Could Four Be The Gunners Route To Three?
Oct 21st, 2018 by 'holic
It seems a long time ago that we thumped Fulham to cement fourth place in the Premier League. It seems odd that television was allowed to make us wait until the Monday night of a Europa League week. Leicester have to be beaten if we are to reclaim that fourth berth. In fact if we beat them by three goals (edit, make that four, sorry!) we will leapfrog the Middlesex Nomads and the bus stop in Fulham to claim third place. It could be our tenth consecutive win in all competitions.
The international break has probably cost us the services of Sokratis Papastathopoulos. The back five probably picks itself with Bernd Leno starting behind Hector Bellerin, Skhodran Mustafi, Rob Holding, and Nacho Monreal.
The squad strength will be tested on Thursday probably with this match the more important of the two this week, so expect Granit Xhaka and Lucas Torreira to partner each other in front of the defence. Mesut Ozil is fit and a likely starter with Aaron Ramsey and hopefully Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang behind Alexandre Lacazette. A proviso would be if new father Rambo is not 100 percent then it’s a start for Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
Leicester arrive minus the suspended Wes Morgan so will have to re-shuffle at the back. The Foxes top the bottom half of the Premier League with four wins and four defeats to date, the most recent reverse coming at home to Everton, 1-2, in their last fixture.
The ‘holic pound
We are on a good run without convincing some of the more critical of observers. We seem to have a likely pattern of starting slowly but bucking up after the break. There were good moments in both halves at Fulham and hopefully we can continue in that vein against Leicester. I’m a hopeless romantic and would love to believe we will get that three (erm, four!) goal win. I also suspect that Leicester will score! Therefore I am throwing a hail Mary on a 4-1 home win at a disappointing best of 20/1. I hope I get luckier than the Chicago Bears did today with that!
A lack of remaining holiday means I cannot be there for an evening kick-off but the seat will be occupied, interestingly by someone who thinks we will win 4-0! For those of you there I hope it is another of those entertaining romps against Leicester. We have won the last eleven Premier League home matches against them.
Have a good one, ‘holics.
42 Responses to “Could Four Be The Gunners Route To Three?”
Boom!
I took in Fiorentina v Cagliari while over here in Florence . Decent game spoilt by the wind but some definite talent on view. Views another time on that
So I won’t be at THOF tomorrow. 3-1 is my prediction and Ramsey to start from the bench. Iwobi is flying at the moment. We might see him
Nice preview ‘H. Four and 3rd would be nice, but I’d be happy with a win to keep us ahead of the frequent fliers up the road.
COYG
ciaboat
Good preview, ‘Holic.
There is some previous for a 4-1 home win over Leicester: 1930 and 1987. We have also done it twice at their gaff: 1934 and 1976.
Historical footnote: our keeper in the 1930 game was the Dutch international Gerard Pieter Keyser, our first overseas player (not counting Scots, Welsh and Irishmen as foreigners).
He was clearly a colorful character, including serving six months in prison for smuggling currency after the Second World War, as this UEFA bio reveals: https://www.uefa.com/news/newsid=343662.html
We also had one of our lesser known keepers in goal in the 1987 game, Rhys Wilmot, whose nine-year Arsenal career spanned only eight games.
We haven’t lost at home to Leicester in any competition since September 8, 1973 and only lost on three other occasions at Highbury, all of them in the 1960s, since we dropped the Woolwich from our name.
Fine preview Guvna. I’m unable to make the match too so will have to settle for the sofa and a nice bottle of South African Shiraz. I knew you were an incurable romantic. Hope your bet comes in but I will be delighted with any kind of win. I suspect your old favourite 2-1 is most likely.
Go win Arsenal.
If someone expects us to win 4-0 the smart money is on Bergkamp’s the Man. Just saying. COYG.
Iwobi is burning up the turf and it is hard to see how he could not be in the team.
The monks earning their keep as per usual.
A bonus extra session of self flagellation as a reward i trust. ??
We have to win by 4 clear goals to take 3rd spot,not 3 H.
We are currently plus 9 ,the boys in blue are plus 13.
We would then be 3rd by virtue of more goals scored.
So we need the gent impersonating H at the ems,to be on the money.
Although as Bath alludes,any sort of win will do me.
Clive is right on two scores, four clear goals needed to go third and any win will do. Two points off the top at this point of the season, whether in third or fourth place, is better than many in this bar might have imagined possible at the start of the season.
The monks get their own rewards.
How odd, the full table on the Beeb website had Chelsea as +12 last night. Agree it says +13 now. Oh well, maybe 5-1! ?
I’m off to the game tonight, although I confess that Monday night football is far from my favourite (my least favourite is Friday nights, closely followed by 12 noon on new year’s day). I won’t get home until midnight, then I have to be back in London for a 9am meeting on Tuesday.
I’d be very happy with any win.
These international breaks make no sense to any and we have one more coming up in Nov, shit. Not to jinx but anyone notices we are not holding our breath when it is a break fearing an injury or am i the only one??
Leicester will play their way, sit deep, counter, vardy and he usually scores against us. We will concede for certain with this strategy of theirs but do believe we will score one more than them. 3-1 sound just fine as long as Mesut plays central and we have Mhki and Auba wide, Iwobi and a returning Danny than Ramsey may just be needed if the game is close till the end which i expect it to be.
P.S- Happy birthday boss, happy birthday Arsene.
Nice one, Holic,
and the usual good stuff from Ned.
For me, Emery is doing a very good job. Admittedly the defence has looked anything from shaky to shambolic at times but he seems to be carefully piecing the team together – not just chucking all the new players in at once. Rob Holding is benefiting from a run in a set position and Torreira is now settled in front of the back four, allowing a box to box midfielder more scope to run – and covering some of Xhaka’s more careless moments.
Aubamayang and Lacazette seem genuinely happ y with their roles up front and are scoring the goals that cover the shakiness at the back.
Leno is also looking good, despite the mixed rumours at the beginning of the season.
5-1 looks a piece of cake ! ??
The last couple of years against Leicester I always feared Vardy and his diving act
Is Monreal also injured?
Today’s team:
Leno, Bellerín, Holding, Mustafi, Lichsteiner, Torreira, Xhaka, Mkhitaryan, Iwobi, Ozil, Lacazette
Subs: Ramsey, Aubameyang, Welbeck, Martinez, Guendouzi, Smith-Rowe, Medley.
Medley is a central defender from our academy. We are really down with so many injured defenders that his inclusion is no surprise.
finally
roll that ball
Nacho has a tight hamstring according to the BBB site.
Just got to the ground. Lovely crisp clear autumnal night – should be perfect for football.
Why are we playing such a high line? We have been caught out so many times and we are lucky not to have gone ahead. We are playing right into their hands and our attack hasn’t looked effective at all.
Sorry, but Aubameyang should be playing instead of Iwobi.
We are playing a very high line for their quick players and we are back to our old self again. Predictable and easily sussed out…..
Where is the team that beat Fulham two weeks ago?
Down as feared. Bellerin deflects it in. Leicester looked so poor in their earlier matches but against us they look a real threat. Stupid to leave so many huge holes in our defence with all ten in the Leicester half.
The fear is also a cunt. Blows for every one of their claims but nothing for us.
The ref that is.
Fulham allowed us to play whereas Leicester prefer to play attacking teams as it allows them to defend in numbers and even one of their attackers can get them a goal. We should move back a few yards into our own half and then let them attack. So far their manager has won the tactical battle.
We have certainly woken up great goal and more of the same please lads!!!!
1-1!!! Get in Ozil. Lovely goal with an excellent pass from Bellerin and excellent finish by Ozil.
We are lucky though they could have had two penalties so all in all I’m positive, however why on earth do we have to start so slow!?
The 4-1 is nailed on now. Told you, didn’t I. ?
Sky talking bollocks calling that a Bellerin OG. The shot was on target therefore it’s not an OG, Shirley?
Get in
You beauty get in!
Just 2 more and job done
Wow, just wow
What a goal that is.
Whisper this, but Ozil has been excellent.
Wow. Awesomelicious (yes my own creation) that.
F…… amazing!!!! ?
One more to go for Holic £ ??⚪️?
Turned it on ten minutes ago and it was 1-1. Now it’s 3-1, just saying.
Correction, now it’s 2 more ?
Ozil’s doppelganger even tackled
Of course, because I had a bet on Lacazette to score a header and Arsenal to get 2+ goals, at 50/1, they’ve taken their foot off the gas a bit.
Cynic, Alexandre was Unluckazette tonight
Missed the second half but happy with the outcome. Sorry about the Holic pound.
How close was that £210?
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Great come back has to said, unlucky on the Holic pound…