To whom it may concern, It is with great regret that I inform you that as horrible as this season has been, it's about to get even worse. We are about to be subjected to a past-it, pretentious, and insufferable know-it-all. I speak, of course, of Warren Barton, aka the most insufferable non-political pundit on TV. I recommend making liberal use of the mute button during the pre-match, post-match, and halftime proceedings. For all that, there's still the matter of the FA Cup final to be played. Chelsea have had one of the great seasons in Premier League history, and Arsenal have had their most disappointing season in two decades. And yet, we have the chance to hoist some silverware at the end of it. Here's hoping "good" Arsenal show up, and that Chelsea eat some really bad lasagna. Location: Wembley Stadium Time: 1730 GMT/1230 ET/1130 CT/930 PT TV: Fox?
I'll venture to say that we will be wearing our primary red/white kits, and so will I, and although this has been a disappointing season at least with regard to what level of European competition lies ahead of us next season, we will show up and we will give it a full 90 minutes out there on the pitch and pull this one off, I'll bet Chel$ki will have a letdown after the emotional John Terry goodbye speech to all of his fellow supporters at Stamford Bridge just a few days ago, hopefully it will be what we need to steal the FA Cup from right underneath their noses, so COYF'n'G!!! .....and don't feel so bad about Warren Barton, it's Eric Wynalda who I can't really stand, he doesn't hold a candle to Kyle Martino of NBCSN when it comes to American-born pundits, boy don't we all wish that Andy Gray was available for all of us to enjoy his expert punditry again, between him and the iconic Martin Tyler, they were a force in football that was unbeatable. I still say it was a travesty for Sky Sports to sack him way back, over "sexist" comments about female linespersons not knowing the offside rule or some other bullshit like that. Thanks a lot Charlotte Jackson (NOT!) for getting him fired!!! Blame women for no Andy Gray on TV, he was the best!!!
Forget Andy Gray vs Eric Wynalda vs Kyle Martino. It's Shkodran Mustafi vs Per Mertesacker we should be thinking about. Frankly I'm torn... Mustafi is apparently having a hard time feeling right post-concussion. That could be risky for him and bad for the team if he plays at anything less than 100%. Plus he wasn't exactly a shoe-in for our XI when everyone was fit. Per is no doubt rusty and it's not clear if he's fit for 90 minutes, let alone 120. However, he's big, has gobs of experience, good positioning skill, etc. Sure his slowness causes him to get caught out, and put in the occasional clumsy dangerous tackle... but if I had to decide right now, I'd choose him to start. Thoughts?
Indeed. It's going to end bad either way this season. Either we lose and Wenger leaves under a cloud or we lose and Wenger re-signs and all Arsenal fans become a mix of apoplectic and incredulous. Going to be a long summer. 3-1 to Chelsea.
I think we'll need to switch to a back 4. Mustafi is definitely out. He hasn't even had any light exercise. Nacho - Holding - Per - Bellerin On the bench: Gibbs, Bielik, Jenkinson?
Depends on back three or back four, but wouldn't be surprised to see a back four of Gibbs - Nacho - Holding - Bellerin (which is terrifying).
I know I've been critical of him because of his past but is Calum Chambers still on loan to Boro or is he available??? I'll be more than willing to give him the benefit of the doubt and make him a part of the 18 if not in the Starting XI, we are indeed hurting right now and I wouldn't risk putting in either a rusty BFG or Mustafi due to concussion protocol (I know I wouldn't risk having Mustafi in there when he'll look almost half-dazed out on the pitch.).
Per will be our downfall at the back. No fault of his, man's old and rusty. Really hoping Holding performs really well. Would be brilliant for that kid to continue to improve and maybe one day become our next captain. Not confident at all but we do well at Wembley. COYG!
If Mustafi is out (as appears almost certain), Wenger could go with a back 3 of Per, Holding and Monreal. I think Per's lack of pace would be negated a bit in a back 3, while his experience, positioning, reading of the game, strength in the air and leadership could be invaluable with Koscielny and Mustafi out. I'd be more confident with that than with a back 4. Arsene, of course, may hold a different view.
We'd have spacing issues with that back 3, methinks, and would leave well-designed fjords in our defense
Possibly, but you saw what a mess reverting to a back four was the other day. Granted, that was partially down to being down to 10 men, but it was pretty dicey there for awhile.
Gibbs is an injury doubt for this match as well; We may have no choice but to play a back four, unless Ox is healthy enough to play LWB, or they put Welbeck out there.
And thinking a bit more about it, going to a back four would put a lot more defensive responsibility on Aaron Ramsey. It might be a long day for him against Hazard, Pedro, etc. Alexis would have more defensive responsibility as well. I think if you put the BFG in the center of the back three his game reading and organizational skills could be utilized effectively and his lack of pace would be less of a factor. Holding and Nacho on either side would be alright. Not as good as having Koscielny and Mustafi in there, of course, but it might make the best of a bad situation.
I was reading just awhile ago that it looked like Gibbs would probably be able to go. Ox apparently is fit.
Mertesacker hasn't played, and getting his first start of the season in an FA Cup final would be odd.
Beggars can't be choosers. I just ran across this piece that discusses three possible defensive options, including one that puts Coquelin in a back 3 (all three include Per). http://www.squawka.com/news/monreal...ok-against-chelsea/952698#Lkp6ui5MXHBoqcxg.97
I say screw it, let's try a 2-4-4 formation. Forget defence and don't let them past the half way line.