Arsenal take on West Brom at the Emirates this evening.
Here are the official line-ups.
Arsenal: Leno, Chambers, Holding, Gabriel, Saka, Ceballos, Elneny, Pepe, Willian, Smith Rowe, Martinelli
Subs: Runarsson, Bellerin, Tierney, Cedric, Partey, Odegaard, Lacazette, Aubameyang, Nketiah
West Brom: Johnstone, Furlong, Ajayi, Bartley, Townsend, Yoksulu, Gallagher, Phillips, Pereira, Diagne, Robinson
Subs: Button, Peltier, Taylor, O’Shea, Gardner-Hickman, Livermore, Diangana, Grant, Robson-Kanu
With nothing left to play for, with the season basically over, I still have an overwhelming feeling of disappointment seeing Willian’s name in the starting line up
What do you mean nothing left to play for..we’re in the battle for 9th with Leeds and Villa….
“St Villaerings Day” could be ours once again?! 🙂
No team with willian in the line up fills me with confidence. All but given up anyway just like the players have.
Play any youth player over willian. He’s a total indictment of everthing that is wrong with this club from recruitment to what’s happening on the pitch.
Ceballos what’s the score?
I know people think these final games don’t matter, but I think we’ll find out how much these players believe in this manager and his tactics. Especially after his comments about the squad.
What the fucking fuck is the point of playing him. What a joke
Mikel is so lucky fans are not in the stadium.
Oh yes, Willian really deserves to play ahead of Balogun, afterall his performances this season prove his 220000pound per week value.
Arteta needs to go.
Balogun and Azeez both played Friday for u23s, were never going to be in this squad
The u23s just escaped relegation.
That means we needed to play a strong team in u23, from now on they should be in the premier league squad, Nelson as well.
But why play them in the 23s when he knows we have the luxury of 4 dead rubbers in the PL?
Invest in the U23s or invest in the first team. I can see an argument for player development that keeping the U23s up was very important. So important that the likes of Balogun and Azeez must sacrifice opportunities such as these?
What’s your point? Arteta knew before Friday that the remaining Prem games are pointless and a good chance for the youth. Whether we finish 10th or 8th doesn’t make much of a difference
We could mathematically finish 15th Jill! 🙁
I predicted here that Martinelli will play a lot after we are eliminated. They need to show fans the future of the club looks good.
The future of the club does not look good.
What was your approach for this prediction? If it is any better, it can open alternate income/hobby for you.
Dead rubber game but still plays the likes of Ceballos and Willian. Tell all you need to know about Mikel Fraudteta.
Martinelli had to start: it’s a completely meaningless game.
Only reason I am watching
Goodness we have people to do meaningless jobs(like playing these games), be a little grateful.
Nothing left to play for… and only now Saka goes to LB…
Saka at LB by the looks of it…so I guess the answer to the question ‘when is the right time to play the clearly most obvious solution at LB when KT is injured’ is …….wait for it……….’when we are out of the Europa and have fuck all else to play for’
Cedric
Literally my first thought “oh right, now you play Saka LB yeah?!”, and then you see Willian in there as well 😔
Seriously just want this season to be over, but il be behind the lads none the less tonight. COYG!!
mikel is lucky that fans are unable to watch the games at Emirates. He would have suffered the most angry vitriol
You beat me to this comment. Unreal finally making the most obvious sub for Tierney.
I’m on the Arteta out train now sadly. He’s too inexperienced to be in charge of this rebuild.
Me too. Has to go. See: Chelsea putting aside nostalgia and actually embracing winning. Seems to have been working since they cut loose the “cult hero” manager and hired someone credentialed…
Why am I getting downvoted? They are still alive in three different competitions, and they just made a CL final. What exactly have we done lately?
Amazing what you can do when the owner spends hundreds of millions every season…
Not about just millions, desire needs to be there as well
Exactly, just wanted to write this. Such lineup in both legs (bar willian) would have us go through vs villareal.
Oh what a surprise!. Willian starts.
Please pack your bags and go Arteta!
Willian starts. I have no words. 🙁
He’ll come good when we have nothing to play for.
Shit. Cock. Tit. Minge.
The only reason to start Ceballos and Willian is if Arsenal have to pay a fee if they don’t.
Don’t know anything about the loan clauses Ceballos has but I wouldn’t have thought that was the case for Willian. His isn’t on loan of course and his reported deal looked too good for any specific “play” clause to have been added. Who knows though, signing a 30+ player for three years at £220,000 a week was a bit of an eye-opener to start with. Perhaps he’ll surprise us all tonight. Or, then again, perhaps not.
Finally Martinneli gets a start…when it doesnt matter!
So Arteta has thrown the fans under the bus along with the players in his insistence on Willian?
Play Cedric lb.
And no point playing Dani C. Give youth games. Or even try William on the middle and play nelson wide. Beckham played in c.m. end of career. If William don’t want to take in fullbacks
Yeah right so that Arsenal.loses this game as well.fuck y’all no sense in management at all.
Oh God
Good news bad news. Martinelli starts so does Willian.Bench strong as 9 players sitting on it.
Awe inspiring line-up… Midfield made up of Willian and chap who’s leaving in a fortnight and one who’ll be sold by July. I supose that’s all we’ve got though. Nice to see Martinelli start.
Willian hat-trick incoming
Ceballos??, really, what’s the point?
I guess it gives us all a chance to say “goodbye” to him (and almost certainly Odegaard as well) over these final few games. Time to get the tissues out.
The most frightening thought that comes to my mind is that in the next season Willian will most probably be in starting line-ups as well.
I think KSE are hoping he’ll become our manager..
I was hoping Willian could be loaned out.
Who’s gonna pay him the kind of money he is nicking for a living at Arsenal?. I read he wants to be an agent when he retires…..greedy f*cker.
Yes but next season we will have fans in the stadium and do you honestly think they will not be giving Arteta pelters if he continues serving up this shit? It’s gonna get worse before it gets better.
How do you describe Arteta’s managerial career at Arsenal with one word?
Willian.
Oh fuck it. Come on you reds! There’s enough shit in the world without hating this team.
where is matty ryan?
Good film title …
Why is Arteta still here?
Just trying to maintain the league position now as there’s little chance of moving up more than a place if we’re lucky.
Now I’m totally convinced Arteta is not good at all! I can even make a better coach than him. This setup of his, cannot even score a goal! Chambers at right back again and Bellerin & Cedric on the bench, Bukayo Saka at left back today after all these days, then plays the Chelsea guy somewhere in the front 3! He should be from Mars.
Out of the three, I honestly think Cedric has been the best RB we’ve played this season. I think Chambers is better as a CB as he is the closest we have to replacing Luiz’s passing ability…plus, we all know that for some reason the Gabriel/Holding partnership doesn’t work.
Thank you Mikel for sucking the joy out of this beautiful club for me. A starting line up for an Arsenal game and instead of excitement i just feel sad and empty.
That midfield- ugh
First time in over 39 years but fuck it, I’m giving this one a miss
Arteta is so stubborn he should be playing the likes of Azeez or to be on the bench for them to have like ten minutes of play, in preparation of the next season. But he stick with Ceballos that is not part of the future
Frightening thought – he might stay? Dunno if it was confirmed that he’s leaving.
I’m pro-Arteta but FFS, it’s getting progressively more difficult to recall why.
Arteta resting some players for the season defining cracker at Stamford bridge in midweek.
Willian? Fuck off!
This lineup is so shit. It tells me Arteta is basically phoning in the rest of the season.
And possibly already knows he won’t be in the job come next season.
I don’t think he would have made the remarks earlier if that was the case – but you never know.
Ceballos and Willian make my eyes bleed
I read the first 5 names and was like, “Hey I like this lineup! I’ve wanted to see this defensive group for a long time now.” Then I saw the rest of the lineup. It just makes no sense at all. Ceballos starting is actually worse than Willian starting. At least maybe you can make a case for trying to showcase Willian against a bad team to help move him out of here. I still don’t want to see him taking up playing time from young players though.
I fear Willian we only go out if we subside his wages
He’s got a wife and kids, a restaurant in London. I don’t think he’s going out of London any time soon.
Hey no at least Willian has an Arsenal highlight reel. It consists of one free kick. Now we’ll have clubs coming in for him!
Lacazatte,Auba on the bench really? Dafuq is this shit.
I was feeling excited with the line-up until i saw Ceballos and Elneny as the midfielders. The implications are:
1. backward,’safe’ passes will be a lot
2. Transition will be Uber slow
😕😕
I hope to be proven wrong!
Common lads!
Wasn’t Chambers player of the season on loan at Fulham when he played CM. Were desperately short of cm options but never gave him a go
That’s true, but they didn’t make an offer for him despite that. It looks like he’ll probably be on the “for sale” list in the summer.
Between our pathetic season, fans protesting the owners and Arteta’s continued selection of the likes of Willian, it is going to be very interesting to see fans back in the Emirates for the Brighton game!
When you see Holding as captain, shows how far we have fallen. No problem with Holding but we should do better.
Are you old enough to remember donkey Adams? What would have happened if he had to deal with social media as well as journalists who put ears on a picture.
This line up is a fuck you to the whole fanbase
Admit it arteta the rest of the season doesn’t matter. So start playing our flipping youngsters instead of a guy (willian) who should never start for us again. Unfortunately we have to start looking to the future.
Turned the match on, saw #12, turned it off.
The only thing Willian is good at is crossing. Terrible at everything else on the pitch
Look at Saka at left back !!! Wow who’d have thought he could play there like that ??? Errrr everyone apart from Legoheed actually !
2-0 up at half time. Where the fuck was this Arsenal on Thursday?
I highly disappointed in Mikel Arteta selections for both legs against Villarreal… Saka should have play at left back and Martinelli start at the centre forward…. Reiss Nelson deserve to play.
Can we keep this Perreira guy? Please?
Get Ceballos off, otherwise we won’t finish with 11
For once he listened 😂
Dross.