Getting this one in early as it’s the biggest NLD in many years.
Win and it’s done. :pray:
Come on you Gunners!!!
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Getting this one in early as it’s the biggest NLD in many years.
Win and it’s done. :pray:
Come on you Gunners!!!
Huge, huge game!
I really hope the players can stay strong and pull off the win for this.
'All or nothing' would be fantastic and the best one yet if we manage to finish 4th by beating the spuds :d
(or 3rd if Chelsea keep fucking up :pray:)
We'll lose and lose well.
3-0 K**t hatter
There's no club more qualified to blow such a huge advantage. I have absolute confidence in them.
Yeah this is a big one. I am quietly confident, don’t ask me why and I know on their day those lot can be very good but I actually have a really good feeling about Thursday.Quote:
Originally Posted by Marc Overmars
Quietly confident we can get a point, don’t think we have any chance of winning there.Quote:
Originally Posted by selassie
Even back in the day we rarely won there.
Aye, I’m thinking a point too, which at this stage in the season would be huge. Would leave us only needing 1 win from our final 2 games.Quote:
Originally Posted by Letters
Im under no illusion it’s going to be a hostile and tense atmosphere and our boys are really going to need to be on it, but I think Arteta and the coaches will prepare them for this. For a lot of them it’s going to be arguably their biggest club game of their careers so far.
Who are our big game players? I'm going for Saka; Eddie; Tommy and ESR in particular to thrive on the occasion...
I'm not up with all the new players. Who is Tommy?
Yeah I would pretty much go with this. Maybe Martinelli if he starts ahead of ESR.Quote:
Originally Posted by IBK
Yeah this is a bit of a tough one. Martinelli can terrorise with his running (and tracks back better too), but I back ESR rather than him to put the ball in the back of the net when we do get a sniff at goal.Quote:
Originally Posted by selassie
don't forget the defence, which is just as - if not more - important
if White's back we could maybe play him at RB and Tommy at LB with Gabriel and Holding in the middle
or maybe a back five with Saka at LB and Tommy back at RB and White, Holding and Gabs at CB
i really don't want both Cedric and Xhaka on the pitch agsinst spuds, there's too much that coud go wrong - you just know spuds will be all over Xhaka from the first minute
The game will probably just hinge on how well we deal with Kane. If we let him drop in and start doing his thing we could struggle. I hope Ben White is back because he’s decent at shutting that sort of stuff down. They will also put Son on Cedric/Tavares, so we’ll need a lot of tracking back there to help out.
If we win it would probably be the best result of Arteta’s tenure so far. Given the circumstances this is difficultly level 10/10.
We won't win, we're not at that level where we can go to teams like this and beat them. We did beat Chelsea of course but they've been wobbling a bit, have the FA Cup Final to consider and were fairly well clear of us (although they aren't now of course). Point is best we can hope for I reckon, I think we're capable of getting that.
thisQuote:
Originally Posted by Letters
I have decided that I do hope we win though.
Come on, boys :scarf:
(Very important comma, that)
Sounds like White and Saka could be out.
All that kicking had to catch up with Saka some time
Not good timing though
:good:Quote:
Originally Posted by Mac76
Who we pick in defence will likely dictate who we pick further forward, so I’m with you - I think this will be the biggest decision we make.
Ideally I’d want to keep Tomi on Son on the right, but as there’s no other available LB option I trust for this one I’d probably go Tomi, Gabriel, Holding, White across the back with Mo camped in front of them.
That pretty much means no fullbacks bombing forward though - not a problem on the right, as Ødegaard tends to drift into that right half-space allowing Saka to stay wide, but on the left it might mean sticking with Martinelli who is more likely to stay wide?
Which brings me to my big gamble of the night… do we stick with Xhaka as a 6-8, or do we chuck Smith Rowe in as a left-sided Ødegaard?
I’m really tempted to go with Smith Rowe, and make the game plan really simple: Tomi, Gabriel, Holding, White, Mo - you guys stay back; Smith Rowe, Ødegaard, Martinelli, Eddie, Saka - you guys run riot and blitz them on the counter. Remember, we don’t need to do shit in this game - we don’t even need a draw - so we can completely dictate this one.
Let's wait and see - might be legit, but it also wouldn't be the first time a manager has tried to confuse a rival's planning before a big game.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mac76
Spuds will probably dominate proceedings tbh as they need the win more than we do, but I’d say we also need to play like we can’t afford to lose, that’s when we tend to be at our best. I just hope we go for it like we did against Chelsea and United, if we opt for some kind of containment job like Arteta has tried in big games before, I can’t see it ending well.
Main thing though is to not give them any respect, they’re not worthy of it. It’s one thing being a bit sheepish against City and Liverpool but this is definitely a game where we shouldn’t be afraid to have a go.
That's what I thought/hoped.Quote:
Originally Posted by I am invisible
Yeah I don't want to see just containment - I want to see control. We go for the win, but we do it by being smart and having a plan. City and Liverpool both utterly dominated their games against spurs and laid siege to their goal for 90 minutes, and it nearly ended in disaster for both of them. We're certainly not better than City or Liverpool at dominating games and laying siege to opponents so I don't think relentless attack is the way to go here - it feels like we'd be playing right into their hands.Quote:
Originally Posted by Marc Overmars
As always, the key to winning usually comes down to the simple math of forcing the other team to do less of what they're good at and more of what they're bad at. We all know what they're good at - sitting deep and trying to get opponents to stretch themselves so they can hit them on lightning-fast counters. And we all know what they're bad at - breaking down low blocks, unpicking locks, control from midfield and having to defend wide open spaces. All we really need to do is force them into a Mexican stand-off: they sit deep, we sit deep. They're the ones who desperately need the win so they'll have to blink first, and as soon as they do then they'll be forced into doing all the things they're bad at. We just need to be patient and hold our nerve.
I hope you've emailed the manager with this. :gp:Quote:
Originally Posted by I am invisible
BTW I'm nervous as hell already and have been all week!
I second that :gp:
Good analysis :good:
Good analysis, however...
When we are up for a game, we really aren't that bad a team, let's not show Spuds too much respect as they aren't that good a team either.
I feel physically sick, although I guess it's still better than the usual nothing that I feel at this stage of the season.Quote:
Originally Posted by IBK
Arrgh!!! F--king Kane and Son! It really is just those two. The rest of that team is utter trash and I really do resent having to feel this much anxiety over two players.
Yes unfortunately Kane and Son are exceptional, Spuds don't even have to play well to win games if them 2 are on it.
It's amazing to me how often they've bolloxed it up this season given they have those two up front. It's why I've always favoured them for top 4.Quote:
Originally Posted by Marc Overmars
i do think a back five could be the way to go just to make sure we can keep those two in check when we need toQuote:
Originally Posted by Marc Overmars
if it's a back four then i'd prefer Tomi back at RB where he can try to contain Son, i don't think Cedric's good enough to stop him
Aye. We are going to need to put in a very streetwise performance tonight, everyone is going to need to be on it and we are going to need to defend very well and take any opportunities that come our way.Quote:
Originally Posted by Marc Overmars
One area where we can get a foothold on the game is in Midfield with the trio of Elneny, Xhaka and Odegaard. If we can dominate in this area then I am sure we will create plenty of chances on the counter.
Spurs are a decent team, but one area I think they are weak in is Midfield.
Let's just hope that we've learned how to counter attack now then....Quote:
Originally Posted by selassie
:sick:
I actually thought in our home game against them we did that well. Against West Ham too we moved the ball forward well with pace, we just lack a ruthless striker.Quote:
Originally Posted by KSE Comedy Club
It does seem to be quite hit & miss.Quote:
Originally Posted by Letters
We can do it on our day as we have seen in the past, but often we seem to lack conviction in the final third and the attack breaks down.
I have my fingers and toes crossed for this tonight.
(fuck knows how I will walk and open doors, etc :rolleyes:)
Oh ye of little faith :dQuote:
Originally Posted by KSE Comedy Club
:sick: :sick: :sick:Quote:
Originally Posted by WMUG
I’ve had a meltdown and think we’re going to get tanked.
Agreed. Have to beat these tossers.Quote:
Originally Posted by WMUG