Arsenal take on Aston Villa at the Emirates looking to secure three points that could restore us to the top four.
Unai Emery makes six changes from the team that beat Frankfurt…but 18-year-old Bukayo Saka keeps his place.
Arsenal: Leno, Maitland-Niles, Luiz, Sokratis, Kolasinac, Xhaka, Guendouzi, Ceballos, Pepe, Aubameyang, Saka
Subs: Martinez, Chambers, Torreira, Willock, Nelson, Ozil, Martinelli
For me, this lineup reinforces that we have no real consistency in what we’re doing week to week. But I hope this one works. COYG
Yes there is. Xhaka always plays and the rest of the midfield is drawn from a tombolla.
At this point only a banjaxed limb will keep xhaka out
To be fair, if I’m not mistake, this is exactly the same as against Watford but for Saka starting instead of Ozil.
Hopefully we’ll find a little more balance with this.
No its 4-3-3 instead of a diamond
Thats how we should play (most games) with 2 men sitting in front of defence . lIke we did in pre season.
Sure enough. I was looking at personnel only.
If Xhaka plays as well as he did against Frankfurt we shall be ok
Xhaka must be a serious sweet talker. There is literally nothing he can do to get himself dropped. Sure he finally had a good game in the Europa League, but could count his good epl games in 2+ seasons on two hands.
This might be one of the funniest “It’s funny because it’s true” comments I have ever read. Well played.
Chambers for Luiz and Torreira for Xhaka for me but I’m very happy Saka is being rewarded.
Would you also be critical if we stuck with the same lineup that did so poorly last time out?
We’ve made 1 change from Watford
Saka in for Ozil…. that’s hardly a sweeping change
Whatever Emery does, Arsenal fans will whinge whinge and whinge some more…..
I don’t understand this take. This lineup was 10/11 predictable and hard to argue with the 11th except maybe that Saka played 90 minutes.
Looks like the 4-3-3 we started the season with, but Saka on the left instead of Auba, who moves into middle. I’m excited about this game now… this looks like our best formation with possibly the best players available. I’d be tempted to swap Xhaka for Willock and move Guendouzi into the deepest lying midfield position, but maybe Xhaka offers us a bit more stability. Let’s see… I fancy Pepe to come good today as well!
At least we’re sticking with a 4-3-3 like formation
I have no issue with this change .
We are consistently allowing the opponent lots of chances. 12 minutes played against Villa currently, theyve had 3 shots on target with 36% possession
We’re not a good team under Emery — that’s painfully clear. I don’t think we can blame that on Wenger any longer, I don’t think we can blame that on the transfer market any longer, and I don’t think we can blame it on the players (exclusively) any longer. Even if we somehow manage to come back and do something special in the second half with ten men, it is ridiculous what is happening at Arsenal FC right now and especially at the Emirates today. Shameful.
I understand why Wenger use to stay planted in his seat when things went south, but Emery not even getting up to see of injured AMN speaks volumes.. what is going on?
Emery out
Saka with an assist for Pepe and Auba with his mandatory goal. 3-0 for Arsenal. Nelson to score late on in the game.
Good to see Saka start. He’s earned it.
Agree…nice to see Saks rewarded for his mid week exploits. Would like to see Willock get a sub appearance as well.
Saka truly earned to start
If Arsenal lose they’ll be calling for Emery to get the Sak in the morning.
Saka!
Wow all in on Saka, hope he has a corker.
Good to see Saka starting. I wish Emery would give Chambers a chance again. He did solid opening day
4-3-3
Emery starting to create a fixed formation.
Lol what? Only fixed part is Xhaka and Auba to get run into the ground and burned out by Xmas.
Ozil is clearly not primary to Emery’s plans, then should have sold him in the summer and saved the £18.2m per year in wages.
They probably tried very hard.
Emery won’t play Mesut out of spite, the only time we’ll see him on the pitch this season will be with a bunch of kids in the cup competitions, designed to humiliate him. If he can’t get the best out of one of the best playmakers in the league it reflects badly on the coach as far as I’m concerned.
I disagree. Ozil only works if he’s not asked to do “the dirty work”. At least in the EPL he’s a player we can ill afford.
Ah, yes, we’re so much better without him aren’t we. No creativity, can’t defend. emeryball is a total fuck up and we have a creator in the team that the coach absolutely hates, it’s pathetic.
Are we going to make saka the scapegoat like we did iwobi last year. Throwing him in the deep end expecting him to create chances and score like a pro, while we keep a pro on the bench ?
Vonnie you are oh so right. Emery is a man who has divided his attention between coaching and humiliating Ozil ever since the player retired from international play.
I expect we would have if anyone was ready to take him and pay the required wage. No interested buyer… perhaps the deal to go to the MLS will come through in the winter, otherwise no need for him to move. As much as it is galling for us fans, football is their job. Would you take a big wage cut just because your line manager didn’t give you much work to do? To be clear I’m not condoning, and personally I think we’d’ve been better off without him this year, but just saying the reality of the situation as… Read more »
Come on man, he played 70 mins a week ago, it’s gonna take at least two more weeks of rest before he’s ready to start again. He needs his rest…
Pleasantly surprised Saka is starting. Other than the mandatory Xhaka, I’m good.
Yeah Willock Guendouzi as a double pivot at the base, one stays, one goes, would be my choice.
This is a great signal for Saka & all the youngsters. You take your chance – you earn your spot. Love to see it.
For that squad that won at Frankfurt should be our first 11.
I like it! COYG!
Torreira should start more often he is a true ball winner and brings some grittiness we need.
Amazing how Torreira wanted to leave this year. The guy speaks Spanish and has a Spanish speaking coach and said he was not comfortable. During that twenty match run last year Torreira had played a string of games. He came out and said Ozil was a genius of a footballer. How he loved playing with him because Ozil always seemed to make the right decision and didn’t give away the ball. After that statement Torreira was dropped and never figured prominently again and wanted to go back to Sampadoria. Not just that but Emery used spite and disrupted his team… Read more »
Stubborn old mule Emery.
Anything other than a win is not acceptable. We will score but have to defend well. Today’s game could be a Rubicon crossing moment.
This is the type of game I dread tbh.
We lose: awful
We draw: awful
We win but play poorly: good for table, terrible omen
We win and play well: yay I guess, but a mirage due to the level of competition?
Did Holding pick up another knock? Not on the bench today or last Thursday, and didn’t feature in the reserves game last Friday. On a side note, the League Cup game is less than 50 hours after today’s game ends; ridiculous fixture scheduling as it pretty much means nobody starting today can also start on Tuesday; ie Saka.
saka is 18, im sure he could manage the two games, if he plays 90 mins today he wont feature, but i can see him sharing the 180 minutes with nelson or someone
Thought we’d start with Nelson rather than Saka given he played the full 90 in the Europa
Happy for Saka but a penny for Nelson’s thoughts here!
Saka starts! Well deserved. Saka & Xhaka – commentators please do your job properly.
Ceballos at the top of a midfield 3 ?
No shitty Diamond formation ?
The Greek and The Bush ahead of Chambers ?
Xhaka ahead of Torreira ?
Saka ahead of Nelson ?
Xhaka is not a DM so no comparison. Personally like to see them play together
Well tell that to Emery cos that’s where he’s playing. I know they did well at Frankfurt, but I’ve never seen Xhaka do that before in 3 years, so I’m not holding my breath for another performance in that vein from him. He’ll be back to his Charlie Adam best again today.
@martin…spot on. Can’t believe Torreira is on the bench…if xhaka plays torreira needs to play!
Another Saks story!
Spuds and Manure get zero points this weekend, Chelski and Liverpoo play each other. Please don’t mess this up for goodness sake!!
Every time things open up like this for Arsenal in recent years, we fall completely apart and utterly fail. Happening again now.
This coach blows hot and cold. Hope we finally see a style of football and a proper controlling win. Emery should start winning back the fans.
Emery needs to start packing his bags.
Win 3-0 and we go 3rd. I fancy that with a Pepe goal.
Haha dream on! This is Emery and Xhaka’s Arsenal
Haha! How’s that working out?
I know many will disagree with me but Guendouzi offers nothing to start infront of Ozil, Torreira or Willock. Yes, the kid is young and has potential but he plays that much only because he is Emery’s favourite. On the other hand it is clear that Emery doesn’t favour Ozil and what I already saw it last year (which many didn’t) he also doesn’t like Torreira. People may can have an argument that Ozil doesn’t perform strong in trainings but can you say that also for Torreira? They won’t start when others are fit, no matter what they do. Last… Read more »
You are every word right!
Saka is the future.
I hope I’m wrong, but Pépé seems like a wrong fit. He wants way too much time on the ball which he simply won’t get in the EPL.
The Shark has been unleashed. I smell blood!
Two defensive DMs, who are not great defenders. Last chance for this sort of lineup! COYG!
FUCK XHAKAAAA !!!’
Pretty Sure there’s only one person that thinks he’s good enough and unfortunately that’s the Arsenal manager.
Emery is competing with west ham and Everton for top 10. Lack of direction,team selection is so poor Wenger was absolutely better than him. No ozil no Nelson and a waste of xhaka.sokratis,guendzoni and luiz..no surprise to see is finishing the game under pressure
Good for Saka he deserves this game time, will probably make way at some point but any prem game time for him is vital in his development. It’s good to ease Torreira back carefully after his fatigue /drop at end of last season. Coyg
And after saying that he rests Ozil for today, this shows that Emery has personal problem with Ozil similar stuff like Neymars in PSG. This is no good for the club and will have bad impact this year too. Not very optimistic for top 4…
That front 3 is a thing of beauty but fucking Xhaka….. for the love of god.
He could finger emery’s wife and he’d still start
Xhaka could drop a balls-deep load into her snatch and he’d still start.
Dog shit so far.
Villa the more dangerous team.
What a fucking surprise
I fancy Villa to win this.
Arsenal are all over the place and Villa are attacking well.
Doesn’t take much for Arsenal to crumble.
They fold faster than superman on laundry day…
Villa winning 1-0 – should have put a fiver on this.
Good old Arsenal defence fucking it up as usual.
If Emery isn’t gone by Xmas we can write this season off now…
Pepe is a donkey – who ever thought he was a 72 million pound signing should be fucking shot…
I’d sack him if we lose this.
I want him gone either way
I don’t want to watch anymore “Emery-ball”, it’s horrendously shit.
@SackEmery
If we lose today he should be sacked.
Our form since the end of last season has been shockingly bad. The players don’t know what they are doing out there and that comes from the manager. God only knows what they train every day because it’s certainly not what you do with or with out the ball. Auba and Laca have basically hidden just how shit a manager he is with their individual brilliance.
Bring on Freddie. God, even generic recycled caretaker manager X would tighten up the defense and let our stable of attacking talent off the leash.
Please sack this coach, this is alarming and heart breaking.
Agreed.
What do crabs and Arsenal have in common?
Both move sideways. Emery, you are sucking the soul out of my body with this drab, wishy washy, anaemic brand of football. Are we capable of playing a forward pass?
Where is Torreira ? Why has he been dropped? So many questions and never any answers. Just get out…
Pretty sure Torreira would have tracked that guy that Guendouzi watched run free into the box.
Pepe is a pile of wank – almost as bad as Xhaka who has just got himself booked for no fucking reason at all. Liverpool are in complete control at Chelsea and we are being outplayed at home by a team who was in the championship a few months ago. I could do a better job than Emery – anyone here could do a better job than Emery. I am confident that anyone here would not have spent 72 million for a paraplegic but would have bought a top class defender or two – you know, a player that we… Read more »
Give Pepe tine to adapt. ItssSeptember clma down about Pepe but EEery amd Xhaka need to go
Is Pepe the new scapegoat now? It’s crazy how since last year, the whole team has been playing like shit and yet some still try to find individuals to blame.
I won’t blame any individuals for our losses as long as Emery is in charge
This is a joke of a comment. How can you pick out any single player, the way we’ve been playing? Pepe has been alright. The attack is not a problem. Its what lies behind them, and that is not so much down to the personnel I think.
Don’t understand his starting midfield. Should have kept Willock and Torreira in with Ceballos and Xhaka alongside. That’s our best midfield…we need a bit of dig to protect the back 4….
Emery out.
Shameful from Sokratis. It’s frustrating when the entire team look like zombies, but get on with your job
Those antics from him had med bursting with a “oh for fucks sake”. Pathetic!
I’ve had it with Sokratis, he’s embarassing. We might as well have Silvestre and Squilachi at the back
Hire a shit manager, expect shit results!!
Shit sideways passing, no control, no confidence.
Fire the man
We look like we hate football. We look like we are staging an anti – football demonstration. Every week I am a little more dismayed by this rubbish. It’s gonna be a long year with this clown in charge…
This made me chuckle. Sad but you’re really spot on.
We have seriously forgotten how to pass. That was the one thing we could claim as something we could do well even when we were shit towards the end of Wenger’s career. You could expect us to keep possession, and create chances, if not convert them. At least at home. Now the opposition tends to create all the chances. Even the shitty newly promoted sides, at the Emirates. We have truly become a mid-table club. Welcome to the new era guys.
Clueless from Emery, sets us up with as much purpose and attitude as a wet blanket. Can’t coach defence or attack, just hopes for us to do it with individual brilliance. And the stupidest part of that, is he played Auba into the ground on Thurs and now he looks knackered. Fucking genius of a coach. Hope we move him on asap, because he is moving us nowhere but backwards.
Enough is enough. Emery should go straight after the game. Even before the press conference.
Kola and Guendouzi left mcginn completely unmarked for the goal. Though the rest of their performance has been better. Xhaka takes too long to to thread a pass forward, it’s frustrating how slow he is. I like the way he plays but he’s too slow, I was surprised with that burst of pace he made in Frankfurt for our 3rd. As for the ref, there are no amounts of cunts that have died that can fill his place on Earth. AMN got the ball first and then the challenge happened as he slid through. It’s still a tackle after touching… Read more »
We only managed a comeback after Xhaka left the pitch.
How can a team that has changed manager, many players gone can still play the same way in some games? Is it the Arsenal training, or is it outside influence?
For a game that is probably the biggest sport, it is apparent the lack of a top class ref league, where the refs have to perform to progress just like clubs do. Why this insistence of having only a few select refs, and they oversee all the “big” games?
Guendouzi at fault for their goal. Should not be starting. Get Willock and Torreira on FFS!
Guendouzi was poor and impetuous at Watford. Can’t imagine Pep or Klopp would let someone as young as him get too comfortable with an auto-start every week.