By Bulldog Drummond
In case you don’t get to matches at Arsenal Stadium, let me explain. As the game is about to get underway the stadium announcer announces, as announcers tend to do, in an excited voice, “Football is back in N5, enjoy the game!” so I thought we’d use it today, although it took a moment to find the postcode of Boreham Wood.
But yes, football is back and kick off is at 3pm. It feels like it has been a very long and very tedious wait, but finally it is here and it is being played out on Arsenal.com too. So something to do this afternoon.
So we should be seeing all the players who were not involved in the WC (which apparently is still going on, although I am not sure anyone is watching today, at least according to the papers it is a game that no one wants to play, which is why Fifa make people play it), and that means getting a look at three of the new signings: Sokratis, Bernd Leno and Matteo Guendouzi.
And of course, after years of suggesting it on Untold, we’ve got a squad that is not packed with WC players, so we should be seeing the likes of Aubameyang, Mkhitaryan, and Lacazette up front, Ramsey in midfield and Bellerin at the back as well as Calum Chambers, Sead Kolasinac (who seemed to have a troubled end to the season) and Shkodran Mustafi (whom the AAA have marked down as a person of ill-repute).
Plus of course we are going to see some of the kiddies – at least if previous opening games are anything to go by. Ainsley Maitland Niles is of course now part of the first team squad, but we should also see Reiss Nelson, Eddie Nketiah, and Joe Willock who were all pushing through last season.
Jordi Osei-Tutu’s name is being mentioned in dispatches along with Chuba Akpom. Chuba is a man of constant loans, the latest being for a season in the Belgium top division. Here’s the history
| Years | Team | Games | Goals |
| 2013- | Arsenal | 4 | |
| 2014 | Brentford (loan) | 4 | |
| 2014 | Coventry City (loan) | 6 | |
| 2014 | Nottingham Forest (loan) | 7 | |
| 2015/6 | Hull City (loan) | 36 | 3 |
| 2017 | Brighton & Hove Albion (loan) | 10 | |
| 2018 | Sint-Truiden (loan) | 16 | 6 |
Internationally he is a player who has played for England under 21 but is said to be considering playing in future for Nigeria for whom he also qualifies.
Osei-Tutu came to Arsenal in 2015 from Reading for a fee that was reported at the time of being around £100,000. He is a right back, but also plays in central defence and has occasionally being spotted venturing up the right wing.
Certainly players from last year’s under 23 team in PL2 will be looking for chances this season having turned the form of previous years around, to win the league…
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Arsenal U23 | 22 | 13 | 3 | 6 | 32 | 32 | 42 |
| 2. | Liverpool U23 | 22 | 13 | 1 | 8 | 27 | 27 | 40 |
| 3. | Leicester U23 | 22 | 11 | 6 | 5 | 20 | 20 | 39 |
| 4. | Swansea U23 | 22 | 11 | 4 | 7 | 31 | 31 | 37 |
| 5. | West Ham U23 | 22 | 9 | 4 | 9 | 32 | 32 | 31 |
| 6. | Manchester City U23 | 22 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 31 | 31 | 30 |
| 7. | Everton U23 | 22 | 9 | 3 | 10 | 36 | 36 | 30 |
| 8. | Chelsea U23 | 22 | 8 | 5 | 9 | 35 | 35 | 29 |
| 9. | Tottenham U23 | 22 | 7 | 5 | 10 | 48 | 48 | 26 |
| 10. | Derby U23 | 22 | 7 | 3 | 12 | 44 | 44 | 24 |
| 11. | Sunderland U23 | 22 | 6 | 4 | 12 | 39 | 39 | 22 |
| 12. | Manchester Utd U23 | 22 | 4 | 8 | 10 | 40 | 40 | 20 |
So can we pick a squad?
It is a bit of a mug’s game not least because two teams will play – a different group in each half, but try this
Goal
Cech, Leno, Martinez
Right back
Bellerin, Osei-Tutu, Jenkinson
Centre back (2)
Mustafi, Sokratis, Holding, Chambers, Mavropanos
Left back
Kolasinac, Monreal
Midfield defence
Ramsey, Maitland-Niles
Midfield attack (2)
Reine-Adelaide, Smith-Rowe, Guendouzi, Nelson, Willock
Attack (3)
Mkhitaryan, Aubameyang, Lacazette, Akpom, Nketiah, Perez, Akpom
That gives us enough for a different team in each half and a small number of players to come on as second half subs so as to feel part of the plot. Anyone from this list who is not injured and doesn’t get to be involved will be struggling to be part of the squad this season, even for cup games.
Isn’t it good to have football back!
Read all about it
Arsenal in the summer: why a poor pre-season could be just what we want.
Boreham Wood v Arsenal all the players we’ll see plus videos of recent encounters.
As the season starts: Update on Arsenal Youngsters, Women and the PGMO referees
Boreham Wood v Arsenal. Football’s coming home. At last.
Football London claim to have the starting lineup: Cech, Bellerin, Sokratis, Mavropanos, Osei-Tutu, Maitland-Niles, Willock, Smith-Rowe, Nelson, Aubameyang, Lacazette.
No idea about the beach.
Just loved Maitland-Niles’ chip over to Aubameyang for his 2nd.
Smith-Rowe has shown some nice moves.
One thing that I haven’t seen is a coordinated press by our midfield and forwards. In fairness, Boreham Wood hasn’t had the ball much.
I go out to chase a deer away, and Arsenal scores a bunch. Since I got back, no scoring. Drat.
Here was the beach at the beginning.
Mkhitaryan, Ramsey, Holding, Mustafa, Chambers, Reine-Adelaide, Nketiah, Jenkinson, Martinez, Perez, Guendouzi, Kolasinac, Akpom
Leno got hurt in practice?
We missed 3 in the first half?
The second half line up: Martinez, Jenkinson, Chambers, Holding, Mustafi, Kolasinac, Ramsey, Reine-Adelaide, Mkhitaryan, Perez, Nketiah.
Disallowed goal to Ramsey (handled ball), and finally Arsenal score while I am following play.