Emery should resist temptation to play returning pair against Man U

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On Monday Arsenal face Manchester United away. It is a game that would solidify Arsenal’s top 3 intentions if they win; or plunge us back into depression if we lose.

Following their good performance against Nottingham Forest, there have been plenty of calls from fans to put Rob Holding and Kieran Tierney into the starting XI for the key game against Man U. Emery should not bow down to the pressure.

Tuesday’s 5-0 victory over Nottingham Forest was Rob Holding’s 1st senior game since December 2018.

Holding suffered a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee on during a 2–2 draw against Manchester United nearly a year ago.

Likewise Tierney has spent 4 months out following a hernia injury, which subsequently required surgery for.

Both players are top young talents and will be mainstays in the Arsenal first team, so it is important that Emery looks at the bigger picture.

All being well, this season Arsenal will play around 50 games. There is a lot of football to come.

To cope with the work load, Emery needs to rotate his squad and ensure players do not pick up long the term injuries that hampered the clubs top 4 and Europa league challenge last season. It is also important that he manages the work load of returning players so that they immediately break down once more.

Both Holding and Tierney performed brilliantly against Nottingham Forest, but a Premier League game against Manchester United would be a huge step up; and one which might be a step up too soon.

What makes more sense is to leave both with the “mid-week squad” in the short term.

Next Thursday we play Standard Liege at home. It would make more sense to play Holding and Tierney in that game, continuing their rehabilitation at a lower level, than put them into a big game at Old Trafford.

It might be seen as some as a bit of a risk not to play both against Man U, but looking at the bigger picture it makes a lot of sense.

Following the game against Liege, Arsenal face Bournemouth. Once again Emery should not be tempted to put Tierney and Holding in.

After Bournemouth, we have an international break, with our 1st game back against Sheffield United on Monday 21st October. That is nearly a month away.

This should be the game that Holding and Tierney are slated in for a Premier League return.

The Sheffield United fixture is over 3 weeks away. By that point both players would have had a months full team training under their belt, as well as 2 senior games. They will be ready for Premier League football.

Putting them in against Manchester United would be short sighted. It would be playing the strongest XI at the risk of one of the 2 suffering another injury – which is likely for players returning from long term problems.

Not playing the pair against Man U means that come Sheffield United, both (and Hector Bellerin) are fit and strong and ready to go for the rest of the season. A sacrifice in the short term to see the benefit in the long term.

I am excited to see Holding, Bellerin and Tierney play together. They will be 3 of the back 4 for at least the next 5 years. But to ensure we get the best out of them for the next decade, it is important that we keep their recoveries from long term injuries slow and do not rush them back.

Keenos

Guendouzi the Great

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January 2007. Blackburn Rovers 0 – 2 Arsenal. It was the day a 19-year-old Cesc Fàbregas has his finest day in an Arsenal shirt.

12 minutes on the clock and Gilberto Silva was sent off following some theatrics from Robbie Savage. What followed was a one man masterclass as Fàbregas played on his own in the middle of the park, driving Arsenal to victory.

The record books will show that it was goals from Kolo Toure and Thierry Henry that won us the game, but the truth is it was the performance of the young Spaniard.

12 years later and 20-year-old Matteo Guendouzi may have had his Blackburn moment.

Down to 10-men and 1-0 down; it was Frenchman Guendouzi who stood head and shoulders above everyone else to deliver Arsenal 3 points.

Guendouzi was partially at fault for Aston Villa’s opener. He let John McGinn run off the back of him; although there was a clear lack of communication from Saed Kolasinac letting his teammate know of the danger. But after half-time he was the best player on the park.

This after a man of the match performance against Tottenham when the Gunners came back from 2-0 down.

Guendouzi drove forward into the box for the penalty that bought Arsenal level. He was then unlucky not to score himself with a low drive from the edge of the box.

Calum Chambers will get the credit for his quick reactions for Arsenal’s second equaliser, but it was Guendouzi’s beautifully flighted ball that found Chambers in space to create the goal. One of them situations where he will not be credited for an assist even though he clearly created the goal.

No player on the park had more touches of the ball than Guendouzi. No player made and completed more passes. He was Arsenal’s all action midfield hero.

Guendouzi’s problem is he does not have a partner that can get the best out of him.

Patrick Vieira had Emmanuel Petit. Cesc Fàbregas had Gilberto Silva.

Petit and Gilberto were senior pros who knew they had to sacrifice their own instincts to allow their younger teammates to flourish.

In Granit Xhaka, Guendouzi should have the perfect partner. Experienced, positionally disciplined and able to lead Guendouzi through a game. But he looks shot. Zero confidence. Doubting his own game. The Premier League becoming too quick for him.

Lucas Torreira is not positionally disciplined enough to play alongside Guendouzi. He wants to get forward to press high. Move wide. We want to free Guendouzi of as much defensive work as possible. Not have him covering a teammate who wants to play a similar role as him.

In Arsenal’s midfield it is clearly Guendouzi +1 at the moment. He is turning into our best central midfielder. A leader in the middle of the park.

Like Fàbregas against Blackburn, it is easy to forget how young Guendouzi is.

Keenos

Match Report: Arsenal 5 – 0 Nottingham Forest

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Arsenal (1) 5 Nottingham Forest (0) 0
Carabao Cup Third Round
Emirates Stadium, Drayton Park, London N5 1BU
Tuesday, 24th September, 2019. Kick-off time: 7.45pm

(4-2-3-1) Emiliano Martínez; Calum Chambers, Rob Holding, Shkodran Mustafi, Kieran Tierney; Lucas Torreira, Joe Willock; Reiss Nelson, Mesut Özil, Emile Smith-Rowe; Gabriel Martinelli.
Substitutes: Hector Bellerin, Dani Ceballos, Matt Macey, Folarin Balogun, Tolaji Bola, Robbie Burton, Bukayo Saka.
Scorers: Gabriel Martinelli (31, 90+2 mins), Rob Holding (71 mins), Joe Willock (77 mins), Reiss Nelson (84 mins)
Yellow Cards: Reiss Nelson
Arsenal Possession Percentage: 68%
Referee: Darren England
Attendance 53,160

In the end, it was mere bagatelle, as the statistics not only speak for themselves, they positively scream out the fact that tonight was a successful night for Arsenal Football Club. Out of eight shots on target, five hit the back of the net; sixty-eight per cent possession; fifteen corners. And on top of that, a big Emirates hello to former Glasgow Celtic full-back Kieran Tierney, making his first-team debut for us after recovering from a double hernia operation. Also it was great to see Rob Holding, returning to the first team tonight after battling (and winning) his own injury issues which kept him out of the squad for seemingly forever.

Unai Emery mixed and matched the side tonight, and with good reason too; we have two important matches next week, against Manchester United and Standard Liège, so it was good to see another version of his team in this match this evening. Right from the get-go, Arsenal showed intent and determination not to be anyone’s third round casualty on a rainy North London night. Confidence always plays a major part in sport, and Arsenal positively oozed that as early as the seventeenth minute, when Shkodran Mustafi came close with a cheeky back heel shot in which he was unlucky not to score. The man of the match was undoubtedly Gabriel Martinelli, and it was fitting that it was he that opened the scoring just after the half hour mark. An elegant Joe Willock ball out to the right found Calum Chambers, who wasted no time in crossing a powerful ball deep into the Forest penalty area that found the head of Gabriel Martinelli, who showed scant regard for time in putting Arsenal one up. This fired us up into attacking Forest time and time again and we were desperately unlucky not to score a second goal before the break. On a sad note, young Emile Smith-Rowe was taken off on a stretcher just before half-time after a collision with the Nottingham Forest goalkeeper, Arijanet Muric.

The second half started, in spirit, fairly the same as the first, with Arsenal piling yet more pressure on the visitors’ goal. Joe Willock, Mesut Özil and Bukayo Saka (who replaced Emile Smith-Rowe) all came close with their efforts, and sure enough, the second goal came with nineteen minutes left on the clock, courtesy of Rob Holding, who headed the ball into the net from a Reiss Nelson corner, completely unhindered. Héctor Bellerín laid the ball on for Joe Willock to score a well-deserved third Arsenal goal, and the excellent Reiss Nelson capped off a superb personal performance on the night by scoring a fourth goal with just six minutes to go. And still we were not finished; in injury time, Gabriel Martinelli received the ball deep in the visitor’s half and drilled the ball into the top right-hand corner of the Forest net. Five-nil; a good night’s work by anybody’s standards, and more importantly, we are in the fourth round of this much-maligned competition.

So many good things came from tonight’s performance; a successful debut for Kieran Tierney, who played well and pleased the crowd, and not forgetting Rob Holding, whose knee held up well tonight. As for 18-year-old Brazilian wonderkid Gabriel Martinelli, he certainly showed the reasons why Unai Emery signed him from Ituano a couple of months ago; six million pounds well spent. His potential is immense, and all we can do is hope that he progresses accordingly from this moment onwards. Everyone played their part, everyone did everything that was expected of them (plus more). The squad will take confidence and good heart from this victory tonight, let’s just hope that this carries on to next week and the important matches that lie ahead for us. 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: Manchester United at Old Trafford on Monday, 30th September at 8.00pm (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.