I get to post two match threads in a row! Great news! Even better news: Xhaka is still suspended! Everything's coming up Milhouse. Kickoff: 10 AM Eastern, 3 PM UK Venue: Turf Moor, Burnley US TV: NBCSN, I think. Fresh off their opening win of the season, the Gunners travel to Burnley, where it's currently 52 degrees Fahrenheit as I type this, and 7 of the next 10 days have rain in the forecast. No wonder their football is so dour. I'd want to see crunching tackles on the regular too, just to feel something besides existential dread and to stave off seasonal depression. Sheesh. Burnley have started off the season poorly (sensing a theme with these matches), and they sit in 18th place, with their weekend result being a 3-1 loss to Everton featuring your annual Andros Townsend Puskas-caliber goal from distance. In stats that trigger my existential dread, Burnley are unbeaten in their last 3 matches against Arsenal. Last season's fixtures saw a 1-1 draw at Turf Moor, in which Willian had an assist against all the odds, and a 1-0 Burnley win at the Emirates featuring the incident captured in the header image, as well as an Aubameyang own goal. I think I've blocked that game out of my memory for my own mental health. Burnley's last home win against Arsenal came on December 15, 1973, with second-half goals from Ray Hankin and Colin Waldron overturning a John Radford opener. Both Hankin and Waldron would end up in the NASL, Waldron briefly confined to Tulsa after a stint at Sunderland. Pick your poison with those three cities. No offense to the Okie Gooners. Arsenal's last win at Turf Moor came on the final matchday of the 2018-19 season, a 3-1 win highlighted by an Auba brace and Eddie Nketiah's first Premier League goal. Here's to channeling that spirit on Saturday. COYG
Thanks for opening the new thread. Long live (y)our streak! As for life without Xhaka, here's something I posted yesterday in a previous MD thread:
Let’s hope the arteta train gains momentum if we build on the result at norwich, then I will be a lot happier
Im worried we get to the NLD and either Sambi or Partey are benched for Xhaka, who likely either; kills our momentum, gives up a goal, gets a red or all of the above. No faith in him at all and its no coincidence we looked our best without him.
I won't be able to watch Burnley live. And not sure about Wimbledon either. It's rare that I miss a match, let alone two in a row. Here's hoping that'll be just the thing to ensure us 2 resounding wins. COYG!!!!
The bottom six are all playing each other this weekend19 Newcastle v 17 Leeds20 Norwich v 15 Watford18 Burnley v 16 Arsenal#Sixpointers— Orbinho (@Orbinho) September 17, 2021
Another 6-point swing match, let's win this one and make it 2 in a row going into our Cup match vs AFC Wimbledon and THE DERBY!!! COYF'n'G!!! The only other pre-match question I might have is, which kits are we gonna wear??? I'll venture to say that we might be wearing our away yellow strip. in fact, regardless of how good/bad our run of form is, all 4 of our kits look SWEET!!! You guys already saw my video on our gorgeous third kit and matching kicks I bought to go with them, I will also be buying the ZX 2K Boost red/cloud white footwear to go with our home red/white (with dark blue trim) strip next week.
CONFIRMED: We ARE wearing our all-yellow strip, last time we wore them was our slaughter of West Brom 6-0 a few weeks ago in a Cup match, let's see if that kind of mojo continues tomorrow morning away to Turf Moor at 7:00 am PT Source right here:
This is the dawning of the age of Artetarus.. Honestly, he has to win the next few matches and get something from the NLD. Must win tonight, by hook or by crook. Arsenal to win 3-1.
Partey and ESR start in place of Sambi and AMN. 4-3-3? 🚨 Team news from #BURARS...— Arsenal (@Arsenal) September 18, 2021
I'm super happy with that lineup. I've been calling for us to play a mobile 1-2 midfield over the 2-1 midfield with Xhaka for a long time. Partey at the base with ESR and MArtin ahead is the way to go. Hope this midfield starts 30 league games together for us this season.
Odegaard seems to be dropping pretty deep at times into the LB area vacated by Tierney, but he also pushes up at other times. He's been very involved. I feel like Pepe and Saka would be better off swapping sides so they could combine better with the fullback. Couple poor touches from Pepe already.
We really need someone, anyone, to be in that #10 space or we are hopeless in the attack. Odegaard has been playing too safe for my taste. On the sequence where he ended up playing a blind cross that Pope easily claimed, it looked like there was a throughball opportunity that he spurned in favor of a simple ball to Tierney. Need more aggressive passing, even if it means more turnovers.
Auba switched off on that play I think if he kept his run going I think it would've been 1-nil Arsenal