USA - April 29 - 3:00pm: @ Villarreal (Europa League) - Paramount+ CAN - April 29 - 3:00pm: @ Villarreal (Europa League) - DAZN UK - April 29 - 8:00pm: @ Villarreal (Europa League) - ??? AUS - April 30 - 5:00am: @ Villarreal (Europa League) - OptusSport Good ebening! Massive match. Our only chance to play European football next year. And the next mountain to climb is a Villarreal team currently in 7th in their league on a 2 game losing streak. We have issues of our own, Leno or Ryan? Saka at LB or stick with Xhaka? Need to get out of there with a win or a draw, absolutely need to score which has been an issue for us. But taking a goal or two back to London gets us on our way. JUST WIN! Arsenal 2-2 is my prediction.
2 weeks ago I would have been excited... Now I just don't care. Hopefully something stirs for Thursday.
Thanks for starting the thread mate. I recall you had quite a nice undefeated streak not long ago as thread-starter. Bring that back man! LB: I'd consider throwing Cedric into that calculus (I'd rather see Saka up top) unless there's some fitness/form issue with him I'm not aware of Funny I had the exact opposite reaction when I read that. Big smile. +1
Leno. Tough call. I’d say Xhaka because we need the passing out of the back without Luiz and it keeps Saka where he’s most dangerous, but playing Saka there means Ceballos on the bench, which would be a huge improvement.
From the Arseblog report on Artetas presser; Oh ******** yeah getting Tierney back makes a massive differenc... God dammit I need to really read the whole article before I post. Lacazette back is very important, Auba less so since he will get deployed on the left.
Nah thats after the second leg if we get knocked out. We could lose 2-1 here and they would be ok with that.
It’s weird but I am really disconnected from arsenal and football at the moment arsenal are so soulless and the game is in a joke state I hope we win but I probably won’t be watching
I agree. Or possibly a bit of mind games with Unai. Without an iota of inside info, I would say my eyebrow is raised most by: Tierney, Luiz, Auba being in contention for Thurs. But Laca? I always had an eye towards him making it back for this. The way he pulled up and came out of the game quickly, a week or so ago, I thought that was done consciously so as to hopefully try to make it back for Villareal. Edit: I just watched Arteta's presser and he said he is not interested in taking any risks with players who might not be fully fit to play. Hmm. https://www.arsenal.com/news/arteta-team-news-tierney-emery
saw a social media post earlier that showed everyone listed above in training. No idea if they are recent pics though.
Also a nice presser by Pablo Mari. Not sure I've heard him speak at this length before... very impressive. I guess he was chosen because of his inside knowledge of La Liga & Villareal, having grown up in Valencia. But I wonder if we might not see a Mari+Holding partnership tomorrow. https://www.arsenal.com/news/moreno-best-striker-spain-right-now
I vote for Leno. Why? Recent mistakes aside, he's been really good for us for a year or more... clearly one of 2 or 3 most valuable and reliable players over that time. And I would hope/trust that he would be extra focused and extra careful tomorrow if he's given the start. Others might say bench him because he's had 2 or 3 mistakes in recent weeks, but I wouldn't do that.
I still think Leno is a better GK than Ryan, put your best out there football is a simple game sometimes.
Line ups from the Guardian: Villarreal v Arsenal line-ups ... Villarreal: Rulli, Foyth, Albiol, Pau, Pedraza, Parejo, Capoue, Trigueros, Chukwueze, Alcacer, G Moreno. Subs: Asenjo, Gaspar, Mori, Bacca, Estupinan, A Moreno, Coquelin, Costa, Gomez, Yeremy, Alex, Nino. Arsenal: Leno, Chambers, Holding, Mari, Xhaka, Partey, Ceballos, Saka, Odegaard, Smith Rowe, Pepe. Subs: Ryan, Okonkwo, Bellerin, Gabriel, Luiz, Cedric, Elneny, Nelson, Nketiah, Willian, Aubameyang, Martinelli. Pepe as the striker? If so, it’s a decision I’ve felt might be worth considering. Though this is a big game to try it out.
I think Pepe has the skillset - he a great finisher and needs service rather than creating all on his own - and may be a better option that Nketiah, but it's a big roll of the dice for a match like this having never tried it before. I'm not confident about Xhaka at LB either after Richarleson torched him Friday.
Yeah, looks like Pepe up top, unless it's something other than 4-3-2-1? Assuming it's a back 4 and Xhaka's at LB, then I echo your concerns... I'd have rather seen Cedric who did a credible job there several weeks back. But I guess there's some logical but unknown reason why Mikel is not picking him. As an aside, I just noticed Coquelin is on their bench. I had no idea! That would be a little strange if he got on the pitch against us... don't recall that happening much since he left. In any case, this is one of the last completely vital games of our season, so... COYG!!!!!