Arsenal take on Fulham this afternoon at the Emirates, looking to make it three wins from three so far this season.
Here are the official line-ups.
Arsenal: Ramsdale, Partey, White, Saliba, Kiwior, Rice, Odegaard, Havertz, Martinelli, Saka, Trossard
Subs: Raya, Gabriel, Zinchenko, Vieira, Smith Rowe, Nelson, Nketiah, Jesus
Fulham: To follow
Subs:
Not playing Gabriel is starting to get a little weird/worrisome now.
He doesn’t like him as CCB.
Well, yes I agree. But if Kiwior plays amazingly today and we get this “mega money” offer that is heading our way, you would have to say it might be that we are tempted. Not saying we should do that. I personally love Gab. But it would be mad to turn down crazy money for a player that has been overlooked for the first three games of a new season. Also, how do we definitely know that Gab’s head hasn’t been turned by SA and Arteta is unhappy with him for that? Maybe Arteta is like, “If you’re not 100%… Read more »
I read a couple of days ago in the spanish press (yeah i know!) that not only the saudies were after him but also Real Madrid after losing Militao for the whole season, apparently Gabriel rejected them both.
Maybe he’s being given time to sort his head?
It’ll will all come clean in the wash, after the window closes
“how do we definitely know that Gab’s head hasn’t been turned by SA ”
If you watched him defending last 10 minutes against Palace and celebrating every successfull tackle, be it from him or his teammates, then you must know that he is commited to us with whole his heart and soul.
That can only change if Arteta repeatedly keeps him on the bench even though he is definitely with Saliba the best CB pairing in the PL.
I like Gabriel but he does have a Rick in him and his passing can be a bit iffy when he plays forward. I think kiwior is gonna be top player. Good with ball at feet and passing. Gabriel is a fighter and I think we all love his spirit but what’s clear is Arteta wants the very best and is not afraid to make big decisions. I like it.
Do hope I ain’t bocked kiwior today and he makes terrible mistake 🤓
Always amazed by the old ‘Gabriel has a mistake in him’ line…as if every defender doesn’t. 0-0 v Forest on first day, absolute howler from Saliba to give Forest a great chance. Virtually no one talks about it; if that was Gabriel we would have pages on here about it. Not having a go at Saliba by the way, I just think because he looks so much ‘classier’ than Gabriel, the ‘has a mistake in him’ line is never thrown out. (not having a go at you particularly either, it’s just become such a cliche among Gooners, it drives me… Read more »
Indeed!
Kiwior is a solid player and might have a role to play but Big Gabi is a lot quicker and his passing is not any worse than Kiwiors. Gabi might have a mistake in him (as Saliba also does btw) but he is 99% of the time super reliable and gives us stability at the back.
I recon Gabi on the bench is due to Arteta trying to fit in Party, Havertz and Rice in the midfield.
I literally just said out loud “I hate what I am seeing”. Why are we trying to complicate things for ourselves? Play the same style that worked so well for us last season! This new obsession of chucking different profiles at LB is killing our left side. Martinelli didn’t look his usual self last game because of Tomi, and dare I say, Harvertz? Even Saka seems to be missing that partnership with White.
I don’t get this at all.
It’s been two games – we won both, give it time, look at Rice last game, Havertz still to come good, if we put our chances away we won’t need to play so gung ho and have more control.
I don’t agree, with all due respect. The things that won City the league last season were mostly tactical. Playing Stones as a CM. Using Akanji and Ake in a back three. Dropping Cancelo. At the time this all seemed a bit crazy, a bit galaxy brain. But it worked and made City harder to play than ever. Do you not think City fans might have thought “Why is he dropping Laporte?” “Why is he playing Rico Lewis?” “Why get rid of the worlds best fullback 6 months on?” These decisions are tough and we, as fans, often can’t understand… Read more »
Gabi is a little less 2-way than our other defenders. He’s a defensive specialist which we just don’t need against teams that aren’t on our level. First 3 games have been bottom-half teams. That’s how I see it, anyway
Also – after our best ever goal scoring and game winning season in the league, maybe more goals is not the answer.
The thing that won City the league is Arsenal collapsing at the end of the season.
Play the same style? When the opponents are now aware of our strengths and set up with 10 men behind the ball every game? What’s the use of a extra defender?
Neither do I, I mean Partey is the best in front of defence. Arteta built a well oiled machine that stayed top of the league for months, he is discarding that now with his trials. I tell you if he continues with this one better team will burst his bubble soon. Keep your eyes peeled everyone.
So frustrating, feels like we(Arteta) are trying too hard as opposed to keeping it simple
Neither do I, better teams will tear this to shreds
Why?
Why?
Everyone was calling for more rotation, now that we have it, we are wondering why favorite players are not starting more often?
Even at City, games are shared throughout the squad. No City defender started up to 30 matches in the league last season.
The cry here is about positioning
It just doesn’t work.
Arteta must see something in training that we’re not seeing with this experimental back 4 every week
To be fair he’s seen it a lot more in training surely than the what, 140 minutes or so altogether that we’ve seen it?
I’m not sold on it yet, but I also don’t think he would play this way if he wasn’t convinced this was our best chance to win games and I don’t think he’s someone who makes these sorts of decisions on a whim.
That said if it doesn’t work today, maybe time to shelve it for now…
Not sure it’s that experimental. We used it most of last season but with Zinchenko on the left rather than Partey on the right moving to midfield. We know it works, it’s just the personnel that have changed.
Pleased for Trossard. He’s deserving of this start.
mos def
It’s mathematics
Slick reference!
Jorginho also on the bench
In the official lineup there is also Jorginho on the bench
What a bench we have!
Arteta is turning into Tinker man.
I hope this is the last tinker game. Then after window closes we play our best defenders
Mr. Unpredictable.
Saving Gabi for the big games coming up? very odd. 🤔
Feels like many rather quickly forgot Kiwior came in for us at the end of last season and did quite well, for me it was a big part of what marked the end of our funk and let us finish the season on a positive note. Really curious to see how he does in this formation.
Agreed kiwior s passing is excellent and hopefully will have a telling contribution today .
I think it’s simple with Gabriel, he’s class defender but when we have 90% possession there are better ball players and Kiwior is that .
As Blogs said this morning be hard to imagine Partey and Zincks starting so give game time to Part but a run out for Zinck before utd game .
Kiwor offers cover in a back 3 for left side but accuracy in ball possession
I mean, him coming on v Liverpool was arguably the beginning of the funk.
Yes and also vs Lisbon when we got knocked out, he didn’t impress early on but then when given another chance he took it and found his footing. Surely that’s exactly what you hope for from a player recently arrived in the Premier League, to see signs of adaptation and improvement.
That bench is rich!
Gabriel has to bid his time… I don’t think he is going to be sold.
CL football begins next month, and Arteta is using Forest, Palace and Fulham – games he feels are relatively easy – to test run having to juggle the team every three days.
Normal service will resume shortly. I trust the process.
Cant wait to see how the Palhinha Vs Rice battle goes!
Many of us wanted more flexibility last season and that’s what we’ve been given. I have two theories as to why we’re seeing this tactic in all three of the opening games:
-It’s our “Zinchenko is out” tactic – we use Partey at RB to compensate for missing Zinny in buildup and when Zinchenko is back we can go back to last season’s outfit
-It’s the “expecting a deep block” tactic – we’ll use something like this to break down bottom half teams all season and will have a more traditional defence for e.g. vs United next week.
It’s funny I think when many fans shouted about wanting more flexibility last season they really only had in mind a big tall striker who we can punt long balls to at the end of games, because that’s an accepted “plan B” we’ve all grown accustomed to seeing for decades in England. But when Arteta’s come up with a slightly more imaginative plan B or C that’s deemed “tinkering”
This didn’t age well :/
Liking this line up, loads of strength on the bench too!
No idea what’s going on with Gabriel but seems Arteta wants more out of him judging from his press conference…? COYG!
Again,what is wrong with Atertar? Keeping Gabriel on the bench again? Ha.
trossardddd!!!
Getting very tired of this back four experiment, will bite us before too long,
Winning games must be so tiresome for you.
Take it your not watching this match then…
Love it, lfg!
Have you sold Jorginho to the oil rich… @blogs???🤣
When last did you see Jesus and Nketiah on the bench in an EPL game? And may I add Gabriel and Zinchenko; it was inconceivable last season! This is called strength in depth. Something is silently brewing at the Emirates.
Yea playing half the defence in roles they aren’t accustomed to, it’s a nice lil confusion brew.
Excited to see Kiwior start. Has great long range passing from what I’ve heard and looks like a hard nut.
I guess this more or less confirm KT has probably left for Spain.
Felt he is hard done and not given enough play time. Hope he can do well there and integrate back with us next season
I love KT but Arteta doesn’t think he is tactically as astute as his other options and Arteta has earned my trust so I back his decisions fully even if it will go wrong sometimes.
“Tactically astute” means playing a team that scrapes a 2-2 draw at home against a 10-man Fulham side.
Where is Tomi BTW?
Suspended obviously
Oh yes of course doh
Looking at that team selection Arteta looks like he is managing the squad and rotating, which is fine but I think teams can over- rotate and you need your first XI in your mind and playing enough games together to perform in the big matches. I can’t believe that our first XI does not have Saliba and Gabriel at CB
No Gabriel again.
Havertz in again.
Just basic wrong decisions.
How is this a thumbs down when we’re 1-0 down already?
Now i really begin to worry about Gabriel on the bench for third time. I think Arteta trying to outsmart Pep and creating a dysfunctional defence instead.
Goal in 2 mins without Gabriel at the back again. Maybe a loss at home is what the manager needs to not f*ck about with the line up for no reason.
…and no I don’t want us to lose.
Now this is clearly beyond tactics. Whatever is going on Arteta should just clearly spell it out. The team is just not jelling.
Last season was free flowing with set defenders and Partey in midfield. Too much tinkering and trying to be too clever. Our football so far this season has been terrible to watch.
I’d feel happier if we f**ked around a little less ! 1-0 down loads of time to go but don’t get the Partey experiment tbh ? Play the the best team win move on do it again please !
Time for Ramsdale to sit on the bench, only third game and what a howler that was. Bring Raya in.
That was Saka’s fault
Saka made a wrong pass, these things happen. Ramsdale was way out of position for no apparent reason.
If we lose or draw this the blame is on Arteta. Partey is inferior to White as right back and White likewise vs Gabriel. He’s tinkering with our defence without obvious offensive gains. Stop it Arteta!
Last post moderated out ? Why ?
All this talk about Saka and Ramsdale being at fault is nonsense!
Starting without Gabriel and with Havertz has caused this nonsense.
Arteta caused this mess.
How exactly Gabriel would have stopped this goal? Ramsdale was so out of position that any wrong pass could have been a goal for the opposition. And his running back was terrible, you don’t turn your back to the ball. The shot wasn’t even that good, he should have saved it if he was retreating in a better way.
What is going on? A home game without Eddie ( striker) and playing Trossard who is no striker
Havertz having yet another blinder. What a bargain he is turning out to be. Its like there are nine outfield players.
This Gabriel thing is head scratching now. We need to tread carefully with this Gabriel issue now, and managed properly. While I’m not suggesting that Gabriel is leaving, These kinda actions make our players lose value and we wonder why we are unable to sell at a good price
These “sorcerer’s apprentice” line ups are a bit annoying. The defense feels shaky and unconfident. They have no experience in the position they are playing.
Can we get xhaka back? Project Harvertz looks like a bust already
Perhaps I am being harsh but so far his contribution to Arsenal has been nothing much. That £65 million could have been so much better spent. Would glad to be proven wrong though…
This is an absolute shit show. Partey is useless at right back and it’s fucking up the defence and the attack. For Gods sake get Big Gabi on and let Ben White do what he does best so that Bukayo can play. And get somebody on that pitch who can help Gabi Martinelli because at the moment this stupid setup is hampering every player out there. Wake up Mikel!
Havertz still has much to prove. He is pleasantly physical but his brain is just too slow for PL at the moment. Hopefully he switches the gear otherwise 65M is starting to look like a waste.
Harvetz fan boys pls get your PR pens ready.
Hervatz has so much to prove. As it is, he’s starting to look like a wasted outlay.pleasantly physical with average if any intelligence.
So a defence of
White
Saliba
Gabriel
Zinc
did well all last season ( until
Saliba injured) and Arteta tinkers. Why?
Why why Delilah
That’s the only way he gets to justify splashing 65 mil on a player Chelsea we’re happy to let go of :/
Kai need to go on the bench, and provide rotation up front to
Saka-odegard-Jesus-Martinelli
This was another unbalanced line up, and when you have an unbalanced line up, it’s more difficult to straighten out matters when things go wrong. There little shit to argue about that !?
Arteta is losing it, completely. The experimentations are unnecessary, and he has not proven himself yet to start displaying this level of arrogance. I’m disappointed with his approach since the start of the season.
Send Havertz to the U21 or loan him out to the championship to learn the basics please. He’s as useful as a blank space