Stoke Preview And The Gooner Competition Reminder
Mar 31st, 2018 by 'holic
International breaks are a funny thing. Generally as you get older everything passes more quickly than ever. Yet the gaps in the season created by meaningless friendlies for the national sides seem to generate a time-warp which increases as each one occurs. I don’t need to tell you how good it will be to get back to the Grove tomorrow even though the prospect of watching Stoke again will never be attractive.
We can put another nail in their Premier League coffin however if we can extend our current run of wins to four. We would be doing ourselves something of a favour too, as Burnley today cut the gap on us to just two points. Yes, I did type Burnley. That does put our season into perspective. The good news is that we have everybody but Santi Cazorla available for selection.
I’m sure many Gooners, this old boy included, would love to see us line-up in a 4-1-3-2 formation and experiment with both our expensive strikers. Alexandre Lacazette needs to get some minutes in before we encounter CSKA in the Europa League quarter-final. It’s likely though that the manager will not tinker with his formation at this stage of the season. Petr Cech will start behind a quartet of Hector Bellerin, Laurent Koscielny, Shkodran Mustafi, and Nacho Monreal.
In midfield the manager has choices to be made. Likeliest combination is Granit Xhaka (yes, I would start Mohamed Elneny too!) and Aaron Ramsey behind Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Jack Wilshire, and Mesut Ozil. Pierre-Emerick Aubamayang is the likeliest starter up top. Hopefully we will see Laca up with him for the last half hour?
Stoke for once will arrive with a bigger injury list than us. They are missing Choupa-Moting, Cameron, Grant, and Ireland through injury. The hot-headed Adam starts a three match suspension for his latest sending off, and former Barca player Afellay has been placed on gardening leave by relatively new manager. Paul Lambert. They could well start Crouch for his potential to cause mayhem at set pieces. Shaqiri will need watching closely, most likely by Xhaka.
The ‘holic pound
Stoke have won just once away from home all season, and haven’t won at the Arsenal since 1981. They haven’t won in their last seven Premier League matches and if we do not avenge our single goal defeat at Middle Earth in August then it would be a huge surprise. They will surely be fighting for their Premier League place but confidence must be at rock bottom.
Last season we beat them home and away with an aggregate score of 7-2. I’m looking at a repeat of the 3-1 scoreline at the Grove which is available at tens. That’s the same price that Stoke are to win.
A final reminder for The Gooner fanzine competition
To be in with a chance of winning a subscription to the Gooner fanzine for next season just answer the following question.
In 1987 who scored the two goals at Wembley to win us the Littlewoods Cup against Liverpool?
Send your answer to competition@goonerholic.com to arrive by midnight uk time on Sunday 1st April. One randomly drawn correct winner on Monday will win the subscription for next season’s The Gooner. There is no cash alternative. I will announce the winner so you can still buy your own subscription before midnight on Monday.
With your answer can you also let me have your full name and address, your phone number and email address so I can fill the subscription form if you are the lucky winner. Good luck.
Have a good one, ‘holics.
113 Responses to “Stoke Preview And The Gooner Competition Reminder”
In first. Now I will read it!
(Mo Elneny)
Now I’ve read it!
Excellent preview but a bit conservative on the scoreline . We will win 4-0 being three up by half-time and Auba will get a hat- trick….and we will laugh at our ‘ friends’ from the Britannia who think it is amusing to boo Aaron Ramsey.
They will be no loss in any sense to the division and I hope they remain away for some time. Talking of Neanderthals I saw the first half of the Everton- Citeh game. To think some idiots in the media were recommending Allardyce as our manager last year.
He has been a disaster at Goodison . That club deserve a football manager. Allardyce’s teams thrived when referees allowed them to kick better teams just like Stoke did and the media used to say we didn’t like it up us . Actually we didn’t like having our players’ legs broken by mindless thugs like Shawcross and that nasty Spanish attack dog with the frizzy hair at Bolton who kicked us out of the title that year .
Good riddance to Stoke and Allardyce who surely won’t be retained at a football club like Everton. What must poor old Theo think?
Happy Easter Holics!
Expecting a comfortable win against an injury hit Stoke side tomorrow..
On a side note,
Rocky would have celebrated his 51st birthday today.
I am convinced he would be on Arsene’s coaching staff in some capacity had he still been alive today.
I hear also another of my favorite midfielders from a bygone era,Ray Wilkins,is in hospital after a severe cardiac arrest.
Doesn’t look too good according to his Wife.
Only 61,Fingers crossed.
Apologies @ 4
Eaten too many Easter Eggs.
Rockies birthday of course is May 2nd.
The anniversary of his passing was today.
Tut tut tut.
Highly entertaining interview in the Telegraph today with Emmanuel Frimpong late of this parish.
Well worth a read.
Seems we are not the only ones that think a certain current first team regular is not worth his place in the side.
Frimpong – the t-shirt in search of a career to hang it on.
Paul Lambert has only beaten AW once in eight attempts, on the opening day of the 2013 -14 season when he was managing Aston Villa. The Villans won 3-1 at the Ems — our first home defeat on opening day for 20 years. Giroud scored after six minutes. Benteke equalized with a penalty 15 mins later. Szczesny saved the first shot but Benteke headed in the loose ball). Benteke then put them ahead with a second penalty early in the second half before Kos was sent off for a second yellow. Luna scored the third five minutes from the end. Only five of the Arsenal squad that day are still with the club (Ramsey, Jack, Kos, Mert and Santi). Hawk-Eye technology was used in a Premier League game for the first time.
Cynic@7: 🙂
Clive@6: That Frimpong interview in the Telegraph is a hoot.
Here’s the link:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2018/03/31/arsenal-just-not-good-enough-need-players-aggressive-mentality/
Got to love him when he says, “The reason I don’t like [Samir Nasri] is because he’s an idiot”.
All at the ready here to place the Orcs into their very own rocket booster capsule for propulsion into outer space. 😀
Wifi password du jour: frimpong
Frimpong
Frimpong
Frimpong
Frimpong
Frimpong
Iddle-i-po
Frimpong
Frimpong
Frimpong
Iddle-i-po
Iddle-i-po
clive multi-posted
.
70s youtube clip
he’s me
thanks Guvnor.
Hope you’re right.
Sorry to hear about Ray Wilkins heart attack, he was a useful player and a decent individual. I often wonder if us guys pay enough notice to the warning signs of a pending myocardial infarction. I know I didn’t. 25 years ago I was at the quacks complaining of a rash on my arm, and only in passing did I mention the indigestion which I’d been hanging around for a couple of weeks. I was under the knife having bypass surgery a month later. If I hadn’t had the rash I too would probably have put up with the ‘indigestion’ until it was too late.
I’ve had a couple of stents added since – interestingly to unblock the original (bypassed) blockages – and haven’t had a trace of angina in years. Which is good considering I was told the grafts ‘should last 20 years‘. 20 years seemed a long time 25 years ago!
Just get it checked guys, martyrs end up dead.
Perhaps that was Nasri’s idea of
tough love – it didn’t seem to work
when it was tried on him either.
I enjoyed the Frimpong interview
too 🙂
Thanks for the link Ned.
“acute angina”
.
.
still chuckle
?
Nothing cute about it, cba. Angina would be a great name for an ex-wife.
OM@17: Hat-tip to Clive for spotting the Frimpong interview in the first place.
Cynic@13: Channelling your inner Trev there?
Nice preview Guvna. Let’s give these thugs their exit ticket.
CBA@18,
If that makes you chuckle (it does me), then you’ll love this mask Amazon are flogging…….
https://www.amazon.com/Halloween-Shell-Abalone-Latex-Party/dp/B074LT8VT9
*titters*
The line up will be out soon. Personally
I think there’s an argument for 3 at the
back today but we’ll see what AW goes
with. There’s also a case for leaving out
Auba if he can’t play midweek and we
want Danny/Laca to get match fitness.
Bring on Auba after an hour.
Anyway, get a couple early and their
Orcish little heads will go down
Stoke and The Russians in the space of 5 days? Time to come out fighting and with all guns blazing. I can’t see either being clean opponents.
For those going, enjoy, I hope the post match debrief contains happy smiles to accompany the usual liquid refreshment.
@20
Tugs forelock to Clive too. Or I would
if I still had one.
No Cech.
Kos, Xhaka and Miki on the bench.
Ops, Calum, Danny and Elneny the differences
from the expected team. Danny and Osp
with a nod to the next game.
come on
Stoke have named some orcs so let’s
up and ‘at em lads.
Thanks for a usually fine preview, Holic !
I can’t think of a single thing I like about Stoke, apart from providing us with a few decent players from George Eastham ( though before my era) to Steve Bould ( what’s he doing these days ? ).
I also tug a forelock I do still have, to Clive who, although I only know him through posts on here, is clearly one of life’s gooduns.
And thanks to Ned @20, for subtly pointing out Cynic’s blatant plagiarism of MY Frimpong song, which was very slightly different but MUCH better ! ?
Come on You Reds. I’m with TTG’s 4-0 win. Send ’em down !
Like Coldplay, I am unaware of any previous work of this kind but will settle out of court to avoid the publicity.
Stoke are stroking the ball around, we haven’t started well.
slow start
Our passing atrocious as usual, with Mustafi and Elneny the main culprits.
on the bright side Osp has taken a couple
in the air
Was Aaron not booked for that?
@ksn: and Wilshere and wellbeck, so many ‘weak’ passes…
We have been playing in Europe continuously for more than two decades under the same manager and our passing is still so poor and casual says something about the manager.
we improved for a bit,
now back to giving the ball
away
This is some very tepid stuff, can’t see this lot finishing above Leicester or Burnley. Piss off Wenger, you have built the worse side since the mid 70s
We are bad, Stoke is worse
So many empty seats in the stadium.
Stoke are very poor but at least they are trying, we are just predictable and casual and they look like they can’t be bothered. That’s why I couldn’t be bothered to renew my membership for the past 3 years
Wake us up when this is over.
Ozils’s mis pass brings an unconvincing first half to an end. We are slow and uncreative and unless we pick up the pace and improve our passing I can’t see us scoring. Bringing Mikhtaryan and Laca (if he is fit) on for Welbeck and Mo should bring some fluency and penetration to our game.
@38: you put wenger on that pitch, I think he will do it better. Sorry, but it’s not Wenger’s fault that some players cannot do a simple pass…and it had nothing to do with two decade in europe, blame him for other thing…
Calum and Mus have done ok
I thought.
No ball for Auba at all.
Off to paint a wall watch it dry…..
Only 9 more matches after this one until we can get a new manager that will clear out this shit and get some decent players in. When you look at the money they get paid it is scandalous, £200,000 for a weak German midfielder that can be bothered and today can’t even pass.
Enjoy Steve, don’t have a spare seat at that wall, do you ?
At least Steve and Trev can sit there in the full knowledge that they are £60 better off and having as much enjoyment as those at the game 🙂
Laca on for Danny
more goal threat I hope
Pull up a pew Trev. I’ll put the kettle on.
had to score !
@49. I disagree with your assessment completely.
Ozil has been okay. Playef some nice passes. Moved it about. And no one has been great.
He just played a worldie of a ball. So, so good. And won a penalty.
Penalty for us. Let’s us hope we take it well.
Get in!
1-0. Auba, get in!!!!
did score this time
🙂
Commentator keeps saying Arsenal lucky to get that penalty. Looked like a clear penalty to me.
Penalty all day.
I guess we were lucky their player fouled Ozil in the box.
yeah took his foot away, late
and clumsy, I’ve no complaints
taking of late and clumsy
Crouch is on
Can expect the ball to be lobbed into our box regularly now that Crouch is on. Need another goal.
Aubameyang 2-0.
get in!
Have some of that!
PEA for hattrick, come on
And some more!
Another penalty. The Orcs are bent on going down?.
Still happy for Laca, good man
that’ll do it
is the defender an idiot?
Bye-bye Orcs.
See you in twenty years.
I love seeing Lacazette and Aubaumeyang working together. It will help us so much if they encourage each other to do better.
Victoria Concordia Crescit
Done and dusted.
Stoke can do one.
Not a great performance but just the result we needed.
@74,74,76
all completely true!
The side woke up when Lacazette and Mkhitaryan came on. And good riddance to the Orcs and their deplorable supporters. They’d vote for Trump all day no doubt.
Just returning home almost feeling that I got the result almost right…almost!
Awful first half will report in depth when I return to TTG Towers
A win is a win is a win. Amd if it aids Stokes descent to the Championship all the better.
3 nill on Thursday would not go amiss!
Orc schmork
I think whatever our views about the manager and whether he should stay or go, he deserves respect.
I have all the respect for our Manager but that shouldn’t come in the way of fair criticism.
Ksn
No problem with criticism. God knows there’s been plenty to critique man.
It’s the abuse and name calling as well as unfair criticism that’s out of order IMO mate.
White c…s got away with 2 red cards, Chelski is on a downward spiral, guess we seen the last of Hazard in a blue shirt, OG is still struggling
The ref in the Chav spud game is shocking
We were too slow and uncreative in the first half, which made for pretty dreadful watching. Picked up the pace in the second half. The arrival of Laca and then Mkhi in the second half to reinforce PEA gave some runners for Ozil to pick out, and it looked a different game. But Butland was man of the match for me; four or five top saves. Both penalties looked clear penalties (though the defender need not have made the shove in the back in either case, but thats Orcs for you). Mustafi made some good tackles and in truth Stoke didn’t really threaten much. North Bank looked very empty, however.
It’s hard to like a team who having brutally broken a player’s leg a few years ago sing ‘ to their , and almost nobody else in football’s amusement,’ Aaron Ramsey he walks with a limp’.
I already wanted them to go down but I desperately want them to go down now. I detest the club and despite an appalling first half in which they were the better of two awful teams we ended up cruising to victory .I was happy with both penalties. My immediate sense was that the first was a poorly judged challenge which fouled Ozil. The second was obvious but took Pawson a long time to give it
On the plus side it was great to see PEA and Lacazette playing so well together. Laca was very sharp and his running incisive . I thought Chambers did well and might make a decent Centre-back, Ramsey had a hard-working game and Xhaka moved the ball quickly and intelligently when he came on .
On the negative side Ospina is pathetic on crosses like so many modern keepers, we were lucky when the corner hit the post, Jack had a nightmare, Ozil was in couldn’t care less mood and Welbeck was the same but lacks Ozil’s skill. I thought he was quite awful today.
But the best news is that Stoke look very likely to go down. No season where that happens is a complete disaster .
Stokes have to play spuds, Liverpool and Burnley and are likely to lose these matches. The other three are against West Ham, Swansea and Crystal Palace where I think Swansea and Palace will win. Barring a miracle, Stoke are likely to get relegated this season, alongwith West Brom?.
I reckon Stoke might stay up, I can’t see Huddersfield surviving personally.
I was out but recorded the game, however after watching that first half switched it off and deleted it, then checked the score online.
Can’t wait for the end of the season and the new broom. If there’s to be one.
Cynic
There’s room for both to go down although I hope the Terriers stay up.
The win today made us statistically safe from relegation.
Silver linings abound.
Phew!
This was a very poor game until Miki and Granit were introduced. Compared with the football Citi played yesterday you might have thought today’s match was from a lower division.
We started in a sluggish fashion, our passing was wayward all over the park and Stoke had good chances to take the lead in the first half, Shaqiri being their leading man.
I understand the TV are saying the foul on Ozil was not a Pen. This was the turning point in the game as we picked up our performance after Abama scored from the spot. Up to that point a 0-0 draw looked on the cards.
Let’s hope the boys have got a good performance for us on Thursday night, they were certainly holding something back this afternoon.
From the line up it seemed the manager had an eye on Thursday night.
With Mhki and now Laca I fancy we’ll see a much more dynamic performance.
But I’m always optimistic!
Fortunately I was awake to see O’Bangabomb’s lovely opener. Have you ever seen a player given more room in the box than he was allowed? Extraordinary. And beautifully taken regardless.
We were lucky to get the first pen. Ozil played the ball just a little too far ahead and Bruno got his foot in to touch it first. Ozil then kicked Bruno’s foot in his attempt to reach it. No penalty. What exactly Ndiaye thought he was doing shoving Laca for the second pen is anyone’s guess. Channeling the Stoke tactics manual I assume.
15 minutes of the Arsenal we’d all love them to be is simply not enough, even if we did win 3 zip. After Man Shitty’s awesome display of efficiency yesterday our effort today made uncomfortable viewing.
Hi Delia. I hadn’t spotted your comments re City and the pen before I posted. 🙂 Nice to agree with you, as usual!
We may be safe from relegation, Ned, but we’re still closer to last place than first… 33 points behind leaders with -50 (Count ’em) -50 GD. 🙁
Well done Ian Poulter, and the cricket going okay if a bit slow considering we need to win. Malan and Root both out in first session.
Tees it up…
…completes with a flying rooster kick a la OG. Thank you Cynic.
TTG, I respect your opinion a lot and that’s why I’m shocked that you came away from that game with the impression that Ozil, or even Welbeck for that matter, was in couldn’t care less mode.
Those two young men, in my eyes, worked their asses off all game. Granted some of the things they tried didn’t come off. You can say they are not the most talented players in the world or on the day but to say they didn’t care is so unfair to them.
Am I the only one who saw Ozil get tired of trying to thread balls in to teammates and when that didn’t work resorted to making runs in behind himself? Did no one else see the time in the 1st half he almost screamed his head off at Bellerin after calling for the ball all day only for the Spaniard to pass the ball when he became offside?
Welbeck may not have had any moment like that today, at least none that I saw. Did you seriously not see how desperate he was to make things work for him today? Or how pissed off he was to be subbed off as a result of yet another knock?
People like Jack and Danny may not be fit enough to play every game for us but I don’t think it’s fair to them to say they don’t care.
This has ended up being longer than I intended and I’m really sorry if it comes across like I picked on you. Like I said earlier, I respect your opinion a lot, that’s why I even bothered to reply.
TTG, Cent
I often agree with TTG too. And agreed with
nearly all of @88 as usual. But same for me on
Cent’s comments- I thought Jack’s passing
was off but his effort was generally good as
was Danny’s. Neither was able to create much
and we did look better after the substitutions,
but they weren’t that bad.
Ozil was as ineffective as everyone else first
half but did well 2nd half.
And I saw the screaming at Hector too –
Ozil seemed to be channeling his inner
Alexis, I was quite surprised. I wonder if
Hector was? Anyway, Hector did make
a balls-up of it. Both FBs weren’t great
going forward I thought.
The result counted, a nice finish from
Auba and 2 nailed on penalties that no one
could argue with…….oh
I think Stoke are down too, a happy
thought 🙂
Now, to go or not to go for Butland?
Might have to compete with Manure
if DeGea is off in the summer.
OsakaMatt, not to worry about the whole Héctor and Ozil thing, they’ve both made up and made jokes about it on social media.
On Butland, I think he’s, at the moment at least, just another average and overrated English talent. He has a lot of mistakes in him, just like most young ‘Keepers to be fair.
He isn’t currently better than Cech but he certainly has the talent to be a very top ‘keeper if he keeps working hard and things fall in place for him.
that said, I’m not against signing him although I think he will come at a very expensive price. So long as we all remember he is a young, will make mistakes along the line and will need us to support him through the mistakes.
Cent,
That’s good ! Anyway, a bit more
bite is fine with me.
I wonder about Butland too.
For the money he’d cost we want
an upgrade on Cech. Looks
safer than Osp but I don’t rate
Osp really so that’s not saying
much. Then again do we risk
another season with Cech?
On balance I’d probably buy,
let Osp go and then let Bob
Wilson decide which one starts 🙂
Since we are all amicably disagreeing today, I thought Butland looked good yesterday, and Ospina was assured without having much to do. He spilt one cross but held onto everything else. Butland prevented three or four goals and didn’t have much chance with the one scored from open play given the room Aubameyang was given to shoot. (The other way round, Arsenal would have been crucified by the pundits for switching off/lack of marking).
The problem with assessing both Butland and Everton’s Pickford is that they play behind poor defences. Butland is averaging 3.28 saves per game and Pickford 3.00. Pope, behind a much tighter Burnley defence, is averaging 2.75 saves a game but conceding a goal only every 3.35 saves whereas both Butland and Pickford concede one for every 1.8 saves they make. The comparable numbers for Cech and Ospina, btw, are 2.20 saves per game/1.61 saves per goal and 1.0 saves per game/2.0 saves per goal, which puts Ospina behind only Pope in that particular ranking.
The Sqwaka ranking of keepers across the Big 5 European leagues this season makes telling reading: Pope 11, Szczesny 20, Cech 29, Fabianski 34, Ospina 75, Martinez (on loan at Getafe) 90, Viviano (also late of this parish) 130, Butland 155 and Pickford 169. So cent@104 may be spot on about average England talent being overrated.
Morning all, the report will be somewhat delayed. It will be a long hungover day!
The winner of the Gooner fanzine subscription is Peter Carbery from Wembley. You can thank the random number generator that is Twitter, Peter.
Good news. The fanzine is saved so you can take out a subscription now anytime before next season.
Food for thought thanks Ned.
Pope is certainly having a
stand-out season as are most
of a Burnley defence that is
more than the sum of their parts.
Amusingly Joe Hart is 2nd last
and there’s a couple of other
England keepers down the bottom
of that list. David Seaman was
the last world class English keeper
I can remember and we’ve
certainly not shopped in the UK
for keepers recently.
With the helpful benefit of
hindsight I feel it may not have
been Kieran’s best ever decision to
move to West Brom.
Cent
Similarly I respect your opinion enormously and as a huge Ozil fan came to the conclusion about him yesterday reluctantly. He was very bad- tempered yesterday and didn’t affect the game until the last twenty minutes when he started to play sublimely. He had a nasty spat with Bellerin but this was a result of high standards rather than anything 3lse.
As for Welbeck I’m becoming less and less of a fan. He didn’t contribute very much at all yesterday and I saw him out of position much of the time. Set against this he does work back defensively well but Id prefer to see him affect the game at the other end. The way we perked up when we had a striker eager to run in behind illustrated his performance. I wasn’t aware he was injured and clapped him off as I do all Arsenal players but there was widespread relief around me at the change . But I’ve never had reason to fault his attitude before and in some games he has done very well. He was brilliant in last year’s Cup Final.
Where I radically disagree with some of the comments is on Butland. He is an exceptional keeper, way better than Oooospina who is a great shot- stopper normally ( except from Costa in the Cup Final) but is a hopeless manager of his penalty area and a flapper at crosses. There are several classes between Butland and Ospina in my view.
Still it’s a game of opinions and one’s opinions are influenced by those around you or if watching on TV, the commentator and summarisers.
A couple of other points from the British media. If the current darlings- the Totts- had been subject to VAR they would have had Lamela and Vertonghen sent off yesterday and banned for three games.
Secondly the increasingly annoying Tony Cascarino, who I scarcely ever agree with, says that Auba’s gesture to le5 Laca take the pen was a sign that he lacks the ruthlessness of a top striker ( as if he would know!) . I thought it was a sign of a very good team spirit and great maturity on Auba’s part although I had him as captain in my Fantasy League team!
If Auba lacked balls or confidence he would have let someone else take the responsibility of taking the first and more crucial pen. It’s utterly nonsensical to suggest it demonstrates a lack of ruthlessness or whatever other slur they wanna smear the club with.
The media tries so hard to find a negative or create controversy. It’s bad enough when it’s regarding important matters but now it’s become the norm.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Finally!