Jeez, only 51 hours between kickoffs? It's freakin' September, not April!! I should've looked at the calendar before signing up for matchday thread posting. This latest streak of greatness has brought so much joy and happiness to our fan base, surely another at home drubbing of an inferior opponent will satisfy all in advance of a trip to Old Trafford a week from Monday. Unfortunately, I'm hearing the biggest boyhood Arsenal fan of all may not be match to face his former club on Tuesday. Come on Jenks, you can do it!! Other than that, I'd expect 8+ changes and Ozil to captain. Hopefully Auba can get a rest . . . Come on you Gunners!!!
cynical, cynical. I keep pointing out that Ceballos is not an attacking mid. Today's game provides additional evidence. Per whoscored.com he completed all of his passes today. That tells me he's not playing balls into the box. He's a 6 or an 8.
I think Ceballos just isn't that good. He seems like he's got good technique, but he doesn't do anything.
Well done @ArsenalJake for being on the ball with each MD thread. It's feast or famine for you... fixture congestion or interlull. The good news is we haven't lost a match in quite some time. But I think your sarcasm about the fans joy during this period was perfect. As for rotation, if Emery has a clue we'll change out as close to 11 players as can reasonably be done. However, it's Emery so... p.s. With Ozil it's kind of a lose-lose. If he starts it's kind of an insult, playing alongside kids in the kiddy cup. And if he doesn't start, it's almost like Emery doesn't trust him at any level. So sad. Part of me wishes we could send them both on their way immediately. And if they don't have time to grab all their baggage, we'll make sure to send it along to them.
I'm not normally a conspiracy theorist, but I'm beginning to wonder if Emery hired the two knife wielding thugs.
In all seriousness, I do think he used that situation as an excuse when he never intended to try to make Özil a real part of his plans. Which is despicable.
📋 Here's how we line up for tonight's @Carabao_Cup tie...🏴 @KieranTierney1 makes his debut🏴 @RobHolding95 returns from injury🇧🇷 Martinelli set for first competitive start 🏆 #CarabaoCup— Arsenal (@Arsenal) September 24, 2019
Woohoo, not a single starter from last match is included today!! Perhaps he's listening? Or figuring out rotation? AND both Tierney & Holding are in the XI. If we'd had Bellerin in there we'd have hit the trifecta! But at least he's on the bench. COYYG!!!!
Dunno. But I'd guess tube troubles. KO at top of the hour the graphic said Edit: It turned out to be motorway traffic... I guess the buses from Nottingham were stuck in traffic so they pushed it back. Nice move.
Finally we're back to a 4-2-3-1, which means Ozil at 10. I wonder if Ozil said to Emery "look, I only really want to play if I'm in my preferred position" to which Emery replied "OK but I may not play that shape too much, so you'll be on the bench quite a lot" Or is that too rational an imaginary discussion. Meanwhile... Slick moves by Martinelli earns a useful FK at the D. [And Nelson hits the base of the post]
Pretty pedestrian pace so far. But HEY we just had our first shot on goal! 28' by Nelson. Martinelli's tight control has been impressive. Chambers looks lively (at both ends). We need to turn the screws a little tighter and get a goal before HT! Edit: Et Voila! Those 2 gents combine for a BEAUTIFUL goal!! 1-0
ESR down with what appears to be a concussion or neck injury. Stretcher being brought out. Always bad to see. Meanwhile we get to see more of one of our brightest young stars: Bakayo Saka.
Ozil just won a FK at the D with on of the more artful "flights" you'll ever see. But we failed to convert that chance. We better seal this with a 2nd goal! Or you know what...
We're high-pressing them this half. And it's generally paying off. I hope Emery has got his eyes open.
Willock's having a bit of an off game. He just missed a wide open header from 7yds out. Right before that he had one of those rush-of-blood-to-the-head dribbles where he held and held the ball until finally he was picked off to give them a counter.
2-0 at last!!! Rob Holding header. Couldn't happen to a better bloke. Seconds before that Ozil was replaced by Ceballos. He came off with an obvious pout.
77' Bellerin comes on for Tierney. And to a HUGH cheer from the crowd. That was a long long wait! AND he immediately gives an assist to Willock for 3-0!!!
Chambers gets another bright assist. This time to Nelson for 4-0. Callum gets my MOTM. At this rate, he's gonna make me eat some tasty crow.