As we're unlikely to see terraces again at football, this is the virtual equivalent where you can chat to your hearts content about all football matters and, obviously, Arsenal in particular. This forum encourages all Gooners to visit and contribute so please keep it respectful, clean and topical.
[quote="g88ner"]I don't think Liverpool are as good as some are making out.
Yes we got tonked but Liverpool have struggled enough away from home to suggest there won't be a repeat of the Anfield debacle (probably )
Still, they'll play a full strength XI and we won't, so anything is possible. I'll guess a draw and defeat back at Anfield in the replay [/quote]
I don't think anybody on here believes that they are as good as the media are making out - what I do think is that they are a team brimming with confidence, who will be up for this big time, who will probably face a rotated team and, this is the key factor, they will bring the traits which will expose us most.....pace and directness
I don't think Liverpool are title winners but Sturridge, Suarez and Coutinho are very good players and Rodgers has got them playing quick direct attacking football, and he will have been training them and preparing for us since the Fulham game.
They are vulnerable at the back with kolo and skrtel and can leak goals if we get at them but we probably won't.
For me the key player in this is Flamini - if he can break up the mickeys in midfield we might out score them.
But they might also pass around him. Jack is having his second poor season - with Ramsey alongside flam I'd rate us 50/50 but the bookies are right to have them as favourites.
We'll know in the first 20 whether it will be a slug fest or another tonking.
g88ner wrote:I don't think Liverpool are as good as some are making out.
Yes we got tonked but Liverpool have struggled enough away from home to suggest there won't be a repeat of the Anfield debacle (probably )
Still, they'll play a full strength XI and we won't, so anything is possible. I'll guess a draw and defeat back at Anfield in the replay
Liverpool are powderpuff away from home. They only ever beat us at our place if we're in disarray and the way in which we pissed all over them without ever really getting out of third gear at home earlier in the season and completely nullified the threat of Sturridge/Suarez shows what we can do. Notwithstanding their confidence when they rock up with two strikers and a luxury midfielder in Coutinho we have more than enough quality in our squad to dismantle the rest of their team and limit their opportunities to hurt us.
Obviously we are going to rest players though, and we haven't really hit full stride for the best part of three months now imo. Regardless of their limitations they will turn up 100% believing they can win whereas you wonder what sort of mindset Wenger is going to instil after last week's drubbing and running scared from United in the week.
It's not a game we should be in great danger of losing but our egg-shell confidence and moreover Wenger's inevitable be-all-and-end-all sacrifice changes that. Just as I said before the first game it'll be a very difficult one to call.
very nervous waiting to hear what team le myopic will put out, lets just hope his idea of a weakened team is so far from reality that it ends up doing a better job than our first XI ever could. Gnabry, Ox, Podolski and Rosicky to start would be quality.
Gunner Rob wrote:if we play Flapianski in goal considering the form of Chesney right now then it is a disgrace
Agreed. This one is without doubt the worst if he does. I really liked Szczesny when he first nailed down the place but from about December 2011 onwards until the start of this season he plummeted in my estimations because of his constant fucking about, lack of focus and costing us goals every other week. I was really pissed off we missed out on first Lloris and then passed up the chance to sign Cesar (still think we should have) but to his credit Szczesny has had a fantastic season and his fucking around has been drastically reduced. He made a superb save from van Judas to at least earn us a point and we are several points better off than we would be if Flappy had been playing.
Flappy has finally announced he's leaving at the end of the season so no need to placate him. No way Szczesny needs a rest and it's just going to piss him off if he's left out of a massive massive game for no reason. Surely he can't play him???
I think I'd play Ozil tomorrow, especially if Santi's out. Midfield 3 of Flamini, Rosicky & Ox. Podolski up front, with Ozil and Gnabry "wide."
Hopefully the extra defensive stability of having 2 box-to-box midfielders in front of Flamini, rather than one of them being Ozil in a supposedly number 10 role, would allow Ozil and Gnabry to play a bit closer to Podolski (and with a bit more freedom to roam without leaving us completely structureless) instead of getting caught in the no-man's land between protecting the full back and not leaving the striker isolated - and ending up doing neither. And I can only assume the back line is gonna play a lot deeper after last time so we need Rosicky and Ox's box-to-box running to make sure there's not a massive disconnect between the front 3-4 and the rest of the team (a la Southampton away). If need be Gnabry's always been willing to track back defensively and still have the pace & energy to get forward again.
Ozil offers nothing defensively wherever you play him, since he bottles out of even 60/40 challenges (in his favour), so if we're gonna play him as a luxury player, commit to it and play him as a luxury player. None of this halfway house shite. Let him loose in the final 3rd where his movement can show Gerrard up.
Henry Norris 1913 wrote:very nervous waiting to hear what team le myopic will put out, lets just hope his idea of a weakened team is so far from reality that it ends up doing a better job than our first XI ever could. Gnabry, Ox, Podolski and Rosicky to start would be quality.
It's an irony that Wenger doesn't realise that the understudies will do a better job
topcat wrote:Is cazorla really "ill" tomoro or is he ironically going to be better by wednesday?
Pretty sure it's code for "I'm resting him but don't want to get bollocked for it if we lose." Pretty much the same as Giroud and 1 or 2 others for the sperz cup game.
Gunner Rob wrote:if we play Flapianski in goal considering the form of Chesney right now then it is a disgrace
I'll never understand what good 'resting' a GK does. It's not like the goalie runs around for 90 mins and gets tired.
Play your best player always unless they're injured.
The inept manager will ensure we lose this and the Bayern matches.
To be fair though, we don't have the skill to beat either no matter what team he plays.
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