Time: 1630 GMT/1130 ET/1030 CT/0230 AEST Place: London Stadium TV: USA No clever statements or fancy titles this. Just win.
Last 2 visits to London Stadium n the league ended 5-2 and 6-0. Would absolutely take that again but a 1-0 would also be just fine. Give me a Rice goal against his old club.
We have stuttered against WHU in crucial games in previous seasons, and they will be desperate for anything to save themselves from relegation. If we had the league wrapped up I'd have been all for sending the u14s, but sorry Hammers we need this win badly. Win. Just win. That's all we need. Arsenal 3-1, goals to Rice\Gyokeres\Trossard.
Does Mikel run it back with the same XI for the 3rd match in a row? My doubt would be Saka, does he need to be managed.
I say NFW! But after Tuesday I also say all bets are off for what Mikel does. But I'm on board, and I promise to try really hard not to be critical, if anything goes badly because of under-rotation.
Tuesday-Sunday…probably don’t need to worry too much about fatigue other than those who have been struggling, but those players have largely gotten rested lately. Yes, Saka needs managed, but I think he should be good for 60 again, and we’re into one match per week territory the rest of the way so he might be good for 90+ by the time the final rolls around.
Of course, but the fifth match would likely be the community shield* or supercup in that scenario and we’d all be rather happy with that. *yes I’m aware of the possible permutations, but at a minimum five means we win big cup.
Yes. I thought it was Saturday, so yes five days is a nice cushion for fatigue and fitness. I also heard Adrian Clarke say he thinks Mikel has found his team. Wow. If true, wow. And it includes Leo?! And Myles?! (assuming he didn’t come off with a significant injury) Edit: Having just rewatched Tuesday's game, I see that he wasn't really injured, just sat down to buy some time. But I wouldn’t necessarily put money on that. With people like Jurien and Kai potentially waiting in the wings. Edit: AND I left out Ode who I can't imagine wouldn't bump Eze back to the bench if he can overcome his bad knee. But if Adrian is right, there’d be something really cool about finding a team for the final run-in. We shall see!
Hypothetically, YES! ps. No trukka trukka here with me just now. We’ll see how I feel in a week or so.
I'm thinking it's a good thing Citeh play before us this weekend, for a change. If they win, it should give us further impetus to put in a serious shift and bang some hammers. p.s. Just as I was starting to cast a wider net for Arsenal pubs I might utilize for this month of absolutely huge matches, I just gave my long-closed local one more ring (Tigin's in Stamford CT) and for the first time in literally 4 months they answered! And seem to have reopened under new owner. That makes me so happy!... I'll check it out this Sunday to make sure it's still as much a Gooner place as ever.
Got our game completely wrong in terms of dates. Don't know why I thought we played prior. I still think there is a very good chance Brentford will take points.
The last 24hrs I've been thinking about this match, eagerly and anxiously, at least as much as I did for the Atleti semi leg 2. I guess that tells you how big a test this is, or at least in my mind.
And... all the pundits on NBC are saying MLS over Zubi today, hands down. Wow. p.s. Here's what Mikel said Friday... on the timing of the decision to play Lewis-Skelly in midfield: I think it's been a process of, probably understanding him better, him understanding as well the standards that are required when you play or don't play that much at this level, to understand the reasons why you play or don't play as well, and then he's been exceptional, his attitude, the way he's been trained, the way he's been supporting the boys when he hasn't played, and he's given us every sign to think that when we were going to give him the chance he was going to respond in the manner that he's done it. But after he's done it, and it's not easy, especially when you haven't played that much, to look that confident, that energetic, that playing with that determination, it's something that is surprising. on what we’ve been understanding better about Lewis-Skelly lately: I need to push Myles Lewis-Skelly hard, to understand how he's feeling. He's a boy that was playing with the under-18s, under-21s, sometimes he wasn't even playing, he was playing in a different position. He comes in, he comes through, he plays in a completely different position that he's ever played before, he's exceptional, everybody's talking about him, he goes to the national team. He comes back from pre-season, and then he starts to realise that maybe he's not going to be a starter. So you need to go through those emotions, not only you, but the people next to you as well, the people that are giving you advice, and you have to navigate through that, and that's not easy, I understand that. It's easy when it goes so well for you, but when it goes the other way, the temptation is going to start to point to people, and I need to understand that, and I need to guide him, and I need to give him my perspective, the reasons why he wasn't playing that much, and he took it on board. Not the first one, after three or four times, I think he realised, OK, I think if it’s not this way, I don't think it's going to happen. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - on if there are any fresh injury concerns: No, everybody finished the game well and nothing to add. on Merino and Timber: No chance for the weekend. on if we’ll see them before the end of the season: I don't know, there's still a fair bit to do, so everything has to be so smooth and quick if they want to have a chance to play any minutes. on if Timber’s injury has been more complicated than expected: Yes, and that's probably been the most difficult thing to manage with the player, with myself as well, because we didn't expect it to take so long, and at the moment, he's not fit to play.
There is nothing I would love more than to see us rally and power through the next 3 games, but I don't believe that is who this squad, and this manager, are. Can't see us getting a win here.