Kevin Whitcher
So, what’s this? A preview piece ahead of an Arsenal game? On The Gooner website? What’s going on? Well… I’ve been advised by someone who knows more about the internet than my good self that people are more interested in reading about a game before it happens than any views about it afterwards. The thinking being – it’s happened, we’ve all seen it, what’s there to discuss? I’m not 100% convinced that people do actually think this way, but for a while, I am going to cover the bases and do both anyhow, see how it goes. Fortunately, the reality that your author is not working matchdays distributing the fanzine any longer means I have a little time to do this kind of thing ahead of a match, so let’s see where it takes us.
So Manchester City. Well, I’ll take you back to last season’s corresponding fixture. Arsenal had just been defeated in the Carabao Cup Final by City at Wembley on a cold, grey Sunday afternoon, and five days later, the rescheduled Premier League fixture was played in front of a half empty Emirates Stadium. As Arsene Wenger’s team were handed a football lesson by their visitors, you had to conclude those that had stayed away made better use of their time. City of course, went on to win the title by a street, so what’s going to be different this afternoon?
The answer to that comes down to how effective the work Unai Emery has been doing on the training ground will prove to be. I will admit that the reality the starting eleven will have not even played a pre-season game before is of slight concern, but given the late World Cup returns, probably unavoidable. One imagines the starting eleven might be Leno – Bellerin/Mustafi/Sokratis/Maitland-Niles – Torreira/Xhaka – Ozil/Ramsey/Aubameyang – Lacazette. Three new players out of the five purchased this summer.
Ultimately, the determination we have seen at times to close down the player in possession when the ball is lost, allowing the team to regain its shape, may be the key factor in preventing City running riot. The other concern is the continued tendency to give the ball away cheaply in their own half, where pressing is less of an option because half the team are out of the picture. So to be effective, the forward players must put in a shift. Generally, they’ve been able to do this in the warm-up games, but obviously the intensity this afternoon will be up at least a notch.
Creatively, the arrival of Lucas Torreira means that the previous first choice pairing of Xhaka and Ramsey in the two deeper midfield positions is avoided, and in truth was part of the reason the team conceded so many goals last season. Neither has the mental attributes to play the position effectively. With the Uruguayan in situ, Xhaka has more licence to be creative, although his tendency to play a sideways pass must become a thing of the past. Emery likes the ball played forward through the lines quickly, before the opposition can get into shape. Ponderous and conservative isn’t going to do the Gunners any favours in attack.
Last weekend, in winning the Community Shield, Manchester City fielded a strong eleven, although one that did not include first choice keeper Ederson, David Silva, Kevin De Bruyne or Raheem Sterling. No matter, they took apart cup winners Chelsea. So no shortage of options tomorrow and a very strong bench. One wonders if they might target Arsenal’s left side, with Ainsley Maitland-Niles at left back and whoever players out of Mustafi and Sokratis on that side of the central defence not the quickest. Whoever out of Sterling or new signing Mahrez plays there could create havoc. It might seem that Arsenal’s best chance is to play deep, attack in numbers selectively, but generally use pace to stretch Guardiola’s side.
The home support could be an influence if they can find their voices and turn Arsenal’s stadium into a more intimidating arena than they generally manage, although at least they now have something to get excited about with the predictability of the latter Wenger era finally behind them. If Arsenal were able to score first, then things might really take off. Life for City certainly needs to be made uncomfortable if Emery’s team are to get anything from this game.
I’m not optimistic. It’s very early in Emery’s tenure and there is a lot of work still to be done. The fixture list has not been kind, but football is full of surprises, and a real display of attitude and desire may be able to negate the champions. So there is hope, if not expectation. We’ll see who can cut the mustard under Emery’s tactics with opposition of this quality, which at least hastens the decision process over who should be in the starting eleven going forward. Everyone’s on trial for now.
A couple of other odds before I wrap up. Firstly, the matchday sales operation of The Gooner has been scaled down this season, with the new model of advance subscriptions guaranteeing our viability to continue printing until next summer at least. There will be two sellers – one on Gillespie Road about 20 metres from Arsenal tube station, the other on Hornsey Road near the Little Wonder café (the one on the two cannons roundabout near the Armoury). The fanzine can also be bought from the photo stall on Drayton Park and in the Match Day shop on Hornsey Road. The cover price has gone up to £5, although for that you now get an extra 20 pages per issue. It can be bought online as well – click here for the current issue, or if you wish to subscribe to all six issues this season, click here. Those who have subscribed already in the UK should have received your copies yesterday morning, if you haven’t that’s down to an issue with your local delivery. It should turn up on Monday, but they were all sent out at the same time.
The other point to raise is that this season, we are teamed up with Fansbet.com , and if you do have a punt on the football, and select The Gooner Fanzine as your ‘branch’ when signing up as an Arsenal fan, 50% of any profits Fansbet make from your bets go towards maintaining the fanzine. So if you fancy a bet, why not do it with them and help support The Gooner. But remember, as adverts say, when the fun stops, stop. Gamble responsibly for enjoyment as a leisure activity, not with money you cannot afford to lose.
And if you want a prediction on which to base a bet this afternoon – I’d have to go with an away win (and trust my ability to predict results is completely hopeless). I can see a 2-1 victory for Guardiola’s side, with any points the Gunners do manage to win being a triumph against the odds. At the time of writing, you can get 5/6 on a City win, with Arsenal 33/10 to take all three points. Really, this fixture would have been more palatable three months into the season, but such are the vagaries of the fixture computer. It’s the start of a new era, no doubt about that, but given it is a home game, it really couldn’t be tougher. Chelsea away follows next weekend, to add to the degree of difficulty as Unai Emery attempts to turn around Arsenal’s fortunes. Keep everything crossed people.
