Eze defaced before arrival; the Arsenal team against Leedss

 

 

• Arsenal v Leeds. This referee does not like home wins.
• Arsenal v Leeds: how the two teams have been faring

By Tony Attwood

Even though he has not been announced as an Arsenal player, the Eberechi Eze mural painted this week in the tunnel just before the ramp up to the north bank entrance has been defaced.   I suppose in one way, it can be explained: if your club isn’t really going anywhere (even though it did win a trophy last season), maybe defacing someone’s work of art anonymously is all you have left in life..

But then, the Guardian does get near the mark with its piece, “Supporting Spurs means imagining the most embarrassing thing that could befall a club and knowing it’s going to happen.”

It seems to me that Arsenal now have some rather nifty set-piece approaches which, despite them being dissected endlessly on TV, are still bemusing defenders.  And indeed some of the open play ploys are pretty nifty too.

And we really do now seem to have two Premier Leagues – one made up of the top six or possibly top seven clubs who will go on being the top six or seven – and one made up of the rest.  Arsenal of course, are in the top 6/7 group – right near the top in fact – and Leeds are very much in the pack left behind.

Riccardo Calafiori looks like he is quickly getting the hang of things, and whatever David Raya did on his holidays, it seems to have given him even more insight and power.  And we are unbeaten in 22 games against the big six, which, although not relevant today, is rather nice to know.   Put it all together, and this looks like the moment we could start knocking in more than one goal in a game.   

And of course as many have noted, a win will mean 42 consecutive league home games against newly promoted clubs without a loss.   Not bad.

Still, what we do know is that the media will go wild at anything, such as suggesting that the winner last weekend should be allowed because of one player impeding another, but this is what is happening in most games now. position.

Leeds have not won two opening games in a row since just after the turn of the century, and they generally seem to lose in London – I suppose the cleaner air quality takes the players a bit by surprise, especially as Arsenal usually win the games against  Leeds.

I suspect Kai Havertz won’t be risked even if his knee injury is not that bad, and even though the new transfer hasn’t been announced yet even though we all know it will be.  I could say I feel sorry for Tottenham over Eberechi Eze but you know I wouldn’t mean it, so I won’t.

On the injury front, Christian Norgaard is still out, as of course is Jesus, and there is talk of Ben White not being fit.  But taking all things into consideration, here’s a guess at the starting XI: 

Raya

Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori

Odegaard, Zubimendi, Rice;

Saka, Gyokeres, Martinelli

The alternative idea is that  Madueke plays in the front three instead of Martinelli.   We shall, as ever, see.   It is of course, on TV.