Quality shone through in the end. No need to over analyse this one. No injuries (Arteta saying Saka fine) and through to City away. 7,500 allocation for that one - can’t wait.
⚽ Oxford vs Arsenal | FA Cup 3rd round | Mon 9th | 8pm
Fringe watch:
Vieira needs to learn how to be more influential and get himself involved more in the middle third. Maybe that’s partially down to others but he is definitely someone who seems to want the ball further up the field rather than influence play deeper like Ode. That’s where all the magic happens for him too.
Sambi wasn’t bad on the ball but his lack of intensity is going to be his undoing here. Few times where he wasn’t anticipating the pass, not great on the press either. Doesn’t really bode well for him that he was the one player I thought needed changing.
Holding is Holding. Not much to say really but he does frustrate me at times.
Growing increasingly more confident in Turner and I love his quick throws.
I don’t think it’s a great sign for Tierney that he’s being subbed off in this game so early. He’s definitely a bit of a square peg and I wouldn’t be averse to cashing in on him at this point.
Hope we play the full first team against City.
We have one game a week for the next five weeks. Injuries/suspensions notwithstanding we should be picking the same starting XI each game.
I am Arsenal Till I Die We have one game a week for the next five weeks. Injuries/suspensions notwithstanding we should be picking the same starting XI each game.
Agree apart from the Brentford game, City comes hot on the heels of that game so rotating there would probably be wise.
Pepe LeFrits Good point. Probably would have ESR (hopefully Mudryk too) ramped up by then. And then there's already Vieira, Tomi, and Tierney to rotate with. Depends on how much Arteta trusts them.
- Edited
Just finished watching this on replay. Not the first time Vieira has looked a bit insipid and then produced some very high quality. Lokonga, however … his days are numbered you'd have to say, barring some sort of contribution in the Europa League. At the moment he feels like Denilson without the big personality.
I don't think we'll ever get the best out of Tierney while we're using him part time. Type of player who needs to be captained and feel like the beating heart of things at a lesser club, and I'm starting to hope for that for him, he can't do what Zinchenko does and his intensity at what he's good at is less as a result.
Nketiah is in gun scoring form, he's like the anti-Christ, as it were.
Sambi needs to be sold.
Burnwinter denilson had a big personality? Beyond his Brazilian ankles?
Tomiyasu's passing is slightly concerning me.
- Edited
Bring Back Kerrea Gilbert Sambi needs to be sold.
Agreed BBKG. He's shown he can be polished, and he has a bit of range. Trouble is he's low impact on the pitch and occasionally moans about his life decisions off it—he's making the decision for us.
I'm a bit disappointed we started the whole trio of Saka, Nketiah, Martinelli, but happy with the eventual result. Don't think anyone's gonna be struggling to recover from that.
Call me ruthless, but I seem to remember a time when our youngsters were a bit tougher. We might need to factor it into our recruiting. Mudryk looks the goods attitude wise, has the necessary derangement, obsessed with Ronaldo etc.
Big Willie Sarcasm. Denilson was lukewarm wet cardboard a lot of the time. But Lokonga's so meek he probably doesn't trigger the motion sensor when he gets to his front door.
- Edited
What has Tomi moaned about?
Quote added for clarity.
Ah yes Tomiyasu, never stops whining.
Oh, my bad.
Far from it, compadre.
Burnwinter Call me ruthless, but I seem to remember a time when our youngsters were a bit tougher.
It's not just our youngsters though, all the fringe players that came in looked underwhelming in the first half. I can't help but think that lack of game time (Arteta is incredibly stingy for those outside the main players in the squad) and potentially not enough attention to the man management of these individuals is affecting their confidence.
Can't argue with that, Don.
It's looming as one of the most locked-in subplots of this squad's medium term future—can Arteta's Arsenal graduate to the Champions League and make a success of it?
If we are able to retain and placate the best of these second-stringers and bench players, and then manage to get more of them productive next season, I could respect the narrow focus on progress in results this season, because it's been so successful.
- Edited
Agree - it's what has been playing in the back of my mind given Champions League has started to look likely. I do also wonder what the impact of our current approach to squad management will mean for our run-in at the end of the season (my concern being that we will fade away).
As an aside, it's very easy for us all to look externally for solutions to our problems but if we're not properly utilising the entirety of our squad, I think it solves as many problems as it creates.
Right At this stage you need to assume a major downturn in our form in the second half of the season to question the approach, which has been wildly successful.
There are some reasons to find that downturn plausible but it's not at all certain.
But we couldn't do things this way playing across PL and CL.
- Edited
Don Pacifico Sure, but this is the reality of elite sports - you either sink, or swim. Now, it would be helpful if some of these guys were thrown an armband occasionally, but given how well the first XI have been performing, I find it difficult to see where the reserves could have been thrown in. And even where they have been, like Tomiyasu, he dropped a stinker last night.
That being said, I think Eddie Nketiah's form this season has been very interesting. I was quite vocal in the run up to the window, saying you don't give someone the #14 shirt and a new contract only to sign a new striker to play in front of him when we lose Jesus to injury. Some on Twitter disagreed with me on the basis of his sub appearances and form in the Europa League - and yet, here we are with 4 goals in the 4 games which have followed the resumption. I wouldn't go so far as to say we haven't missed a beat, but Eddie does present a different and very credible threat to our #9. I think Eddie presents both an argument that players need time and that you have to be ready to go when called upon.
On that note, whilst I felt quite optimistic about Sambi's chances in the first team this season, it seems incredibly clear that the gap between him and the majority of the guys he's competing with for first team football is vast, and probably too much to be bridged. At least in the near future.
I'm sure it didn't escape anyone's notice that our goals arrived within minutes of Xhaka replacing Sambi in addition to Zinchenko replacing Tierney - somebody else it feels as though the team has evolved beyond.