Arsenal are on Tyneside this afternoon to take on Newcastle.
Here are the official line-ups.
Newcastle: Pope, Trippier, Schar, Botman, Burn, Guimares, Willock, Joelinton, Murphy, Isak, Wilson
Subs: Dubravka, Dummett, Gordon, Saint-Maximin, Lewis, Targett, Manquillo, Almiron, Anderson
Arsenal: Ramsdale, White, Kiwior, Gabriel, Zinchenko, Jorginho, Xhaka, Odegaard, Martinelli, Saka, Jesus
Subs: Turner, Holding, Tierney, Partey, Vieira, Smith Rowe, Nelson, Trossard, Nketiah
Kiwor seems like the right choice given how mobile and fast Newcastle are. Zinny is really going to be on top of his defensive game today! COYG!
It’s the team that’s gonna break Geordie hearts today. CoYG!!!
Zinny a massive liability… worried abotu this one.
Nonsense.
This defensive liability thing is so overplayed. All season, man has been a revelation on that side. I see him winning aeriel duels that no one would expect him to win. If mistakes have happened here and there, are y’all to overblow it then demand for one-way Tierney to be introduced? Zinchenko is central to everything we’ve done this season. We play as well as we play, thanks to him. He’s the very best at it. Rest with the Tierney thing. It’s not like he was Maldini in that position when he played it.
Tierney has always been the better defender but Zinchenko has played almost every game. He’s earned a lot of praise doing it too.
I think the problem is that Zinny, and Arteta, have been found out. Everyone and their nan knows that Zin will add an extra number to the midfield in order to overload. And as a result, teams set up as though we have 4 in midfield. But I don’t think we’ve got the depth to change it. At the moment, that’s all we can do and hope we are efficient enough to pull it off. But the next phase of this football club needs to be to create a more chameleon nature where and be much less predictable. What we… Read more »
Am happy Zinchenko is here – he’s experienced and can break lines – but the defensive issues haven’t been overplayed in the slightest… they have cost us in high-profile games.
Let’s see what happens before we start eulogising Zinchenko as a great left back. So many people just unwilling to see how much he gives the ball away, allows players to run off him and leaves big gaps at the back because he can make some good passes. If he played in midfield properly, he wouldn’t be considered all that special. And he’s only a part-time left back.
Zinchenko is basically the new lightning rod player that fans have singled out the past few weeks (Holding’s been spared in that sense because we all know he’s just not quite at the level of our first teamers). There’s nearly always one at various points over the course of the season, and it’s become so frustratingly predictable. At the start of the year it was big Gabi after a couple of costly errors. And mid-way through the season Martinelli was getting the same stick after a small goal drought. You’d think people would have learnt from those two examples but… Read more »
Neither of those things are true at all. Whatever criticism big Gabi got was nothing compared to Zink. Martinelli was light concern no one was giving him stick. The concerns over Zink are perfectly valid. Some of his missed passed have been howlers, lazy and switched off errors that come from arrogance. Every defender we’ve ever had who makes mistakes at the same rate as Zink end up leaving the club. I like him and what he brings but the concern is in no way overblown. The fact that anyone thinks it is overblown is more worrying to me. People… Read more »
While this idea of his defensive weaknesses is perhaps overplayed (though hardly non-existent), I think the notion that he is indispensable to everything we’ve done is at least just as overplayed, not least because he was injured for two. months at the start of the season when we put together a phenomenal run of results and did so in some style.
It’s gonna be really hard to win today, especially without Saliba. Nonetheless, I’m sure if we don’t, I can trust the Arsenal fanbase to keep its cool and maintain a sense of perspective 🙂
Let’s get this one wrapped up quickly, settle some nerves and silence the crowd.
Yup, 4-0 by half time and I’ll feel rela…. wait a minute
I see what you did there …😏
Pfft. We’ll be lucky.
I’m usually upbeat. But I’d be amazed if we win this one.
This is one of the toughest places to go in the country and they are absolutely flying.
I’m struggling to see how we get three points here.
I would have fancied Tierney for this one as he is a better defender. Zinny takes to any risks for my liking and often loses the fall in critical areas.
Think his starting position has been a little to assured this season, for sure.
Xhaka + Jorginho and no Partey?
Strange but also keen to see how this played out
Man City still have Brighton, Brentford and Everton away. Come on Gunners, I’m still believing! WIN!
They have a game every 3-4 days now till the end of the season including 2 against Real Madrid
And they also have probably the best squad in the world.
Brighton and Brentford ok but Everton? Hahaha, just like Spurs…..
Everton got a draw at etihad, there’s more than a chance they can achieve the same at their own ground…
They need to either draw 3 games or lose one and draw another. Then we have to be perfect and we’ve seen when the pressure is on that’s unlikely.
Unlikely but it certainly won’t happen if we give up
Tough game, no doubt, but winnable. They parked the bus at the Emirates for a reason. They can’t do it at home; let’s pick them off.
I have a really bad feeling about this one, and a lot of it is because the players/manager have spoken way too much about last seasons capitulation at SJP. That some added pressure on a team who are not at their best against what is at this moment the second best team in the league. We really do ‘mind game’ ourselves…
It’s the media who have talked about last season’s match far more than Arteta or anyone from Arsenal. Yes he’s answered questions about it, but has dismissed any suggestions that it would affect today’s game.
Xhaka did as well didn’t he?
That said, if we lose (and I think we probably will), I don’t think it’ll be because we “mind-games” ourselves, it’ll be because Newcastle are really good, playing at home, and losing to really good teams away from home is a thing that happens quite a lot in football.
I’d shoehorn Trossard one way or another. We play better with him in the team. Rest one of Saka or Jesus
not really a fan of xhaka, zinchenko, and jorginho in the side at the same time- but who cares, we blew the season against southampton and west ham
To be honest I think the title race is pretty much over- they are not going to drop six points for us to win so the only pressure is to finish the season as strongly as possible – what grates me is they cheated to win it and everyone knows it – it invalidates the whole thing for me
I’d have started trossard ahead of either Jesus or Saka. The latter in particular has been figured out by the opposition quite easily in recent games. Also I can’t wrap my head round partey on the bench in a game of this magnitude. I trust arteta knows better tho. Whatever the case we must go for all 3 points. We really have nothing to lose. COYG!