- Why do Liverpool get so few yellow cards for tackling, and why can’t other clubs try the same approach?
- Is VAR favouring certain clubs? Do players need more of a rest between seasons?
By Bulldog Drummond
The BBC has a rambling article about the game but in the end it comes down to “Striker Gabriel Jesus will not feature because of a hamstring injury and midfielder Thomas Partey is out with a muscle injury, while captain Martin Odegaard is again likely to be rested as he recovers from a hip complaint.”
The WHAM manager is quoted as saying “Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice should be “welcomed back with open arms” but later the article admits no one knows if he will play.
Football.London claims that “With Thomas Partey and Gabriel Jesus joining the injured Jurrien Timber on the unavailable list, Mikel Arteta could be restricted with regard to how many changes he can make to the side that started the win over the Blades as there could be some senior players who end up playing three games in seven days.”
So let’s see how restricted, by looking at the last league cup game.
The line up then was
Ramsdale
Gabriel Kiwior White Tomiyasu
Jorginho Nelson Smith Rowe
Havertz, Nketiah, Sagoe Junior
On the benches for that game were
- Karl Hein (goal)
- Cédric Soares
- James Sweet
- Reuell Walters
- Olexsandr Zinchenko
- Mohamed Elneny
- Martin Odegaard (injured)
- Amario Cozier-Duberry
- Gabriel Jesus (injured)
I suspect Elneny will get a game this time but Arsenal have plenty in reserve and there could well be a place for another junior player or two.
West Ham’s home form this season has been remarkably average while Arsenal remain unbeaten away from home. Interestingly West Ham at home and Arsenal away have each scored eight goals. However, the difference between the two clubs is that West Ham have lost two at home but Arsenal have lost none away, and have a greatly superior goal difference
| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Ham United home | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 7 |
| Arsenal away | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 10 |
Obviously, for the league cup the team will be different for Arsenal and could well be for West Ham who are playing in the Europa League this season where they are actually top of their group…
| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Ham United | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 6 |
| 2 | SC Freiburg | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 6 |
| 3 | Olympiakos | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 4 |
| 4 | Backa Topla | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 8 | -4 | 1 |
That is important in that it means that they, like Arsenal, are competing in four competitions this season, and the League Cup is likely to be the least important to them. Last season they went out in the first round they competed in going down to Blackburn Rovers 9-10 at home on penalties after a 2-2 draw.
This season, like Arsenal they won 1-0 away in the previous round, but while Arsenal had to play a premier league team, West Ham won at Lincoln City.
West Ham, you might recall had something of a good start to the season, when following an away draw with Bournemouth they won three games in a row against Chelsea, Brighton and Hove, and then Luton Town, giving them a goal difference of 9 for and 4 against. One can imagine quite a few bubbles and the like skittering around the Taxpayers Stadium which Boris Johnson more or less gave West Ham.
But since then everything has gone to a different shape. The stadium is still there of course, but the results are not. Four defeats, including a home defeat to Everton of all clubs, a simple 2-0 win over Sheffield United, and a more creditable draw with Newcastle at home. The full table is now…
| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Arsenal | 10 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 23 | 8 | 15 | 24 |
| 9 | West Ham United | 10 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 16 | 17 | -1 | 14 |
West Ham have won one trophy this century, the Europa Conference League last season. They were runners up in the FA Cup in 2006. In contrast Arsenal’s list of trophies is a bit long, so I won’t bore you will all the details but instead summarise where we have got to…
Premier League Winners twice, runners-up five times. FA Cup winners seven times, runners-up once, Champions League, Europa League, League Cup, runners up once each. We also seem to have won the Community Shield quite a bit, but I lost count.
Anyway, that sets the scene I think. More anon.
Simon Hooper will be the referee. No VAR for this game.
Stuart Attwell and Andy Madley will be the referee/VAR pairing for the match against Newcastle.
Last time we had Attwell (in the Community Shield), he gave us 3 yellows for 6 fouls. He gave Man. City 1 yellow for 11 fouls.