Seasiders Run To Be Halted At The Arsenal?
Oct 30th, 2018 by 'holic
There was a time when The Arsenal at home to Blackpool played out before a Highbury bursting at the seams. Those days are long since gone and the mid-table League One club will arrive to a less than full Ashburton Grove for the Carabao Cup fourth round tie.
Working out who will feature for the Gunners under Unai Emery isn’t too easy. There are those who have not been regular fixtures lately, So Petr Cech could return in goal after injury. The same applies to Ainsley Maitland-Niles who has not made the journey to Cheltenham Town with the U-21 side for the Checkatrade Trophy match. Expect Stephan Lichsteiner and Sokratis Papastathopoulos plus either Skhodran Mustafi or Rob Holding to make up the back four.
Mohamed Elneny is not fit to feature in the holding pair. Matteo Guendouzi and Lucas Torreira may keep their places as a result. In attacking midfield we should see Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Aaron Ramsey, hopefully with Emile Smith Rowe, who along with Eddie Nketiah also trained with the first-team today. Danny Welbeck is the likeliest leader of the line.
The visitors last reached this stage of the competition in 2007. To get here this season they have beaten Doncaster away 2-1, Barnsley at home 3-1, and more impressively Queens Park Rangers 2-0 at home. In their last match they were beaten 3-2 at Fleetwood in a north-west derby. They will be without centre-back Donervon Daniels due to a hamstring problem and striker Armand Gnanduillet is suspended following his sending-off in the defeat to Fleetwood.
The ‘holic pound
The danger of taking lowly opposition for granted is always a worry. Blackpool’s players will know this may be their only chance to play at The Arsenal and that can inspire super-human effort. However we look a fitter side these days and the team selected should have enough technical superiority to impose our will over the visitors. I’m looking for a value comfortable win and have taken a boosted 22/1 on a 5-1 home win.
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That’s it for tonight. If you are going tomorrow layers may be required with rainfall and temperature of nine degrees forecast.
Have a good one, ‘holics.
35 Responses to “Seasiders Run To Be Halted At The Arsenal?”
Drink!
Donervon Daniels and Armand Gnanduillet sound like third rate movie actors. Just saying.
I’m there tomorrow but not in my usual seats. I hope I’m not in the usual company you find at these matches. I hope Eddie starts tomorrow and I think we will see Guendouzi and Kolasinac.
The U21 s had Burton sent off after seven minutes and are currently 4-1 down . I hope we use the lads tomorrow we have deprived the team of.
We played Blackpool a few years back in the league. I’m sure Ned will tell us what the score was but I think it was first game of the season and we put six past them.
My main memory of that day is walking back up Hornsey Road. One of our own was trying to comfort an orange clad Seasider and maybe patronised a bit. He got a volley of Lancastrian abuse.
Our lad dropped back a few yards and started to sing
“You can stick your rollercoaster up your arse
Oh You can stick your rollercoaster up your arse
You can stick your rollercoaster
Stick your rollercoaster
Stick your rollercoaster up your arse!”
Truly, we have poets amongst us.
Cheers H.
I’ll be there tomorrow, doing my best to wind up TTG. ?
It will be my first game this season so I hope the Holic pound comes in as that would be a good watch. I have made the difficult decision not to go in my GSD gear for this one (first time in ages) but I will certainly be in lots of layers.
COYG
Bournemouth into the last 8 of the unsponsored trophy. What with their position in the table, sixth, they have had a good few months.
GSD
Enjoy! I will look for a man in a ? suit !
Ah, the magic of football, C100.
Full of ups and downs.
Interesting preview, H. Thank DB10, their striker is out! COYG.
C100@4: You must be thinking of the Aug 21, 2010 game. 6-0 at the Emirates. A Walcott hat-trick! Arshavin, Diaby and Chamakh also on the scoresheet. First time we had beaten them 6-0 since March 18, 1899 (Ernie Cottrell hat-trick; two for Hayward and one for Fergus Hunt) and our biggest win against Blackpool since Dec 27, 1930, when we won 7-1 at Highbury. Two hat-tricks in that game (Jimmy Brain and David Jack) with Bastin getting the other one. It was also George Male’s debut game, the first of 285 appearances for the club.
Sadly I can’t be there tonight. I have to attend an evening function in Bloomsbury. However. I expect to catch a train home from Kings Cross at about the right time to collect a gaggle of gooners from Finsbury Park. Let’s hope they are smiling! I look forward to reading ‘holic’s report of the game.
Might Donervon Daniels be related to Stormy Daniels? If so, pulling things must run in the family.
TTG @7
No dinosuit today I’m afraid…
Just listen out for the only bloke chanting “TTG give us a wave.” ?
I will be there tonight and taking advantage of a £10 seat in 112 on the halfway line. Being 76 does have a few perks.
All I ask for from those starting tonight is a positive start and not letting the opposition get into the game. I’m still smarting from our flat performance at Selhurst where having gone ahead we sat back, didn’t go for the jugular and paid the price of dropping 2 valuable points due to silly mistakes .
Tonight’s line up could be almost anything depending on who is fit enough to make kick-off. I like Holic’s 5-1 which would help make the journey home considerably more enjoyable than Sunday nights which had the feeling of dread as we debated what the Pool might do to us on Saturday. We were a bunch of very unhappy Gooners.
COYR
NBN @10: Complete with names of 1899 goal scorers. Beyond the call of duty. What have you been feeding the monks, if anything?
Delia @14. Regarding our lack of appetite for the jugular at Palace. Maybe we should replicate Ned’s suspected strategy of not feeding the monks?
Nothing to eat between now and kickoff!
They don’t seem to like VAR in Argentina.
https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/46041706
Correction, Brazil. In Argentina they are probably luvin’ it.
bt8, is the game going to be shown on US TV? If I fast between now and kickoff, will that help?
Looks like
Cech,
Jenkinson, Mustafi, Pleguezuelo, Lichsteiner
Guendouzi, Maitland-Niles,
Ramsey, Smith-Rowe, Mkhitaryan,
Welbeck.
I may have gone a bit too bold on the pound. ?
Come on you Carabao warriors!
potsticker, not to to take bt8’s thunder, but it doesn’t appear to be on tv at all. it is, however, on espn3.com (you’ll get there) but you have to pay for it.
reddit, however, is a nice venue for all things that flow like a stream, though.
holic, you’re going to do fine with the pound 🙂
LICHT!
Re: Posticker @20. Not sure meself. I’m just cooking dinner. Did we win yet?
EMILE!
Silly Second for Matteo
what?
That’s enough silly seconds!
Haven’t seen a minute of the game. How are our irregulars doing?
2 – 1
shite mustafi
oh Petr my Petr
irregulars around the margin?
Jenko is good
Pleg also
but now it’s time for heavyweights
first Lucas then Alex and now Pierre
Red for Paudie
la la la
la la la la
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
bt8 and scruz, thanks. I just followed on arseblog – supposed to be working anyway 🙂