Isak's Masterclass Highlights Arsenal's Striker Dilemma: Even Arteta Can't Deny the Need

 By Danong

Arsenal versus Newcastle may not have been pretty for us Gunners, but it certainly opened our eyes to many things—like the glaring absence of a one-man-army striker like Alexander Isak.

In a game where our toothless attack was exposed, Newcastle walked out of the Emirates Stadium victorious, largely thanks to their star man, Isak.

It was as if the Swedish international was proving Arsenal pundits right, showing that the club should break the bank for his services.

Against our Gunners, Isak was a force to be reckoned with—running in behind, dropping deep, executing confident 1v1 dribbles, showing off his final pass, and finishing like a world-class striker.

He quite literally has everything, and I can comfortably say he’s the trickiest striker William Saliba has faced thus far this season.

If Arsenal were to sign him this winter, they’d surely be getting on board one of the most in-form strikers. With the uninspired performance Havertz put up against Newcastle, can we trust him to fire this Arsenal team to glory?

Alexander Isak proved to us last night that he is one player who could easily fire this Arsenal side to league glory.

Mikel Arteta couldn’t help but hint at the difference a quality striker like Isak offers a team. 

He said, “He was involved in both goals, unfortunately the two times that he had the ball in the box. And that’s what you have when you have real quality up front. They can make the difference. They’re very clinical.”

I wish his deal was as easy to do, but it looks like a £150 million swoop isn't something Arsenal is agreeing to this winter.

The whole team were clueless

 By 1970's Gooner 

Odegaard is way way below his best. He looks lost when he gets the ball and looks lost when he hasn't got the ball. 

The absence of Saka means that we have no real threat from the right and also renders Odegaard ineffective. 

Martinelli on the other side tries his best and looked better tonight but that's all really. He couldn't finish when he got through, going for the near post instead of going across the keeper.

Havertz was way off it having been ill in the last 10 days and contrived to miss an easy header with only the keeper to beat. The absence of a proper number 9 was way evident.

In defence Saliba and Gabriel were edgy throughout and Raya kept giving the ball away in the opening 15 minutes or so.

The difference between the two sides was that Newcastle had a game plan of blocking the avenues for Arsenal and knew exactly what to do to get the ball to their forwards.

Arsenal didn't know how to break their block and when they did didn't know how to get to scoring positions.

The whole team were clueless... except Myles Lewis Skelly 

Havertz in contention but will he start and who plays at right back?

By Danong

Arsenal travel to Brighton to take on the Seagulls at the Amex Stadium and really have to win to keep their title hopes alive and put some pressure on Liverpool who play tomorrow.

League leaders Liverpool have a commanding lead in the title race, 6 points ahead of the Gunners with a game in hand.

Brighton had a brilliant start to the season, but have struggled since then. They last won a game in November. Their results since then are disappointing.

For Arteta and the boys, they're unbeaten in 12 games with 9 wins and 3 draws.

Reports suggest Brighton could be without James Milner, Jack Hinshelwood, and Ferdi Kadioglu. Danny Welbeck and new signing Diego Gomez are not expected to feature. Mats Wieffer, Pervis Estupinian and Adam Webster could be available for this fixture.

Arsenal, on the other hand, will definitely be without Bukayo Saka, Ben White, and Takehiro Tomiyasu. Jurrien Timber misses the game due to suspension. 

Kai Havertz, who was out ill when Arsenal played Brentford, could return. Raheem Sterling could make the matchday squad, having returned to training.

The two major decisions to be made are whether to reinstall Havertz in the starting eleven and who will replace Timber at right back.

Arsenal's forward line is producing the goods so far with Jesus and Martinelli both scoring in the away win at Brentford. I would expect that they will continue as will Nawneri who deserves to keep his place in the team.

Havertz may return in the starting 11 as a left sided midfielder so that Partey can play at right back.

Alternatively Arteta may opt to keep Havertz out and continue with Merino in midfield.

I'd expect Arteta to play this starting XI:

- Raya
- Partey, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori
- Rice, Merino, Odegaard
- Nwaneri, Jesus, Martinelli

Arsenal have historically dominated Brighton, with the H2H stats suggesting so:

- Brighton wins: 8
- Draws: 6
- Arsenal wins: 17


I'm feeling confident and predicting a 2-0 win for Arsenal, with an incoming Thomas Partey masterclass at right back.

Arteta's team selection for tonight will have a significant effect on Arsenal's fortunes for the rest of the title race

By Danong

While Manchester City continues to show they're no threat to us in the title race, Liverpool keeps sustaining their lead at the top of the table.

We must keep winning because Liverpool are bound to hit a bad patch and we will be ready to take advantage, even without Saka.

Arsenal takes on Ipswich tonight in a game they'll be hoping to use to put pressure on the league leaders and widen the gap between us, Chelsea and defending champions Manchester City.

Going into that clash at the Emirates, Arsenal will be without their star man Bukayo Saka—the Englishman is out with a hamstring injury. Raheem Sterling is also out due to injury.

The Arsenal boss will have to find a way to replace his most productive Gunner; almost all of Arsenal's attacking play went through Saka, who boasts 10 assists and 5 goals in 16 games.

Arteta may in fact have to reduce the emphasis placed on our right wing and use both sides equally thus helping confuse the opponents and have a more balanced approach.

Ethan Nwaneri, Kai Havertz, Gabriel Jesus, and Gabriel Martinelli have been suggested as options to fill in at right wing.

So, who replaces Saka? Does Jesus retain his spot in the team? Will it be Jorginho instead of Partey? Rice, Havertz or Merino at LCM and who plays left-back?

Arteta's team selection for tonight will have a significant effect on Arsenal's fortunes for the rest of the title race.

Well, my predicted Arsenal line-up against Ipswich Town at the Emirates has:

- Myles Lewis-Skelly at left-back: As decent as the young Gunner has been, playing him continues to build his confidence and gives him a chance to break into the team, which is great. 

- Thomas Partey has had a great season so far with Jurrien Timber at right-back. Partey continues his resurgence as the #6.

- Gabriel Jesus remains at the top; with 5 goals in the last 2 games, he's a man in form, and against Ipswich, he could have a great chance to continue his goal-scoring exploits.

When Jesus has scored in a Premier League match, he hasn't lost: he's unbeaten in 61 games (56 wins and 5 draws), so Arsenal needs him to keep scoring.

- Declan Rice also deserves to start, especially after his game-changing performance in his cameo versus Crystal Palace, where he scored and showed what a hit he and Partey can be—the Ghanaian international gives him all the freedom to influence the attack.

Martinelli was a hit at RW. With Odegaard and Timber on the RHS, any quality player will shine at RW.

For a player like Martinelli, with pace, he just has to get the ball, drive and cross with his preferred foot. He'll do well in Saka's absence there.

Predicted line-up against Ipswich Town:

- Raya
- Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Lewis-Skelly
- Partey, Odegaard, Rice
- Martinelli, Jesus, Trossard

An Arsenal win would see them reach 36 points, which is 4 points less than they had at such a time last year.

Some feel our Gunners haven't been at their best, but they haven't been that bad either. There's much to play for in the second half of the season.

Arsenal's Plan to Overcome Crystal Palace

By Danong

Arsenal and Crystal Palace clash on Saturday evening in a Premier League Match Day 17 showdown.

The Gunners, fresh from beating Palace 3-2 at the Emirates Stadium to book a Carabao Cup semi-final spot, now make the short trip to Selhurst Park to once again play their London rivals.

Palace proved on Wednesday night that they can't be taken lightly. Looking at their results prior to that Carabao Cup quarter-final—with 5 games unbeaten—it suggests they were finding their footing after a poor start to the season.

After draws with Fulham (1-1) and Everton (0-0), dropping 4 points, Arsenal's title ambitions can't afford another draw. A draw tonight is like a loss.

Mikel Arteta and his technical bench need to go for the kill. Fortunately, almost every Gunner will be available for that game.

Arteta hinted that Declan Rice, Riccardo Calafiori, and Oleksander Zinchenko, who missed the last few games due to injuries, are in contention to feature on Saturday evening.

On Declan Rice and Riccardo Calafiori, Arteta told the media on Friday: "They are both available to be in the squad."

And on any other injury updates, he added: "Zinchenko could probably be available as well. Tomiyasu won't be."

The Arsenal line-up should aim to get the best out of the left-hand side. Criticism arising from Arsenal's last few games suggests they're right-side biased, with almost every attacking play coming from the right through Saka.

The left wing needs to step up, and what better way to do so than to play the best Arsenal left-hand side players on paper? Merino was signed for LCM, and Calafiori was recruited for LB.

The chopping and changing of players in these 2 positions were highlighted as one of the big contributors to Gabriel Martinelli's struggles. Well, against Palace, let's give the Brazilian the perfect conditions to shine.

Notably, Martinelli loves playing Crystal Palace. He has 4 goals in his last 4 games against them. He’s scored more goals against them (5) than against any other club in the Premier League.

That fine statistic, plus the fact that he seems to be at his best when Calafiori is at left back, should have his resurgence arc on Saturday evening.

Martinelli's Stats:

- When he starts with Calafiori:

  - Games: 58

  - Goals: 2

  - Assists: 2

  - Avg rating: 7.84

- When he starts without Calafiori:

  - Games: 10

  - Goals: 1

  - Assists: 0

  - Avg rating: 6.96

Here's my predicted Arsenal line-up versus Palace that will ensure the boys in red and white bounce back to winning ways:

- Raya

- Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori

- Partey, Merino, Ødegaard

- Saka, Havertz, Martinelli

This is the line up that will allow Martinelli to rediscover his form and it could be the lift this Arsenal attack needs to fire on all cylinders.

Why These Four Players Should Start Tonight Against Palace

 By Danong

Tonight, Arsenal host Crystal Palace at the Emirates Stadium in a Carabao Cup quarter-final clash.

Under Mikel Arteta, our only success in the cup competitions was the 2020 FA Cup triumph. In the last two seasons however we've been making significant progress in the league, fiercely competing for the title and running Man City very close to league glory. We haven't shown however the same determination in the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup.

That needs to change so that Mikel Arteta doesn't have to be asked questions like, "You’ve only won one trophy. Is this a chance to win another?" like he was asked on Tuesday. He corrected the Sky Sports journalist pointing out the two Community Shields won too.

Tonight it is imperative that Arsenal beat Palace not only to return to winning ways but to also lay down the psychological base on which to win the PL game on the weekend against the same team.

Arsenal will have to do it without Oleksandr Zinchenko and Riccardo Calafiori who are now long term absentees.  More importantly Rice may also not be available after being subbed off due to injury in that 0-0 draw with Everton. Ahead of the Palace game tonight, Arteta said "He’s fine. We will make the decision on whether he’s available or not."

Even so, Arsenal should still have a strong team to beat a Palace side that the Gunners have beaten in the last four meetings.

I expect Arteta's line up to include Kiwior, Nwaneri, Jesus and Sterling:

- Goalkeeper: Raya

- Defense: Timber, Saliba, Kiwior and Myles Lewis-Skelly

- Midfield: Partey, Merino and Nwaneri

- Attack: Saka, Jesus and Sterling

Why this lineup?

Gabriel has just returned from injury and may need a rest and Kiwior deserves to play. Rice shouldn't be risked. Martin Ødegaard and Kai Havertz look like they need a rest (though it would be wise to introduce them in the second half). Merino deserves a chance to play. It may be wise to try Sterling on the left wing; he might just be the "savior" of that position given Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli's struggles there. Jesus should be given the chance to carry on the fine display against Monaco.

Arteta will get his players to come out fighting and force the game against Palace as we need to get back to winning ways and also score goals from open play so that the confidence can flow back. 

If we win tonight, here's where we are:

- Premier League: 3rd with 66 points to play for, 6 points off the top (with a game more than Liverpool)

- Champions League: 3rd, all but qualified, with Zagreb and Girona fixtures to play

- FA Cup: Third round vs United at the Emirates Stadium to come 

- Carabao Cup: Semi-Finals. By reaching the semi-finals we can surely go all the way and win it.

Yes, we’ve not been good enough recently, but it’s nowhere near over, is it?

Surprises predicted for Arteta's team selection vs Everton

By Danong 

Today, Arsenal and Everton are going up against each other at the Emirates Stadium. The Gunners are looking to shake off that frustrating 1-1 draw from their last league match against Fulham at Craven Cottage, where they just couldn't snatch the win.

Arsenal faced some challenges leading up to their 3-0 win against Monaco in the Champions League midweek. 

They were missing most of their defenders due to injuries. Nearly all of their top picks, left-backs Oleksander Zinchenko and Riccardo Calafiori, found themselves sidelined due to injuries. 

The injuries of Ben White, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Jurrien Timber, and Thomas Partey raised concerns about the right-back position. 

We thought that Mikel Arteta might have to bring in an academy player to fill that role. Luckily, Partey was able to play in the game.

That said, in that 3-0 win over Monaco, Arsenal really pulled together a well-balanced team that easily created chances through open play. If you've watched that game, do you think it’s too much to ask the Arsenal boss to keep the "Monaco lineup" for the game against Everton?

Arsenal thrashed the Ligue 1 side with the starting 11 of:

Raya

Partey, Saliba, Kiwior, Myles Lewis Skelly

Rice, Merino, Odegaard

Saka, Jesus, Martinelli

Myles Lewis Skelly just had an amazing performance midweek! With Calafiori and Zinchenko still out injured, I really don’t get why you’d drop him.

With regard to Calafiori "We’re just respecting the times that the medical department has set," Arteta said. "Then we monitor his evolution every single day. We understand he’s not fully ready yet, but he’s getting very close now."

Arteta suggested that Gabriel might be ready to play against Everton, but it might not be a good idea to start him in central defence and shift Kiwior to left-back. 

Kiwior has really shown his skills as a centre-back and he is getting better and better the more he plays, so it doesn't make sense to move him to the left-back position just to fit Gabriel in. 

The Brazilian defender is back from injury, as Arteta suggested on Friday, but there's no need to risk him; he should sit out the Everton game.

Additionally, given his recent return from injury, I would advise against playing Timber against Everton. It might be better to give him a break this time and save him for the next match.

The same can be said of Havertz who has,  prior to the Monaco game, looked tired and not himself. 

It's better to give Jesus a start today as he did play well against Monaco and looked lively setting up Saka for his first goal. 

He got in some very promising positions but his finishing let him down. He is likely to get it right against Everton if we carry on creating the chances. 

Similar to the Monaco match, I believe Arsenal will be highly motivated for their match against Everton. The desire has to be to keep on winning in order to take advantage of a possible Liverpool slip. They will undoubtedly pose a formidable challenge to the Toffees, who should leave the capital with a big L.

 

Advantage Arsenal. Gunners Line Up to Beat Stubborn Fulham and Narrow the Gap at the top. Rotation on the cards?

By Danong and 1970s Gooner 

Arsenal and Fulham are going head-to-head today at Craven Cottage. Looking at results between them last season not being able to beat them, whether at home or away, was definitely a big blow to our title hopes.

Surely it's crucial Arsenal gets it right this time around. It should be so not as a payback for last season but because winning this game really helps Arsenal's title hopes.

Since Liverpool didn't play on Saturday because their match against Everton got postponed due to bad weather, Arsenal will have a chance to narrow the gap at the top of the table by just 4 points.

This puts some pressure on the Merseyside club. And some commentators have pointed out this slight advantage to the chasing pack.

On the other hand if the game had been played it would have been under some favourable circumstances.

The weather which, as severe as it was, would surely have constricted Liverpool in playing their normal passing game and given the lesser opponent a strong platform to get something from the fixture.

Now Fulham isn’t a team to mess around with. Even though Chris Sutton in his BBC column thinks Arsenal will win this battle, he still thinks this game is going to be a tough one for our Gunners.

The ex-Chelsea man, while predicting a 2-1 Arsenal win, admitted, “they did not miss Gabriel at the back against United, but this might be a tougher test for them, especially because some of Fulham’s key players are Gunners old boys”

Gabriel and Calafiori may return to the Arsenal lineup after missing the match against Manchester United. They did not take part in the open training session but it has been reported that they participated in individual training, which is encouraging news.

If they are not available then Arteta will likely go with Kiwior and Zinchenco again which is risky. Zinchenko although he has improved, he still is vulnerable to a pacy winger taking him on.

One alternative would be to move Partey to RB and Timber at LB. We have also favoured Tierney be used at LB but it looks like Arteta may be reluctant to do that.

In midfield the trio of Rice, Partey, and Odegaard  may continue (if Partey is selected to play there) to lay the foundation of an Arsenal dominance.

Trossard may return at LW for Martinelli who didn't justify his start there versus United.

Lastly in the attack Arteta may surprise a lot of people by resting Havertz and playing Jesus there. It wouldn't be a surprise really as Havertz looked jaded against Man utd. On the other hand he may choose to rest him for the midweek CL game instead.

The line up if Calafiori and Gabriel are available:

Raya
Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori
Partey, Rice, Odegaard
Saka, Havertz, Trossard

If they are not the Kiwior and Zinchenco are likely to start.

What would you change on that lineup?

Arsenal Line-Up and Score Prediction for Cup Final-Like Clash with Nottingham Forest

 By Danong

Arsenal will take on Nottingham Forest at the Emirates Stadium in the Premier League's return this weekend. 

The Gunners have not secured a victory in their last 4 Premier League matches, placing them 9 points behind league leaders Liverpool and 5 points behind the defending champions, Manchester City.

If coach Mikel Arteta and the team aim to maintain their title aspirations, they cannot further widen the gap between them and the other two Premier League title favorites. 

On paper, a clash with Forest would seem like just another 3 points secured, but given the current form of the Nottingham-based PL side, that may not be the case.

Forest are experiencing a notable resurgence; a glance at the Premier League table reveals that their statistics are strikingly similar to those of Arsenal. 

Arsenal has played 11 games, securing 5 wins, 4 draws, and 2 losses, with a goal difference of +6. Like them, Nottingham Forest has played 11 matches, with 5 victories, 4 draws, 2 defeats, and a goal difference of +5.

Forest has been impressive; they are undoubtedly a challenging team to face, having conceded only 10 goals. Only Liverpool in the league has allowed fewer goals (6). 

The North Londoners must be at their best to secure a victory this Saturday afternoon. For that to happen, Arteta needs to assemble a formidable winning lineup, and I can't think of a better starting 11 than this:

On goal, David Raya starts. With Ben White out and Riccardo Calafiori and Takehiro Tomiyasu back, I anticipate Jurrien Timber at RB, William Saliba and Gabriel at central defense, with Calafiori returning to LB.

With his recent performance, Thomas Partey has become an indispensable asset in Arsenal's engine room. 

Martin Odegaard, the skipper, who injects creativity into Arteta's engine room, like Partey, must just start. 

There's to be a battle for LCM between Declan Rice and Mikel Merino. I'd start with Merino. Rice was nursing an injury versus Chelsea and even if he's recovered, extra rest could do him good. 

Remember the impact Merino made when he entered the game against Chelsea in the 1-1 stalemate prior to the interval, he can't be overlooked.

Gabriel Martinelli, Kai Havertz, and Bukayo Saka lead the team in the forward line.

Arsenal line-up versus Forest:

Raya
Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori
Partey, Merino, Odegaard
Saka, Havertz, Martinelli

With this line-up, I expect Arsenal to win. I expect this to be the turn-around of Arsenal's league campaign, as Paul Merson suggests in his Sportskeeda column, "This is a cup final for Arsenal, a must-win game. 

Mikel Arteta and company have some lovely fixtures coming up and will be hopeful of putting on a solid run. I back them to win their next six or seven games and it starts with this one."

That said, Merson predicts that Arsenal will secure a 3-1 win on Saturday. I think a 2-0 win is more probable.

What are your thoughts on that? Share your predictions below and let us know what adjustments you would suggest for the starting lineup.

Arsenal all out for the win, prove Merson wrong and challenge for the title

 By Danong and 1970s Gooner

Arsenal will face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Sunday evening in the London derby. The Gunners go to this game following two consecutive defeats (1-0 to Newcastle and 1-0 to Inter Milan). They've also gone winless in their last three league games.

What's so obviously been missing in recent games has been a lack of creativity in the final third which has  resulted in a struggle to create and convert chances. 

Against Inter Milan, in that 1-0 Champions League loss, Arsenal had 20 shots and 46 crosses but still couldn't get a goal, failing to score twice in a row.

Certainly in the absence of creativity a team reverts to relying solely on crosses which is of course not a viable strategy.

Since his injury on international duty in September, Martin Odegaard has not played in the league. Arsenal's engine room has sorely missed his contributions.

In recent weeks, Arsenal's pressing has been subpar. Who leads the press from the font? Odegaard.

They were unable to break down defenses and there is a lack of creativity: who creates most of the chances? Odegaard.

Who orchestrates Arsenal's buildup? with Odegaard the Gunners have the capacity to build from the back when he drops in to help carry the ball.

In his six meetings with the Blues, he has two goals and three assists. He certainly looks forward to playing against Chelsea.

Remember when Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta admitted, "The impact Martin has in everything that we do, it was too big to try to replicate it with one player"

Clearly, Arteta acknowledged that his game plan revolves around Odegaard, which makes it understandable why Arsenal has missed him so much. His possible return will be a huge boost.

As Arsenal hope Odegaard can help their attack click Chelsea too will hope Cole Palmer can do the same. Palmer has been nursing an injury he sustained against Manchester United last weekend and is also a doubt for the encounter.

As per Paul Merson, if Palmer misses the game, Arsenal will win, as he feels Chelsea just can't function so well without the Englishman.

Now surely, Chelsea versus Arsenal cannot after all be a Palmer versus Odegaard matchup. There are the rest of the players who will have to function at their best to win the game.

What the Gooners must hope is that Mikel Arteta is brave enough to start Odegaard, who in a few minutes against Inter Milan showed us what we've been missing.

Against Inter, it was clear that whenever the Norwegian playmaker received the ball, everyone immediately moved and simply trusted that it would arrive.

Arsenal will play as their lives depend on this game and will get back on track to challenge for the title.

Paul Merson has predicted a 2-2 draw. We think he will be wrong.