HomeSteak Did they have the whole lineup or just those three?
QuincyAbeyie just the 3 and then the Saka news
This fixture is always a glorified friendly for me. It doesn't mean anything for the season even if you get a result I don't think it carries over because it doesn't have the same significance as a truly competitive game. It'll be good to see some of the ideas that will presumably play a part in the season though.
So Vieira or Trossard at RWF.
Think I'd actually prefer Vieira in that case because imo it's where Trossard is least effective, plus we need to see if the Portuguese can start showing something for once.
Arsenal XI: Ramsdale, White, Saliba, Gabriel, Timber, Partey, Rice, Odegaard, Saka, Martinelli, Havertz
Havertz for route 1
Good team, bit surprised with Havertz up top, Trossards unlucky not to get that spot but let's see how Kai does there. Worth a look before the league starts.
Havertz as false 9, Trossard dropped.
Clrnc
I think Trossard will get the nod there in most other games, but Havertz is absolutely vital in playing over the press when it's needed. Especially as Jesus isn't there to aim at.
Phew, no Saka injury!
Surprised to see Trossard left out, but not surprised to see Havertz included one way or another. With his height and strength, and quality for that matter, he had to play for me.
Haha, i guess Saka not injured, or not too bad. Maybe he will only play the first half. Havertz starting is a bit of a surprise, but not completely crazy. Trossard will get minutes for sure.
Could be a smart move.
The game for us hinges on how much joy Martinelli and Saka get down the flanks. Walker and Akanji are athletic, fast and can defend. Which is annoying as it's where Pool often beat them, but their defence is now setup to withstand pacy wingers.
Don't think we will get much joy again down the flanks and we will get beat. Walker leaving would be a huge boost but he's been captaining the side through pre season so might just be convinced to stay.
What's trossard gotta do to start a game. He's impressed me the most. Kai is a big game player so we'll see how he does
naz
I think Trossard always gets dropped to give us something off the bench. As Arteta just said in reference to Nketiah being dropped for Havertz, you have to think about how we start the game and how we end it. If we start Trossard, we have no other wingers to bring off the bench.
Eddie and Trossard out in the work all summer in that position only for Havertz to start lol. But to be fair, he always scores vs City. I'll put 50$ on him scoring today as well.
I really enjoyed Saliba's battle with Haaland at the Emirates. Saliba looked like he knew full well it was the first of many, and I was very impressed with how he handled him for the most part.
Interested to see how up for it they both are today.
White with a nice header
Partey... that's such a dumb yellow ffs.
Ricky1985 barely a touch from Partey, very harsh yellow
This ref is giving City everything so far, inventing fouls out of nothing
