No wonder Saka and Martinelli are below par

 By 1970s Gooner

Arteta's tactics of using an inverted full back into the midfield spaces has served us well last season. but that was because Zinchenko was so good at it AND Xhaka was playing that role of the box to box left sided midfielder who could attack, link up with Martinelli and come back and defend. 

This season Havertz cannot play that role as effectively as Xhaka did and this is the major reason that Matinelli has been less effective so far (as well as missing Jesus who would move away from the middle allowing Martinelli to move inwards).

This season so far Arteta has tried to go one further with inverting Timber from right back AND playing Partey as an additional inverted right back. In the absence of Timber against Palace he reverted to just inverting Partey from right back. 

But this has greatly affected Saka because now White, who has been moved from RB to the centre back position, cannot bomb up and down the flank to offer support to Saka and Odegaard and help distract the two pronged defence usually employed to stop the wonder boy. Partey is more occupied in central midfield and when he does offer support to Saka he is not that effective with it. Its not his game really.

I think these are the major reasons that in our two games so far we have enjoyed almost total domination of the ball (when playing with 11) but have not been creating enough chances to blow the opponents away. And this leaves you vulnerable to allowing the opponent to feel that they can come back at you as the score is still tight.

I hope that against Fulham Zinchenko could return and play that inverted role and that Arteta reinstates White at right back and brings in Gabriel at centre back. 

I would also be happy if Havertz is dropped and Partey, Rice and Odegaard are cemented as our three midfielders.

In this way the team will be more balanced both in defending but also in creating and scoring more freely.

We expect Emile Smith Rowe and Thomas Partey to join us next week

 By 1970s Gooner 

This is the statement put out by Arsenal today when announcing the squad to travel to the USA for preseason training and games.

Emil Smith Row's absence is understandable. His last game was with the U21s winning the uefa European Under 21 championship against Spain on the 8th of July. Add 15 days and you can guess when he will join up with the rest of the group in the USA. 

But Partey had no such commitments as far as I can tell. He was of course in the starting 11 to face Nurnberg in Germany last Thursday. 

But Arsenal are 'expecting' him to join the squad next week alongside Emil Smith Row.

Let's hope there is no injury involved or some kind of transfer activity going on.

Partey should stay at home

 By 1970s Gooner

It looks as though we've got Rice and that's wonderful especially as Xhaka has already gone. 

What a tremendous trio of midfield players we could have next season in Rice, Partey and Odegaard. A midfield which would put the fear in most teams in the Pl and able to compete on an equal basis with Man City and the other top teams.

But if what is being rumoured, that Thomas Partey could leave in this window, proves to be true then we surely cannot rely on Jorginho or Elneny to fill that gap. Especially against a more demanding opponent.

And of course Rice can fill that void but I don't think that Havertz can do the box to box Xhaka role as well.

So imo if we allow Partey to go then we haven't improved our midfield at all. And we would still need to splash unnecessary cash to replace Partey as well as facing the risk that the new midfielder may not prove to be an adequate replacement. 

Let's face it Partey is able to control games as a sole pivot in the middle. No one can do that job as well as he has been doing it. Granted his injury record is not that good but if need be with Rice we now have a very good replacement which we didn't last season.

Partey should not be allowed to leave.

Arsenal are not likely to sign any new central defenders

 By 1970s Gooner 

It's great news that Saliba will most probably sign a new contract. In my opinion Arsenal should have offered him the rise he was asking for a long time ago as it is obvious he is absolutely worth it. 

Gone are the days when only goalscorers would get massive contracts. Goalkeepers and defenders are just as important. And this is ofcourse now more widely recognised.

Arteta's transfer strategy for this window seems to be concentrating not on defenders but midfield players. 

This seems logical to me as the current squad is very light on central midfielders taking into consideration Xhaka's imminent departure and the absence of a viable deputy for Partey in the squad. 

But it can also help provide quality backup for the defensive options we so desperately missed when Saliba got injured.

Let me explain.

The acquisition of Rice would go a long way towards replacing Xhaka but it will not be enough as we will still be vulnerable to the possibility of Partey being incapacitated with no viable replacement (Elneny imo cannot fill in adequately).

And this is where the acquisition of an additional defensive midfielder will help solve two problems. A midfielder like Caicedo can play in central midfield but also as a right back thus releasing White to move into a central defensive position if and when needed. Partey can play as a right back too.

Tomiyasou can also play that role but it's not clear if he will be ready when the season gets underway. 

In conclusion, the addition of Rice and Caicedo will go a long way into bolstering the strength of the squad in various positions. A squad that will have to compete for the title again and in the Champions League. 

So let's concentrate our scarce financial resources in getting these two transfers over the line and go again....

Arteta's selections confuse everyone including the players

 By 1970s Gooner 

For some reason only known to himself Mikel Arteta selected  a back line which rendered the whole team and its style of play incapable of functioning.

Partey was playing at right back. White was moved sideways as a right centre back. Gabriel remained where he was but inexcusably Kiwior was selected at left back with Tierney on the bench!!!

These selections had even more serious implications for the efficiency of the team moving forward as well as in its defensive capability. 

 Kiwior as a left back was nervy and kept passing the ball back to Gabriel rather than forward to Trossard. This meant the Trossard was out of the game completely and the team became very unbalanced.

Additionally the other defensive players stopped passing the ball to Kiwior! All our efforts to go forward were directed towards Saka. Forest realising this had three players blocking him.

Xhaka also tended to stay back not venturing forward so as to provide cover on the left side.

On the other side Partey was not bad as a right back but he wasn't a White. White has a great and very effective relationship with Saka. This was totally absent today. 

And as a consequence it also rendered Odergaard much less effective on the right side as the Forest defence only had to deal with two players, Saka and Odergaard, rather than three.

Add to all this Jesus's worst game of the season and his inability to hold the ball or even provide any kind of goal threat. So the team was even more unbalanced.

I won't go on as I will get even more depressed but I think you get the message.

I hope Arteta gets it too....

Should Kiwior, Zinchenko and Partey start vs Newcastle?

 By 1970s Gooner

I wouldn't get too excited over the demolition of Chelsea the other night. Chelsea performed at league 2 level and really Arsenal actually failed to produce their best.

And when Chelsea made the substitutions that should have started from the beginning, they scored and looked dangerous. 

Kiwior didn't impress me as much as he did with a lot of other Arsenal commentators. He only had a dismal Aubameyang to deal with most of the time and of course a way below Chelsea team. 

He also allowed a high ball to bounce behind him rather than heading it away. Just as he did in Arsenal's game against Sporting when they scored!

Which brings me to next Sunday's game. If he is not so strong on high balls how is he going to cope when Newcastle target their crosses on his side? I do think that Holding is a much more experienced defender to cope with the type of threats that Newcastle will pose. But why does the back of my mind somehow tells me that Arteta will insist with Kiwior?

The other player who is becoming a liability lately is Zinchenko who I like a lot when he is on his game as he provides a much better control of games from his inverted role. But he has been off it in the crucial games for the run in and been responsible for conceding goals.

So I would start Tierney as a left back on Sunday who can provide a solid base on the left. 

The dilemma for Arteta is who to start in central midfield. Jorginho did very well against Chelsea but I don't think he can repeat that against a much stronger, in midfield, Newcastle. 

Partey on the other hand looks as though he goes to too many parties lately because he has been awful in recent games. Even when he came on against Chelsea he only made two interventions and both of them resulted in Chelsea getting possession. The second was a needless foul outside out area.

Still he will probably get the nod as he can be a real game changer if he is on his game and Arteta will probably be working on him in training to help him get to that level.

I would also start Trossard again as he did offer a different approach than Martinelli who was ineffective when he came on last Tuesday. 

Ramsdale 

White Holding Gabriel Tierney 

Odergaard Partey Xhaka 

Saka Jesus Trossard 

Sunday's game will be a difficult one with Newcastle being strong and on form and Arsenal being below par.

We will have to perform at our stunning best like we did in the first 20 minutes of the Liverpool and West Ham games for the 90+ minutes of course to claim the three points.

Arsenal's brilliant football can bring the title home

 By 1970s Gooner

Watching Arsenal in the last two games reminded me of the Wenger teams who were so good they would go up 2 0 in the first 20 or so minutes and then start taking liberties, passing it back and forth between themselves and show boating which annoyed me no end. They would then concede a goal and would have to work hard to keep the lead.

The difference with this Arsenal team is that they showed that they can't keep the lead. One would have thought that they would have learned their lesson at Liverpool but no they go and repeat the same mistake at West Ham. 

Arteta has to also look at himself, in my opinion, who obviously didn't press the point home enough after the Liverpool performance but more importantly during his in game management for the West Ham game.

So my prediction is that we are likely to see a different mentality for the up coming Southampton game where we are likely to again dominate the ball, create and hopefully score goals early in the game. And if this happens we should not let up and carry on applying the screw until the game is well beyond the opposition.

This will allow us to close the goal difference gap to Man City but more importantly set us up for the game of the season next Wednesday. It will also transfer the pressure to Man City who will be seven points behind and will know that any slip up in Wednesday's game will give Arsenal a big boost, transferring the advantage for the title to our side of North London.

Arsenal have been playing brilliant football in the last nine games where we won seven on the trot and threw away two goal leads for the last two. But the slip ups were not due to us going off the boil, feeling the pressure or indeed playing badly. We were just too complacent. 

Once we cut that out we will surprise everyone and go on to win the Premier League.

Arsenal will bounce back but we need better management of games

 By 1970s Gooner

Xhaka should have a good look at himself. We were coasting, 2 0 up at Anfield and the opponents and the home supporters were subdued.

Up pops Xhaka to instigate a mild handbags confrontation with Alexander Arnold and manages to jee up the local partisan crowd as well as the Liverpool players. 

Reminded me of last season when Arteta had the confrontation with Klopp at 0 0 and then we let in four goals! We never learn...

One minute after Xhaka's madness they score and we go in at half time 2 1. It obviously is anybody's game after that. They are fired up, they have nothing to loose and they throw the kitchen sink at us. 

Worryingly we fail to manage the game, keep our passing game intact and hold them at bay. Arteta also makes the wrong substitutions and Ramsdale becomes man of the match, a disappointing distinction for a title chasing team.

Mikel took Jesus out replacing him with Trossard who offered nothing in keeping the ball. Jesus would have been much more adept at doing that and he wasn't that tired.

He also took out Odegaard instead of Xhaka who was tired. But Odergaard is much better at taking the ball out of defence.

But the worse substitution was the one he made AFTER they equalised. Tierney for Zinchenko. This should have been the first substitution. I am sure Alexander Arnold would not have gone passed Tierney, had he been on, so easily for the cross that led to the equaliser.

Now the margin for future errors is miniscule. 

But we will bounce back as we have done before this season leading to the 7 match winning run up to today.

The main target should be to be ahead of Man City on points, assuming they win their game in hand, when we come to play them on the 26th April.

If we avoid defeat in that game then the title will surely be ours.

Vieira doubtful for the Sporting game

 By 1970s Gooner

Arteta confirmed during last night's press conference in Lisbon that Fabio Vieira had indeed travelled with the squad.

What Martinelli confirmed in his own answers in the same conference was that his best friend was ill and couldn't be present there. And that's why Martinelli took his place.

This makes Vieira's participation for tonight's game doubtful. 

In trying to guess what Arteta will do tonight we only have to look at what he has done in all the previous games in this competition. He has gone strong with his selections. 

The fact that Tierney is absent will probably force him to select Zinchenko as a left inverted back to cover, but more importantly in my mind, to gain control of the midfield.

Especially if he rests Odergaard and plays ESR in the number 10 position.

Martinelli will most probably start as a number 9 flanked by Nelson and yes Saka.

And since left footed Kiwior looks likely to start (according to repots from Poland) he will be flanked by a right footed player in Saliba.

So my prediction for the starting 11 is as follows.

Turner

Tomiyasou  Saliba Quior Zinchenko

Georgino  ESR  Xhaka 

Saka   Martinelli Nelson

200 low blocks

 By 1970s Gooner 

Everyone keeps pointing out the difficult games remaining in the run in. Games like Man City and Liverpool away for example even Chelsea at home if they can get their act together.

But in my opinion it's the supposedly not so difficult games that can cause you most harm. Games like Everton and Southampton away as well as Newcastle and Brentford at home have cost us dearly (9 points dropped).

Of course the reason for this is that these teams tend to play a low block packing their midfield with defensively minded players and doubling up on our wide players. You really need a particular mind set and a way of playing to get round these blocks and win the points.

The better teams tend to play a more open game which creates more spaces for us to operate in and play our own game.

Our remaining games contain more of the low block variety. Games such as Newcastle, Fulham, Forest and W. Ham away and Bournemouth, Palace, Wolves and Southampton at home. 

Zinchenko and come to that Jesus, when he returns, will prove vital in carrying us through these games with the experience they have gained with City. Where nearly every game is played against a low block.

Zinchenko in particular is dictating play from his inverted position and an important element of his play is that almost all his passes are not side ways but forward. 

They are aimed in the half spaces where Xhaka or Odergaard can receive and turn facing the opposition goal. Or even directly to Saka or Martinelli. 

His passing is not always 100% successful due to the difficulty of threading the ball through a packed midfield. But he shows the way and more often than not to victory.

He has after all gained his know how having faced 200 low blocks in his previous life....according to Arteta.