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How will Arsenal line up tonight?

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Every time I see fans use our lack of League Cups as a stick to beat us with I laugh. I really do not care that we have not won it since 1993. It merely shows that in that time we have had bigger fish to fry.

During the peak Arsene Wenger years, from 1996 to 2006, the League Cup was looked at with disdain by top clubs.

As the Champions League extended, teams became less bother by England’s 3rd most prestigious trophy and basically “put out the kids”. In reality, with smaller squads back then, these kids were also sides back up players. Their second XI.

From 1997 to 2005, neither Arsenal or Manchester United won the League Cup. This despite them sharing every league title except for 2004/05. The competition become one for the mid-table teams. Leicester City, Chelsea. Tottenham, Liverpool, Blackburn and Middlesbrough.

Then Roman Abramovich turned up with his dirty money and Chelsea suddenly had two squads. No longer was their “2nd XI” mainly prospects. They won two out of 3 League Cups in a period under Jose Mourinho where they also won the league twice. And then the competition returned to being dominated by “also rans”.

In a 7-year period from 2007 to 2013, no team won the Premier League and League Cup in the same year. It quickly became a runners-up prize.

Arsenal missed out during this period, losing to Birmingham City in the final. This time coincided with our toughest period where financial restraints meant that our first XI was now filled with kids, and our 2nd XI was basically filled with teenagers. We were struggling to compete against sides who were gaining greater strength in depth.

From 2014, Manchester City showed their dominance and have won 6 League Cups in 8. They were Chelsea on steroids, and their 2nd XI was filled with regular internationals. £50m players. That enabled them to navigate those early stages of the competition.

At the same time, those clubs in the middle of the Premier League followed top sides lead and begun putting out weaker XIs. Your Tottenham’s Aston Villa’s and Everton’s deciding that their Premier League survival was more important than winning a trophy. The result was Manchester City’s path to the final became even easier as their 2nd XI was vastly superior to the 2nd XI of their opponents.

In last couple of years, the League Cup has once again become the trophy of the also rans, with Liverpool winning it twice and Manchester United once.

Now I do agree that Mikel Arteta needs to get more trophies on the board. One FA Cup in 4 seasons is not particularly impressive. But I can handle that if he lands us the big one. And I would happily sacrifice another decade of League Cup success if it meant us winning the Premier League just once.

So tonight we face Bolton, and off the back of 3 tough away games in a row, I expect Arteta to rest and rotate his troops.

With Neto cup tied having played for Bournemouth, 3rd choice Tommy Setford is in line for his first start.

The 18-year-old is highly rated having joined in the summer from Ajax. He will likely be in a straight-out battle with Karl Hein next season to be backup to David Raya. Although I also would not be surprised if the Neto deal is made permanent and that battle happens in a further season or two.

The defence is a bit of a headache for Arteta.

Jakub Kiwor will obviously start, but who is alongside him in the back 4 is anyone guess.

I am sure Arteta would have liked to have rested both William Saliba and Gabriel, the pair having played every minute so far this season. But with Takehiro Tomiyasu, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Kieran Tierney out, and Ben White, Jurrien Timber and Riccardo Calafiori doubtful, he might have to play at least one. I would probably go for Saliba for the balance.

I expect young Myles Lewis-Skelly to come in at left back. The League Cup could be a great tournament for him to show that he is ready to be a factor in Arteta’s thinking moving forward. Right back is more awkward.

Over the summer, Brooke Norton-Cuffy, Reuell Walters and Cedric Soares all moved on. The next in line in the youth team is 18-year-old Josh Nichols. He is the only realistic choice unless either Timber or White recovers. The youngsters inclusion will be another reason why I would expect Saliba to start.

Moving into midfield, Jorginho is a shoe in, and I would expect him to captain the team.

I expect Raheem Sterling and Ethan Nwaneri to both get their first starts. they will be joined by Gabriel Martinelli. Some might be surprised by my inclusion of the Brazilian, but my thinking is simple.

With Leandro Trossard suspended tonight, he gets an enforced mid-week rest. The result is Martinelli plays tonight, and then Trossard starts against Leicester City on Saturday. I expect Arteta to continue rotating the pair midweek and weekends (and we might start to see similar with Sterling and Saka).

the one remaining midfield spot is up for grabs, and it could depend on how Arteta plans to line up against Leicester City.

Thomas Partey is another to have played every Premier League minute this season, but is due a break. That will either happen tonight or on Saturday.

Arteta might choose to go with only Declan Rice in midfield at home to Leicester, then play Kai Havertz in behind Gabriel Jesus. The result will be Partey drops to the bench for the Premier League match, and Rice does not play tonight. However, if Arteta decides to go with Rice and Partey, then I expect to see the Englishman start tonight. He has played the least minutes following his suspension against Tottenham.

Another option would be Salah-Eddine Oulad M’Hand. However he played 70 minutes against Stoke City for the U21s on Monday.

My bet is we will go for Partey, for at least the first half. And then maybe bring on Declan Rice for the second.

Up front will be Gabriel Jesus.

Predicted XI:

Setford
Nichols Saliba Kiwior Lewis-Skelly
Jorginho Partey
Sterling Nwaneri Martinelli
Jesus

MATCH REPORT: Manchester City 2 – 2 Arsenal

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Man City starting XI: Ederson; Walker, Akanji, Dias, Gvardiol; Rodri; Savinho, Silva, Gundogan, Doku; Haaland

Arsenal starting XI: Raya; Timber, Saliba, Gabriel; Calafiori; Havertz, Partey, Rice; Saka, Trossard, Martinell

Match Officials:
Referee: Michael Oliver
Assistants: Stuart Burt, Dan Cook
Fourth official: Andy Madley
VAR: John Brooks
Assistant VAR: Richard West

Premier League 
Etihad Stadium
Sunday 22nd September 2024
KO: 4:30 (UK)

Today , we return to the Premier League as we look to face Man City at the Etihad. After a solid performance at Atalanta in the Champions League, with Arsenal drawing 0-0 thanks to a great Raya double-save, Arteta will be looking to add more attacking threat against a strong Manchester City side.

Without the presence of Martin Odegaard, Rice and Havertz will have to step up and be creative . Trossard replaces Jesus as Havertz moves upfront with Trossard in the 10, which is expected as Jesus was nullified by the Atalanta defender on Thursday.

A surprise change is the replacement of Ben White with Riccardo Calafiori as he comes in at left-back and Timber moves to right-back. For me, I think that this is the right change by Arteta for this type of game as Timber is better defensively than White and with Jeremy Doku on his side, I think that Timber will be able to deal with him. Calafiori is also very solid defensively and I think that he will be able to handle Savio’s trickery.

Bernardo Silva kicked us off and straight away in the first 5 seconds, there was a collision between Rodri and Havertz as Rodri fell to the floor. Rodri got back up and the game restarted. As we played out from the back, Man City aggressively pressed however, some clever passes allowed Raya to kick it long. 

A few moments later, there was another collision as Haaland ran into Saliba as he went up for the header. Michael Oliver quickly waved away any complaints of a booking as a free kick was given. A diagonal ball across our half was brought down by Bernardo Silva who fired a ball into the path of Ilkay Gundogan who took a brilliant touch and set himself up for the volley however, his effort went wide. 

Moments later City broke again as Savio slipped the ball through to Haaland who made no mistake and poked the ball past Raya and into the net. A record breaking goal for Haaland as he scores his 100th goal and 10th of the season. A good bit of play from City however, we shouldn’t have been carved open that easily. 

As we began to settle down, Saliba played a diagonal ball across to Martinelli who brought it down and crossed in however, the ball was cleared. A cheap foul was then given away by Gabriel on the edge of the area. Gundogan stepped up to take and his curling effort rattled against the post and out. 

Man City then managed to grab another corner and the ball was quickly took but Rodri went down again in the box , clutching his knee after colliding with Partey  and the referee blew his whistle for the corner to be retaken. After Rodri was down for a prolonged period,he came off a. The corner was then swung in and cleared by Havertz. Rodri was then replaced by Kovacic after a foul on Partey. 

The quick ball was clipped out to Martinelli who set the ball back to Calafiori whose amazing curling effort went straight into the top corner an amazing start  for the Italian. Our fans bellowed out chants silencing the home crowd which was pretty much already silent. 

As play begun City started to mount on the pressure, however our defence stood strong. City then attacked again as Savio took a nice touch past Calafiori and crossed into Haaland who was successfully challenged by Saliba who headed away. Kyle Walker then fired a long range effort towards our goal however, Raya was there to hold it in his gloves. 

Trossard was then booked for pulling back Savio. Then, a combination between Doku and Gvardiol allowed Doku to shoot however, his effort was deflected out for a corner. The corner was whipped in but Havertz was there again to clear. 

Saka and Timber then provided a combination of their own as Timber slipped Saka through and his cross was blocked and out for a corner. The corner was swung in deep by Saks and was met by Gabriel who headed over by Gabriel. He probably should’ve scored as it was a free header however, it was good to see that Man City were unable to mark him. 

A nice turn by Saliba allowed himself to glide past Haaland and we regained control of possession. Again some nice play by Gabriel and Martinelli allowed Martinelli to beat Walker for pace and cut the ball back for Trossard who blazed over. A looped ball from Rice then fell to Saka who then played the ball round again to Rice on the overlap whose cross was blocked and out for a corner. The corner was swung in again by Saka and AGAIN BIG GABI got on the end of it unmarked and headed into the net. Another inevitable corner goal just on the brink of half time as 6 minutes were added. 

Partey was then booked after he was late and stopped Man City from countering. Trossard was then booked again and sent off for kicking the ball away after giving away a free kick. I do think that this was a second yellow however, it shows no consistency as a Man City player had thrown the ball away and not received a yellow. The free kick was swung in and cleared as the referee blew the half time whistle.

Half time views:

A very strong first half performance after going 1-0 down. Disappointing to see Trossard go off however, it is good to go in 2-1 up.

I’m sure Arteta will be riling up our players to battle but also keep them composed and to keep a compact shape.

A sub will probably have to be made for defensive support. Anyways, hopefully we can hold on for the three points.

Before we kicked off we made our first substitution with Ben White replacing Saka. We then kicked off and City started on the front foot with Haaland’s effort being held easily by Raya. City then had another chance as we seemed to be sitting in a 6-3 formation, with Kovacic blazing over. 

Another shot from Dias this time, then sailed over the bar as Raya slowed down the clock with his goal kick. Shots after shots and Raya stood strong as he made a great save to deny Walker. 

Some last ditch defending from our defenders resulted in a City corner which was played out and in to the leaping Haaland who was denied brilliantly by Raya who parried out to Bernardo Silva who fired over the bar. As we stayed in our compact shape, another chance fell to Gvardiol on the volley whose effort was again met equally by Raya. 

A couple of moments later, Raya went down to receive treatment as Myles Lewis-Skelly received a booking before he’d even made his Premier League debut for appearing to tell Raya to go down. We again held our own as we hooked the ball away into the City half. 

Savio’s effort then went over the bar as Doku was replaced by Phil Foden. As City stayed camped outside our box, Dias again had a shot, which was deflected off Phil Foden and into the hands of Raya. 

Calafiori then went down signalling that he had to come off as he was replaced by Kiwior. With 15 minutes to go, we stood strong with the latest City effort coming from Kovacic which was again blocked. Foden then made his way into the box but his shot went over. 

Pep then made two substitutions with Savio and Walker being replaced by Grealish and Stones. Kovacic then lashed another one over the bar. We then managed to grab a free kick as Havertz went down after a duel with Dias and then Declan Rice was booked for delaying the restart. 

Dias then hit another one into the crowd as Martinelli went down with cramp however, Michael Oliver was having none of it as Jesus looked to come on. Raya was then forced into another save to deny Gvardiol as Martinelli was replaced by Jesus. Gabriel then went down after a challenge in our area. Again another one of our places went down, this time Timber as Raya kicked the ball away and the referee blew his whistle. 

Bernardo Silva was then booked for arguing with the referee. Timber then came off and was replaced by the booked Lewis-Skelly for his Premier League debut. We again managed to clear our lines however, City  came again and won a corner which was delayed by Jesus who received a yellow card. 

The corner was direct this time as Raya rose the tallest and claimed brilliantly. As we ticked past the 97th minute mark, City took a short corner as Grealish fired a shot in which was saved by Raya however, the ball bounced out to Stones who poked home for the equaliser. 

After the celebrations, we kicked off and already the players started pushing and shoving as Haaland bundled into Partey. VAR checked the foul and called it only “reckless”. As the ball was kicked long, the referee blew the full time whistle putting an end to one of the craziest games of the season.

Full time views:

A very hard-working second-half performance where we stood strong and failed at the final hurdle. Arteta will be proud of the lads for their commitment and perseverance throughout the game despite Trossard getting sent off.

A positive first half performance with a great goal by Calafiori and a dominant header by Gabriel. Without Trossard’s sending off, I think that it would have been a completely different game. 

Anyhow, onwards and upwards as we look to build on a great point today as we face Bolton in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday.

COYG

Hudson

Match Report: Atalanta 0 – 0 Arsenal

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Atalanta Starting XI: Carnesecchi; Djimsiti, Hien, Kolasinac; Zappacosta, de Roon, Ederson, Ruggeri; De Ketelaere, Retegui, Lookman.

Arsenal Starting XI: Raya, White, Saliba, Gabriel, Timber, Partey, Rice, Havertz, Saka, Martinelli, Jesus.

Match Officials:
Referee: Clement Turpin (France)
Assistant referee: Nicolas Danos (France) and Benjamin Pages (France)
Video Assistant Referee: Jerome Brisard (France)
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Willy Delajod (France)
Fourth official: Stephanie Frappart (France).

Champions League 
Gewiss stadium
Thursday 19th September 2024
KO:20:00 (UK)

We are back for our first game in the Champions League this season and tonight we face Atalanta. After beating Spurs on the weekend, Arteta will be looking to build on a strong performance and get the 3 points in this new format.

Jesus returns to the starting XI. Other than that, the lineup remains unchanged from the North London Derby, which for me, is surprising since players like Saka deserve a rest and I think we should’ve played Sterling and also given Saliba or Gabriel a rest and given Kiwior some game time.

Other than that, some positive injury news as Calafiori returns on the bench. Jorginho is also replaced by Rice which was expected.

Declan Rice kicked us off and we got underway. A very back and forth first couple of minutes as we seemed to play the ball through the channels. However, we began to retain the ball and try to work the ball through the middle and out to the wide areas.

 Timber inverted into the middle with Thomas Partey in a double-pivot with Rice pushing on. A few moments later, a nice take from Jesus and a quick turn forced the ball to Saka who won us a corner. The ball was swung in however, the Atalanta keeper cleared with his fists. A long throw to Jesus was flicked on and Havertz latched on to it however, his effort went wide. 

A scrappy start neither team looked to be in control as we made a few sloppy mistakes. Some nice play between Saka and Rice on the edge of the box won us a free-kick as Éderson was booked for pulling down Saka. After a long wait Saka stepped up and hit a low effort towards the bottom left corner however a great stop from the keeper and another quick reaction stop denied Arsenal a 1-0 lead. 

A corner from Lookman went straight out to the other side of the box and the ball was swung in however, the ball was headed over. A throw in to Rice was tapped into Martinelli’s path however, he was off balance and blazed over. Again a period of scrappy moments with Atalanta getting the better of the ball with some loose passes in our midfield. A nice bit of hold up play in the box from Retegui as he flicked the ball to De Ketelaere however, he fired wayward.

Atalanta began to progress with the ball into our half carving out a few half chances but most were sniffed out by our backline. Both sides had been poor in the final third and another sloppy pass from Partey ended our attack. 

A nice bit of play from Lookman and Ruggeri allowed the ball to be threaded  into our box, but good defending from Saliba edges the Italian off the ball. Again, another misplaced pass from Partey evades Martinelli and Gabriel as we seem to have lost our quality. As the ball went wide from Saliba the referee blew the whistle to end a scrappy first half.

Half time views: 

A very end to end game with little quality in the final third from either sides. However, I think that Arteta will be happy with the defensive performance again as the atmosphere and game has been tough for our players. 

One change that I would make is probably to take  off Partey and bring on Jorginho for more reassurance in the middle as Partey hasn’t seemed to be up with the speed of the game. Anyways, hopefully we can grab a goal and get the win in the second half.

Atalanta kicked us off for the second half and Ederson was played through on the edge of the area and he knocked it past Partey who brought him down in the box and a penalty was given. 

After a length VAR check, the penalty was given and Retegui put the ball down on the spot. He took a slow run up and hit it to the left but the ball was saved by Raya who palmed the ball out back to Retegui who seemed to have an open header however, his second attempt was saved again miraculously by Raya who scurried back to clamber the ball out. 

Atalanta came again however the crossed ball from De Ketelaere went out. We then made two substitutions with Trossard replacing Jesus and Jorginho replacing Partey. Atalanta shortly made a substitution of their own with Juan Cuadrado coming on for De Ketelaere. Another quick throw-in won us a corner and Saka swung it in with Havertz heading the ball down into a good area however, the referee blew his whistle for a foul on the goalkeeper. 

The penalty had given some life to both teams as the battle continued however, Atalanta’s winger Cuadrado was able to get the better of Saka and fire a curling effort just over the bar. Atalanta looked more like the team that were going to score and they then made another double change with Zaniolo replacing Retegui and Bellanova replacing ex-Chelsea player Zappacosta. 

As Atalanta retained the ball at the back we stayed in a solid shape and a overhit ball went out for a throw-in as Arsenal made another double change with Timber and Saka being replaced by two new signings in Calafiori and Sterling. A long header from the Atalanta defense made its way to Lookman on the edge of the box and again the ball fell to Cuadrado who cut in and fired his effort wide.

 Then, we went through as Sterling poked the ball through to Martinelli who had a clear sight of goal however, he leant back blazed over the bar ; a theme of our quality in front of goal today. Havertz cleverly won a free kick by the Atalanta box however, Declan Rice’s  cross went well over. A nice dribble through from Calafiori as he laid the ball off to Trossard whose attempted chipped ball was overhit and rolled out for a goal kick.

 Most of our play seemed to be going through Trossard but not much was being created in the final third. A nice turn from Lookman as he turned into the box however, Saliba was there to tackle and clear for a corner. As Zaniolo and White battled down the line, Zaniolo got the better of him but a great defensive challenge from Havertz cleared for a corner. As both teams seemed to play for a draw the referee blew the full-time whistle.

Full time views:

A much better second half performance from us especially defensively and a bit better offensively however, we should’ve been a lot more clinical. Arteta will be pleased with the result as we’ve seen a lot of other teams suffer away from home in the Champions League and another clean sheet proves how solid we are at the back.

Again a special mention to David Raya for his unbelievable double save and for me, he gets the MOTM just for that however, also Saliba and Gabriel also deserve plaudits for their solid performance.

Hopefully we can build on this for one of the biggest games of the season on Sunday away at Man City and use this game to utilise our strengths since we will lack some creativity without Odegaard.

Anyhow, onwards and upwards and another good performance away from home.

COYG

Hudson