Because we are also told, “Arsenal’s Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain should be fit despite limping off early in the midweek game against Southampton with a hamstring injury. Laurent Koscielny, who missed that match with a calf problem, will be assessed ahead of Saturday’s game.”
Oh, so no one is out injured then? My goodness it is a confusing old world isn’t it!
Perhaps we should leave the Excess to its pictures of children’s toys on Mars and move on to that other load of old reprobates the Evening Standard who go out of their way to fulfil the Excess’ headline without actually publishing the headline.
“Arsenal will be without Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain after the winger limped out of Wednesday’s 2-0 win at Southampton with a hamstring injury and faces a race against time to be fit again this season.
“Shkodran Mustafi returned from a thigh problem at St Mary’s and fellow defender Laurent Koscielny (calf) could join him at the back against Stoke having returned to training, but Santi Cazorla (Achilles) remains sidelined.”
So, that’s all right then. I think.
We all know of course that Arsenal have had five wins in six, but the BBC is insistent that this is in fact no the case at all. “With four wins from the last five games” they say. They mean “four league wins in five” but why bother to get out the calculator to sort that one out when we all know the other game was Arsenal v Manchester City and Wembley.
Anyway the BBC’s scribbler says, “They need to keep winning and hope for the best, so I’m sure there are places they would rather be than Stoke this weekend. It’s seven years since they last won there in the league. The 3-1 victory in February 2010 came thanks to two goals in added time, but it was also the game in which Aaron Ramsey suffered a broken leg.”
That of course suggests we are total rubbish at Stoke. But you might find the following a little more encouraging.
| Date | Event | Res | Score | Competition |
| 23 Oct 2011 | Arsenal v Stoke City | W | 3-1 | Premier League |
| 28 Apr 2012 | Stoke City v Arsenal | D | 1-1 | Premier League |
| 26 Aug 2012 | Stoke City v Arsenal | D | 0-0 | Premier League |
| 02 Feb 2013 | Arsenal v Stoke City | W | 1-0 | Premier League |
| 22 Sep 2013 | Arsenal v Stoke City | W | 3-1 | Premier League |
| 01 Mar 2014 | Stoke City v Arsenal | L | 1-0 | Premier League |
| 06 Dec 2014 | Stoke City v Arsenal | L | 3-2 | Premier League |
| 11 Jan 2015 | Arsenal v Stoke City | W | 3-0 | Premier League |
| 12 Sep 2015 | Arsenal v Stoke City | W | 2-0 | Premier League |
| 17 Jan 2016 | Stoke City v Arsenal | D | 0-0 | Premier League |
| 10 Dec 2016 | Arsenal v Stoke City | W | 3-1 | Premier League |
Now if you have a meander down that list you will find that Stoke beat Arsenal twice, so one might say Stoke have only won two of the last 11 games between the two clubs. And those wins have both been by one goal. Their manager said, “We know that everything has to go for us if we are to finish in eighth spot, but if we win our two games then we will give ourselves a fighting chance.” I think fighting sums it all up.
“Things at times maybe haven’t gone the way we would have liked this season, and that is for many reasons, but we still have a chance of finishing the season in our highest ever Premier League position.
“We see ourselves as a top-10 club, and if we do fall short this season then we will put our hands up and acknowledge that, but I can assure you we will be far stronger next season.”
Here is a list of their top scorers in the PL. I make no comment on the issue
Joe Allen. Six goals
Marko Arnautovic: Six goals
Peter Crouch: Five goals
Jonathan Walters: Four goals
More on Saturday ahead of the game
Stoke v Arsenal. Mike Dean is the referee. A note about what that means.
Stoke v Arsenal: Injury news, recent form and the clue to what’s happening.
I know Wenger has been criticised this season but would you really have preferred Mourinho?
Every game on TV; Arsenal have three players scoring 10+; and the fight against football journalism
If Stoke plays the tall ball heading Peter Crouch against Arsenal tomorrow to attack crossings in ball crossing situation, will Arsenal deploy their on the fringe tall defender – BFG to counter Crouch attacking the aerial ball to thwart all his heading attempts? But BFG slowness and his tendency to dodge shots to avoid being clattered are handicaps in him that mitigate against starting him at the Bet365 Stadium against the bogey Porteries. Therefore, if Koscielny has fully recovered to start, my 3 Gunners back-line still remain as: Mustafi Koscielny Monreal. But if he hasn’t fully recovered to start, my reshuffled back 3 reads: Holding Mustafi and Monreal.
I am not entertaining any doubt in my thought that Arsenal will not collect all the 3 points at stake in this match. They’ll collect them. I this light, I encourage the Gunners to fully prepared themselves mentally, physically and technically to efficiently deal with the Potteries in the game and impact devastating impact in the game on the potteries for 90 + of the match. In one word, the Gunners should out thought, out smart, out wit, out play and out score the Potteries in all aspects of playing this match.
Finally, let me encourage Le Prof not to sit tight on his seat in the dogout during the match but be getting up from his sitting occasionally and pass tactical instructions to the Gunners during the playing of the match as he normally do at other Stadia save the Bet365 Stadium due to intimidation by the Stoke fans intimidating him.
>but Santi Cazorla (Achilles) remains sidelined.<
By God, these journalists are clever fuckers. We were told weeks ago that Santi was out for the season, yet they need to remind us that he remains sidelined.
No shit Sherlock!
Arsenal.com now has their match preview up.
But Santi Cazorla is still sidelined with an injury. 🙂
Such a pleasant day here…..after weeks of harsh sun….now we had rain yesterday night…. cooling things a little.
But yeah…Santi Cazorla is still sidelined with an injury.
@ARSENAL 13
So where is ‘here’?
@colario I’m guessing Mumbai 😉 just a wild guess.
Saturday morning..
Editor: “Is Santi still sidelined with that season ending injury?”
Journalist: “Hang on, I’ll just check that”
Fuckwits!
@Colario, @Arvind …..
A 1000 kms south of Mumbai along the coast to be precise..
BUT Santi Cazorla is still sidelined with an injury.
Arsenal13, you are north of Kerala?
I know of this region, because it has a high background radiation signature (monazite sands containing thorium).
—
Oh, Santi Cazorla is still sidelined with an injury. 🙂
@Gord,….
Yeah….Kerala border is about 75 kms from my place.
India has a huge reserve of Thorium….which could give us energy security for a long long time. But sad thing…..therz not enough work/study being done to build/develope Thorium reactors.
Btw….we know, Santi Cazorla is still sidelined with an injury. ?
Arsenal13
I’ve run across a few ideas out of the USA. I’ve been studying on and off, an idea for building reactors on the Moon (farside, there are areas there richer in thorium than on nearside or the poles). But my idea would not be tenable on Earth.
Last I heard, Candu could be used to breed U-233 form thorium. And you have some Candu reactors. I used to work at a SLOWPOKE. The Chinese have a “clone” of that.
@Gord,
Well, We could build a reactor on the moon. Send all of the tiny totts with their team to the moon. And then send the ‘wenger out means out!! (wonder why those two exclamation mark though, are they surprised that they managed to fund it)’ with some of their fav plundits. That way they can win the PL, UCL, FA cup, League cup, Club world cup and every other competition on the moon, and spare us their bullshit and let us enjoy the real ARSENAL.
Funds you ask??…Well, we can start an Untold fundraiser.
India will help us out with transport to moon.