I love the FA Cup and Arsenal are the best FA Cup team ever – Fact! This reputation needs to be upheld, and so, when we play Hull tomorrow we should field a very strong team.
We are just a few steps away from winning it for a third time in a row, but we will have to give everything to overcome the Tigers tomorrow evening. We know all to well that we are often vulnerable in the cold autumn and winter months when we travel up-north for a cup game. 17HT and I went to the League Cup game at and against Sheffield Wednesday in October and boy were we awful then. Other than putting strong players on the pitch, we need to make sure they are mentally well-prepared for the Tigers’ encounter.
I am not sure whether 17HT will have time to do a full match preview now he is busy with a new family addition. However, just in case he is planning to write one, I suggest we should help him by discussing what team you would prefer to play tomorrow.
My preferred first eleven looks like this:
Ooospina in goal, Chambers to give Bellerin a rest, Gibbser to get another game under his belt and another opportunity for the BFG/Gabriel partnership to gel further. Ideally, the BFG gets a rest too but I reckon we need him to organise our defence, with both Koz and Cech out of the equation.
Le Coq is out and Flamini seems the most logical replacement; next to him I would like to see Elneny again. Rambo could do with a rest and the Egyptian can use this as an opportunity to build further on his impressive performance against the Spuddies. Giving Ozil a rest when we can is always a good plan, and it would also be good to give Danny a rest too; but both should be on the bench in case they are required in the second half.
Iwobi is an exciting prospect and I would love to see him start in the hole, behind Giroud who will help us to crack the parked buses of the Tigers. Alexis finally scored a goal again and he needs to build further on this tomorrow; so a definite start for him.
With these eleven starters we have a good and experienced spine and plenty of drive and energy around it to make it to the next round. But what do you think, Bergkamesquers? 🙂
By TotalArsenal.
Bergkampesque 
As good as any team , T A I am guessing you will get fairly close with this team. I wonder if he might give Theo a chance to redeem himself. An on form Theo would be a big asset to the squad at this stage. I am also a little wary of leaving Rambo out. Regardless of the debate about his best position, he adds an energy to the squad that few others can manage.
Both good points, Retsub, and I considered them too. I am hoping Campbell and Alexis will bring the drive and Iwobi should really grab this opportunity with a passionate yet composed performance. Sometimes Flamini adds a lot of energy too.
Theo…. it just seems a risk to include him as he has been soooo out of form recently and I wonder how hungry he would be for this game… He also seems to have lost Wenger’s confidence at the moment..
That’s a good selection and I can’t argue against that. Bellerin has been a worry for me as he is so young to overplay him. We should of at least got a temporary replacement for sulky Debuchy to give Hector a rest but I’m sure Chambers can do a good job there. Theo has been our worst player and lacks the effort he put into his game when he was squabbling over his contract. Joel certainly is my preference and Girroud needs to start scoring again so good opportunity for him. The only difference that I would give Alexis a breather whether he likes it or not as we need Ozil’s creativity to break Hull down; which was missing in the first leg. So same team apart from Ozil replacing Alexis.
Welcome Ozilholic 🙂
It is a good point that we may need Ozil”s creativity to break Hull down. On the other hand it would be wrong to deny Alexis a chance to build on his goal and form. Maybe Iwobi should be sacrificed?
Nice team selection TA. Chambers has to play and keep himself match fit as well as giving Hector a rest. The rest pick themselves in many ways, except for the out-of-form pair of Ollie and Theo. We can pick one of them to come into the team to play themselves back into some semblance of form, but if it comes to bringing on the other as a sub we have to be careful not to have too many players out there struggling.
Also, I’ve been wondering about whether Alexis is better on the left or the right, because it strikes me that on the left he is always having to cut inside to get a shot away with his right leg and that our opponents generally have that figured out.. Maybe instead we could try Campbell (left-footed) on the left wing and Alexis (right-footed) on the right, and see if we can get a little more width in our attack while we’re at it. Or even get them to swap sides randomly during the game to keep the opposition defenders guessing.
Nice to go to Hull again too. Every time we meet them in the Cup we seem to go on and win it!!
Agreed Davydavy, playing Theo and Ollie doesn’t seem right at the moment. Playing Alexis on the right would be a nice change….and might work
Davydavy, where about in Australia are you based?
Thanks TotalArsenal. I am glad I have visited Bergcampesque. Maybe we could start with Feo and if he does not get involved and finish the game with a Steve Bruce flattened nose we should strap an electronic tag on his leg with a curfew not to leave his house on match days.
Hahaha 🙂
Theo will outrun both of us..
Hi TA, I’m in Auckland, New Zealand.
It’s not a bad place to watch the games from. We get nearly all Premier League games live online, so generally I get up and watch them early on Sunday or Monday mornings. Occasionally we get big games here, like the U-20 World Cup last year and international games featuring our national Mens and Womens teams. The NZ Womens team he Ferns) are a particular joy, and they just beat Portugal yesterday in a major tournament.
Nice city, davydavy, apparently one of the best cities to live in in the world! Do you suffer from earthquakes over there (as much as in Christchurch)?
TA, Cheers for stepping in for me… I actually had a match preview partly written but there’s no need for me to keep working on it, if that’s OK by you…
I picked the exact 11 you’ve got except I put Theo in the #9 position with Giroud on the bench. I understand that folks aren’t so enamored with Walcott right now, but, somehow, he’s going to need to contribute down the stretch, I think…. Maybe?…
The other thing I mentioned is that I believe Wenger will be looking at this one as a potential 120 minute match so that having a strong bench will be essential. My thought is that guys like Ramsey, Welbeck, Giroud and Ozil will probably have to dress and be ready in case they need to come on and get us goals or take a penalty kick.
Finally, I really believe we need to win this one. We haven’t actually won a match since we played Leicester and that was with the last kick and with a man advantage. It’s promising that we were able to come back from what seemed a dire position in the NLD but this group needs to build some momentum by winning matches. A couple of wins in the FA Cup (promising a trip to Wembley for the semi-final) might be just what’s required for things to start feeling a little more upbeat…
No earthquakes here TA! Our biggest natural risks are a tsunami or maybe a volcanic eruption.
Hi Seventeenho 🙂
Fine with me even though we’ll miss your PV. 🙂
Theo up front is in principle fine, but his form is not great and the Tigers are likely to park the bus which suits Ollie better.
Davydavy, that’s not too bad then. 🙂
Last question from me. How does football rank in NZ in terms of popularity, compared to other sports?
It’s a bit like the US. Football has a high participation rate, especially at junior and youth level, but rugby and rugby league are definitely more followed here.
NZ has had much more success at rugby of course, therefore rugby has attracted big sponsorship deals and so is better financed and has better coaching infrastructure. Football is catching up though, mainly down to the number of kids coming through and a whole lot of keen volunteers at club level. Most people here also follow an English club to some degree (about 10 percent of the population is from UK I think).
There’s some support for the Wellington Phoenix, our only professional team who play in the Aussie league, but most other games here attract relatively small but very vocal crowds. There will be a full stadium though if the Arsenal ever get over here!
Special smooth feel to the palate. That’s your Pv, TA.
Your line up looks spot on. 5 changes from the Spurs game, yet the selection is nearly as formidable a team. All logic points to Sanchez at WL, but Wenger being ever so ready to support a flagging confidence, makes me wonder if he will play Theo there instead.
I don’t wish for that, as amongst other things, Theo can most unexpectedly come up with 2 or more exciting strikes that that brings him right back into the epl run in only for him to do the disappearing act. Emotionally I have excluded him from our plans for the run in, and very much adjusted to it. Notwithstanding I remain very much aware of Wenger’s huge faith in him.
Fine preview TA, and in keeping with games the number of games to be played over the next few days, the tempo of ‘cutting to the chase’ straightaway also seems appropriate …
…. not that HT’s preambles are not also a a delight, I hasten to add! ( Apologies for the double negative HT:D )
Truth is I am with Retsub on this one. Not a lot to argue with selections, or the logic behind them.
However, it would not be me if I could not offer an alternative here and there. 😀
My first thought is that defensive partnership has a slight look of … ‘Your ball’ coming from both, and neither moves? But alternatives are thin on the ground. I wonder if Chambers were to switch with Flamini, that you might get a more disciplined performance from the latter, and use Chambers height for the Ramsey-esque late runs into the box?
It is a thought. Although the Wenger plan will almost certainly have Ramsey drop back in to that slot?
Thoughts upfront are a little more challenging, but by a process of elimination, my thoughts go like these:
Alexis starts. That is the time to use his high energy levels. From the bench he is out of kilter with tiring team mates. Which means his passes go astray because he expects them to be as fresh as he is.
Campbell starts because both Giroud and Walcott are better ‘impact’ subs. However, give him the ‘nominal’ No 9 position, but with the freedom to roam. In fact, try and replicate the Welbeck game by breaching the offside line when we counter? His first touch is not good enough to play the Giroud role, so keep the centre free by playing (mostly) out wide.
Iwobi is very adaptable, and has played out wide before. Which means he and Campbell are good for switching wings. Defensive needs less important if the FB’s play intelligently. (Big ask, I know).
If Ramsey plays then it makes sense to use him high up the pitch, and that may be AW’s thinking.
Personally, I would rather Ozil played in his stead, even if for only an hour or less. Try and put the game to bed in the first 45, so the team can relax and the subs can see the game out without too much pressure? Ideal world stuff, but that is how it should be?
It is worth noting that promotion is the ‘Big’ prize for Hull, the Cup is a bonus. Their form has suffered while this Cup run has been dangling a tempting carrot. I think if they went a couple of goals down Steve Bruce would immediately look to resting key players? That would suit us just fine. If we are serious about the treble in the Cup, that is what we should expect team to try and do. Hit ’em hard, hit ’em early!
Simples … I wish!
Cheers,
Gerry
Cheers PE, I think you, and a few others, are right re Theo: Wenger is very likely to start him in this one for the reasons you give… Like you I hope it works out well.
Cheers Gerry, and some good alternatives there.
Agreed Hull don’t really know what to do with this game as their focus is on promotion of course… Bruce wanted to lose honourably but his defenders could not help themselves 😂
Davy thanks for the sport update. Nice to hear the game is so popular with youth in NZ and I love the name Wellington Phoenix 😄
I hope for you the Gunners will come to Auckland soon.
That makes me wonder what has happened to Aussie Gunners Prince Poldi and Alex. Give us a shout boys!😍
For me, I would prefer Chambers to take over Gabby at CB. Reason being his coolness adds more stability to the defense.
Having seen Alexis taking that goal first time, it looks really good for the team. It is a waste we could not score the third goal (Rambo is a bad finisher), but we have to start learning how to score freely, to have any chance of beating Barca.
As I said in the previous comment, I am focusing on the EPL and FACup, so even if we lose out in the CL I am ok.
So, we need to move into top gear by beating Hull, and thus getting the momentum back.
Cheers,
JK
All agreed JK.
What is the weather like in Singapore?
TA (others…) What’s the television situation for this one tonight? I could maybe move my “preview” sort of writings into a “live-blog” post if that seems like a good idea…
In my “research” (I looked at the Championship table…) Hull are now third and need to start winning matches to get back into the automatic promotion spots. I agree with TA, that Bruce would have been fine with them losing the match at our place. Now that there’s a replay–in front of supporters who are always more nervous about these things–the calculus could be different. Still, I’d expect him to use the fringes of his team and maybe some younger guys who might be able to help as late subs in the more important matches. What about our loanees, Akpom and Hayden? Is AW allowing them to play? Is he the guy who actually makes that decision?…
While the idea of using a strong line-up and putting the match to bed early is appealing, I think we need to remember just how little confidence we have at such things. We used to be the team who would take advantage of the critical moments of matches (like just after a goal has been scored) and often score them in pairs. Our last two trips away from home have been just the opposite (the two quick ones from Rashford at ManU and the set piece and Kane curler at WHL) so I’d say we’re vulnerable unless we can score at least three. The last time we did that was at Anfield, and we drew there too…
All told, it would be nice to control the match, put it to bed, etc., etc., but we have to win it–even if it takes extra time and penalties. The very best thing about winning (besides the winning part–or not losing, as a winner must come out of this one…) is that it postpones our next league match in front of the (hostile) home fans and a more hastily scheduled cup game might be another opportunity to help grow some confidence and momentum. Then, of course, we have to travel to Barcelona… And, after that, up to Everton…
Anyhow, lemme know about the telly/live blog idea…
Loving the gravatar Seventeenho:)
A live blog is a good idea. It is on BT Sport which many don’t have at home. I might watch it at the pub or listen to radio as it is an awkwardly early kick off (7pm)!
OK, will do, TA… I’ll probably post something around 9 my time (5 yours)… Cheers…
Great 👍⚽️💥⚽️💥⚽️💥💣💣💣💣‼️‼️‼️🔝🕔🇺🇸🇬🇧✔️➡️➡️➡️➡️📆📆💣💣💣⚡️⚡️💥💥⚡️⚡️❄️💥💥☀️
Nice one Totaal
Like that line-up mate, 4 games in what, 10 days means a bit of rotation is the order of the day.
As 17tino wrote, this could be a 120 minute jobby, so Theo on the bench as an impact sub vs a tiring Hull defence, is a definate option…
And Total, I may missed this from earlier, but did you mention the addition of another 17tino junior?
Hi all
My team for tonight’s clash;
Ospina
Bellerin Mert Chambers Monreal
Elneny Ramsey
Iwobi
Theo Giroud Alexis
i’m hoping the team can continue the passion shown on Saturday, would it not be good to see some free flowing footie tonight.
Predicted score 0-2 (Giroud double)
Kev, the new addition can be viewed in 17HT’s gravatar… 🙂
Exactly… So, not a junior, but also not completely ready for life as an adult…
New Post…
Total 😃