The Preview…
Well lads, it’s that time of year. Here at AmericanArse we like to put out a preview to the match prior to each league game and discuss the finer points of lineups, etc. Then, we roll with some post game action after the whistle and hopefully another mid-week trounce before we get back to the weekly preview.
It all starts… now.
This weekend sees us playing hosts to Aston Villa before a quick turnaround and facing off with Fenerbahce (AWAY) four days later. Not going to lie, this is exactly the scenario that I was hoping we would avoid this season. Instead, we get to start off with a thin lineup and quick turnaround matches to boot. No bueno.
Abou, not sure I’ll play in a Nike Arsenal kit again, Diaby is out. TV5 is a no go still with his back injury. Nacho Nacho Man is still on the table as well. Even our sure-haired Mikel Arteta is in doubt for the match… Oh, and word on the street is Bacary has a leg knock too. (What? Pay for Williams? naw… no thanks. We don’t have the money.)
SO, what does that leave us with? Well, here is my starting lineup…
Szczesny (yes, it really is spelled that way)
Jenks-Mert-Kols-Gibbs (please no one go down)
Ramsey-Cazorla-Rosicky (yep, I’m starting that conversation again this year)
Walcott-Giroud-Poldi
Good lord, when I write that out I realize just how thin we truly are… Our backline needs HELP asap BUT Jenkinson knows how to put up clean sheets (remember, 2 to start last season) and the BFG/Kols combo will be fine. Not to mention that Gibbs really is the future going forward (no pun intended), Nacho just provides great competition and cover.
Now, the midfield has me more worried. With Arteta a possible out we lose his DMF presence. I think Ramsey can track back and I love his tireless efforts; he’s also shown some good pre-season form. Rosicky just knows what to do in these situations and I start him over Jack only because I want a full season from Jack healthy; not a rush back and re-injure situation… again… Cazorla, IMHO, should be slotted in the MF with us actually having a healthy and strong line up top. In many ways, one could argue that the game will shape into a 4-2-1-2-1 type formation (is that even possible???) with Ramsey/Rosicky needing to provide cover while Cazorla does his thing and Theo/Poldi slashing in from the sides while OG acts like a G out in front of goal.
Our attack could actually be pretty solid this year (yes, even without the signings). Sonago looks legit so long as, you know, he is A-Go. Poldi looked healthy and fit (finally?). AOC doesn’t have the weight he once did on his shoulders and Theo looks primed for a big breakout. So long as Hey Hey Giroud continues his good link up play and shores up his scoring percentages we fans may be in for a bit of a pleasant surprise from our attackers.
Truth is, we are thin BUT we have a solid core combined with stability in our manager AND familiarity across our lines. If anything, that should buy us an extra win or two. However, we have to come out of the gate fast if we want to challenge for the title and hope that we stay healthy enough to nab silverware. We need to score early, hold firm, and move on to the next match without injury (every team’s goal, right?).
As for our opponents, they are a tough match to start with. Benteke is a beast to cover and obviously knows how to put the ball in the back of the net. Hopefully he starts his sophomore slump with a big fat loss and zero goals. Arsenal’s game is fairly simple, but beautiful when it works: press and control while providing quick cover on counters.
We need to send a message and make it loud and clear that signings or no signings this is a team looking to improve on last season’s excellent finish.
Get ready Gooners, the season is about to begin…
As an aside, you all should sign up for the Arsenal Digital Membership (full post-game replays!)…
The Optimist.
When all else fails, hold on to hope. I must be withdrawing from a lack of movies because lately every time I go to write here all I think of are movie analogies. Maybe it is because I am looking for entertainment. Maybe I am looking to escape. Maybe I am waiting for Arsenal to follow through on the damn plot this offseason and sign someone…
Today’s movie? The Shawshank Redemption. The scene? Where Tim Robbins talks to Morgan Freeman after doing time in the “hole” for locking the door to the guard office and playing music over the loud speakers to the general population. Morgan and Timmy have a conversation about hope and how Tim holds on to it but Morgan believes that is dangerous, etc. etc. And you know what, hope is dangerous. It is a weapon to wield when all is lost and right now I am wielding it. We have less than 7 days until our season debut against Aston Villa on August 17… let’s talk hope arseholes.
1. We have an experienced squad that knows how to play together: Last season saw us make an incredible run that crescendoed with us taking our rightful place in Champions League while seeing tater totts to their rightful spot below us. Ramsey got valuable time playing, Theo produced, Santi dazzled, and many a men notched goals when we needed them most (looking at you Rosicky and Kols). We finally get to bring EVERYONE back and that has to count for something (so long as they ALL stay healthy… looking at EVERYONE at this point!).
2. Stability: In Arsene We Trust. The French-Man is still kicking around and is now the longest tenured manager in the BPL. His system is the same, antics the same, players the same. We didn’t have the shakeup, the pressure, or the hype that other clubs have and that has to count for something… right? (Remember, this is about hope and not whether we should have the shakeup, pressure and hype of others… there is certainly an argument to be made for each of those but this ain’t the place! At least, not now…)
3. Youth: Thank the Lord almighty we aren’t an aging squad. Other than Mikel and the ever adapting Rosicky we are fairly youthful and full of piss and vinegar. Outside of that, a lot of our “studs” are young and getting loads of experience (hopefully not a euphemism for run down)… Youth and experience should see us ratcheting up our energy throughout the season as guys look to capitalize on the easy playtime time that rotation SHOULD bring to the squad (and goodness gracious some trophies, eh?!). There shouldn’t be complaints of playing time given he “thinness” of our squad and this season really could be seeing that whole developing youth to starters thing played out.
4. Run of form: We should be able to capitalize on our run into the end last season and the familiarity of the squad. We should be able to take that late season run of form, while others collapsed (looking at you tater), and translate that into a strong start out of the gate. There are a lot of “shoulds” in this paragraph so bear with me because…
5. WE’RE ARSENAL! ARSENAL FC! WE’RE BY FAR THE GREATEST TEAM THE WORLD HAS EVER SEEN!!!
’nuff said.
Who doesn’t want a pair of kicks like these!!!
Custom Arsenal F.C. Nike Dunk (Photo credit: dishwab)
AmericanArse 