Arsenal vs Sporting Thursday, March 16th 1:00pm PT / 4:00pm ET / 20:00 GMT Paramount+ We have a very difficult task in Crystal Palace on Sunday so it'll be very interesting to see how Arteta approaches this one. My position remains unchanged: rotate all 11. Not happening, I know.
Kinda agree with Big Man. No kill from me. Turner, Tomi, Holding, academy, Tierney, Jorginho, Vieria, academy, Reiss, ESR, academy, and get Jesus at least 30mins.
For anyone who doesn't subscribe to P+ and who still has a TV package, this game will also appear on Unimas en espanol, and will likely feature prominently in the Golazzo Show's live coverage on CBSSN channel. As for the XI, I expect Mikel to rotate no more than he did for Leg 1 (and possibly less), especially since we start the match with a draw, and he's shown a real desire to win in this competition, rather than cast it off to focus exclusively on the league.
One possible rotation could be GJ9. But even if he doesn't make it into the XI, the consensus in the arse-pundit-sphere that I listen to is that he will definitely get minutes in this match. More likely off the bench I figure.
Let's go for it. Epl is more key but with players back we would be foolish not to attempt a run. If Mikel says Jesus is ready then let's see.
No Eddie on Eddie Nketiah's recovery... He's getting better. He's still in the boot so still a few weeks away. We need to be patient - it was a nasty injury. It's a challenge that Eddie's got ahead of him, but thank God he could have been worse so he's not in a bad place.
That's too bad but hopefully his being out will dovetail nicely with Jesus's return (and pray they're not rushing him back because of Eddie). But I'm wondering why I missed the tackle that gave him such a nasty injury. I'm pretty sure it was in the last game he played for us, whichever that was. I think he came on as a sub perhaps. Anyone know more details on when/what happened?
I think I read he had been playing with a minor ankle problem and aggravated it, possibly in training. Hard to say for sure because Arteta is so tight-lipped about these things.
0-0 or 1-1, we advance Any Arsenal win, we advance 2-2 sets up ET any loss or if Sporting score 3 goals we’re out. Bottom line, Matt Turner and the boys just have to keep their noses clean and we are through to the quarterfinals… COYF’n’G!!!
No more away goals rule I'm afraid. Which makes the calculus much simpler: we need to win tonight either in regular time or extra time or PK's. Quite a few people wouldn't mind seeing us drop out of this tourney, but I personally want to see us win and move on. I see the general end-of-season psychological mood benefits to be of greater benefit than the potential risk of having to play more games, more frequently. YMMV. Plus, it doesn't matter what we think. I'm 99.9% sure that Arteta will want to win and advance.
i would love the double. But i want the league more than anything. This is a 1 in 100 chance to win the league.
The club needs to practice going heavy at every chance for a trophy, win the next 6 games and we get a trophy the same is not true about the league.
Way too strong of a team for me. Palace at the weekend is way more important, I'd have preferred a lot of rotation.
We're resting White, Partey, Saka, Trossard and Odegaard. Honestly don't think we've sat Saka at all this season so much deserved for sure. 4 4 2 formation with Martinelli and Jesus up top? Is Turner hurt?
4-3-3. Martinelli-Jesus-Nelson front. Nah…Arteta watched Turner last Thursday and thought better of it.
At last a REALLY overdue rest for Saka. Jesus was always gonna see minutes but him in the XI is a slightly surprise. Pray he's up for 45-60 mins. Eager to see his fantastic high-pressing defensive skills, not to mention a goal or two would be nice!
Shit! Tomi is down with an injury. CANNOT be a recurrence can it?? This guy just cannot stay fit. White coming on at 8'
Hard to know what it is. Right calf?? But I have a hunch we might not be seeing him back before season's end. His average recover history from soft tissue injuries is not exactly on the quick side.