Arsenal (a) pre-match thread (Game given go ahead 1350hrs)

[City Raider]

Arsenal must start favourites with 90 minutes extra rest than us.

*nicked off twitter

 

[BlueAnorak]

Shouldn't loose but probanly will. (After the Lord Mayors show and all that - we have a track record on this). Arsenal isn't a good place for us to go either.
Kompany has it dead right in what he said about what happened the last time we won the League Cup. Whether that will get the players sufficiently motivated for Thursday is another mater entirely.
If the players are motivated on Thursday then it will be very good news indeed.
Kompany is unlikely to play though as it will risk injury and we need him fit for the end of season run in.
This is a game we have to win to be comparative in the Champions League run in.

 

[dickie davies]

The aim is now to wrap up the Premiership as soon as possible, to clear the decks for CL. So first up Arsenal, which is certainly not a gimme. Had they scored with their early chance it could have very different. Yes we are the better team but this is no guarantee of victory or even a draw, as shown at Wigan, and the stats show that teams winning the League Cup often struggle in the League afterwards.

I trust Pep to choose the best team for the job in all the circumstances, but is there anything else that can be done?

In another thread it was stated that Pep does not give a pre-match team talk and if that’s true, I wonder why not. Certainly his half time talk seemed to make a difference on Sunday. Does anybody know for sure what happens pre-match?

He was offside and had the ball ended up in the net it would have been disallowed

Pep does all his work on the training ground and in pre match briefings. He doesn't do anything directly before the game as he has full confidence in the players and his tactics

 

[Manchester1894]

Shouldn't loose but probanly will. After the Lord Mayors show and all that. Arsenal isn't a good place for us to go either.
Kompany has it dead right in what he said about what happened the last time we won the League Cup. Whether that will get the players sufficiently motivated for Thursday is another mater entirely.
If the players are motivated on Thursday then it will be very good news indeed.
Kompany is unlikely to play though as it will risk injury and we need him fit for the end of season run in.

He's unlikely to play as he's the 4th choice CB imo.

 

[Sir Joe Aguero]

Bet they pull out the performance of the season in what is basically a dead-rubber match for them. Wenger hates us, for some odd reason, more than United, Chelsea or Spurs. Yes, we spend more than most, but he's given £350k a week to Ozil, £300k a week to Aubameyang and spent £120mil on 2 strikers that have scored 10 goals this season. Strange obsession with us.

 

[Otamendi's Beard]

Got to go full strength and play a team they'll fear. I wish Kompany could play two in a week, but it might make more sense to save him for Chelsea.

Ederson
Walker
Stones
Otamendi
Danilo
Gundogan
KDB
Silva
Bernardo
Sane
Aguero

Looks like Sterling was out training today, so we should have a strong bench to mix things up where required. Bravo, Zinchenko, Laporte, Delph, Foden, Jesus, Sterling.

 

[BlueAnorak]

He was offside and had the ball ended up in the net it would have been disallowed

Pep does all his work on the training ground and in pre match briefings. He doesn't do anything directly before the game as he has full confidence in the players and his tactics

Well yes he was but are you sure about that? With recent VAR decisions, I'm not.

 

[jimmygrimblesboots]

Maybe there will be a response from the Goons players , but any team that comes at us all guns blazing are just going to get a good hiding , the speed of our counter attacks is the best in the league if not europe (dont believe the dippers hype if they were that good they would be 16 points clear) if it was Bayern,Real or Barca attacking us i would be concerned , but f8cking Goons , give it a rest , they will get mullered if Wenger decides a Gung Ho approach

 

[bellsouth]

Got to go full strength and play a team they'll fear. I wish Kompany could play two in a week, but it might make more sense to save him for Chelsea.

Ederson
Walker
Stones
Otamendi
Danilo
Gundogan
KDB
Silva
Bernardo
Sane
Aguero

Looks like Sterling was out training today, so we should have a strong bench to mix things up where required. Bravo, Zinchenko, Laporte, Delph, Foden, Jesus, Sterling.

Delph will still be serving his suspension

 

[Manc Born & Bred]

I was pretty disgusted with his attempt to get Fernandinho sent off for a second foul. The slo-mo showed that Fernandinho pulled out of any challenge, stopped, and Wilshire flung himself into the air. Despicable little minion.

Anyone got a clip of this and the Monreal dive?

 

[typicalcity...]

Delph will still be serving his suspension

One game isn’t it? Counts in domestic so it was for the cup final be back Thursday?

 

[Carlos The Jackal]

One game isn’t it? Counts in domestic so it was for the cup final be back Thursday?

3 games.
http://www.thefa.com/football-rules-governance/discipline/suspensions

 

[Fame Monster]

He's unlikely to play as he's the 4th choice CB imo.

As amazing as Otamendi has been this season, Kompany is still the best centre back at the club, an unpopular view on here I think but probably a view shared by Pep hence his selection on Sunday and against Basel. He shouldn’t play on Thursday though because his body can’t cope with more than 1 game a week.

 

[Millwallawayveteran1988]

Ederson
Danilo
Stones
Laporte
Zinchenko
Gundogan
KDB
Silva
Bernardo
Raheem
Kun

3 changes at the back? That makes no sense to me. Personally I would play the same back four. Kompany looked ok to me at the end.

Arsenal will be demoralised if they see the same side. (With the exception of Bravo and Fernandinho)

They will almost be beaten before they start.

 

[rabby]

3 changes at the back? That makes no sense to me. Personally I would play the same back four. Kompany looked ok to me at the end.

Arsenal will be demoralised if they see the same side. (With the exception of Bravo and Fernandinho)

They will almost be beaten before they start.

Agree Kompany should start, I feel sometimes extended breaks between matches for a player prone to injuries maybe doesn't help.
There is no substitute for game time and training can't replace it,if Kompany is to get injured again we will just have to deal with it,perhaps regular match time is the best thing he can get.

 

[Gaylord du Bois]

Weather's not looking favourable for this one. I'd imagine it'll be an early call if it's not going ahead though.

 

[Roachy]

3 changes at the back? That makes no sense to me. Personally I would play the same back four. Kompany looked ok to me at the end.

Arsenal will be demoralised if they see the same side. (With the exception of Bravo and Fernandinho)

They will almost be beaten before they start.

Not so sure myself. I'll be gobsmacked if we see a similar Arse performance on Thursday, regardless of what team we put out. I cannot see anything other than a very tough game and whilst 3 points would be superb, a draw would be more than acceptable.

 

[MarsLlama]

If you try to stop a goal scoring opportunity where the attacker is through clear, even if you fail, could you be sent off post-goal?

Just sayin'

Pretty sure the referee cannot play advantage if he intends to send someone off. If there's going to be a red card- including a second yellow- play has to stop there and then. At least, I've never seen it done any other way.

 

[typicalcity...]

Pretty sure the referee cannot play advantage if he intends to send someone off. If there's going to be a red card- including a second yellow- play has to stop there and then. At least, I've never seen it done any other way.

The referee can send of a player after a goal is scored just isn’t really recommended as it causes more problems than its worth, same as if half time or full time is blown at a corner etc

 

[supercity88]

Arsenal will look to play a similar way so same team for me with sterling in for ferny and de bruyne central. Ederson in goal.

Make changes for Basel not for the next 2 league games. Win these next two and we can start to prioritise the CL over the league.