Napoli will pose more of a threat than Dortmund in my opinion. Rafa Benitez is one of the best 4-2-3-1 tinkermen in world football. The will be confident because of their Serie A form of course. I think the key to the match will be our left side, their right side. Callejon has been excellent for them to start the year. His width and service has been phenomenal so far. They've got one of the most underrated RB's around right now, Maggio who has been playing alot for the National Side. Luckily for us he is out injured with a knee injury. I think Gibbs will play even higher up the park than he normally does to try to push Callejon back. They have a sick midfield obviously, with Hamsik, Behrami, and Inler. But the way our MF has been playing, I'd put them up against anyone. We bossed Sp*rs' 'power midfield' off the park and I think as long as we track Hamsik's runs we will be fine. Kos and Mert will need to stay alert to track Higuain. Mert worries me if caught out in space, but I think Koscielny will be in Higuain's hip pocket all night long. On the opposite side, Insigne's skill on the ball and pace will need to be tracked. Sagna should be able to do the business there, but he will need Gnabry (or whoever starts in front of the injured Theo to really tuck in and help. End of the day, I think we come out with a 2-nil home win.
Well said. I agree completely about our left side vs their right, as I think we'll win the battle in the middle of the pitch. I'm hoping Gnarby gets the nod, he looked lively. It's also ridiculous they're broadcasting Celtic/Barca over this game...ugh.
Well done. Fantastic performance. If Ozil is playing like a $40 million man, Ramsey is playing like a $50 million man.
FACT!!!! War Ramsey! I've been posting this Wenger quote to my Twitter Account non-stop: "Once Ramsey starts scoring, he won't stop." -Le Boss. Proper fucking legend, that man. #ArseneKnows.
Really disappointed with the performance. A few of my thoughts: The lows Per sucks. I don't care what anyone says or if he scored, he's a liability out there - too slow, dives in too often, and isn't even particularly good in the air given his size. Szczesny is who I thought he was - a mediocre EPL goalkeeper. Really thought he should've had one or two of those goals. We really missed Gibbs and his pace. I'm not a fan of Monreal at all. He made poor decisions getting forward. Bendtner is useless. The one time he touched the ball, he was offsides. Le Boss really needs another target. The highs Really showed some tremendous character never giving up. Great to see Theo back, he played phenomenally well. Aside from the three goals, he looked pacey and active all game. The creativity in the midfield is still special. Jack/Ozil/Ramsey are really building some wonderful chemistry. Sagna looked deserving of that new contract.
I will say I'm impressed with Per's leadership. I saw he chewed out Ozil for not recognizing the away supporters.
I'm a Gunner as well and I haven't watched the ManC game yet but I have watched the rest of this season and I like Per. He is quite smart more of a defensive base for Kos to rely on, Laurent can all most player the Vermaelen role where he can bomb up and help defense and not have to worry too much with what's going on behind him. Yes Per is slow, and although tall isn't all that effective in the air but what he lacks in those area's he makes up for in his intercepting and his organization of the back line, well leadership. I'm sure there are better centre defenders like Varane, who I would love to have in an Arsenal shirt, but Per is a solid defender.
Going to be a fantastic second half but it's been such a pleasure watching these guys this season. The future is very bright.. Looking forward to snatching up Costa if we can get our slimy little hands on him
I'd be shocked, but he'd be perfect for both our system and the EPL. It doesn't look like Morata is going anywhere, so my best guess is we go after one of the two Belgians (Benteke or Batshuayi). It'll be interesting to see what Athletico do. If they sell Koke, then they might just go on a little fire sale. Either way, Costa is cup-tied, which kind of sucks. I also hope there is some truth to the Marc-Andre ter Stegen rumors. I'd love some competition at goalkeeper, and he looks like the real deal.
Yeah, it was kind of a pipe dream. I'll bet we end up with Demba Ba or something.. In reality, I guess that isn't awful. I'm really giddy over the possibility of bringing in Draxler in the summer. Blaza, Peench or any other Gooner fan.. Do you think the boys can finish the deal this season?? Damn City and Chelsea are only getting better. I'll tell you what though, it's going to be great watching United in the Europa league next year
I love, love, love Draxler. My mom's German, so I follow German football pretty closely. Guy is a stud, and I've been saying for a while he could be a front-runner (hell, I made the move for him to be in my manager mode well before any of this came out). It would be an insane signing, though I'm not sure if I want them to do it right now. As for the title, I think we do - but only if we don't have any more injuries. City is, in my opinion, the 2nd best team in the world right now. I find it hard to believe they don't solve their away form, so it'll be really, really tough. I'm honestly hoping we get a loan or two for some CB/CF depth and sign Draxler in the summer. I will say that if signing Draxler will be significantly harder in the summer window, we should pony up and move on him now. I don't know how overstated/understated his love of Arsenal really is, but we certainly are in the driver's seat right now.
If I was a betting man, my money would be on Man City right now. Not to say Arsenal can't, but eventually these close wins are going to start turning into draws and dropped points if they keep playing the way they have been. Aston Villa looked like it was going to be a rout...until they just stopped playing their game and almost let Villa claw their way back into it. They were within 5 minutes of a draw to Cardiff before getting rescued by Bendtner of all people in the 88th minute. Newcastle I don't remember ever thinking they looked like scoring outside of the one Giroud actually got, and West Ham they were actually trailing before a late second half rally. Realizing injuries have been an issue, and hopefully this is just a period of weathering the storm until we're healthy and clicking again, but if these are the types of games they insist on playing, eventually points will be dropped that we can't afford dropping in a title race. That said, this far in and we're top of the table, so they absolutely can. The belief should be there, and there should be confidence in the team. Tomorrow is a must win game at home, and ideally would love to see a complete game from the team. Arsenal 3 - 0 Fulham
Randiesel75 As tough as it was for me to watch that yesterday, it must have been glorious for you. I'm really pulling for your Reds to finish top four. At this point, I wouldn't rule them out of the title chase. As for the Gooners, I'm still holding out hope but we really need a top notch holding midfielder and a world class striker... If only they could've landed Suarez last summer. Thank god that Aguero and Fernandinho are hurt for City as I think they're still the best club but freaking Chelsea are so damn professional. We really need Ramsey to get fit and Ozil to be world class. It's crazy how entertaining the EPL is though.. Squads like Fulham and West Ham with all their quality would finish top 7 in Spain and Italy. This is easily the best professional sports league in the world!
