From Taveras to Saka and a Re-Shuffled Back 4 – The 5 options to replace Tierney

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Nuno Tavares

The Portuguese left back has been highly criticised following his performance against Crystal Palace.

Palace’s first goal was his fault as he failed to challenge Joachim Anderson in the air. Their second came from a Gabriel mistake that he could have covered but was slow to react to.

Mikel Arteta pulled him at half time.

His previous start was the defeat against Nottingham Forest where he looked like a deer in headlights. After 35 minutes, he was taken off.

Tavares looked good in League Cup games against WBA and Wimbledon. But both were big victories where he was able to show his attacking prowess – he did very little defensively.

He then had a run in the Premier League team at the end of October and throughout November to mixed results.

Clean sheets against Leicester City, Watford and Newcastle were offset with conceding 4 against Liverpool and 3 against Manchester United.

The concern is Tavares has played well in games Arsenal dominate, but struggled when asked to defend.

Opponents will recognise he is vulnerable defensively and will begin to overload our left hand side in an attempt to expose him.

Would it be a risk starting him? Yes. But he is the reserve left-back and if he isn’t ready to step up at the age of 22-years-old, he should not be at Arsenal.

Re-shuffled back 4

If Arteta does not trust Tavares, he might opt to re-shuffle the back 4.

Ben White slotted into right back during the international break for England. It is a role he has played for Arsenal previously. We could then shift Cedric Soares to left back – a position he has also played for Arsenal. Rob Holding would then come into centre back.

That would leave us with: White Holding Gabriel Cedric.

It is a defence that might work, but would also be making 3 changes to cover 1 player out.

Had Takehiro Tomiyasu been fit, I would have been comfortable with Tomiyasu White Gabriel Cedric. But the Japanese full back is out until at least the Southampton game.

Re-shuffling the back 4 is an option, but it is perhaps too many changes.

Granit Xhaka at full back

A few have proposed Xhaka moving to left back from midfield. In 2020/21 he played there 6 times for Arsenal.

Moving Xhaka to left back is something we should avoid.

With Thomas Partey picking up an injury against Crystal Palace, Albert Sambi Lokonga will have to step up for a few games.

We need Xhaka’s experience in midfield alongside the Belgium 22-year-old.

Pushing Xhaka into left back and going with a midfield of Mo Elneny and Lokonga would fill me with dread.

This is a non option

Bukayo Saka at full back

12 months ago, this would have been the go to choice.

Saka was still making his was in the Arsenal team and was not as influential going forward as he currently is.

These days, Saka is our most important attacking threat.

Whilst he might shore up the defence, we would lose too much going forward.

Nicolas Pepe might be able to fill in on the right hand side, but I am not sure I would want to sacrifice what Saka brings.

3-4-3

We saw Arteta drop to a 3-4-3 formation in the run in to the FA Cup.

This could be an option if Arteta wants to shore up the defence whilst still giving Saka an attacking role.

Ben White, Rob Holding Gabriel would be the back 3, with Cedric Soares, Granit Xhaka and Thomas Partey (or Lokonga if Partey is out) alongside Saka in midfield.

This would give us more defensive stability whilst also keeping Saka in a more attacking position.

The front 3 would then be Alexandre Lacazette and one of Emile Smith Rowe, Martin Odergaard, Nicolas Pepe and Gabriel.

Keenos

Does Arteta need to more aggresive towards international managers?

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Kieran Tierney is out for the season.

Frustratingly, the brittle Scotsman played 180 minutes for his country during the international break and has returned requiring knee surgery.

He was one of just 3 outfield players to play the full 180 minutes for Scotland, and questions really need to be asked.

Why did Andy Robertson play just 58 minutes and was then left out of the second friendly? Did Scotland have a deal with Liverpool that he would play no more than 60 minutes? And is it this deal that led Tierney to be overplayed? And why were Arsenal not offered the same courtesy?

You also have to question the legitimacy of an international friendly break just as we are hitting the business end of the season.

With Premier League, European and domestic cups reaching their crucial run in, should there really have been an international break at the end of March? Any player picking up an injury would likely be ruled out for the season. For what? So an international side can play Ivory Coast or Austria?

We have lost Tierney due to pointless friendlies.

Maybe in the future we should take a leaf out Liverpool and Chelsea’s book.

Kyle Walker was left out of the England squad by Gareth Southgate, then suddenly Reece James and Trent Alexander-Arnold both pulled out “injured”. The pair have since played for their clubs…

Maybe Mikel Arteta needs to be a bit more aggressive with international players? Pick them, but do not play them every minute. Or they will be pulled out injured.

In other not really breaking news, the last few TV games have finally been announced, and Sky Sports once again show that they do not care.

Arsenal’s trip to Newcastle has been moved to a Monday night – meaning two days off work for any fan that wants to travel up there.

Gary Neville – who spoke up so passionately for match going fans when the European Super League bollocks happened – has been silent. It shows he, and Sky, were only really against the ESL because they were not invited to the party.

Neville, nor Sky, care about fans. They only care about the viewing figures.

Sky currently have a documentary on their platform about the European Super League and how “greed is killing the game”. I really look forward to part two of the documentary on how TV companies are killing the game for match going fans with their scheduling. Of course it will never happen.

The joke is some drip from a certain fans channel has been paid to advertise the Sky Doc. But the clip used is part of a larger rant where he tells people to cancel their Sky subscriptions and stream.

It just shows how peoples morals quickly change when there is a pound note on the table.

Enjoy your Wednesday.

Keenos

MATCH REPORT: Crystal Palace 3-0 Arsenal

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Crystal Palace (2) 3 Arsenal (0) 0

Premier League

Selhurst Park Stadium, Selhurst, London SE25

Monday, 4th April 2022. Kick-off time: 8.00pm

(4-2-3-1) Aaron Ramsdale; Cédric Soares, Ben White, Gabriel Magalhães, Nuno Tavares; Thomas Partey, Granit Xhaka; Bukayo Saka, Martin Ødegaard, Emile Smith-Rowe; Alexandre Lacazette.

Substitutes: Bernd Leno, Rob Holding, Albert Sambi Lokonga, Mohamed Elneny, Eddie Nketiah, Gabriel Martinelli, Mazeed Ogungbo, Zak Swanson, Marcello Flores.

Yellow Cards: Thomas Partey, Granit Xhaka

Arsenal Possession Percentage: 68%

Referee: Paul Tierney

Assistant Referees: Constantine Hatzidakis, Neil Davies

Fourth Official: Peter Bankes

VAR Team at Stockley Park: VAR Jarred Gillett; AVAR Wade Smith

Attendance: 25,149

The weekend’s results mean that we are currently in fifth place in the Premiership table, so a win tonight is absolutely crucial, no two ways about it, even if it means defeating the team which is being managed by our old friend, Patrick Vieira, on the field of glory in South London this evening. A victory will propel us back into fourth place, leapfrogging Tottenham Hotspur and settling in just two points behind Chelsea; all in all, a most important evening ahead for us here at Selhurst Park.

The home side kicked off proceedings tonight, and the first few minutes were spent by both sides testing each other’s defence with clever passing and movement both on and off the ball. Thomas Partey and Granit Xhaka were linking up well in the midfield, but somehow we started to get swamped by the Palace midfielders time and time again. After just sixteen minutes, the home side took the lead after a bit of a muddle in our penalty area from a ball that arrived from a free-kick appeared to take our defenders by surprise; Jean-Philippe Mateta was on hand to punish us accordingly. The goal certainly livened things up, and the intensity of the match certainly went up one or two notches; it has to be said that the Eagles pushed us onto the back foot, and we were punished accordingly, when after just twenty-three minutes we were two goals down when Jordan Ayew scored a firm shot around Aaron Ramsdale. Somehow we have to try to turn this score around, but with the confidence that Palace are showing, it’s hard to see how we are going to do just that. Just before the half hour mark, Bukayo Saka chipped a lovely ball in from the right wing, but Alexandre Lacazette disappointingly headed it well over the bar, which was more of a chance wasted, than missed, really. The frustration in Bukayo Saka was becoming apparent, when he was forced to come inside to get involved and in doing so, he tripped up Conor Gallagher to give away a foul on the edge of the Palace penalty area. Aaron Ramsdale made a great save from Jean-Philippe Mateta just eight minutes from the half-time break that could have proved to have been disastrous if that had beaten him. We are not at the races tonight, we appear to be second at most loose balls in the midfield, and our strikers are firing blanks. The home side are quicker to react to most situations, and quite frankly, the half-time whistle can’t come quick enough for our boys out there tonight. After a disappointing header from Gabriel that the Palace goalkeeper easily held, Paul Tierney thankfully blew the half-time whistle.

At the beginning of the second half, Gabriel Martinelli replaced Nuno Tavares, and as we kicked off, we are all hoping that the boys can turn this around. Within no time at all, the addition of Gabriel Martinelli showed more intent up front and it looked like we were starting to wake up, despite the home side looking more organised at this point in the match. Seven minutes after the restart, we had a penalty appeal when Cheikhou Kouyate bundled Bukayo Saka to the floor, but referee Paul Tierney ignored our pleas. Thomas Partey was booked when he fouled Jeffrey Schlupp on the edge of our penalty area, but thankfully, the resulting free-kick from Joachim Anderson was saved competently by Aaron Ramsdale. On the hour, Bukayo Saka teased Tyrick Mitchell out on the right wing and cut inside the full-back; he tried to curl it into the far corner but the ball flew way over the bar and into the crowd, which somehow summed up our night. We had our best chance of the match so far when Gabriel Martinelli found Alexandre Lacazette in the penalty area. He touched it on to Emile Smith-Rowe but he placed it straight into the arms of goalkeeper Vicente Guaita from close range. A couple of minutes later, Eddie Nketiah replaced Cédric Soares in order to bring more firepower to the occasion, and shortly afterwards, Martin Ødegaard came agonisingly close with a clever left-footed shot which missed the goal by a short measure after some clever play out on the left-hand side between himself and Emile Smith-Rowe. With eighteen minutes left on the clock, Wilfried Zaha was fouled in our penalty area by Martin Ødegaard; there was no doubt who would take the penalty, and Wilfried Zaha confidently scored the third goal of the night for the home side. In the meantime, an injured Thomas Partey was replaced by Albert Sambi Lokonga, and then a couple of minutes later, Granit Xhaka was booked for a petulant challenge on Wilfried Zaha close to the touchline. We did come close to scoring, when Bukayo Saka’s strike was parried by Vicente Guaita, and while he was still down on the ground, Emile Smith-Rowe fired in the rebound but defender Marc Guehi quickly reacted to block it. Eddie Nketiah hit the top right-hand corner of the post with a deceiving long-range shot, and then Granit Xhaka too, tried a long-range shot, but Vicente Guaita easily saved it. Although in the later stages of the game we did attempt to try to get something out of this match, it was all to no avail, and when Paul Tierney finally brought the match to an end after three minutes’ injury time, it was one of relief on our part.

Certainly a night to forget for us here at Selhurst Park, and maybe the term “a bad day at the office” doesn’t quite tell the story of tonight\s debacle. From start to finish, we were on the back foot, and we certainly looked nothing like the team that we can be at times. However, there is still a lot of football to come this season, and with Manchester United, Chelsea, West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur still to play us, anything can happen. And it will, no doubt.

Remember everyone, keep the faith, get behind the team and the manager, as this season is going to be crucial for our future success in all competitions. Stick with the winners. Our next match: Brighton and Hove Albion at the Emirates on Saturday, 9th April at 3.00pm (Premier League). Be there, if you can. Victoria Concordia Crescit.

Steve

Too Dearly Loved To Be Forgotten: Arsenal v Racing Club de Paris 1930-1962 by Steve Ingless (Rangemore Publications, ISBN 978-1-5272-0135-4) is now available on Amazon.