By Bulldog Drummond
Today is the day that Mr Wenger takes the record for the number of Premier League games handled by a manager. Of course there are people who wish it were not so, but that’s the sort of thing that always happens and some people will acknowledge a remarkable achievement. There are more exotic places to take a record than West Bromwich, but still…
As the regular stats from both clubs showed us, Arsenal ought to win this, but need to beware of an early WBA goal which would lead to a 12 man defensive unit (11 players and ref) operating in front of the WBA goal for the rest of the game.
So to the injury news…
We’re in 12th in the PL injury league from physioroom, equal 12th/13th/14th with Swansea City and the Tiny Totts with four men down…
Monreal and Ramsey are said to be due back on 7 January, Giroud one week later. As always the number is inflated by including Santi Cazorla, who is not a member of Arsenal’s 25 man registered squad but still included.
However there is some newspaper chatter about Xhaka not being available because of a hamstring problem although the not always utterly reliable Football.London tells us that he came through training and is showing all the signs of being ok.
On the other hand the even more not always accurate Daily Cannon tells us “Arsenal dealt midfielder blow as new manager seeks to heal rift”. which turns out to be an article that opens “Vincenzo Montella, believes that Steven N’Zonzi…” so not really something to do with today’s game.
The same bloggetta also tells us that there will be a problem today because Lacazette struggles when Ramsey doesn’t play. Apparently, “Unless Ramsey is in the team, we often have too many players who are drawn towards the ball.” Hmmm – I would like to see some stats on that, as it doesn’t look that way to me.
West Bromwich have three injuries…
| Man down | What’s wrong | Due back | Today? |
| S Rondon | Hamstring Injury | January 6, 2018 | No chance |
| N Chadli | Thigh Muscle Strain | February 24, 2018 | No chance |
| J Morrison | Achilles Injury | January 6, 2018 | No chance |
Following their new pattern of writing, the Guardian has, I think for the fourth match running, refused to greet the morning with a preview of the game, while every other Premier League team across these recent weeks has had the normal treatment. Instead we get this gem…
“…despite Wenger’s preference for discussing football instead of transfers, it is not the media’s fault that Sánchez, Mesut Özil and Jack Wilshere all have six months left to run on their respective deals.”
Of course, it is never the journalists’ fault… except that it is the journalists who decide which inane questions to ask over and over and over and over again and then what to write. They could ask anything, but every single press conference prior to every single Arsenal game, the media has chosen to ask about the contracts, knowing full well that they will not get an answer.
A much more reasonable point for the Guardian to have debated would have been, “why are journalists always asking the same questions when they never get an answer?” To use that invented Einstein quote that people used to write on Untold, doing something which fails and then doing it again and again is a sign of madness. It isn’t of course, but in the case of journalists one might might an exception.
Here’s what Mr W said about Jack…
“When we play with five at the back, I like to have more offensive players in midfield,” Wenger said. “That system suits him well. Where he has improved is tactically and defensively. When he does that his defensive game becomes even better. Jack has a great quality, when he wins the ball he gets you out of pressure because he has that little burst and then suddenly he can open the game for you.
“I believe his positional play is good. You watch football, you see that straight away, he is in the right place. Football is first where to be on the pitch, where to stand. After, where to run. But at the start you first have to stand in the right place and he does that.”
Meanwhile West Brom have ventured into the نقل السوق which as I am sure you will know (or just found out using Google translator, is what Google thinks “transfer market” is in Arabic. Written in Latin script it is “naql alsuwq”
They have bought Ahmed Hegazi from the Cairo team, Al Ahly and he is … a defender, of course. With WBA what else? They can’t play him today of course.
Which leads me to one bit of transfer news. Apparently the news this morning is, “Malcom lands Gunners on belated bandwagon” which appears to mean that we are buying the 20 year old striker from Bordeaux for £44m. Remember you didn’t hear it here first and if you did read it and it is wrong I’ll blame PainintheArsenal for being their usual inaccurate selves.
Next, the teams and the history of games between the clubs.
- West Bromwich v Arsenal: this could be dangerous
- West Bromwich Albion v Arsenal; Sunday 31 Dec 2017 – The Match Officials
Ahmed Hegazi will most certainly be playing. Been our best player of the season so far.
Just to clarify the false Einstein quote includes expecting different results from the same repeated actions. If it were true then the scribblers would qualify for insanity labelling. I wonder however whether or not they are sane on a daily basis, regardless of any fictitious quotes.
I defer to you Chris. We picked up the information from the Guardian – never a reliable source. We really should stop using them
I like to think that we could counter their negativity , and get all 3 points tonight.
2-0 to the Arsenal !
Arsenal signing a striker – Malcolm in January? What of Lacazette and Giroud who are leading the line for Arsenal I team and Arsenal II team respectively with the latter being a super sub for Arsenal I team. Is Giroud leaving Arsenal this January window to warrant a top quality striker signing? Anyway, I think Arsenal should sign a replacement for the may not come back from injury for Arsenal Santi Cazorla in their midfield this window and integrate him into the first team squad and not wait until the summer before they do it but if they can afford his cost price and wage bill that’s assuming they’ve found one. I hope he won’t be Lemar.
As regards to our match in the PL today at the hawthorn’s away to WBA, the Gunners will beat the Baggies resoundingly well this evening. I am not entertaining any doubts in my mind the Gunners won’t. They will. Because they know they have to so as to keep pressurising Liverpool and Chelsea for a 4th and 3rd climb in table soon with the minimum delays to do that. More so, as Arsenal will host Chelsea at the Ems next Wednesday and will have to beat them to cut short their 5 points lead on us to 2 after we’ve delt a big blow to WBA today.
Le Boss has revetted back again to the back three defense-line formation in our last away match in the PL to Crystal Palace which he seemed to have abandoned for his preferred back four defence-line.
One thing I’ll like to say is, if there is no special reasons like injury, tiredness and for tactical reason that warrants Le Boss to make substitutions in his starting XI against WBA today, he should please spare us making any substitutions in this match. For, at Crystal Palace last Thursday, when he brought on the DM Coquelin for Lacazette which I don’t understand why he did so, Arsenal midfield collapsed from then on and struggled to cope with Crystal Palace onwards in the game. The Gunners had their stars to thank for not conceding the equalising goal to CP who were charging at them relentlessly with the lackluster Bellerin who should have been subbed for either Holding or Maitland to come on.Bellerin was unable to cope with marking Zaha.in the game in the 2nd half. In fact, I don’t know why Le Boss doesn’t want to be substituting Bellerin even if it has become apparent he’s having a bad game defensively for Arsenal. Bellerin wing back attack orientation against Crystal Palace was poor. There was this an Arsenal attack in the game towards the last 15 minutes of the 2nd half which Sanchez initiated and was ready to receive a pass as he ran into the area. But on the ball getting to Bellerin, all he did was to pass back to Arsenal box for no reason and killed the Arsenal attack which potentially could give us a 2-4 lead in the match.
My 3-4-3 Arsenal starts and 7 Gunners bench for this match.
Starts:
Cech
Chambers………Mustafi…….. …Koscielny
Maitland….Wilshere….Xhaka….Kolasinac
Ozil………Lacazette……. .Sanchez………….
Bench:
Ospina Debuchy Holding ElNeny Coquelin Walcott Iwobi
rip SAA – Cech, Koscielny, Alexis, Wilshere, Iwobi, Mustafi, Chambers, Bellerin, Xhaka, Kola Bear, Lacazette.
well explain that to me…9 yellow cards in thr Crystal Palace-City game, not a red one…
Oezil not in the lineup and not on the bench either for Arsenal to WBA today but Iwobi is deputising for him in the starts. We’ll know the reason for the surprise omission of Oezil in Le Boss’ 18 man later. I know Le Boss will start the bad form Bellerin ahead of the supposedly inform Maitland at right wing back in this match despite my protest he shouldn’t start him. I didn’t want Bellerin to start in this in our WBA game today. But there it is, Le Boss has him starting again. I’ve dropped him from my 18 man to make him wake up from his slumbers and step up his game quality for Arsenal and not that I dislike him.
I am rooting for Arsenal to beat WBA by 3 goals to nil at the Hawthorns today.
He got us, he didn’t give a monkeys! It’s high foot,
Ball to hand, too close and no intent. It’s impossible to justify, but you don’t get two hadn’t let them play for periods, you get that crap!
Welcome to the Midlands, witnessed from the east stand. For all those crying Dean Robbery – Arsenal were shocking, and this is and has been the case for 2017. You all talked about the Dean effect therefore why put on such a shocking display, and, for those who’ll defend this incompetent Performance from the team, the ref was poor for both sides. We have gone backwards, even our points tally this time last year was better. Keep doing the same this thing and expecting a different result is a case for failure!