By Bulldog Drummond
Now here is something very new. It is not directly relevant to the team for tonight’s game, so if you want that just scroll down a bit, but it is relevant to the topic of what blogs and websites are up to (which is something Untold likes to keep an eye on).
As you may know, it is possible to make a complaint to Google if another website steals your original material and simply puts it up as its own (normally in order to draw in traffic to boost ratings, or in order to capture readers with some naughty bit of software that will bugger up [to use the technical term] their computer.)
It seems uefa.com has been getting active in this department and has reported four sites to Google for nicking its original content, and Google has obliged by taking the pieces down from its listing. The sites reported to Google were fullmatchsports.co, footyheroes.com, hdmatches.com and www.footballgh.org
Now I haven’t got into any of this by looking at these sites, (not least for fear of what might be lurking in the darkness) but it is an interesting little development, which might eventually have an impact on the way that websites cut and paste transfer rumours word for word without always properly citing the original source.
However, in the meanwhile, the non-infringing websites have been doing their usual predictions for the game this evening. Squwaka for example come up with
Leno;
Bellerín, Mari, Luiz, Saka;
Xhaka, Ceballos;
Pépé, Özil, Aubameyang;
Lacazette.
And here’s one I have never picked up before – Forbes – the home of the world’s rich list, predicting the Arsenal team! Mind you I suppose there are quite a few footballers on the world’s rich list, so maybe it makes sense.
They give us a slight variation on the personnel, along with a variation in the way the line up works…
Leno;
Sokratis, Mustafi, Luiz, Saka;
Xhaka, Ceballos, Ozil;
Aubameyang, Lacazette, Pepe
The Standard has not given us a team selection but they have given a scoreline prediction of 3-1. Soccertimes don’t give us a team, but they are quite excited about the possibility of Eddie scoring (which logically means he’ll be on the pitch at some stage of the match, unless Uefa have changed the rules and didn’t tell me).
Football Expert goes with another variation which really does give a completely different look to the team and includes the continuing rehabilitation of Guendouzi…
Leno
Bellerin, Sokratis, Luiz, Saka
Guendouzi, Xhaka
Aubameyang, Willock, Martinelli
Lacazette
And that more or less covers the range of predictions.
The next match after this one is Portsmouth away, and that is going to need a mixture of solid resilience and experience and excited young players given their chance, I would guess, so that too could be affecting which players are chosen for this match.
We shall be there, as usual, and with a bit of luck, shall return home in the early hours, rather happy with the way things turned out.
Olympiacos cannot betaken lightly.
One fortunate shot/header and our advantage would be gone.
I still think we should win, and I do not care how we do it.
Officials for tonight’s game are from Italy. Hopefully they don’t have COVID-19. The referee is from northern Italy, but not part of the boot. Almost SE France. 70km from Nice?
COYG!
UEFA has the starting XI and beach, but haven’t tried to produce a formation.
Leno
Bellerin Mustafi Luiz Saka
Ceballos Xhaka
Pepe Ozil Aubameyang
Lacazette
Beach: Martinez, Sokratis, Torreira, Maitland-Nile Willock, Guendouzi, Martinelli
COYG!
Salzburg v Frankfurt has been postponed until tomorrow due to storm (winds to 120 kph).
I guess all people deserve to have their opinions, but the UEFA person designated to be the Arsenal reporter has what kind of opinion on the Arsenal defence?
About the same as the rest of the medja, it’s bad.
A basket ball type bounce with the hand is deemed not to be a hand ball. How easy it is to get away with a foul against Arsenal!
Half Time statistics
Attempts 3:4
_on target 0:1
_off target 1:2
Possession 55:45
Passing accuracy 89:85
_passes 315:227
_completed 279:192
Fouls 5:4
COYG!
I think we need 2 goals now Gunners!
COYG!
90m statistics
Attempts 13:9
_on target 3:3
_off target 8:3
Possession 60:40
Passing accuracy 88:82
_passes 644:429
_completed 567:352
Fouls 6:8
Yellows 0:0
COYG!
I think it’s a good one for arsenal, no point exerting too much energy over a tournament we don’t fancy much and which we don’t expect to win. I’d prefer we skipped qualifying for the Europa League next and instead concentrate on having a solid season in the EPL next year
We started too slow and then got punished. And then we had to rush our game too much and almost escaped in extra time. I think our match mentality was not as it should have been from the start. We didn’t go out to score a goal to give us a cushion but we played very passive.
And what a terrible miss by Auba right at the end.
Don’t care much about the result…more disappointed in the way we played.
Mikel Arteta, the recently football club coaching college graduate from the Man CIty College Of Football Coaching Career that is currently headed by Pep Guardiola as the college Vice Chancellor, was this night at Emirates Stadium forced by Olympiakos FC from Creece to collect the bitter pill of football match defeat in football coaching from their hands and forced to swallowed to oversee Arsenal get Knocked out at the round of 32 stage of this season’s Europa League Cup competition making Mikel Arteta to taste his first major football head coach coaching defeat ay the top level of the game. And I think he won’t thank Leno his goalkeeper who aided and abetted the Arsenal defeat to Olympiakos. Hmmm. But what now left for Arsenal after their exit from the Europa League at home this night? An outing at away to knockout Portmouth in the 6th round of this season’s FA Cup competition? But Arteta and the Gunners better watch to not fall to victims to giants killing act by Portmouth as they fell to Olympiakos tonight.
A frustrating result! Olympiakos played quite with the bus parked and a few counters when they absolutely needed to score a goal. Not very glorious.
While our boys played a positive football but unfortunately it looked like each player was just a little bit below what they are usually capable of.
And finally, am I the only one to see two strange refereeing decisions… again?
– A hand in the box at the end of an outstretched arm intercepting a ball and bouncing it. And … nothing?
– A yellow card given to a last Greek defender with a foul preventing Saka (or was it Pepe?) from entering the box… Shouldn’t it have been a red?
Really sad and unfair night. And hopefully it won’t affect team morale too much.
Think fatigue played a big part in the way we played much of the game, which is a worry.
Seems our defenders are dropping again.
Poor performance and result against poor opposition.
Arteta has his work cut out, just not expecting much this season, not because our players are no good, but because they have been through a lot , and a lot of change, doesn’t exactly create stability, and sometimes, it shows.
Can’t do much playing against a well drilled park the bus team. Olympiakos is a decent team so I don’t see any shame losing to them. I don’t understand with about 7 minutes to go we didn’t park the bus by playing 5-4-1 formation and defend to the end. Anyway, we lost because of a late mistake from Leno and an unlucky shot from Auba, it happens in football so let move on to the next game and try to get top 4.
While I was hoping that we would progress further , they probably were slightly better over the two legs . Good luck to them .
Now to improve our league standing , and a tilt at the FA Cup.
Up the Gunners !