By Phil Gregory
After Nasri’s recent departure, Arsenal travel away to Udinese for a hugely crucial tie. The Italian side took some –myself included – by surprise in the first leg, but there’ll be no risk of them being underestimated this evening. The Liverpool result wasn’t the best preparation for this tie, but positives can be drawn from the game. After turning up to work after that game and being the butt of jokes from some Mancunians, I pointed out £100m of Liverpool, beating a depleted Arsenal side via two offside goals – one of which was a lucky own goal to boot – wasn’t the worst thing in the world. As is clear to see, the luck just isn’t going for us at the moment, and with a depleted side as well things have been tough recently.
That said, some of it is of our own making. Frimpong made two very bad tackles during the game, and the one he eventually got sent off after collecting a yellow was a potential horror challenge. Gervinho’s slap, Song’s stamp and now Frimpong’s rashness: all could be avoided and I hope there has been some form of internal disciplinary action to ensure it doesn’t happen again. Thankfully those three suspensions don’t count in Europe, and we also have the excellent Robin Van Persie back from a farcical suspension.
Mr Wenger too, has had a stay of execution in regards to his ban from UEFA. The whole situation is ridiculous: Wenger cleared what he was doing with UEFA, who then changed their minds during the game. As with the “Eduardo dive ban”, Arsenal’s lawyers strike me as fairly meticulous: they know exactly where they stand when they act, whereas UEFA seem to bumble around and look daft at the end. No doubt UEFA’s rules were half baked, and we found a loophole via Arsène not communicating with the bench directly or some such. UEFA then clamped down, banning Arsène again, but seem to have realised that if Arsenal were to crash out of the Champions league and Arsène not be on the touchline, then if UEFA subsequently lift the second ban on appeal, they would be looking at a substantial lawsuit. That’s been my take on affairs: UEFA are stepping back from the controversy for now to cover themselves from their own stupidity and will deal with it during the time between the qualifiers and the group stage.
Anyway, onto the game. There’s been some more disappointing injury news, in that Jack Wilshere has had a setback in his recovery from an ankle injury. With Koscielny hobbling off during the last game we’re down to the bare bones in terms of centre backs, but fortunately Djourou is back and could be involved. Rosicky is in the squad to give us some numbers in central midfield, whilst Traore gives us a possibility at leftback.
Szcznesy
Sagna Djourou Vermaelen Traore/Jenkinson
Song Frimpong
Ramsey
Walcott Van Persie Gervinho
So the rough team line-up that I’ve gone for is above. The only really question mark in defence surrounds the leftback position. Traore is available after injury and a specialist leftback, but there are question marks over his defensive ability. Given that Wenger might go for Jenkinson there, or even pop Jenkinson on the right and Sagna on the left as he did versus Liverpool.
In midfield I expect a defensive duo of Song and Frimpong in front of the back four, allowing Ramsey to play higher up. With a lead to defend, that would make good sense but it would also mean we’re not forced to start Rosicky and risk his fitness with the United game approaching.
Further forward we’ll exploit Gervinho’s availability and put him on the left after a disappointing display from Arshavin against Liverpool. Van Persie’s return could be crucial after he missed the first tie.
Despite there being such a negative attitude around the club, that line-up isn’t too shabby and should be able to do the job. Walcott’s early goal could well prove crucial, but more importantly we know that Udinese have to attack us, yet a goal from us effectively kills in the game off. The pace of the front men could be crucial in this tie, hitting the Italians on the break or even simply forcing them to leave more men back than they would like to. As for score predictions, it’s a bit of a tricky one for this game as the complexion of the tie is defined by who scores first. I’ll stick my neck out though and go for 1-1, with Udinese to score first and give us a bit of a scare. That’s pretty much how our season has gone so far, so it feels like a safe bet.
Amazingly, this game is one ITV in the UK, which means I won’t have to drag my hangover to the pub. Fantastic.
Enjoy the game Gunners!
Thanks Phil. I do think we will be very solid defensively like we’ve been so far and can see us getting through with a 0-1 scoreline and an early goal, much like Bayern yesterday. It’ll be tight..it’ll be nervy but we should do it.
My only worry is if Frimpong dives in a little too much and gets sent off. Europe is even stricter than the EPL.
Arsenal needs support now more than ever. I know I will be screaming in front of the TV with a pint in my hand 🙂
GO GUNNERS!!!
got mines
Let get through today and worry about tomorrow.
The defensive pair will go a long way to help arsenal, vermaelen has bn consistent. Song shd endeavour to assist d defence,especially djourou dt is just coming from injury. Gervinho shd use his pace on the wings and shd also try and shoot when there’s space. Sagna shd also overlap less 2nyt. RVP shd also b dangerous as he was last season! God helping, the desired result shd b achieved. Arsenal 2-1 Udinese
Good line-up that could work provided Walcott and Gervinho serve VP with accurate passes. Or even score themselves into the goal mouth.
The line up according to Gervinho’s official FB is similar to above. The only difference is Rosicky for Frimpong.
I actually prefer the above lineup. Frimpong and Song will give freedom to Ramsey to work his magic.
MARADONA, thats what we need the GREATEST!!!
@ Phil I totaly agree with your line up and have been pondering if Jenks should start ahead of Traore. Simply because Jenks is quick, getting stronger each game and done well playing with Vermaelen and Sagna. On the other hand playing Traore would mean putting in a more physically imposing player and LB is his role. I think Udinese will be more physically agressive in this game and this would suit Traore’s game. My concern with Traore is that he slower than Jenks, coming back off injury and his decision making under pressure is sometimes questionable.
I know a good argument could be made for swapping Frimpong for the experienced Rosicky, but I think Song and Frimpong play well together and neither will play for a while after this game so it is better that Rosicky gets more recovery time.My subs would be Arsharvin, Jenks/Traore, Miguel.
Hopefully our travelling Gooners will make lots of noise and give as good as they get.
Very nice preview, Phil. Personally I’d go with your line-up (with Jenkinson over Traore), but think Rosicky will get in ahead over Frimpong, just to provide some experience in the midfield. Early goal and we’ll be fine – Udinese’s defence isn’t the strongest.
It’ll be interesting to see if Arsene sets us up slightly more negatively than usual tonight.
Personally I expect Rosicky to get the nod ahead of Frimpong if he passes his fitness test but most of Udinese’s threat came on the counter last week, so a deeper, more defensive posture might limit their effectiveness and provide space for Theo/Gervinho’s pace to hurt them if/when they commit players forward.
The team’s in desperate need of a moral boost. If we knock one in and put them in a position where they need to score three, hopefully the floodgates could open.
That said, I’d be happy with 0-0.
I actuall think we should use this game as a dress-rehearsal for the Sunday game. I think Arsene should experiment with the 4:2:3:1 system, use Walcott as loan striker, have RVP as a half 9, supported by Gervinho and Chamberlain or any other player on the flanks. have Song and Frimpong play together in midfield and Traore, since he played in Italy last term, could do a good job for us today.
1:1 it will be
I’d go for Traore over Jenkinson (it’s his natural position and he’s used to playing with the rest of the squad) and Frimpong alongside Song for a real steely (is that a word?) midfield. Pace & technique upfront, creativity & aggro in midfield & an hard a nails defence. What can go wrong? 🙂
Oh and a 3-0 away win (4-0 on agg)
Djouru is worst among our CBs and I think it is better to repeat the same against Liverpool.Sangna on right,Migual,TV, Jenkinson.It will be fantastic to play Frimpong,but don’t rely much on Song.He shoud be warned for repeating such non-Arsenal methods and for loosing pocession by acting like a Pele Which he is not.The Liverpool match Was not a dissapointment at all.It showed what an invaluable payer TV is for us,and why we fared so poorely last season.And we got one more real Gooner in Frimpong getting behind in the line of TV,Jack,Gervinjo….
the only consolation out of all of this is that Spuds will be in an even worse league position than us after the weekend.. with Man City at home.. times are tough, but it could be worse.. u could be a Spud fan…lol
We’re still lacking in creativity in the middle so a tight defence, congesting the midfield and using Theo’s pace to hit them on the counter could be our salvation. If they start tiring in the last twenty, throw on the Ox or Ryo to traumatise them. They have to come at us, something only one team (begins with B) has managed to do successfully in a long while.
Everyone knows that against Arsenal you sit deep and hit us on the break as we pile too many players forward leaving space at the back. Well if we use our slender advantage and don’t conform to stereotype they have to come out to score to stand any chance and we hit back on the counter better than most.
That’s certainly what I’d be tempted to do WP.
They played a rough 4-1-4-1 formation last week with a single dedicated holding mid sitting in front of the back four and gave both their wide men + either one of the central midfielders freedom to break forward to join Di Natale at will.
In theory, just a slight adjustment to our own shape could:
– allow RVP to drop onto their holding player – giving him a dilemma whether to mark the man between the lines or push forward onto one of our three midfielders.
– push Theo and Gervinho up onto the shoulders of their respective fullbacks – preventing them from being free to get forward on the overlap, or if they move forward anyway, tempting the centrebacks to spread wider to cover the threat.
– allow us to maintain a man advantage deep in the midfield zone if their holding player isn’t willing to push up – making us harder to play through in that area and hopefully providing Ramsey with enough time/space to pick an out ball when we break.
Something tells me that Arsene won’t do this though, the only time in recent history that he has seemed to set the side up with instructions to counter a specific opponent was against that very B team last year…
i’ll go for 3-0 or 3-1 if dj plays. ill be disappointed if rosicky starts instead of pong, cos dont rate his creativity at all. in fact i think song has better vision. i agree wit john, id like to see that formation and i dunno if this has been said before but at least ryo can get the number 8 shirt now. yay.
Jus look where we have reached in 6 months….from the heights of Carling Cup final, beating Barca and in contention of 4 trophies and now we’re look like losin top 4 position and also quite close to not qualifying for Champions league….
Disappointed, but angry that the problems that cud have been avoided are now haunting us….
DP,
we’ve played 3 games so far man…
@ Dark Prince, I note that you never responded to Domhuaille
who accurately called you out. It’s not often that someone takes the time and bother to engage you in conversation. I would of thought that an antagonist wordsmith like yourself you might of had more to say for yourself.
I have posted the link should you want to refresh your memory.
http://blog.emiratesstadium.info/archives/13760
I’m totally confident that we will win (yes, win, not just a draw).
In fact, I feel Arsenal will be different from now on, when those players who don’t want to stay at the club have gone. Now we only have the passion and hunger from true Arsenal hearts like V.Persie, Theo Walcott, Szcznesy and legends in the making like Wilshere, Ramsey or Frimpong. I’d rather watching them than Cesc and Nasri with their minds elsewhere.
Am delighted we got the win, lots to say but for now just relieved and pleased we did it, I hope we can bring in those few reinforcements now and push on with the future, we have some excellent players that are dangerous, creative midfeilder that is a great player would be a big bonus and would make me feel a lot more confident, hopefully it comes before the Man U match.
I have something else to say but will save it for a better moment, Scheznney been great so far this season, a lot more condifdent and a lot more communication with his defence which is helping.
And now may some of you doom mongers crawl back under your rock. Even with almost nobody on the bench, a right footed left back, a right back that a few months ago played in the third division, no Wilshere, no more mercenaries and deserters.
Yes, yes yes.
On the other hand the Europa league also would have been a pleasant journey I think.
Lucy 1st half (saved by the post), felt a little for Udinese they played well. 2nd half class act performance if we can play like that against Manu we at least expect a point.
Now Walter’s mentioned kind of what I was going to say anyway…. I think we got to support the team and manager together, united, we can debate things but to make statements such as we’re going to get relegated and just blankly say were shit is counter productive to the club, we’re not shit, infact we’re a very good team that is a bit short squad wise currently as we’ve sold Cesc and Nasri particularly, if these issues can be addressed which I am highly confident they will be then we will be challengers and capable, Cesc was a great player and was dangerous and vital to our play, a talent like him needs replacing, especially with Diaby out. Also some of the disgusting comments I’ve seen from people on negative websites are disgraceful to humanity let alone so called Arsenal fans, wishing death up Arsene is just sick in the head, those kinds of people during the game were saying everyone is shit, Walcott (who scored a GREAT goal today) Jenkinson, Gervinho, Rosisky, everyone really, Rosisky was great when he came on defensivly and offensivly, desire and work rate, the move we did for the Walcott goal was top top quality, fantastic goal, Gervinho is an excellent player, so is Sagna and Schezney and others. We certainly are not perfect and do have flaws in our game, which I hope we can address but we are far from shit and under pressure tonight we came through and won. Well done to Arsenal, all the players and Arsene, I hope we can now push on and look to the future and I hope the fans whether we have debates and disagreements or not can all solidly get behind the club, support is about SUPPORTING during diffiicult times as well as good if your a true supporter, season really just started, looking forward to news of new signings now and the game at the weekend.
May I offer my unreserved apology to all the AAA, spuds, sky, itv, all the press and just about everybody else that have put us in a little box and thrown away the key. I am sorry but you will have to wait a damn sight longer to see us crumble under the pressure that you think you are putting our team under.
to say we were immense in the second half is a mere understatement.
Oh crap, we bloody well did it. Now the moaning will get worse. Very pleased to see a team performance and dynamic forward play, makes a change from a bunch of static midfielders passing around the opposition box.
Without Cesc and Nasri you may have less chance of winning.
Without the kind of team spirit the boys showed tonight you have zero chance of winning.
Arsene knows…….
WHOAAA!!
What a relief. Never been happier. This win is very special and hopefully we could left the bad luck and bad week behind.
In Arsene We Trust. Go Gunners.
@ Ronnie Brown 10:05pm, very well said.
We are a team in transition as we reshape and regroup. This season will definately have some nerve racking moments but that is football. We can do better and will be better as the season goes on. Arsenal is not a team for weak and spineless supporters as they will not be able to cope.
Great win, so encouraging for the young team! Thought the ref tried to stitch us up in the second half with some strange decisions (after we scored); however look forward to the UA ref report.
One can only speculate on the pre-match instructions given to the ref and his four officials.
@ Simon Bailey, being treated to the insights of Andy Townsend (who could’nt help himself and had to have a dig at Theo) and Ian Wright (who just moaned after the win) on ITV was interesting. I am totally amazed that these two vacuous minds were being asked their opinion on anything, let alone football management.
It is annoying to watch and hear these pundits criticize Arsenal and Arsene, instead of giving credit to the team and how we had a great second half. No instead, they decided to focus on the ‘next big test’. When the Spuds went through to the champions league last year under dubious circumstances, these jokers couldn’t stop praising them, to the point I thought they had watched a different match all together.
Anyway, thank God we are through.
Great result, always thought they would. Even though we are not as good as Manchester United, City and Chelsea at the moment we are better than Udinese.
And because the way the seedings are done for the champions league I think Arsenal could still be seeded as one of the top 8?
Great win considering all the negativity surrounding the match.
Im not worried should we loose at Utd this weekend when you consider the suspensions and injuries.
If we buy a few players before the transfer window closes we will be back in the top few places by christmas despite the slow start.
Jas777,
yeah, we are in pot 1 (along with the top seeds).
Gooner Gal,
at least we didn’t have to put up with that snide little ponce Adrian Chiles.
Does anyone know if it was an injury that prompted Frimpong’s substitution at half time?
Arsene doesn’t usually make a change that early but I thought our midfield trio all struggled to make an impact in the 1st half. If it was a purely tactical substitution to bring on Rosicky then you’d have to say it was a brilliant decision. Probably Tommy’s best half of football that I can remember.
Quick question
Does anyone know where francis coquelin is and why we wouldnt be playing him DM against Utd the weekend ? surely he would be a good option unless hes gone back out on loan which I havent heard about.
@bjtgooner – I think it was the linesman who gave the penalty, but if you look close at the replay, you can see that Vermaelen is shoved hard in the back (watch his head go down as he is pushed). So instead of Arsenal getting a free out, Udinese get a penalty shot and Vermaelen a yellow card. Ridiculous really. Thank goodness Chesney saved it or it would have been a very nervous ending to the match.
Im finally with Wenger on one thing. If we finish top four it will be something to be proud of. Di Natale is the type of striker Arsenal is missing. RvP has never looked that consistently dangerous. Honestly, world class striker goes a long way. Even someone like Doyle would be a great improvement. That guy plays all by himself up top on a terrible Wolves team and still holds his own (much like Di Natale did).
Has anyone seen Nasri’s comments on Soccernet?
Here is the link. http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story/_/id/948347/samir-nasri:-manchester-city-fans-more-'passionate'-than-arsenal?cc=4716
He does have a point, doesn’t he?
Chowdhury,
If you look at Untold: he is wrong.
But if you look at some other blogs: he is right. 😉
Two seasons ago (long before the last summer and the first of the Cesc goes to rumours started) I wrote on Le Grove that with fans like the ones on here (=Le Grove) that if I would be Cesc I would leave Arsenal as soon as I could.
The abuse even in those days aimed at the players and even at Fabregas was unbelievable.
In a way I’m glad that Nasri came out and said what he said. This is something Tony and Walter and the rest here have been saying for so long. Why would anyone want to continue to play for us when every single bad touch or a misplaced pass is being criticized from the home crowd. What sort of a “Home Crowd” is that? Isn’t it considered advantageous to play at home considering you get the crowd to lift the team if they are having a bad day? Wasn’t it how it was back in the Highbury days? Would like to hear some thoughts on this from people who frequented at Highbury. Do you guys see the difference that Nasri mentioned?
Addi,
yes agree about Rosicky. He was immense from the first minute on the pitch. Really happy for him and hope he will become the player who he was before his injury. I know he is on the “who to have a dig on-list” from some part of the fans but I think with his experience he still has something to give to the team. And if he plays like yesterday…great.
Mind you I think the combination Ramsey-Rosicky-Song worked very well.
Walter,
Maybe someone should put a Big Banner on sites like “Le Spud” saying “We keep loosing our best players thanks to you guys!!!”. But then it probably be futile cause that probably IS the whole idea to begin with.
What bothers me more is that, people going to Emirates should be able to see through this. 🙁
I’m honest to say that even when we’re behind, I still believed that we will win at the end, especially when Rosicky came in.
I mean, what a performance by our no.7! The way he tackled to get the ball back, the way he gave so many dangerous pass to unlock the defense, it’s fabulous. If he can keep that kind of performance for the rest of this season, I say we don’t need to buy any creative midfielder. All hail Rosicky the Sliding Tackle Specialist.
P/S : Szcznesy looks huge between the posts. When he was waving his arm before the penalty, look like there is no way for a ball to go through. Who say we need a world class goalkeeper? We’ve already got 2.
• Gooner Gal
August 24th, 2011 at 11:15 pm
@ Ronnie Brown 10:05pm, very well said.
And
• Stevie E from “We will get better”
August 24th, 2011 at 2:46 pm
@Cape Gooner
Relegation performance yet we finished 4th… That means in the previous 25 games we must have been championship winning performace? Why do people always have to look on the negatives?
————————
I think the team we have is great, and will be better than last year’s team when AW spends his pile wisely. Stevie – of course our performance last year was championship winning. We would have won easily if we hadn’t have been so “unlucky” and MU hadn’t have been so “lucky” (West Ham, Blackpool???)
Last night we overcame unlucky! But as “Johnny Deigh August 25th, 2011 at 4:16 am” points out, the penalty awarded against us was very “unlucky” while Theo’s yellow card was unlucky as putting your chin in the way of an intentional elbow sometimes results in a penalty for you and a red card for them. Theo misses the next game.
What a night.This was a MASSIVE result.All the pundits,media were ready to write some very negative stuff this morning.What a shame we have f… you. Even on monday night when i was listening to BBC 5 live the unt v the Spuds AW got stick from Lawrenson.He said Pullis was at the match watching Unt play as they had them in 4 weeks time and questioned why AW was not there!.Perhaps fyling off to Italy the next morning had something to do with it!.
Rosicky also had a helping hand in the Van Persie-goal. By running into the box towards the backline, he pulled a defender with him, creating just the little bit of space needed for Gervinho’s pass to reach Van Persie.
@ Addi 1:43am, yes the presenter Matt Smith is a vast improvement on Chiles whose main contribution to football shows is to show clips of overweight shirtless blokes or crying children when their team loses.
@ Cape Gooner – thanks.
Although Nasri is not wrong about the rubbish support Arsenal have, it is clear that he is trying to get his own back for the abusive chants aimed at him and win over a new set. Last year Blackpool had the best set of supporters home and away, but Nasri never ever thought about joining them. I personally am very disappointed that he has never repayed Arsenal for the investment made in developing him. He is a deceptive guy that speaks with a forked tongue and the suggestion that the fans affected his decision to leave is really quite ridiculous.
.
It’s like that ‘nana’ song never existed and was’nt sung more than it should of been. Nasri is a mercenary that has gone to the spiritual home of Mercenaries. He was a bit delusional if he thought the fans would not give him stick for leaving the way he has and under the circumstances. My problem with him is that after he was offered more money by Man C, he couldn’t be bothered to play his heart out for us anymore. I directly blame him and Cesc for their lacklustre performances causing us to go through the CL qualifiers this year.
.
Nasri’s PR have obviously advised him to try and win over Man C fans who are not happy that he wanted to go to Man U instead. The player should just be honest and move on. Nasri has shown by his retailation that Arsenal supporters did get to him and this can be used to throw him off his game when we play Man C. I have been following Nasri for almost 5yrs and was a big fan, but I there is a definately a thin line between love and hate. He is no better than Adebayor, Flamini, Hleb or Cole. In a few years Nasri will still be talking us and that Porto goal, where as Arsenal would of moved on.
.
I even think that Arsenal deserve a bit of credit for the way they have handled Nasri’s defection. Nasri stated that he wanted to leave months ago so that he could have a good preseason with his new team mates (and earn £200,000 a week sooner rather than later). Or is that enjoy the Man C fans sing that boring ‘blue moon’ song over and over again? He didn’t get an early move and so will have the added pressure of trying to sort himself out as well as living up to the hype on the field. The delay makes it harder for Mancini to work out how and where he will deploy Nasri in midfield. Not only that Arsenal won in the test of wills, I have no idea why Man C refused to pay us £25m earlier and only offered £17m. I say well done to the negotiating team for their poker face.
Nasri had his chance and turned out to be a flop. He was not a winner for the club. I’ve moved on.
@ Gooner Gal, “Or is that enjoy the Man C fans sing that boring ‘blue moon’ song over and over again?” this made me actually laugh out loud lol, I agree about Nasri, the fans did show him support, they were hurt when he touted himself to Manchester United, I didn’ say anything at the time cause I knew we were trying to get him to stay but after saying that you can’t not expect a reaction, and honestly he did go mainly for money and his loyalty was certainly under question, he said Arsenal made him the player he was and was thankful to Arsene but how does one show that gratitude? By their actions not by leaving the team for more money, he had 6 great months really, was ranging quite average inbetween, Arsene perserved with him yet his faith was repaid by Nasri leaving the club, he could have been a legend here but he’s runied it, personally I don’t rate him AS bad as some others as he has still kind of said good things about Arsene and wished luck to the club but he hasn’t acted morally at all, I can’t wish him luck as he’s playing for our rivals now, Cesc was very dignfied upon leaving though, his supportive comments meant something to me, even though I don’t think he should have left without winning something here but at least he gave a fair number of years as service. Some of the players need to take responsibility, you can’t be at a club like Arsenal and complain about not winning trophies, YOU are apart of the team, he needed to look in the mirror before complaning, GREAT players MAKE winning teams.
Ronnie Brown,
I think that Nasri took the Arsene was like a second father to me line from x-Cesc. It may be true, or part true, but using it now in my view is just cynical PR so he doesn’t appear as greedy (or opportunistic) as he really is. On Nasri, I have to say that he went through the motions during the lap of honor at the end of last season chatting to whoever was next to him and paying no attention in the least to the fans. That’s blatantly visible on any replay of the lap, as it was at the time. If he got booed recently, he really deserved it for having sent out that couldn’t care less message to the fans on our last home game last season.