by Bulldog Drummond
Any chance that we might be able to get a manager who has not been rubbished by the media BEFORE we get him is now gone. According to the scribblers our next manager is a failure before he gets out of the taxi.
So onto the teams…
Football Fan Cast go with
Leno
Bellerin Chambers Luiz Tierney
Torreira Xhaka
Ozil
Pepe Aubameyang Martinelli
Squawka tell us that Dani Ceballos is out, Hector Bellerin is a doubt. They go for
Leno;
Chambers, Mustafi, Luiz, Kolasinac;
Xhaka, Willock, Guendouzi, Ozil;
Lacazette, Aubameyang.
The 4-4-2 – takes one back to the old days.
Sportsmole wouldn’t reveal their secrets to me because I wouldn’t allow them into my computer in a way that looked very dodgy to me so we’ll pass them by and move on to…
The Stats Zone who have a slight variation…
Leno;
Chambers, Mustafi, David Luiz, Tierney;
Xhaka, Guendouzi;
Saka, Ozil, Aubameyang;
Lacazette
Sky Sports, perhaps in a sulk at having more competition to compete with (although they don’t really compete) won’t tell us their idea of a team at all – at least not when I looked. And the Guardian’s preview, when I looked for that, was for the match last May.
But Red London do have their own vision of the team for tonight and here it is…
Leno
Maitland-Niles – Chambers – Holding – Tierney
Xhaka – Torreira – Willock
Pepe – Aubameyang – Martinelli
They obviously think Holding is fit again. Let’s hope that is right; I’d certainly agree that the best centre back pairing we have is Holding and Chambers, and indeed with Bellerin one side (but he is injured) and Tierney on the other.
Indeed Tierney must be wondering what on earth he has let himself in for. He knew that in Glasgow the Rangers fans hated him, and so might have expected animosity from Tottenham fans in London. But now he finds he and the rest of the team is getting it primarily from Arsenal fans.
So it goes.
Just Arsenal news don’t give us a full line up but do say….
“The Arsenal forward line up to face Brighton on Thursday night may not be what we expect.
I have a very sneaky feeling that Freddie Ljungberg will drop Alexandre Lacazette in favour of Gabriel Martinelli.”
Moving on RadioTimes.com says…
“The David Luiz-Shkodran Mustafi pairing against Norwich shockingly (…) didn’t bear fruit for Arsenal.
“Expect a defensive reshuffle ahead of the Brighton clash with Sokratis in line for a return and maybe a place for full-back Kieran Tierney.
“Regardless of the Gunners’ worries at the back, Pierre-Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette have enough firepower and form between them to drag Arsenal to a positive result once again.
“Prediction: Arsenal 2-1 Brighton.”
Meanwhile the Brighton and Hove Independent have the headline “This is why Amazon made Arsenal vs Brighton and Hove Albion kick-off at such an unusual time”
And then they don’t tell us.
Such is life.
Latest news:
We are developing our own video channel. It’s still at the experimental stage but you can get a feel here…
All our players are crap one minute, then in big demand by other clubs the next and Arsenal is stupid for not tying them down to more lucrative long-term contracts.
I’m already disgusted with whatever Freddie Ljungerg will decide to wear at tonight’s game.
John L – I hope he goes for top hat and tails
All things being equal with the Gunners today’s evening at the Emirates Stadium in the Premier League match between Arsenal and Brighton, I am of the full confidence and believe the Gunners will down the Seagulls into the river Tames in their flights in the match by scoring an avalanche of goals sic, against them in the game. But without conceding any to them in the match.
And I believe in my mind undoubtedly that Arsenal will tonight after the match is played and the result is known go up to 6th position in the table from the un-befitting 10th position in the table that the PGMO elite referees who have orchestrated anti-Arsenal match refereeing in the PL against Arsenal and their Video Assistance Riggers who aided and abetted them in their Arsenal match refereeing in the PL have cladinetinely conivied to force Arsenal to occupied. But notwithstanding, Freddie Ljungberg’s Arsenal will wrestle free from the strangle hold of the PGMO on them in tonight’s match to regain freedom and regain it absolutely to start making progress in the table afresh but this time not yielding to any hold back from progressing up the table by the PGMO.
If only Scholes had been neat and tidy with his tackling several dozen players would have spent far fewer weeks on the treatment table. Like Nicholas, and numerous other pundits, he’s just an ex-player with more opinions than brain cells. No time for any of them.
John L
I think Freddie should get in the spirit of things and wear a nice red dress with matching hat and high heels.
Scholes is, of course, an authoritative commentator, based on his long career as an over-rated habitual fouler, plus his distinguished managerial career of three weeks with Oldham Athletic.
Anyone for Freddie dressing up like Ronald McDonald? 🙂
_
Send in the clowns.
Best of luck Gunners!
Let me make the attempt to predict the Gunners who I think Freddie Ljungberg the Arsenal caretaker head coach will start and the substitutes he will have on the bench for Arsenal home match tonight at the Ems against Brighton & HA in the PL.
My predicted Freddie Ljungberg’s Arsenal 4-2-3-1 playing formation starting XI and the 7 Gunners on the bench for the Brighton match are as below.
Starts.
Leno;
Chambers Sokratis Luiz Tierney;
Willock Xhaka;
Pepe Ozil Aubameyang;
Lacazette.
Bench;
Martinez AMN Mustafi Kolasinac Torreria Saka Martinelli.
My predicted Arsenal starts and bench are so natural with all the 5 starting positions in the team fully covered for on the bench. But I ‘ll will not be surprised if Ljungberg made alterations to my starts and bench which I’ve made on his behalf.
I’ve seen Ljungberg’s Arsenal starts and bench for Brighton. But I missed his starts by the duo defenders of Bellerin and Kolasinac whom he has started in place of my to start Chambers and Tierney he has starting from the bench. But I had thought Bellerin has still not fully recovered from injury. And the ”Tank” i.e. Kolasinac might still be carrying the muscular injury he sustained during the last international matches. And I also think Guendouzi might not be fit to play in this match after the reported injury that was suffered to him in our last Norwich match.
A surprise inclusion on the bench to me is Reiss Nelson. But when shall us Gooners see Arsenal unleashed their lethal PALO attacking weapon to start a PL match for Arsenal this season? I mean Pepe, Lacazette & Aubameyang with Ozil playing behind the trio to start at the same time for Arsenal in a PL match. Hmmm.
Jon Moss VAR ignores several shirt pulls and arm pulls by BHA but sees Bellerins han on Conolloys shoulder – a perfect example of selective vision or corrupt officiating.
Lacazette has been fouled several times in the box but nothing seen. Cheating at its most obvious.
I’ve got a bad feeling about this !
Menace I agree with your points but as the half has progressed our play has become slower and predictable .
Freddie needs a good halftime team talk
More booing, uncharacteristic poor play and even more empty seats . These are very worrying times at Arsenal and I sincerely can’t see us getting better any time soon . Sad
Steve Vallins
“Menace I agree with your points but as the half has progressed our play has become slower and predictable.”
There is much that can be said about our play tonight, some good, some bad, but what you cant do is use it to push the diabolical selective vision of VAR aside.
Moss was a disgrace.
We are being, as I said we would be years ago, screwed by VAR big time.
As for the match. We played well at times. We played with intensity at times. But yet again we let the opposition have way more shots on our goal than we had on there’s. But the truth is Brighton deserved their victory irrespective of VAR.
Whilst we concede this many efforts on our goal we are always going to be up against it.
My God this hurts. But I will never give up on the boys. I will never start crucifying the boys.
They will always have my support.
COYG
Miss can always be relied on to do his masters bidding
Even us regular posters are flummoxed at how our team is collapsing and has ended up with another disappointing result. I hope FL can take some lessons from his second match at the helm and come up with a winning formula.
It seems there are no quick fixes to our many frailties at the back and even attack but patient and dogged application in finding solutions to them. COYG.
I watched the game last night on Amazon and the 2 commentators couldn’t believe that VAR didn’t intervene on one of the 3 occasions that Lacazette was man handled and shirt pulled at corners .
So they asked Bernard Gallagher the referee expert why this wasn’t picked up by VAR , his reply was referees like to see a nice triangle of shirt from we’re it’s being tugged .
The commentators then took the p*## out of him by saying so if you lift the shirt up it’s not the same as tugging it to make a triangle so that the referee can see it .
What a wonderful excuse , we’re up against it .
Fouls:-
Arsenal commit 10 fouls and receive 3 yellow cards (2 in the first half-hour). Brighton commit 11 fouls and receive 1 yellow card (after 60 minutes). Tilting continues with gusto.
Can Martin Keown understand this?
Steve Vallins
I too watched on Amazon Prime and the commentators did remark several times on the persistent shirt pulling and pushing in the back, mostly on Lacazette. After Gallaghers pathetic excuse about a clear triangle of shirt to be apparent before a foul is called the commentators showed a replay of one of the shirt pulls which showed an obvious view of a triangle of shirt as it was being pulled. So much for Gallaghers feeble explanation. Unfortunately the commentators didn’t through it back to Gallagher and put him on the spot for him to make up another reason why a penalty couldn’t be given.
Not a single one of these incidents made it to VAR for review. And to think of the number of times we have been punished for the slightest touch on an opposing player whether in the penalty area or outside.
Contrast the time it took for Moss in the VAR studio to try his best to find the slightest hint of a foul on the goalie by Kolasinac so he could disallow Laca’s headed goal.
My blood boileth over.
Steve Vallins and MickHazel
I too watched it on Amazon Prime but with the volume down. I sinked it with the Arsenal.com commentary.
I did that dreading the usual bias, but it sounds like they were better than Arsenal.com who seem utterly incapable of calling out the ref or VAR with anything more than the odd remark.
They should of been spitting feathers, as we were it seems, but were generally passive and non critical.
As I said, I know we have our issues, and they certainly need addressing, but I can only repeat what I said in Emery’s defence, it is impossible to make a true evolution of how good, bad, or indifferent we actually are, whilst this blatant stitch up continues.
Who knows how it affects a player (Lacazette) to know you can be man handled like that with impunity yet get booked for being pushed in the back (Xhaka) ?
What difference would it of made to the game had we been awarded at least one of those penalties?
What difference would it of made to Bournemouth going behind early and realising they cant get away with what their shenanigans?
I have absolutely no doubt we would be half a dozen points better off if VAR was applied fairly to us.
And who knows how worse of certain other teams that seem favoured by VAR would be.
Both those aspects would see us in a much better league position as well as a much better frame of mind.
It should not be underestimated just what an impact this VAR stitch up could be having on the entire mind set of the players.
Until we get a fair crack of the VAR whip I refuse to make the harsh judgements on our players or manager/s that some seem so willing to do.
Corr: Brighton
Nitram,
Thanks for your last sentence, I agree. I’m still waiting for calls to ‘even out’. Waiting since Game 50. How many seasons now, 20?
Before anyone gaffes me I know it’s 15 but it feels like 20 or 30.