For tomorrow’s game against QPR, Arsenal need to do something different in order to break the horrible spell that has come over us since last Saturday. I am sure a lot of talking will have taken place between the players and the managers over the last few days, but such apparent lack of confidence and form within the team cannot be resolved by just talking things through. We need to see a few changes in our formation in order to drive the team forward again.
QPR have never been an easy opponent for us; according to the Guardian, they are statistically our least favourite opponents, next to Manchester United. This is only their second year in the PL, after a period of absence of 15 years, and as we all know they are bottom of the league, and therefore even more desperate for a result than we are right now. It is rumoured that Hughes made as many as 40 new signings since his arrival, but clearly things are not working out for him, and time is running out. I cannot say I am sorry about that, but I do feel for the Hoops in general at the moment.
We need to sort out the wings and the creative side of our midfield tomorrow, and we also could really do with keeping a clean sheet tomorrow. I wonder what our GK hero, David Seaman, who we once bought from QPR, makes of our current GK situation?! And what would we give to have him back – being in his early thirties again?!
So, what will be the team for tomorrow?
I cannot imagine Arsene playing Santos again tomorrow, in front of the home crowd. Santos is the sort of player who needs games, as he will gradually get better, but the risks are too high that a) he will be targeted by QPR, b) he is confidence is shattered, and c) the crowd will further exacerbate the situation with expressions of discontent with every mistake he makes. He also played two games in four days and I reckon he is not fit enough to play a third game in seven days. Therefore, I believe he will not play tomorrow and either TV will play on the left, or Jenkinson will be moved there, and Sagna will move back in the RB position.
In midfield, we need real, new impetus as both Arteta and Cazorla need help. Ramsey and Coquelin are both falling short in the lynchpin role at the moment, and I reckon Arsene will start with Jack. He simply has to do so tomorrow, as long as he is fit, of course. I am sure he will not play the whole 90 minutes but he will bring that much required extra-spark in midfield. If all goes well, Cazorla will get a lot more support in setting up attacks, and is allowed to play closer to our central striker. I reckon this is crucial in order to make our attack more potent.
In attack, I believe Podolski will get a break and start on the bench. Giroud in the centre only makes sense if we play with proper wingers, and that’s why I reckon Gervinho will start on his favourite left and The Ox will start on the right, if he is fit enough. If not, I reckon Gnabry will get a chance from the start. He might by young and inexperienced, but he will allow Arsenal to keep its natural shape tomorrow, and he will offer that extra bid of drive in our attack.
Predicted Line-up:
Mannone
Sagna – Mertesacker – TV – Jenkinson
Arteta – Wilshere
Cazorla
The Ox(Gnabry) – Giroud – Gervinho
Total Arsenal.
With a special thanks to VCC for providing background info on QPR (for whom he has a soft spot).
Bergkampesque 
I like your line up apart from the front three. Our offensive side needs Addressing this January IMO. Wenger needs to bring in an experienced forward otherwise I cannot see us scoring the required amount of goals to obtain a top four finish. Not sure who we can play up front but I cannot see QPR being terribly worried about Giroud or Gervinho. If Podolski is fit he has to start for me.
Arsenal must watch Tarrabt tomorrow, he is a fine finisher.
Hi VCC, I would welcome us buying a proven striker, but if you look at Giroud’s and Podolski’s goal scoring records, you can only conclude that they are ‘proven’, although in the PL.
I like Podolski but he has been pants in the last few games, and rumour goes he carries a knock. I would be happy to see him played in the middle, instead of Giroud, but we need proper wing support if we play Giroud in the middle. The combination of Pod – Giroud – Gervinho is the worst one I have seen until now, and I really hope Arsene does not play that one any more.
Are you excited about tomorrow? I am bloody jealous! 😦
TotalArsenal : I’m with you on this one. Pod – Giroud – Donkeynho. Even if it could get you some goals, this front three is just so uneasy on the eye, and the least creative we have seen at Arsenal for a long time I reckon.
Yao Kouassi – my legs are in each other’s way when I play – Gervais is the most frustrating player to watch, and his goal tally doesn’t make you forget the number of chances he wastes, not to mention how he brakes up our play. It’s also alarming that our lead goalscorer is him. 😀
Podolsi is solid and mostly effective, but he has become throughout the games some sort of ghost that sometimes leaves the pitch then magically appears. And Giroud, well, I hope he’ll cut it here, but seeing him put his head in his hands so often is infuriating.
These three combined is a mess : no play upfront, no understanding. We just continuously hug the bylines and box trying to pass the ball around. And so the creative burden is solely on Cazorla. Poor Santi. 😦
Anyway, I don’t think they’ll cut it out, even if they’ve only been playing together for some short time. I think they lack serious quality, and they are a downgrade from the previous front three or attacking players we’ve had. 😦
That’s why I’d prefer seeing Chambo & Gnabry getting more chances : they are allready better in terms of technique/vision, and I guess they can only improve. 🙂
If we can get Wilshere & Diaby to their top form, they could share the creative burden in the middle , so Santi could go on the left/right and be also creative upfront.
As a conslusion, anything other that Girvoldi would be nice. 😀
Sorry for ther errors, I went fast with the typing. 🙂
Evening Nis 🙂
You know, I am a fan of Gervinho and I reckon he’ll become better if and when he is being better understood by his fellow players. He makes himself available and he is effective in attacking the opposition’s box. I would just play him on the left wing.
Chambo works well in a 4-5-1 as he is excellent at playing with his back to the goal – something Giroud needs to improve on imo. But it looks like he won’t get another chance by Arsene, and in the current system I can understand why.
Can I ask you where you are based, Nis?
Evening to you too. I live in Nice, South of France. But I grew up as a kid in South Kensington, and having and older brother supporting the Gunners, I just grew fond of the club. 🙂
haha cheers TA i would have been waiting on that post for days without knowing. Those locations you sent look amazing. It looks like such a beautiful place.
I’d have to disagree with you there TA, as I mentioned during the Liverpool game (something that I never noticed before) is Jenks is terribly one sided. I have payed particular attention to it most games and I think all up he would have used his left leg a handful of times…if that. He always opts for the across the body pass. It’s surprising to me that someone at that level can have such a flaw, but I suppose his speed gets him out of it.
I would love to see Miquel play out on the left. He has a good passing range and will stick to the task well. That is what we need defensively at the moment, some good old fashioned defensive solidarity.
QRP expected line-up:
————Julio Cesar—————-
Bosingwa, Nelsen, Diakite, Traore
——–Park, Granero, M’Bia——–
——-Hoilett, Zamora, Taarabt—–
Definitely a line-up not to be scoffed at. Taarabt played exceptionally well against us the last time (he caught the goalkeepers syndrome where he was playing average but pulled his finger out against us and had a blinder). Park will run all day, Zamora always gives us trouble, and Bosingwa is a quality defender with good attacking abilities and mono-brow!
We will do over their make shift (poor man’s Man City) line-up but hopefully we do not underestimate our opposition again. I think a statement should be made, and I’d love to see young Jack start! Giroud through the middle with pod replacing him late on through the MIDDLE!
Nis from Nice! Welcome, don’t be a stranger
Hi Nis, I visited Nice a few years ago, and it honoured its pronunciation in English: beautiful place. We stayed somewhere in the haute-Alpes and came down for the day.
Are there any other Gooners in Nice?
Hi Oz,
Good point about Jenkinson’s one-sidedness. He is not ideal for the position but he has got the legs and the tenacity to stick to a task. I agree with your alternative Miquel, but I read he was not in the squad for this game.
The Highlands are indeed special. Very spacious and peaceful and very, very old – driving or walking through those landscapes makes me feel totally at ease. Who knows, maybe one day we can go for a bit of hill walking together! 🙂
BTW, great avatar – now I have had a closer look at it. The boy inside of him is a greedy little gut! 😆
Well I’ve been living in Nice for a little over a year now, and I can say from what I know that people here are not much into football, and if they were, they would be mostly supporting OGC Nice, the city’s team. The team is actually known to have very devoted and boiling fans.
Besides that you can find the plastic Barcelona/Madrid and now Chelsea fans. 😀
Arsenal have grown more and more unpopular from season to season, and where ever i’ve lived, I encountered few fans/Gooners. At least most of Gooners I knew were a bit cultivated and loved football when played beautifly, also they were more interested in football as a whole, as an operating system, than about trophies and big money singnings. 🙂
Ignasi Miquel as LB. TV doesn’t like to play there and Santos hasn’t made the position his, an understatement for sure
IB is tall and fast and a natural defender, not a winger playing out of position.
Amy Lawrence of the Guardian often seems to have inside info and she also reckons Wilshere will start:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2012/oct/26/arsenal-jack-wilshere-qpr-wenger
Hi Simpdon 🙂
As far as I know he is not in the squad for tomorrow’s game, but agreed with you he is a decent option.
Nis, thanks for the update. I am not surprised to hear that. Luckily, with the internet and footie blogs you and your brother are a lot less isolated nowadays. 🙂
Here are the squad sheet:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2012/oct/26/arsenal-queens-park-rangers-squad-sheets?
Actually my brother lives in London, so he should have no problem normally… 🙂
I am the one who should feel a bit isolated. 🙂
Ok, but you are enjoying la douce France, whilst he is freezing cold in London tonight. 😕
True. 🙂
I was happy that it rained today, because we were at 22 °C + all week, and around 25 all October. 😀
I am jealous Nis – those are perfect temperatures.
We had our holiday this year not far away from Orange and it was 34/35 degrees for over three weeks. I personally loved it, but it was a bit much for my wife and daughter in the end.
What’s favourite area in France for holiday and/or living?
cheers TA, as a boy his head always screamed for money. And him on the front of the Nirvana album cover proves it!
It’d definitely be surreal TA, Scotland and Alaska, opposites in terms of landscape but I can’t wait to see both.
Bugger not in the squad. I’d rather Sagna make the transition then, haven’t seen him ever play there from memory though, but with Jenks coming through he may have to adapt or find himself left out in the cold
Oz, have you been to NZ yet?
Sagna on the left is not something I considered but it could work. I reckon Hoilett is hoping it will be Santos tomorrow! 😛
Anywhere near the Mediterranean coast :). I’m from the Mediterranean region myself and I’m accustomed to its characteristics. It’s good living there all year, and live just a few metres away from the beach. That way you feel you’re on holiday all year and you can go places a bit colder or to the big cities up north during vacations :). I also hate now not seeing the sea. I’ve lived 4 years in Budapest and it was a bit hard for lme along with the cold weather 🙂
Now I don’t really now if I would be able to live in London. But to come and watch Arsenal play I Would without hesitation 😀
Didn’t Sagna play a few minutes on the left against Liverpool last season at Anfield ? 🙂
You could be right there Nis. I have a vague memory too. The Med is great and I can well imagine you missed the sea in Budapest. Hungary does intrigue me though and it must be nice just to live their for a while. Not an easy language to learn though, I reckon?
Anyway peeps, I am going to hit the pillow.
Big day ahead tomorrow.
Thanks for the enjoyable blogging and catch up with you all tomorrow.
Jack is back, Jack is back!! 🙂 😛
You are right nis, I seem to recall he plsyed 1 or half a game there 2/3 seasons ago. I did a good job of it too. Probably a Vermaelen like situation where he doesn’t like playing there.
Tough titties though, you get paid a large sum of money and if you have to fill a gap temporarily then you should put your head down and work on it. It could strengthen your overall game.
In Juniors (Aussie rules) I used to get man-marked constantly and it used to drive me insane because they’d do everything they could to get you off your game. So in the finals the coach made me man-mark their best forward line player and then half way through each quarter i’d run up the field and they wouldn’t know what to do. I was suspect about the tactic at first but it worked a treat, helped my defensive side, and got me into the best regional team. The moral of the story is…i never made it to the big leagues so I have to tell stupid tales that no1 cares about haha.
Nope never been TA, too many places to see not enough money and time. It’s not fair
Morning Oz and other fine Gooners 🙂
I did not know you played Aussie Rules, and especially not a decent, regional level. Do you still play at the moment?
Morning TA and any others that are floating around.
Yeah absolutely love it. Took a year off because last season I over trained after an injury and developed stress fractures in my shins and one in my foot. I used to play football as well when I was younger, but it used to annoy me not being able to drill someone into the dirt (also got told I was a bit rough. They obviously hadn’t seen stoke play).
You know how you hear stories of players getting told they are too skinny or short to play competitively but then they prevail and achieve greatness? I’m the other bloke who in under 17’s got shitty, didn’t persist and thought i’d try using my brain…that didn’t work either haha.
I love competition and kickboxing/Aussie rules allow me to get roughed up, whilst also returning the favour. It’s good stress relief haha.
morning All.
Hi Total, yes Im really excited about going to see my beloved Arsenal and chuffed that I will be putting a face to the recently acquired friends on AA.
We must be careful today and NOT take QPR lightly. I see Mark Hughes is saying they are on the up, ha hahahahahha theres only one way to go for them anyway, thats a great quote.
COYRRG
Morning VCC 🙂
This is what is all about meeting up with your mates before watching the mighty Arse in the home of football. It does not get much better than that! 🙂 You have to report back to us on a scale of 1-5, five being the highest:
Whether GLiC and Terry are mad;
Whether they are handsome;
Whether they are indeed funny (it might be their kids typing all that crazy, funny stuff). 🙂
Would also be nice to hear what you thought of the atmosphere in the ground.
Very Jealous VCC, I hope you have a great time and Arsenal pull through with the good for you!
Ok Oz, sounds like you are a keen sporter and need the physicality in order to let your aggression out in a healthy sort of way. A bit like RA when he was still pulling out trees! haha 🙂
I played football once a week with a group of guys till I was 36. Then I dislocated my kneecap and I hung up my boots. One of the last things I did was a brilliant cross from the left, that was headed in beautifully, but it was the general oooooh for the quality of the cross that I will not forget any more. A good cross whilst running fast is still one of the harder things to do in football and that afternoon I pulled it off…..a few minutes later and my kneecap gave way. 😦
Total…….my mission, should I choose to take it, will be to report back atmosphere/players/tavern/crankies.
I won’t be able to spend too much time at the Tavern as my Son and I (when we get the chance) like to walk around and soak up the atmosphere and also to visit our stone at the armoury.
I can already confirm GLiC is sertified mad and Terry is just walking over the threshold.
Don’t tell Total, but I’ve got a real mirror and going to put it in front of GLiC, he will probably faint when he sees how grotesque he is (shattering his dreams) and I’m going to embarrass Terry in front of Peaches and pull his wig off and expose his telescope.
I’m the true handsome bastard. He he
😛 You are a one and only, Victorious, true handsome bastard. Say hi to everyone for me, and would be good to hear your views on the game later. I will be doing a summary on the key points of the game later in the afternoon, if I can watch the game somewhere, that is.
Maybe you should take a polaroid camera as well. 🙂
I was considering taking a camera with me but decided against it , as if/when Arsenal score I cannot contain myself, I jump up and down and become a five year old (seriously) I can’t help it. When my Son and I watch live games at our local he sometimes has to calm me down, everybody sure knows I am an Arsenal supporter, I leave nothing to the imagination.
I probably won’t be able to send a report tonight, cos we call into our local on the way home.
that sounds nasty TA. I think it gets to a certain stage where you just have to stop not only for work reasons but for family, because you get an injury like that and you’re in trouble from a lot of people. I’m very jealous, I could not and still can’t cross to save my life. Do you miss it? I played LB a bit at school but I was very clichy like if heaven forbid I got forward. DM was my favourite, that way you had an excuse to not get forward and pass short distances haha. What was your position?
Looking forward to the summary VCC, haha GLIC might turn to stone if you do that!
Morning my lovely bloggers! 🙂
Cannot stay for the minute but I will get back a bit later!
Love the Post TA, and the Handsome Victorious’s QPR input. 🙂
Laters, guys!
Red Arse, your a legend. Have a great day fellow Gooners.
Oz, left midfield was my position – am very left-footed. You are right the injury: it took ages before I could function properly again, and my boss was very clear in what he expected of me.
VCC, whatever works for you, will be fine. 🙂
Morning, Redders 🙂
Off to the pub to watch game
Sagna and Wilshere to start! See you later. COYRRGGGGGGGGGGG!!
Ecstatic about the result, but will hold onto my opinion until I hear from the Terrible Trio!! 🙂
Great result Redders and they worked hard for it. Ran our luck at the end of the game, and Mannone did a great job. Off to do a bit of post writing now. 🙂
New Post!! 🙂 (Hours ago, Sorry!)