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[Midz]

To be fair, our 'rotated' team is little different to our strongest team.

Fabianski due to his leaving in the summer is playing the best he's ever done. Typical!!
Jenkinson doesn't quite offer what Sagna does, but there's very little in it.
The midfield is such a can of worms who really knows what our best pairing is.
Up front we're shit no matter who plays although the postman needs some more games so we can see what he offers.

[1989]

Brilliant augie. You want us to get "fucked over beyond belief" and expect that our players will just get over it like fuck all happened, it will have zero negative effect on them mentally, and they'll just be able to move on and do the business in the other competitions. Just brilliant.

[g88ner]

This is what I don't understand augie: You should want us to win REGARDLESS!!

In fairness, I think (and I do mean THINK ) that he does want us to win (maybe? ) but if we do - as expected - get knocked out, he would rather the first leg was a massive defeat so the second leg is irrelevant... thus making the Everton FA Cup game more important in Wenger's eyes and er... yeahhhh... I think I get it

I think a flow chart would help explain it

[Nick Bendtners Ego]

This is what I don't understand augie: You should want us to win REGARDLESS!!

In fairness, I think (and I do mean THINK ) that he does want us to win (maybe? ) but if we do - as expected - get knocked out, he would rather the first leg was a massive defeat so the second leg is irrelevant... thus making the Everton FA Cup game more important in Wenger's eyes and er... yeahhhh... I think I get it

I think a flow chart would help explain it

Think Interpretive dance is the only way for Augie to get his point across on this one.......
Think the birdie song dance hybridised with swan lake and a grand finale of a Suarez death roll.............Ah yeeessssss, I see, you're not wishing a further demoralising record breaking thrashing that then in turn see's renewed calls for his dismissal due to said dicking amid further shame to the club a la 8-2 , 4-0 , 5-1 etc........

[Its Up 4 Grabs Now]

Personally I dont think I'd play Jack tomorrow - we cant afford to give the ball away cheaply, let alone in dangerous areas and/or with players breaking forward - a la City for Barca's first tonight. But I cant see Wenger not starting him tomorrow. I'd also guess he's gonna play Rosicky (which I'm not against), which would mean Ozil playing in one of the "wide" positions, leaving one slot free for either Ox, Cazorla or Poldi. Personally, that would have to be Chamberlain imo. The moment Walcott joined Ramsey on the injury list, Ox became arguably one of of our most important players.

[VoiceOfReason]

I don't think we'll be beaten as badly as we were last year, but we'll be beaten nonetheless. 1-2.

[northbank123]

Will need a performance of a similar nature to Dortmund (a). Despite Wenger's general one-track tactics that game seemed to be a departure from the norm. We set up expecting to not have much possession in the first 45-60 minutes, and we showed great organisation and discipline with our shape out of possession and our pressing. We also showed composure on the ball but still moved it at great pace, and although we didn't create anything in the first half we also weren't getting robbed of the ball in dangerous areas and were giving ourselves some respite. As the game went on we then took our chance on a counter-attack and could have had another soon after as we started to take advantage of the opposition taking a few more risks and starting to show some fatigue from the intensity of their play.

Unfortunately even if Wenger did feel inclined to set up similarly again I don't think we could replicate the performance (aside from being at home too!). Firstly, Arteta had an absolute blinder in Dortmund - his anticipation and decision-making was superb defensively, but also his composure on the ball and the quality of his passing allowed us to keep the ball far better than in similar games in the past few years and opened up attacking opportunities by taking out opposition players who were pressing high. Secondly, Ramsey's willingness to get himself into the box with perfect timing not only brought us a goal but nearly a second and was key to exploiting their indiscipline and fatigue in the second half. It's something we've missed hugely in the past few months. Also although he wasn't fit for that game Walcott's pace is a miss - although Gnabry could in theory be used similarly.

Imo Rosicky has to start because of his great footwork and ability on the ball. I wouldn't play Wilshere - he crumbled under the pressure United were exerting on the ball so Christ knows what he'll do when we're struggling to get it out of our own half. Going against the grain but I wouldn't start Flamini because although it's not the main aspect of his role he is just so poor on the ball imo and having bodies back won't be an issue - it will be decision-making and positional/pressing discipline that are key. Arteta hasn't played well for ages and frankly I don't think he's been fully fit for a while but imo him playing and playing well is the best chance for us to be competitive for the aforementioned reasons. Bayern will be pissing their pants at the thought of Giroud isolating himself but tbh anyone else plays up top they'll be chasing hopeless balls for 65 minutes before coming off knackered. I would play Cazorla centrally and Ozil off the left, although both will be stifled by the nature of the game their quality is required to retain the ball and Ox can inject some tempo as the game opens up. We will have a period when we get our tails up and put a bit of pressure on (even if it's 0-2!).

Szczesny, Gibbs, Koscielny, BFG, Sagna, Arteta, Rosicky, Ozil, Cazorla, Gnabry, Giroud.

[I Hate Hleb]

Personally I dont think I'd play Jack tomorrow - we cant afford to give the ball away cheaply, let alone in dangerous areas and/or with players breaking forward - a la City for Barca's first tonight. But I cant see Wenger not starting him tomorrow. I'd also guess he's gonna play Rosicky (which I'm not against), which would mean Ozil playing in one of the "wide" positions, leaving one slot free for either Ox, Cazorla or Poldi. Personally, that would have to be Chamberlain imo. The moment Walcott joined Ramsey on the injury list, Ox became arguably one of of our most important players.

On the contrary I think we should play Jack as this is the type of opposition where his little bursts of pace may have a fruitful outcome, along with his quick, crisp passing. Because Bayern (much like Barca used to) press high up with their attackers and midfielders, yes there is the risk he may get caught. However on the positive side, I think Jack won't have as many bodies to beat once he gets past the first man, unlike in some premiership matches when the opposition sit much deeper. Agree that Ox should start, and would play him wide right to give us the option of pace. I would also probably start Rosicky along with Ozil, rather than Santi.

[scotgooner]

I don't really like Wenger's pre match comments at his press conference today saying that these big games have little to do with the managers and/or tactics but are all about the players that are on the pitch on the night.

To me that is him stating that whatever the result tomorrow it was because of the players and had little to do with his tactical approach.

[Its Up 4 Grabs Now]

Personally I dont think I'd play Jack tomorrow - we cant afford to give the ball away cheaply, let alone in dangerous areas and/or with players breaking forward - a la City for Barca's first tonight. But I cant see Wenger not starting him tomorrow. I'd also guess he's gonna play Rosicky (which I'm not against), which would mean Ozil playing in one of the "wide" positions, leaving one slot free for either Ox, Cazorla or Poldi. Personally, that would have to be Chamberlain imo. The moment Walcott joined Ramsey on the injury list, Ox became arguably one of of our most important players.

On the contrary I think we should play Jack as this is the type of opposition where his little bursts of pace may have a fruitful outcome, along with his quick, crisp passing. Because Bayern (much like Barca used to) press high up with their attackers and midfielders, yes there is the risk he may get caught. However on the positive side, I think Jack won't have as many bodies to beat once he gets past the first man, unlike in some premiership matches when the opposition sit much deeper. Agree that Ox should start, and would play him wide right to give us the option of pace. I would also probably start Rosicky along with Ozil, rather than Santi.

I see the logic to an extent. Cant say I've seen any of Bayern since the CL final, do they not still play with 2 deep(ish) lying midfielders? ie 2 from Schweinsteiger, Martinez, Lahm, Kroos?

Breaking between the lines with the ball at his feet is certainly one of his strenghts when it comes off, but my issue with Jack would be that he's liable to try it in the wrong areas. The risk vs reward isn't in our favour when you weigh up what we're likely to do with our "breaks" compared to what they're likely to do with theirs - albeit I'm more in favour of a who dares wins approach (within reason). Rosciky also does this well, but tends to be far more calculated in terms of when/where he does it imo.

[northbank123]

I don't really like Wenger's pre match comments at his press conference today saying that these big games have little to do with the managers and/or tactics but are all about the players that are on the pitch on the night.

To me that is him stating that whatever the result tomorrow it was because of the players and had little to do with his tactical approach.

Classic Wenger. Don't expect him to acknowledge personal blame every time we have a poor result but it's always attributed to some intangible aspect like nerves, inhibition or fatigue.

In fact with his relentless rhetoric about "mental strength" (BBC Sport will literally have a story titled Wenger hails Arsenal's mental strength or "Wenger: We will show mental fortitude" or some variation on that 10-15 times a season) I wonder if he does anything other than send our team out telling them free spirits and football purity will trump all. Before we get dismantled by a more talented, more physical, more organised side.

A bit like how the kid in Kick-Ass thinks something good will come of dressing up like a twat and nobly standing up to muggers and all that comes from it is getting knifed in the stomach.

[scotgooner]

I don't really like Wenger's pre match comments at his press conference today saying that these big games have little to do with the managers and/or tactics but are all about the players that are on the pitch on the night.

To me that is him stating that whatever the result tomorrow it was because of the players and had little to do with his tactical approach.

Classic Wenger. Don't expect him to acknowledge personal blame every time we have a poor result but it's always attributed to some intangible aspect like nerves, inhibition or fatigue.

In fact with his relentless rhetoric about "mental strength" (BBC Sport will literally have a story titled Wenger hails Arsenal's mental strength or "Wenger: We will show mental fortitude" or some variation on that 10-15 times a season) I wonder if he does anything other than send our team out telling them free spirits and football purity will trump all. Before we get dismantled by a more talented, more physical, more organised side.

A bit like how the kid in Kick-Ass thinks something good will come of dressing up like a twat and nobly standing up to muggers and all that comes from it is getting knifed in the stomach.

Exactly! Couldn't have put it better myself with the Kick-Ass reference

Oh well let's see what happens tomorrow, maybe we will all be shocked by an ingenious tactical display by Mr Wenger ...


Fingers crossed regardless

[augie]

This is what I don't understand augie: You should want us to win REGARDLESS!!

In fairness, I think (and I do mean THINK ) that he does want us to win (maybe? ) but if we do - as expected - get knocked out, he would rather the first leg was a massive defeat so the second leg is irrelevant... thus making the Everton FA Cup game more important in Wenger's eyes and er... yeahhhh... I think I get it

I think a flow chart would help explain it

Thank fcuk that somebody around here can actually read a fcuking post properly........I never said that I didn't want us to win but what I actually said is that IF we are going to be knocked out by Bayern then I prefer that it is done and dusted tomorrow night so that it wouldn't interfere with the fa cup game.

It seems that too many people prefer to pre judge a post without reading it properly if the poster has a negative reputation

[I Hate Hleb]

Oh I read your post properly augie, don't worry about that and the question I would ask is what do you consider getting "fucked over beyond relief"? Is it a defeat by loads of goals? And if so, how - as someone else has already pointed out - would that help the teams/squads confidence in the forthcoming games, including the Everton match? And how much of a beating would suffice? After all we took a bit of a wallop last season when getting beat 3-1 yet even though everyone said the tie was over, he still played a strong team and we came quite close to getting through.

[I Hate Hleb]

This is what I don't understand augie: You should want us to win REGARDLESS!!

In fairness, I think (and I do mean THINK ) that he does want us to win (maybe? ) but if we do - as expected - get knocked out, he would rather the first leg was a massive defeat so the second leg is irrelevant... thus making the Everton FA Cup game more important in Wenger's eyes and er... yeahhhh... I think I get it

I think a flow chart would help explain it

Thank fcuk that somebody around here can actually read a fcuking post properly........I never said that I didn't want us to win but what I actually said is that IF we are going to be knocked out by Bayern then I prefer that it is done and dusted tomorrow night so that it wouldn't interfere with the fa cup game.

It seems that too many people prefer to pre judge a post without reading it properly if the poster has a negative reputation

Not sure you can claim that, as to my eyes g88ner seemed as confused as most of us! Otherwise why the need to emphasis assumption in brackets during the so called 'explanation'?