Arsenal v Fulham Saturday, November 26, 2011 Emirates Stadium 17:30 UK, 12:30 EST TV: ESPN (UK), FSC (US) It's eight wins from nine for Arsenal now as we continue our revival. I imagine we'll pay the price for the strong midweek lineup against Dortmund by rotating our starting XI for this game. I think we should start with van Persie on the bench. If Diaby is truly fit and ready to go maybe we'll see him get a start, too. Let's hope the ghost of not signing Clint Dempsey doesn't come back to haunt us.
Well, I was happy to see a strong starting lineup to secure the CL advancement early but I fear it may cost us two points in this one. We should still have enough to do Fulham, but our squad -RVP leaves a little to be desired. Not just him, but Kos, Song, Gervinho, Ramsey all looked gassed. Not sure who we'll see, but hopefully they get the job done.
Hmm... somehow I missed that we almost signed Dempsey. As for this match, yes I think rotation is going to be the key factor. And it will be a good test of our squad, especially with the missing fullbacks. And maybe just maybe Chamakh will snap out of his funk. But I wouldn't be too surprised if this match was a bit on the dull side... hard to imagine it being like the first 30mins against Dortmund which was flat out. C O Y G !
Another Saturday match, which means Media Blackout for me, until I get home to the DVR. If you hear of a murder in Hawaii, on a ferry boat, ...... it means that someone told me the score. COME ON YOU GUNNERS!
Wouldn't mind seeing Ox come on at least for a sub. I don't see Wenger resting RVP either. I would say maybe rest Gervinho, bring him on as a sub. Other than that I guess we can always start Benayoun or possibly Diaby although I don't see Diaby starting quite yet.
chance to gain some ground with City at Liverpool Sunday Play the first XI and take the 3pts Worry about who needs a rest when Tuesday comes, cant afford to drop pts to mid level teams any more after the start to the season we had
disagree- hope that the A minus team, a few subs here and there, can get the job done at home. My guess- boring 1-1 draw.
My guess is AW will rotate and MC29 will start instead of RVP. Also Park will see seam playing time. My pick for this game = = Kos = Par = TV = Santos= = = Rosicky = Song = Artata =Wilcot = Chamackh = Arshavin Sub Park for Wilcot Diaby = Rosicky Alex C = Arshavin
Agree with those who believe we should rest players next tues...wenger's already said he's gonna use players who have played less...i expect us to field our strongest squad on saturday...we cant be dropping points at home come on the arse...roll on
I read somewhere that Wenger may have hinted that Diaby will start. I would not mind if he stays with the winning team of the last 2 games though. We need to get the 3 points. The CC game against City as well as the Olympiacos will be good opportunities to rest most of the starters as well as getting the fringe players to show what they can bring to the table.
Totally agree, we may be on a good winning run but we had such a bad start that we are still only in 7th place. Gervinho and RVP look dangerous when they link up and the confidence is coming back. Changes now would be crazy with some less important games coming after the Fulham match
Both this and the City games should be full strength. I cannot see City playing Kun et al but we cannot discount the League Cup IMO since it may be our best chance of a trophy. We can rest against Olympiakos and mix and match to some extent in the games up to City away.
Play the strongest team possible taking into count fatigue and slight knocks. Just get the three points to keep the momentum in the league. The next two weeks send out the backups for the midweek games.
the one starter i would like to see rested is gervinho. he's beginning to look worn and i would hate to have what happened to chamakh happen to him this year especially since we don't have another van persie coming back to replace him like we did with chamakh and his running will be important as the season goes along.
I agree for the most part, but still would be tempted to start with RvP on the bench. He needs rest and others need to step up in the goal production department. Bring him on at 60 min if we need goals.
I think RVP is the one player who needs to play because as much we hope to transition to something else he is our one irreplaceable player. Gerv, Ramsey, etc., can be rested if needed on the hope that someone else can fill in for what they do.
Problem is... I'm scared he'll end up injured again if he keeps playing every game full time. And I wouldn't mind drawing tomorrow if it means RvP will stay fit and completely healthy the rest of the season.