then might as well make sure theyre put off trying it on.
I was tempted to ring up a Newport flower shop and have a nice bouquet delivered to the offices at Rodney Marsh, with the note “Dear Newport, please fuck up as many Spurms players as you can while you knock them out of the Cup. Love, Arsenal.”
I’m sure arteta and titi have been advising him similar. (apparently he was on their coaching course and is in regular contact)
What’s the downvote for? Shit is it actually Thierry or arteta saying they aren’t in contact like their manager says in the BBC piece on Newport before the game?!
I would actually start with back 4 and replace Iwobi with Wilshere. Like 4 1 4 1 with Xhaka holding. I think if we can provide Xhaka and our back 4 with enough support we will have lot more attacking threat with that line up.
My line up wil be
Cech
Bellerin Mustafi Kos Monreal
Xhaka
Ozil Jack Rambo Mkhi
Auba
Consider replacing Xhaka for Elneny moving between defence & DM like the 2nd half against Chelsea match 5
Urgh, that formation reminds me of that dreadful period at the start of the 14/15 season when Wenger tried to shoe-horn Cazorla, Ramsey, Wilshere and Ozil into an attacking four. Think I’ll pass on seeing that again. Just go with a three man midfield if we’re gonna play both Ramsey and Wilshere.
This Derby is too inportant to Jack for him not to start. The man oozes passion for the club.
We (Arsenal) have enough firepower to gun down Tottenham anytime, any day and anywhere. Iwobi and Ramsey are playing well at the moment. I don’t think we should alter our formation (4-2-3-1) is just perfect.
We have a huge chance of winning this game. Our attack should get the job done – outscore them. Cech, Ospina, makes no difference to me as none seem able to keep a clean sheet at the moment. Our fearsome strike force will down the spuds!
Gut tells me we should stick to a back four. But I think we can win either way. Lets fuck em up nice and proper, it’s Wembley after all
I for one do not like the back 3.
Cech
BeLl – Kos – Must – Monr
Ramsey – Xhaka – Wilshere
Mkhi – Ozil
Auba
4-3-2-1
Will BEAT the SpXXrs !
Elneny instead of xhaka.
Remove xhaka and iwobi for this match and put Elneny and Lacazette in the team
How do you see the Lacazette one happening? As far as I’m concerned neither Auba or Lacazette would be anywhere near as effective on the left, and it’s not worth reshuffling the formation to fit both in. They’ll both have big chances to impress (Lacazette in the Europa, Aubameyang in the league), and will be competing for their place, which can only be a good thing.
Eleneny may be more secure but doesn’t give you the pin point accuracy as much as Granit going forward. BUT there’s something to be said for caution. Elneny seems better in a back 3 with Mustafi, Koscielny flanking in whch case we can also play Monreal. Having said that against Swans, we were too deep with Elneny. OTOH, we have Jack back so we have a player better able to turn and engage, run the ball upon the dribble. Midfield is key and there’s another selection headache because Iwobi was excellent and so was Ramsey. Lacazette will need game time… Read more »
Should have sent Welbeck instead of Giroud
Only if thats how transfers worked lol I wish we could have sent them Lucas Perez remember that stud
however, i am confident of the three points for us on Emblem… its a feel good factor
Predicted line up v Spurs:
GK: Ospina
DF/WB: Bellerin, Koscienly, Mustafi, Monreal, Kolasinac
MF: Ramsey/Xhaka, Wilshere, Ozil, Mikritaryan
ST: Aubameyang
2-2 or 2-0 Arsenal win.
Just start the game on the front foot and no mistakes. To many times we’ve let ourselves down and paid the price. I’d love any kind of win but just as important would be not to lose this one. Coyg
Its not just starting the game. Its sustaining the effort which is the problem.
4 3 3 is best I think
Formation is slightly a mot point IMO We play a flexible system that Wenger is able to switch in between 3 at the back or a rotating 3 in midfield or possibly even 2 up top. This is because the personnel he has now suit more a 3-2-4-1 or a 3-4-2-1 or indeed a 4-1-2-1-2. I’m not sure we are entirely suited to a 4-2-3-1 in the traditional form as we lack wide players with sufficient pace and creativity. Most of thew players are better in a flexible system in midfield with fullbacks supporting. Its a ll pedantic really. We… Read more »
Think we will stick to a back-four, and I hope he picks El Neny instead of Xhaka from a defensive-cover perspective
Elneny is more diligent but also a more limited choice.
Granit’s deliveries last game were pin point.
But his consistency and his awareness defensively is questionable.
Still if we want attacking power, granit is a better bet.
Elneny is an option at Cback with Mustafi and Koscielny either side. That way we can also play Monreal still at left wingback and hold a 3 to watch Kane and Ali.
3 at the back may indeed be better caution. It doesn’t matter if its Kolasinac or AMN frankly. BOTH are error prone. AMN has on a number of occasions failed to track runners into the box. Kolasinac IMO is merely having issues getting used to pace of the game. He will get better defensively. Even Monreal who is much lauded these days has been guilty over recent games of pushing too high thereby isolating Mustafi behind. Sensible positioning and always backing up the defender on hand is the key issue. When we drop our efforts (particularly midfield) we run a… Read more »
Spurts in action tonight against Newport.
Hope the minnows give them a good run for the money, maybe induce a red card or a knock here and there, tire them out for us for the weekend.
Its a must win for us this weekend. Cup final in many ways (and at our fav local Wembley)
We not only need to win but dent their confidence.
We need Niles in the centre marking Eriksen.
Welbeck!!!!!!