That 1999 match has to be one of my happiest memories. And that 3rd goal is forever etched deeply in my memory. Of all the players we have now who might be able to replicate Kanu's feat... I'm thinking of you PEA. But even if he can't, we should still be able to pull out an away win... like we did <2 weeks ago in Stockholm, when both teams put out strong teams. Thanks @Romfordray for quick thread put-up.
Here's to hoping we get a positive result in this one! I'll come back with a lineup and prediction later in the week after we see where we are at.
The two most obvious candidates to be dropped are Cech and Xhaka based on Sunday's performance with Leno and Torreira coming in, mainly because I don't really understand why you'd buy those two players and not play them. I would imagine Maitland-Niles will be replaced by Monreal after Emery said Nacho is due to start proper training this week in his post-match press conference. I wouldn't want to see wholesale changes otherwise, if the manager thought that was his best team against City then they probably deserve a few games for him to get his way of playing across and get up to full match fitness.
I still think Lacazette is too valuable to just have on the bench as a late sub. He can score a lot of goals this year but he needs time on the pitch. Maybe not this game, but at some point he has to play Auba and Laca together from the start.
I wouldn't bench Cech quite yet. He played pretty well, especially in his strengths like saves. Playing the ball with his feet... well that's another matter, which has already been discussed. Also, I heard somewhere that Leno hasn't been so great in training lately. And there's a bit of politics. So let this evolve in a natural way. Seeing how AMN was on crutches after he came off, I'd be shocked to see him in the squad Saturday. But, as you say, Monreal could be back by then, or we can also use Lichsteiner who was a very able substitute last time, so I'm not really too worried about LB. (Assuming Bellerin is fit for RB of course) I would give serious thought to having Laca start, along with PEA. Maybe drop Mkhi who was sadly a passenger 2 days ago. Probably leave Ozil in there, alhtough he wasn't much better frankly. Can't recall if we've played that front 3 before, but could it work? Offensively & defensively? Finally, on the other side, there's a bit of potential good news... Fabregas is ruled out with some sort of injury.
i thought lacazette played great when he came on against city and brought a lot of bite to the high press. would go with: ———laca——- auba—ozil——mkhi —-ramsey—-torreira monreal-sokratis-mustafi-lichtsteiner ———cech———— cech made some incredible saves and needs to be given a bit of time with the passing if he stops like that. can’t really figure out if iwobi, nelson, or mkhi should start on the right...
While I thought that Lacazette did well when he came on against City also, I don't really want to shunt Aubameyang out to the left when he's much better playing through the centre. That's a difficult one. Ramsey has proved time and again that he's not disciplined enough to play as part of that two in front of the back four. Maybe Torreira would mitigate that somewhat, but I'd be inclined to go with literally any of our other central midfielders in there instead.
Fans always line their teams up in diamonds, but I don’t think there’s been a top half PL side that’s played a diamond in the last decade. Basically, I wish the internet would stop using the diamond formation. Re personnel, I’m basically with you. I’d just do it 4-3-3— Giantgooner (@GiantGooner) August 15, 2018
Our transition play has been bad for a number of years now. If you play from the back then you need someone strong on the ball to transition quickly in the MF. Wenger's solution with Santi gone was using Xhaka to ping the ball long. If we insist on playing from the back, we need both Spaniards and a miracle because neither Papa nor Mustafi is good with the ball and Czech is nothing short of disaster. I advocate a 3-4-3 just for $hits and giggles Czech Papa Mustafi Holding Bellerin Lichsteiner Ramsey Torreira PEA Laca Ozil
That's about what I expected, given how he looked immediately afterwards. Disappointing for everyone though. Luckily we can cover his loss. At the moment anyway.
Not sure how they fit within the context of your post, especially when referencing Santi's importance to a team playing out of the back.
I may have to miss this one live I think which is sad and rare. If I want to watch it later on NBC/gold app, how soon can I do that and can I avoid spoilers?
I’m guessing .......laca Auba ...ozil...mikhi ....torreira..Ramsey Nacho..sok..must..Bell ............cech Personally I would try and match their 433 but it would sacrifice some width .........auba Ozil............mikhi ...Ramsey..xhaka ........torreira
Based on what some of the press has been saying, as well as the boss, this is what I figure we line up with today: --------------------Laca------------------- Auba---------------------------------Ozil -----------------Rambrosini------------- ---------Elneny----------Torreira------- Lich--------------------------------Bellerin ------------Sokratis----Mustafi---------- -------------------Cech--------------------- It was reported that Mo will start, which could make some sense as he is a bit calmer on the ball and can help build from the back. It also gives Aaron a solid defensive base when he triggers that press or moves forward.