Previous notes:
- Fleetwood v Arsenal: the line up and a choice of goalkeepers
- Arsenal win, statistics look promising and it looks like a league of two teams
By Tony Attwood
There’s no real late news before the game tonight that I can see, but I have seen another go at choosing a team for the game so I thought I would put that up just in case you’ve nothing better to do as we await the kick-off.
Kepa
White, Mosquera, Salmon, Hincapie
Zubimendi, Lewis-Skelly
Dowman, Merino, Eze
Gyokeres
Arsenal certainly do seem to have a fairly strong squad this season, and I suspect Arteta expects the Mancs to get removed from the League competition somehow because of their past crimes, making this a season to have our full squad ready to do the business no matter what comes along. Hence the strong line-up here.
The Arsenal official site today says, “They’ve yet to get going in League Two this season, winning only three matches and just one in their last eight games. But Matt Lawlor’s men will be putting that to one side as they look to reach their first-ever quarter-final.”
And they have a quote from Arteta…
“Our reputation, our pride, everything is in play. So every time you play a football match, and especially against a team in a different division, respect the game, respect every opponent because they deserve that, and then try to win and try to play a bit better than them.
“We know the risk, and in football, things can get very equal the moment you are able to match certain things, and that’s why our basics and habits have to be through the roof to be able to win the game.”
There is also this thought put up today on the Arsenal cofficial site…
“This is our 10th League Cup tie against a side from the fourth tier of English football. We’ve progressed from eight of our nine previous ties but were knocked out by Bradford City in 2012/13 on penalties after a 1-1 draw in our most recent game….
“Eberechi Eze has been involved in seven goals in his last four League Cup appearances against sides from outside the Premier League (two goals, five assists), scoring in our 2-0 win over Port Vale last season.
“Max Dowman scored twice in the third round at Ipswich aged just 16 years and 258 days. He has made three appearances in the League Cup – the only player to play more before the age of 17 for Premier League clubs is Harvey Elliott, who made four appearances for Fulham (one) and Liverpool (three) before turning 17.”
The Standard this afternoon is confirming the injury details as
Injured: Saliba, Saka
Doubts: Calafiori, Tzolis. (I am assuming that means doubtful in terms of fitness not that the player is doubtful as to who will win).
And that I think is about that. I wasn’t one of the few to get an away ticket, so it is STV for me, and I suspect quite a few others. If something amazing happens, I might pop back here later on; otherwise, I’ll get back to the more regular affairs of the league tomorrow. Still, at least as I am not driving, I can have an alcoholic beverage during the game. Here is the league table….
| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | G D | Ps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
17 Rochdale
|
13 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 15 | 22 | -7 | 15 |
|
18 Fleetwood Town
|
13 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 15 | 17 | -2 | 14 |
|
19 Northampton Town
|
11 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 13 |
|
20 Oldham Athletic
|
12 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 14 | 18 | -4 | 12 |
|
21 Colchester United
|
12 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 11 | 16 | -5 | 12 |
|
22 Rotherham United
|
13 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 17 | 23 | -6 | 12 |
|
23 Port Vale
|
11 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 12 | -6 | 12 |
|
24 Crawley Town
|
11 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 12 | 21 | -9 | 6 |
Back tomorrow as we move on to the next game (and hopefully some positive thoughts about this one).
