The Anticipation Is Real – Nomads Away Next For Gunners
Mar 1st, 2019 by 'holic
There are evenings in different phases of your life where you will want to get to sleep in order to wake up to something exciting. Typically Christmas, or a birthday, or a holiday as you progress. Then there is that which cannot be adequately explained in words. The eve of the North London derby. I know some hate it, but in my lifetime our record in all competitions against the Middlesex Nomads is won 60, drawn 39, and lost 42. I love it!
The nervous among you acknowledge that we are without an away Premier League win in the fixture in five years although Matthieu Flamini ripped them a new one in the League Cup the following season. As Arseblog quite rightly pointed out this morning the law of averages says we are due a win in front of the marshdwellers. I share his optimism going into this one.
Unai Emery faces the most unusual of challenges as he prepares for his second Premier League meeting against the Middlesex Nomads. Only the three long-term injured are denied to him. He has to wrestle with a formation, and then which eleven players to fit into it. Our recent improved form has been based on a flat back four allowing a creative number ten. Yet our 4-2 massacre of the same opponents in December was achieved with a back three and a workmanlike midfield behind a lone striker.
I have had a gut feel about what he would do for most matches this season. This time I am less sure but think he could stick with a four of Carl Jenkinson, Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Laurent Koscielny, and Sead Kolasinac (Nacho Monreal for me but I’m not the experienced boss). Granit Xhaka will be recalled and may start alongside Lucas Torreira ahead of them.
A playmaker is likely to be involved and I suspect Aaron Ramsey may get the nod over Mesut Ozil. Despite Ozil’s superb performance against Bournemouth there is still the nagging doubt that Emery doesn’t rate him in the bigger fixtures. Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Alex Iwobi have probably played themselves into the inside right and left channels. That means a place on the bench for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang as we will surely need Alexandre Lacazette’s ability to hold the ball up and bring others into play at Wembley?
Not surprisingly Harry ‘headbutt’ Kane has returned prematurely from injury in time to look to add to his goal tally in this fixture. Alli and Dier are still likely to be out. Vertonghen and Winks will face late assessments before the match. A week after they were being proclaimed as potential champions consecutive defeats at Turf Moor and the bus stop in Fulham have abruptly stopped any such absurd notions. They are ‘Spursing’ it up again.
The ‘holic pound
There is an outlier of 14/1 against a 1-2 away win at Bet365, and I have grabbed a mighty good piece of that. Generally the bookies have 1-1 as the favourite score closely followed by a number of low margin home wins. I’m not sure they have judged the mood of the two camps as well as they usually do. We have the momentum going into the match, but they probably consider three defeats on the spin for the Nomads unlikely.
We will know who is right soon enough. I’m back to that hope for a quick evening and a long, peaceful sleep.
Forever in our shadow!
73 Responses to “The Anticipation Is Real – Nomads Away Next For Gunners”
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Cheers H! Have it”
Momentum! It’s a wonderful thing. I’m sucking some of that positivity of yours my way. Does it have anything to do with the brand of antibiotic you’re chewing. 🙂
Enjoy.
I haven’t got a clue about this one. I like your optimism Holic but don’t feel it quite as strongly myself as I don’t really trust this team and despite us showing some positive signs on Wednesday the constant tinkering affects our rhythm. It would be Ramsey’s last ever NLD if he plays but I would start him from the bench and stick with Ozil. I also think he will start PEA although I think Lacazette is a better option if we don’t play them both. I find the thought of Arsenal starting a NLD without their two most dangerous players weird to say the least.
I still think Xhaka is hugely overrated so we will see tomorrow if he can cut it against a good side in a derby. I hope he can. I’d settle for 1-1 but think they are very lucky at home and will shade it 2-1.Apart from Kane I worry about Son’s pace. Let’s hope Unai knows and I am wrong
Interesting you’ve only lived through 69 derbies Holic . I’ve supported us since 1958 and I make my total around 140? Are you a whippersnapper?
Thank you TTG, they were just the home fixtures. I’m really not with it!
Forever in our shadow, you say, ‘Holic
https://youtu.be/q7wCfttJVnQ
Holic
If I’m right since 1958 the games at their place are about 26 to them 24 to us and around 24 drawn. We’ve also played them in three semis at Wembley or Old Trafford winning two and losing one and one Charity Shield which was drawn. I will bow to Ned’s definitive assessment though!
That still means we’ve won a lot more than them. The best of all ( at least I wasn’t locked out!) was the 5-0 in 1978 !
Bring it, indeed.
Like the next man, and indeed the previous man, I have no idea what will happen. Nor have I any idea which XI will get the nod tomorrow, nor which team will turn up. Put me down as Mr Ignorant.
I loved your “three defeats on the spin for the Nomads unlikely”, ‘H. (Admittedly this was speculation on the bookies longish odds against a Righteous win). The Law of Averages, innit? I suspect that successful bookmakers understand probability a little better than to have recourse to it too often and they may well be paying less attention to the importance of momentum than you or I. Whether or not they are right to do so, only time will tell.
Isn’t it nice to be feeling nervous anticipation again rather than nervous dread?
COYG
PS Good to see cba back on these pages again. I feel your pain keenly.
All I want is for the team to all put a shift in, realising how important a good derby result is for the fans.
A win, and Kane on his arse would be a bonus!
My wallet says 2-2.
Glad to hear your health is improving H,even though it is a slow process.
Spuds have played the entire league season so far without a single draw.
So they are well due one.
We couldn’t beat Utd on their own patch earlier this season when they were at a very low ebb under Maureen,and i think we are unlikely to beat the Spuds either.
Like TTG,our away day efforts since December do not inspire me with any great confidence.
Regardless of form,NLD’s are a law unto themselves,and our neighbors will not want to lose at home to us.
Yes they will have one eye on the Dortmund return CL tie midweek,
which is why, like our good friend Dorset Mick,i think a draw is the more likely result.
Like some others in the bar, I’ll be curious to see how we will line up. Given the somewhat clumsy players the Nomads have in the attacking positions (especially in the box), I don’t want to see Xhaka or Mustafi anywhere near the pitch, or even in the stadium.
I hope we beat the scum in their own back yard, oops, I mean the latest place they pitched up!!! I would be happy with a 1-0 to the arsenal but, for me, smashing ManUre would be even more enjoyable!!!
I love the optimism Guvna. Are you sure those new pills are antibiotics? Like several above, I have no idea who will start though I lean towards the Guvna’s selections. Nor do I know whether to expect a flat back 4 or 3-at-the-back. I don’t expect us to win for all the reasons provided by TTG and Clive. Although I will be content with a gutsy performance and a draw, now that I’ve read the Guvna’s thoughts, I have a little kernel of hope that we can pull off a win and shake up the 3rd place race.
COYG
I’ll go with the optimism Guvnor,
3-2 with a last minute winner
from Auba.
But I wholeheartedly agree with
Dorset Mick – first and foremost
I want to see us walk the walk,
play like it would hurt badly to lose.
TTG@6:
All competitions v Tottenham since 1958
at Home
P69 W37 D19 L13
Away
P70 W21 D21 L28
Cup games at neutral grounds counted as allocated
Specifically away games in the League
P59 W16 D19 L24
Excuse my ignorance, but did I miss the banning from the bench today for Pocchettino for confronting the referee aggressively last week? Or did the FA decide not to sanction The Media Darlings? Again.
@17
I think the hearings not till next
week. So Poch sits on the bench
for his last NLD before leaving for
a big club. Most important thing
is he leaves on a low note.
I’ve been told about a prospective new Spuds DVD… The Undrawables!
Having watched on with envy as The Arsenal completed an unprecedented season without a single blemish in the ‘losses’ column it is whispered that the Mighty Spuds are having their own crack at immortality. Wisely accepting the impossibility of their emulating The Invincibles they have instead set their sights on completing an entire league season without a draw.
Apparently the whole squad have got fully on board with this plan. Son has been instrumental in securing late points for them but everyone has chipped in however they have been able. Special mention goes to the recent efforts of Kieran Trippier who took one for the team in his determination to ensure they had no chance of a late equaliser against the Chavs, which would, of course, have ruined everything.
Tired of setting conventional targets only to ‘Spurs’ them up with such regularity that the entire English language is shifting to reflect the consistency of their choking failures they have decided to play by their own rules. To let go of modern world expectations- even to defy them.
“They said we could not build a stadium shaped like a giant toilet and then fail to build it in anything close to our projected timeframe. But we took their limitations and we defied them! We did things our own way. The Spurs Way! We will succeed where all others have failed. We will lose. We will win. But we will not be drawn with!”
As battlecries go it strikes me as a bit weak. But I have to respect a club that has finally found peace with who they are. That stadium design says it all. They have finally recognised the wisdom in our opinion of them.
In case my 19 was unclear I’m saying a draw is not gonna happen. 3-1 is what my head is saying. But my gut is inexplicably drawn to 2-0.
Either way, you can take the Spurs out of the toilet. But you can’t take the toilet out of the Spuds. They are crap. We win. Nuff said.
By the way H, thanks for sharing those cough pills *cough* with me. Everything seems so wonderful right now… ?
By the way- top preview H.
It has got me well up for this.
I want Guinness for Breakfast. Can’t ruin my appetite with solids as we’re having Spuds for lunch.
Thanks Ned. The maths indicate we have a big lead. Until the eighties thingscwere pretty even but we have much to thank Graham and Wenger for in their Spud bashing !
Leno
Mus, Sok, Kos, Nacho
Xhaka, Guen
Mhki, Aaron, Iwobi
Laca
AMN, Auba, Ozil, Torreira, Kola all on
the bench with Cech and Suarez
Spurds 2 – 5 Good Guys.
I don’t know how they’d do it but I don’t expect anything less than 3 goals advantage in the end.
I won’t question the selection, it’s the NLD, form is out of the window, spirit and desire is all we need.
COYGs!!
Interesting line up, BT pundits pulling the selection to pieces, I will be listening to the AFC commentary.
2-1 to us says my heart but a draw might be nearer the mark.
COYR
I have obviously avoided anything a BT pundit might have to say. I’m pleased with the back 4. Dunno about Mus at RB but I suppose if he is solid defensively then the extra man in midfield may offset his lack of penetration.
Here we go!
UTA!
Should be a yellow for that Rose
dive.
As for the elbow to the face for
Laca
Ramsey get iiiin
Rambo!!
YES!
Great finish !
I must admit I doubted as he
went through.
We need more of the ball. 2 changes at HT
32. Totally disagree. Spuds need changes. We look solid. And ready to counter.
The last few games Miki has looked like the player we hoped we were swapping for Sanchez. Top quality
Leno superb
Leno!
GSD they are putting us under huge pressure, we are bound to conceive so need to outscore them. We dont have so much pace going fwd though
KS. They’ve got little penetration and they will continue tiring. Based on our bench which 2 changes are you advocating to make us more defensively solid and have more possession?
Well got the lead, kept the Spuds out.
Now just do it again.
We are being pushed too deep
but risky to change at 1-0 up.
Ozil or Torreira could both help
to keep the ball more – but who
to take off?
Commentators praising Anthony Taylor for leniency. Beware Xhaka red card. Look no further for which player to take off.
OM/GSD was thinking smth similar but tough to pull and make the correct call
Torreira for Guen then.
UE made the call, hope it works.
Credit to his nerve.
Iwobi worries me, especially defensively. I would have hooked him for PEA. But what do I know.
Laca…..that was a poor miss.
Auba for Laca.
Really could have done with Laca
sticking that 2nd half chance away.
So far so good
I think Rambo is tired a bit, maybe Ozil in a bit
Rose lucky to stay on, no business
going through studs up for that
He was fucking offside
Off side but the fucking ref wants to not see it.
Mustafi’s brain is smaller than a gnat’s.
Regardless of the offside, Mustafi wants shooting. How many more times is he going to fuck up and cost us a goal?
Doing well up to that characteristic moment of stupidity and it was a game they weren’t in.
All six spuds were offside, how could the linesman not see that.
so unnecessary.
Got to keep heads now and all
that. COYGS
Agree totally about Mustafi and Chaka too has those moments.
Agree completely with Cynic @ 51.
But also have to say… Anthony Taylor. Every time.
The lino wasn’t level, which is why the entire line looked onside.
Thirty-five million pounds by the way. Thirty-five. Million.
ksn@49 on a very slo-mo and zoomed the linesman saw it clearly, damn
Auba is a poor penalty taker.
This was a defeat in every sense but the scoreline
Yes he is
Well Taylor is a real cunt
Never a red.
Now compare it with Rose’s yellow
Clusterfuck of a game for the officials. I didn’t think it was a penalty for us, it’s not a red card and the offside..
We just keep chucking points away.
If Torreira’s is a red card for the follow through, Rose should have been sent off for his.
Anthony Taylor. The man who makes Mike Dean look like Collina.
Should of taken the 3 points at the
end. Stupid from Mus and a poor
penalty….BUT we played well 2nd
half and a 4 point gap is still
easily doable.
On to Rennes, and then a big game
with Manure. We should take some
confidence from today
Yes he is
If you mean the lino for the penalty, he’s not. He’s at least a yard behind the play and leaning over to try to get his head level. He’s in the wrong position if he’s having to lean over that far.
Don’t know what to think at the end of that. Furious we let two points get away or relieved we at least got one.
I’m not going to pre empt Steve T’s response. But I hope I don’t read any garbage about how Anthony Taylor had no bearing on today’s outcome. Shocking. As per usual.
What obviously hurts more is that Spuds scored their penalty and we did not score ours. It was back in our hands and we hit a poor penalty and gave their keeper a chance.
So disappointed. We should have won today.
Torreira is never a red. Not late. He got the ball. Not a straight leg or in any danger of causing injury to the other player (leg totally bent at the knee). Also, I watched Sanchez foul his way around the pitch with impunity today- so the Torreira card feels like a Taylor-esque dig in the ribs, rather than a fair eflection of the game or the incidents in it.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
I find myself unequivocally in agreement with Cynic for 2 posts in a row @ 64.
Good thing Theo is is still as crap for Everton as he was for us.
Ned, I’m feeling disappointment. 3 words: Linesman, Mustafi, PEA. So frustrating. We should have won that match.
Who else would you have take the PK? For me, Xhaka, who’d either leather an unstoppable or send it out of Wembley. Maybe Mkhitaryan?
Hard luck, ‘Holic. Converting that PK would have converted your pound and cured all of you ills.