“Unlucky Theo” Returns – A Brief Preview
Sep 22nd, 2018 by 'holic
A last gasp preview is being squeezed in between the bouts at Wembley tonight. Those of us braving the expected downpours tomorrow have been getting the storm gear in place for the morning.
What team will we see? There is little to suggest that Unai Emery will change the starting eleven from the league victories at Cardiff and Newcastle. Stephan Lichsteiner and Lucas Torreira might be close, but not close enough, to get the nod.
Opponents Everton have struggled to meet the expectations of their fans now that Farhad Moshiri has brought his considerable wealth to Goodison Park. They had an unbeaten August but draws at Bournemouth and Wolves flanked a single goal home win over Southampton didn’t impress. September hasn’t started well. Two home fixtures have seen them thumped by the previously win-less West Ham and then held by Huddersfield Town.
Of course the match will see a return for Theo Walcott and it would not be a surprise to see him busting a gut to make a point his former employers.
The ‘holic pound
It seems we cannot keep a clean sheet right now. It will happen but maybe not while we are still finding our feet in a new system, so if I am allowing Everton a goal I just have to take a punt on how many we might get on a very greasy surface. 2-1 is the bookies favourite at around 8’s, but I am backing the Aubameyang/Lacazette combination to go one better. 3-1 to The Arsenal is available at 10/1 and I have snapped that up.
With that the briefest of previews is complete. I look forward to seeing some of you tomorrow. It promises to be a very sociable, if damp day.
Have a good one, ‘holics.
61 Responses to ““Unlucky Theo” Returns – A Brief Preview”
Thanks for the preview Holic. I will be there tomorrow having been inflight over the Irish Sea during the match.
Everton will probably blood the giant Mina so set pieces will be difficult to defend but we’d find them difficult to defend against a pub team . Richarlison is their best player and he returns too so I agree we won’t keep a clean sheet especially if Torreira doesn’t start . We wouldn’t have won last week without his introduction and I don’t understand what Emery is doing leaving him out.
I think tomorrow will be a similar game to West Ham and hope we can prevail as we did then but it won’t be easy especially if we don’t start picking our better players. I would leave out Cech, Mustafi , Ramsey and Xhaka and start with Iwobi on one flank and Auba the other.
However I suspect he will consider that too much change in a team that has won its last four games so I think your reading of the team is very accurate.
Let’s hope confidence derived from those four wins generates enough momentum and quality to get us playing better than we have
come
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwIo6XfiBUk
on
Sokratis strikes me as someone who could do a decent job playing in the mud. Theo, not so much.
On that score alone we should have a decent shout for a clean sheet. But it won’t happen. I’d snatch the 2-1 scoreline every day of the week and thrice on Sundays.
3-1 sounds a reasonable shout. We are due a 23 Sep win. We lost both the other games against Everton on that date (1933 and 1975). Our first goal will, the monks think, be our 350th in all competitions against them.
Fine preview Guvna. I agree we are not going to keep a clean sheet and I’ll be delighted if your punt comes home though I’m strangely not overly confident about this one.
I agree with you that we won’t see the changes to the starting XI that logic dictates should be made. I don’t agree with all the changes suggested by TTG as I think Cech is better equipped for the aerial barrage we can expect, as is Mustafi but I would be delighted to see a midfield of Guendouzi, Torreira and Xhakha, subject to the wee man’s fitness. Ramsey should get a bit more rest/gardening leave. I would stick with a front three of Ozil, Laca and BamBam.
Sou’wester and oilskins out for the morning. Snorkel in the bag.
COYG
Beware Theos blistering pace although he aint as fast as before. The gunners woeful defensive record could be undermined further especially when the y are besiezing the Blues goal with intricate passing and aimless running.
I have seen the gunners conceding as the hdl is a magnet for a high /through ball.To add to the problem the gunners md aint tall or physical enough.I must admit I am not an authority on soccer but every fan knows the basics of the game.
I’m expecting the same XI and given how we’ve
been playing a hopeful punt on a 4-3 win wouldn’t
be too outrageous
The clean sheet cometh – 3-0 to the good guys.
UTA.
Noosa, The advent of a clean sheet would indeed be of biblical proportions. 🙂
Torreira starts, for once.
Arsenal: Cech, Bellerin, Mustafi, Sokratis, Monreal, Torreira, Xhaka, Ramsey, Aubameyang, Ozil and Lacazette.
Hammers played really well and drew with Chelsea. There is no easy match in the league which is why a win by any margin, preferably by 3-1, is so crucial.
Xhaka’s ever-presence on the team sheet suggests that coaches see something in him that several in this esteemed establishment do not. This will be the 74th consecutive league game for which he has been available (there were two red card suspensions two seasons back) that he has started.
Today will be his 100th game, all competitions.
Torreira is going to be crucial today in stopping Walcott and Richarlison doing damage. The Brazilian was a handful for us when he was at Watford.
It’s gonna be a loooong season for the heart, not good
We are having our usual problems of playing out from the back and almost conceded. Xhaka is super slow and Cech is not very confident and the opposition smells an opportunity.
Xhaka his usual careless he does it time again and again, seemed like we were playing away.
Woken up a bit now and almost scored come on Arsenal!
Not a good yellow for Torreira.
But we’re playing ok so far
I agree Osaka he has o watch himself now
We are not playing too well, OM. Everton have created quite a few chances and put our defence under quite some stress. We have not looked very convincing going forward, so far. We have played better in the second half of our matches this season and hope we have a good second half.
What is a Mustafi?
True enough ksn, but i meant more
in the context of some of the really
shit first 20 minutes we’ve played
in most games this season – at least
we’re not chasing the game
Simple mistakes too many misplaced passes in my view Everton ale looking far more dangerous for now anyway…
Mustafi forces Sokratis to make a last ditch challenge in which he gets injured.
I ask again, what is a Mustafi?
I hope we don’t need to concede first to wake up, don’t think we played ok at all
There is no fluency in our game we keep making simple mistakes, Everton are looking the better team so far we need to pick this up in the second half
Isn’t this supposed to be entertainment? No rhythm, no nothing.
Only two substitutes left; where is the coherence on the attacking side? Can’t figure out how you fix the front to take some pressure off the back.
Is it me or the players want to be somewhere else right now?
Ref is a cunt
Hand ball is hand ball
Wonderful Laca, our best striker hands down
Get innnnnn LLLLLLAAACCAAA!
Ref is still a massive c….
Looks offside but I’ll take it that’s for the penalty not given earlier!
ATG, it’s karma man ?
ok, now for that damned elusive
clean sheet
Torreira is on thin ice, should be subbed
But yes the 2nd was offside
hahahaha
But yes the 2nd was offside
No return goal for Theo anyway.
Not sure why Auba is subbed
off unless it’s based on playing
Thursday – agree with KS
Time to put on Elneny
You’d never think to call any 2-0 home win a smash and grab, but this one sure felt like one.
Cech MOTM.
Job done, three points is three points so can’t complain really, on the other hand there is a great deal of work to be done and I’m not so sure if those players on the pitch are the rights ones to do that.
Great goal by Laca and the ref was a usual c…. ?
No complaints with that – i wasn’t
expecting a clean sheet but Laca
and Auba did well for our usual
20 minute 2nd half spell and 3
points is welcome
Three points is the best thing to be said about that performance. Apart from Laca’s strike, perhaps the only thing.
We take an hour to warm up and then suddenly wake up, as happened again today. Nothing seems to have changed under the new manger- we keep mispassing, passing side to side, cant defend etc. I thought Unai would organise our defence but he has not done anything in this area. Anyway, wrong day to moan as we have won 2-0.
Cech was, undoubtedly, our man of the match.
This ref has always screwed us and we won today despite him.
The next match against Watford (4th vs 6th) will be a challenge for us as Watford have been playing well and they will be very physical. Our lack of height will be a problem as Watford are good at set pieces.
Only three sides have scored more goals than we have in the opening six games, and only nine conceded more.
Agree with ksn@44 that Cech was our man of the match. Kept us in it more than once in the first half, especially.
More long kicks than short ones today, too.
I have returned from the game with my usual companions . I haven’t back drunk but my guess woukd be the residents of this bar were happier with the result than the performance.
When we scored the first I turned to the bloke next to me and mouthed it was against the run of play . It showed the immense value of having top strikers.
Basically despite five wins in a row we start games far too slowly, pass out from the back unimaginatively and at a funereal pace and Xhaka particularly slows the rhythm down. Ozil and Ramsey haven’t got defined roles and the defence struggled today although Holding did well and Cech was superb .
Torreira made a big difference but will collect a few yellows and possibly reds . I’d like to see Guendouzi and Mkhitaryan in for Xhaka and Ramsey at home . I suspect Ozil may feel better in this structure away from home where he gets more space.
Theo got a nice reception but never affected the game and was subbed. Plus ca change
Your first paragraph has it in a nutshell, TTG.
I agree with most of the above. Lovely move and shot for the first goal. Laca’s work rate is second to none. However we were distinctly second best in chance creation and shots on target (1 effort early in the first half) despite twice the possession until the goal went in so ‘smash and grab’ pretty much sums today’s game up as BJ suggests @40. Cech made 6 crucial saves and well deserved his MoTM award. PEA was definitely offside for his goal but that made up for the two penalty awards that were denied. After we took the lead we were much more creative, faster in thought and movement and could have added a few more than the one that took the pressure off.
However three points have been won and amazingly a clean sheet achieved. Both thanks in no small part to Cech’s brilliance and Everton’s strikers ineptitude.
Lots of work still required for this team to look half decent playing out from the back. Personnel changes strike me as essential. Frankly Xhaka was a liability in the first half. If only a fully fit Santi was still on the books. However Torreira certainly adds security and swift movement both in and out of possession.
Onwards. Watford will certainly be more of a challenge. I hope Sokratis is a quick healer.
Another pound squandered but one clean sheet gained. A bargain, surely.
2-0 but the nil was mainly thanks to Cech. I second what solid gooner asked, what is mustafi or in a simpler way, how is he a defender?
Torreira still needs time to get used to the pace of the league and once he does, he will be just fine. Lacazette had a poor game till that goal and so did Ozil and to large parts Ramsey. Trying to fit in both Ramsey and ozil centrally will always be the perennial problem for the team balance, Mkhi always work with either of the two as he can easily play wide.
Arsenal must be thankful that they aren’t playing pool anytime soon for they will really make us cry, no i am not praising them and I totally find them disgusting but the way we defend, its easy fodder for mane, salah and co, till then if we can keep getting 3 points by not playing well, happy to take the same.
Good point about Torreira, Vinay. Explains why Emery has been blooding him slowly. Also to get used to the tackling and refereeing. Like Xhaka in his first full season, Torreira is two yellows and thus a red waiting to happen.
Another blast from ze past… On this day… well, yesterday now I guess.
https://www.facebook.com/BBCArchive/videos/505383763268759/
I find myself violently agreeing with almost all the comments especially Bath and Vinay but I must take issue with Vinay re Lacazette . I agree he had little impact on the game until he scored but that wasn’t his fault. His workrate was exceptional, he executed a piece of very good defensive covering in the first half and he was fouled for a clear penalty with a decent referee. We just didn’t give him any service .
Really good strikers can strike without service and that’s what he did. He also set up Ozil for the second goal with a well judged pass. I was flummoxed that at 0-0 after 55 minutes Emery was looking to take him off.
Having said that Emery is much more imaginative and proactive with his substitutions than Wenger was and generally gets a response from the team.
The stats with Torreira in the team and not, are illuminating. I think we concede 0.66 goals per game with him on the field and 2.5 with him absent. I hear very strong rumours about Banega joining in the January transfer window and Torreira and Banega would be a formidable barrier in defensive midfield . Xhaka is a total luxury , he is so slow in possession and isn’t effective defensively. If I could I’d try to unload him and Mustafi.
Pleased for Cech yesterday. He was excellent and went longer with his kicking more often. He showed splendid reflexes several times
I was harsh on lacazette, the thing is his hold up play has been so good this season that yesterday he appeared strangely disinterested, yes service was generally poor but maybe the expectations have risen after the first few games.
Xhaka for me is always an enigma, so good when good and so casual when he is that, the misplaces pass is often followed with a fantastic spread of play as well as dictating the overall pace of our game. I do think the fans seem to be exasperated with him but Unai and before him Arsene did show a lot of faith in him. Not sure of the numbers he has been playing continuously for us, quite a bit.
Banega to replace Ramsey??? seems to be logical if Aaron does leave but considering Banega is slow, a fit, young and almost like for like Rabiot would be the better option. Neither would score as many as Ramsey does for us though.
Onto Carabao cup and time to see Leno, Rowe and co.
I hope Sokratis will be ok for
Watford as he seems the right
guy to stick on Deeney. I would
hate for that dick to score against
us again.
Great French commentary on the Lacazette goal on the link at arsenalist.com
Alexandre Lacazette… Whoa!!!!
I know that doesn’t look like French but trust me.
I just love Lacazette.
He constantly works his nuts off. Against Everton he played some fabulous passes into the space ahead of his man, which our midfield could run straight onto, and then every time he hared straight into the box to find space for the return. His finishing is excellent. I think he is in the bracket just below the very best in the world. And I think he is improving. I love his style, ability and positioning. His hold up play and tenacity are exactly what we need and to combine it with his work rate is the cherry on top. When we signed him I was excited but watching him regularly I think we have one hell of a player on our books.
Possibly my favourite striker since Ian Wright.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGgQoq69NPY
And what of Lurky Oliva?
At long last. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>