By Bulldog Drummond
So now we know, Rob Holding will be out for the rest of the season with a ruptured cruciate ligament. What a tragedy for the young man, what a tragedy for the team. So now we have another English player out meaning that we will really have to be scouring the list of home grown talent to meet the current requirements, and that is without any thought of what we do if the regulations change post-Brexit.
As for the game tomorrow we have Mesut Ozil and Aaron Ramsey both being counted as doubts but with Granit Xhaka coming back in. It is just possible that Laurent Koscielny could play – but I suspect he will only play a part of the game if that is so.
For Huddersfield Abdelhamid Sabiri has a broken collarbone, while they have two players suspended: Phil Billing and Steve Mounie.
This was a mid-week game at this time of year last season and we sauntered through 5-0 last season but they have been improving of late as the Wolverhampton result showed. Worryingly their manager has been talking up the need for them to be more brutal, often using phrases such as, “We have to fight with everything we have to keep the ball out of the net. This is the first thing you have to make 100% right if you like to get something out of a game against a team like Arsenal away.”P
We have the benefit not just of our “not consistent enough” run of 20 unbeaten, but also the knowledge that we are unbeaten in the last 10 games against Huddersfield, with eight wins and two draws.
So we are in the best form since November 2007, that is 11 years ago (yes I just checked it on my calculator). That time around we went 28 games in a row under Mr Wenger.
Oh yes and here is a good one from the BBC, we have won 16 of the last 17 PL games that have kicked off at 3pm. Not that we need that extra bit of fortune against a team like Huddersfield. It is focus and flare.
And this could be the day when we go in at half time in the lead!!! But if we do I don’t want us giving up on the second half goals – we are top of the charts for second half goals this season.
But they do keep scoring even when they lose, and that means if they get one first they are going to hang on to that lead with 11 men behind the ball, so I would prefer it if we could nick one early on and keep that lead, knocking in the last six in the final 15 minutes.
I cant see anything but a win. But so desperate for a clean sheet
Despite the ACL injury suffered to the centreback Rob Holding which is reported to have him out of the season for Arsenal, sorry Rob, my sympathy is with you and I feel for you. Nevertheless, I believe with the absent of Rob Holding at the heart of Arsenal defense-line for Huddesfield tomorrow at the Ems in the PL, the injury to Holding should not seriously affect the Arsenal defense-line. For, there are still some senior team top quality defenders personnel on ground at Arsenal to successfully manned the defense-line to hold fort unbreached by Huddesfield in the game. In fact I can see Arsenal defenders successfully surmounting whatever be the attacking assaults that the relegation threatened Huddesfield have in their apt to subject the Gunners to in the game. But the Gunners will not only thwart their attacking assaults off successfully, but could overrun Huddesfield in the game by scoring at least up to 5 goals to nil to beat the Terriers at the of the match. Which when achieved by Arsenal as being envisaged by me, it will have Arsenal goals difference in the table tremendously increased.
The Arsenal 4-2-3-1 playing formation team sheet I like to see Emery put out against Huddesfield is stated below.
Starts:
Leno;
Bellerin Mustafi Sokratis Kolasinac;
Torreira Xhaka;
Mkhitaryan Elneny Aubameyang;
Lacazette.
Bench:
Cech Lichtsteiner Pleguezuelo AMN Guendouzi Iwobi Nkethia.
I think Ozil, Ramsey, Monreal and Koscielny should be excused playing in the Huddesfield match to allow them heal deeper and return for Arsenal against the Saints.
Focus and flair surely?
Holding’s performance against Spurs the best seen from any of three young promising English CBs, Stones, Gomez and Holding? I don’t watch LCFC every week so haven’t seen McGuire hit such levels.
Gomez and Holding out for the season, huge setbacks in their careers and development?
Yes. Mike Riley and the PGMO are anti or against English Football. This is not an opinion. It is their consistent record.
Hacking an opponent like a coward coming in from their blindside consistently was outlawed from football C1850 (fouls are accepted but not constant fouling which is where and when the cards came in…), and those not good enough to play football therefore created a new sport called Rugby Football which they didn’t play with a football because they couldn’t play with a football…