Gunners To Have More Bite Than The Terriers?
Feb 8th, 2019 by 'holic
“We started very well away, changing also our mentality to get more points away, but now we need to recover this confidence, to recover this performance, and the next opportunity is Saturday against Huddersfield.”
Unai Emery’s honest assessment of our recent away form as we prepare to play the Premier League’s basement club away from home. Huddersfield have just one point from their last twelve matches and they currently lie thirteen points shy of safety. New head coach Jan Siewert conceded that “We have had a problem with scoring”.
The Terriers have failed to score in any of their last five matches in all competitions, and have not featured on the scoreboard in more than half of their 25 league matches this season. Does anybody else have a fear of the law of averages? We haven’t kept a clean sheet on the road in the League this season.
We could have additional options open to us this weekend. Bernd Leno starting in goal is a given, and let’s hope Ainsley Maitland-Niles is fit enough to return at right-back. If we started with a back four against Manchester City it is likely we will do the same this weekend. Shkodran Mustafi and Laurent Koscielny should both be fit to start with possibly Sead Kolasinac replacing Nacho Monreal at left-back (I wouldn’t do that but think Unai Emery might).
Will we stick with a flat four or a diamond in midfield? Granit Xhaka is back in training and could sit behind Lucas Torreira and Matteo Guendouzi with Aaron Ramsey or Mesut Ozil playing behind a front pairing of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette. Henrikh Mkhitaryan played 45 minutes for the U23s on Monday night and hopefully will be on the bench with new boy Denis Suarez.
It took a late Torreira strike to clinch a 1-0 win in the reverse fixture two months ago. Last season we were rather more convincing winning the Herbert Chapman derby 5-0 at home and 1-0 in Yorkshire in Arsene Wenger’s last match in charge of the Gunners.
The ‘holic pound
The law of sod suggests that Huddersfield will score a rare goal tomorrow, and probably the first one just to light the blue touchpaper on social media. We do have the firepower to come back at them and if we have a playmaker operating behind the front two we should score goals too. I am taking 13/1 against a 1-3 away win having consulted a very fine footballing mind.
Win An Art of Football Highburysaurus Tee
A reminder that you have until kick-off time on Saturday to get in your entry for the Art of Football competition.
To win one of these quality tees just follow @TheGoonerholic and @Art_of_Football on Twitter, then answer the following question…
In what year did Gunnersaurus first appear as the club mascot?
1994
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2014
Send your answer, your email address, and your Twitter handle to competition@goonerholic.com before kick-off on Saturday. The winner will be announced with the match report of the Huddersfield Town match on Saturday night. There is no cash alternative to this prize.
In A Packed Preview Tonight
If you haven’t listened to this week’s ABW podcast then I have embedded it below. I chatted for the first seventy odd minutes with Kris ‘@AFCfreddie8’, Steve ‘@Lordhillwood’, and Andrew ‘@PR_WhoRu’.
Take care those who are making the journey through the blustery conditions on Saturday. Whether you are going or watching in the warm, have a great one, ‘holics.
44 Responses to “Gunners To Have More Bite Than The Terriers?”
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First ?
Or seeing as it’s Friday night…Thirst !
Maybe in the old days the Terriers would have had too much bite but with Torreira in our team the biting should be a two way street. Huddersfield will be ruing the day they didn’t sign him, both for his playing ability and the marketing potential. He’s not a Terrier, though.
Fear of the law of averages you say?
Hands up over here in the sub-Arctic section.
Torreira.
He’s not a Terrier.
A very fine footballing mind? Sounds suspiciously like Bergkamp’s the Man. Hmmm.
It’s all about the 3’s and the 1’s then. A numerologist’s dream. Come on the ‘holic pound. 🙂
“The law of sod suggests that Huddersfield will score a rare goal tomorrow.”
The law of sod or just the law of Arsenal defending?
If we even have just the slightest of aspirations of finishing in the top four then a win is an absolute must. No excuses.
Just 3 points. End of.
I have to believe we will win – 2-0 looks good to me. I understand Auba has not been well this week but he appears to be recovered and this is a game he should score in. It was a tough game at our place but their form was better then .
We travel to BATE this week and this might influence our selection and use of subs .
It will be areal examination for us in the cold and wet conditions predicted for this afternoon’s match:
https://www.examinerlive.co.uk/news/huddersfield-braces-itself-storm-erik-15800969
A clean sheet would be nice, our
away is just poor for the last couple
of months. 3-0 will do nicely.
Apart from Leno there seem to be
decisions tone made in almost every
position.
that should be…..
our away form is poor….
decisions to be made…..
for what it’s worth (not much as
I can’t remember the last time I
got the team right)
Leno
Licht Mus Kos Kola
Torreira Guendouzi Xhaka
Iwobi Auba Laca
That’s who I think UE will pick.
My own team wouldn’t have 5
of those starting
Decisions Tone might be the fine footballing mind that ‘Holic consulted, OM
Your match day trivia:
Last goal we conceded at Huddersfield was in 1986 in a 1-1 League Cup tie and our last away loss was in 1971, 2-1 in an old First Division game, that in turn was the first away defeat since 1937.
We are on an eleven-match unbeaten run home and away against Huddersfield and a four-game winning streak.
In 77 games with them in all competitions we have scored more than three goals on only four occasions.
Bit of a naughty tackle from Calum
earns a yellow. Fulham surrendering
fairly tamely so far and it’s difficult
to see them staying up.
If they go down I don’t suppose
they’ll be buying Calum off us
either.
A very youthful looking set of players on the bench today. Auba not anywhere.
Licht not being one of the youthful ones, but he is on the bench, thankfully not in the team. Come on AMN (at right back, presumably).
Arsenal: Leno, Koscielny, Mustafi, Monreal, Maitland-Niles, Guendouzi, Torreira, Kolasinac, Iwobi, Lacazette, Mkhitaryan.
Substitutes: Cech, Elneny, Lichtsteiner, Suárez, Mavropanos, Nketiah, Willock.
Neither Rambo nor Ozil are on the bench , let’s hope Guendouzi and Torreira can create something for Laca to latch on to. At least Lichtsteiner is not in the starting 11.
I don’t get Emery’s reasoning putting out this line up particularly bearing in mind our recent displays away from home .Looks a negative formation to me when you consider Huddersfield’s lowly position and their lack of goals in the PL.
I suggest a low scoring game 2-1 to us.
COYR
Why on earth rest Ozil for this game? He hasn’t played in yonks and this would be a good run out for him….
I just don’t get the bloke…
Auba not well or injured?
Is Ramsey injured?
Anyway, it’s not a team that fills
me with confidence but I’ll hope
for the best.
TTG posted in the previous drinks that Auba had been ill this week.
All 10 victims of the Flamengo dormitory fire were either 14 or 15 years old. So sad.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-47170055
ommmmm
ommmmm
ommmmm
As Bt8 mentioned Auba has been ill ( as has Koscielny)
Presumably it was time for Mesut to be ill again as Turkish Airlines are doing half price tickets to Istanbul this weekend ?
Ramsey has a small knee injury and Xhaka a groin.
Not the most exciting side I’ve ever seen us put out but pleased to see Eddie on the bench.
Emery will be conscious of the Europa tie on Thursday
Get in Alex!
AMN and Iwobi have started brightly.
Good deep cross for the goal
Lucky deflection but I’ll take that any time
Nice ball from Kolasinac, we’ll take the deflection.
Seen those given so a bit lucky
for Kos
Kola down from some studs
2-0.
Rare lead at half time. We are not very fluent.
Great timing for a 2nd goal
Now to keep it tight, a goal or two more with a clean sheet would be handy
A lesson in how not to start a
2nd half so far.
At least we haven’t conceded a
goal I suppose
Be nice to take one of these
chances on the counter.
Also I’d like to see Eddie come
on now.
Should have put the game to bed by now still clean sheet though
Bit concerning that we can’t keep possession against the bottom team in the league…
No clean sheet but three points will do nicely.
Wow, that was far closer than it really ought to have been.
Maybe well fluke the Europa league and get into the CL that way…
Quite mediocre performance especially in defence, but 3 points is all that matters. We are definitely not a form team right now and need all the points we can muster till the back to back games against Spurs and United.
Hope Papa will be back by then, can’t bear to see Mustafi down the right side against Son/Martial.
I wonder if Huddersfield feel they
deserved a point out of that?
Anyway, on we go and home to
Soton next after Bate, I hope a
few wins will give us some
confidence.
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