As we wait for the “title decider” this afternoon, it is good to know that Petr Cech and the Arsenal defenders have been studying Man United’s strikers ahead of this afternoon’s game. Other than Cech’s debut against West Ham, the Czech international has looked very solid, although our defence may have left a few things to be desired. But hopefully they will learn to communicate with each other better as Gabriel settles into the team.
Cech told Arsenal.com the way he has been preparing. He said: “We always watch footage of our opponents because the more information you get, the better picture you can have in your head during the game. If there are certain things which keep repeating in the game of any team, then it helps.
“I like to watch the players playing against me to have that idea pre-game – then you can adapt because the game keeps changing every minute.
“It’s always good to have an idea of what can happen and the main things that are repeating in your opponents’ game. If you want to organise the people in front of you, this information is the main thing for a goalkeeper to have.”
A lot has been made of the threat of Man United’s “more a winger not a striker” Anthony Martial, but Cech is not worried and is preparing to end his “dream start” to his Premier League career. “It’s always difficult when you change clubs and come to a big club with a lot of expectation,” Cech said. “Everybody wants to see what you are made of but he had a fantastic start to his United career.
“Maybe the enthusiasm and excitement of moving to the Premier League helps at the start, but then people start expecting things from you and every day they keep reminding you that you are the main goalscorer. It was obviously a dream start for him and we have to make sure that doesn’t continue on Sunday.”
So we are ready for our old rivals and if we can stop United from scoring, then we will surely create lots of chances of going forward. All we want is a clean sheet and Sanchez and Walcott to bring there scoring boots. Not much to ask, is it?
I for one feel much more confident with Cech in front of our defence! It’s a shame that the Boss is out but at least we have a good backup for a change,
Prepare for a ton of excuses after the game…
@Disturbance You are right……. from Van Gaal!
Another one that already knows the result, can we save our defeatist comments until after the game please.
Cech is World Class… iv Confidence with him in there between the sticks.
Per is worrying….
This is the type match where a Schneiderlin or whoever would have been useful. Coq could pay extra attention to Martial when he moves centrally (Ramsey is gonna have to keep close to Bell at times) then we still have someone in position who can win ball.
@G-Rude agreed, as the last line of defence very few are better…
And how is dis match a title decider?after this match we still have 30 more matches and every single one of dem wud decide who wins the title.let start rackin up the points wit manure coyg!
I think it was a pun, Arsenal Utd once more ..after so many years watching Chelsea City.
i for one feel very uncomfortable with the prospect of per against the man united bandwagon of attackers
Title decider huh?!!! We shall see.
Am I the only one that can see the quotation marks around “title decider”.
Isn’t that a sign of “irony” perhaps?
To be fair, 10-15 years ago it was usually a game between the top two clubs until Chitty and Chelski got their money.
I pray that they did, hoping that they keep it water tight at the back!
Big mert has got to put out all the stops today, and lead by example in defense at the back! Coyg!
Come on gunners! Lets dig deep and do this, there is no room for complacency today! Coyg!
This heading should read as “Arsenal players admit to doing what teams in League Two wouldn’t think twice about doing”.
Arsenal’s defensive players can study all they like but United may still turn up with custom tactics and that will require communication on our part, on the pitch. Something that has been terribly lacking.
All this PR needs an end product and if we continue to worship words over work then we’re amongst the silliest fans in the league. We’ve seen what has happened to Chelsea recently now that their defensive communication has seemingly halted.
Rationalist? More like Pessimist!
You may have a point, G-Rude 😀
However, I tend to find that when you look at the *opposite* of what I and some others advocate for (which are proven to work in football), you often find these opposite negative traits within Arsenal’s defence:
– Lack of communication
– Lack of leadership
– Lack of concentration
– Lack of physical commitment
On rare occasions when we communicate, someone leads, everyone concentrates and demonstrates physical and mental desire, we get marvellous results like at the Etihad back in the winter. We also beat United in their own back yard in the FA Cup doing this. I truly believe we could be title contenders and get very close to it if we got these basics right throughout a season.
As a football fan i can not wait for a great day of football… Everton/Liverpool, Arsenal/Utd…
As a Gooner lets rip these guys apart the day from the 1st to last minute, we want to be serious contenders WIN all our big games at HOME.
Really hope out of everyone who can possibly turn up that it’ll be our home fans who turn up. Next, Sanchez to play a blinder.
we failed to score against chelski and looserpool now you expect us to beat manure. I wouldnt raise my hopes so high
other than GabrieL and Monreal(excluding an injured Koss)………who else on the defence knows how to dive in to block a shot?
Arteta, Coquelin and Mertesacker…
That’s last ditch stuff you are talking about, the cleverest/accomplished defenders are the ones who don’t go to ground unless absolutely necessary.
My arsenal family,i have a small problem with the team setup currently.
I,like many,feel that the midfield is not balanced enough to give us the best results possible…
I feel that one between Ozil and Cazorla must sit out…allowing Ramsey to play in the middle and Ox/Campbell on the wing.
After looking at the stats and also with the knowledge i have by watching the games i think Ozil is the one that should sit out.
I read a stat saying ozil has created 29 goal-scoring chances and cazorla has 28.
Considering their positions on the field i would have expected Ozil to have way more than cazorla…imagine what numbers cazorla would have at no.10?!!
Not to mention cazorla also brings a goal-scoring threat with him unlike Ozil…Cazorla knows how to shoot at goal when he is at the edge of the box and we all know ozil can’t.
I personally feel that a no.10 should offer a goal-scoring threat as a secondary attribute to creating for others…Look at players like Payet?
With regards to chance creation ozil and cazorla are equal,but cazorla will bring that goal-scoring threat when played further upfront…which is something we need considering we don’t have a prolific striker.
Secondly
Ramsey came off the bench against Olympicos…in a space of 10mins he had already made 3 excellent offences passes,two of which we should have scored from.Not to mention that Ramsey himself can score quite a bit(Way more than ozil).
Having these players on the field will not only keep our number of chances created by team high but it will also ensure that we score more and also defend better,as cazorla and ramsey do better defensive work than ozil.
Ozil is messing with the team balance and Wenger is to naive to see this…play Ozil as a sub and when we are rotating or playing weaker teams.
Ngiyabonga (Thank you)
I think when you factor in all round capabilities Ramsey is better than Ox in this moment. Defensively Ramsey comes out in top, stamina and ground covered Ramsey again. Passing Ramsey takes it again, also shooting you would still have to say Ramsey. Pace goes to Ox, as does dribbling with one one ones. Ox is more prone to lapse in concentration than Ramsey.
I get your point, but I also see why Ramsey is chosen out there ahead of Ox. We need Theo up front right now. And Ozil is capable of finding Theo in space better than Ramsey can. It’s a difficult one.
Point is Ox is more dangerous out wide than Ramsey is,and Ramsey is better through the middle…
Play players where they are best at…
Ozil can’t score we need more goal-scorers in the team.
I disagree.. Wholeheartedly.
Cazorla is leagues ahead of Ramsey as a play-maker. Your evaluations seem only to pick out the final ball. Dictating the play, tempo, decisions and retaining possession Ramsey just simply doesn’t come close to Cazorla at this stage in his development. Dwells on the ball for too often and is often guilty of dramatically slowing our play down.
Ozil is Ozil. He’s been seeing a lot more of the ball and having a much larger influence on the way we play. If you don’t like the way he plays that’s fine, you’re entitled to your opinion. But personally, I think if we are to mount a serious title challenge (we will IMO), it will largely be down to the Santi, Ozil and Sanchez triangle. If those three are consistently clicking, the rest will fall into place.
Expect another bad day at the office…
poor refereeing decisions….
sent offs…..
poor set pieces
Missing a heaps of chances…
injuries…
same old same old excuses
Well I for one will be out celebrating our brilliant win tonight. You can stay in and think of your own excuses for being so negative. You really need to get a life or start taking Prozac. Depression is a killer!
Admini, happy Sunday to you people, the Boss, the Gunners and all the Gooners including myself. Arsenal have to beat Man Utd today at the Emirates Stadium, irrespective if Man Utd play Anthony Matial or not. They didn’t play him against Arsenal last season and yet they beat us 1-2. Why did Man Utd beat Arsenal last season? They beat Arsenal because of 2 principal reasons as the Gunners defending was not stout enough to block the Red Devils’ attacking threats when Gibbs deflected a bully Chris Smalling’s shot past Szczesny. And Jack Wilshere timidly missed a sitter to put the Gunners 1-0 up in the game, and he later got his ankle broken by a Paddy McNair’s hard tackle. For the Gunners to beat the Red Devils and beat good today at the Emirates Stadium, the Gunners MUST avoid 4 failings they fell into, the last time they hosted the Red Devils. 1. They MUSTN’T allow themselves to be bully around and be dominated by the Red Devils. 2. No Gunners should MISS a sitter. 3. The Gunners MUST totally have the concentrations of a Phantom snake that’s ambushing it’s prey. 4. The Gunners MUST avoid any ploy to intimidate them to be carded and MUST skip or jump over any criminal tackle by any Red Devil. Arch Red Devils Rooney & Carrick including Red Devils Smalling, Mata and Matial MUST all be totally bound by the Gunners and cast out of the entire playing of the game. My starts: Cech. BellerinRhino’DeAbreuMonreal. CazorlaCoquelin. RamseyOzilSanchez. Giroud. My Bench: OspinaDebuchyChambersGibbsOxladeWalcottKamara. My final score: AFC 3-0 MUFC, at full time plus added time.
Wizard
We have to be mentally confident when coming to the p ch today.
Player have to believe in themselves fully .
And when on the pitch forget about everything , and focus on playing good. Attentionbtobdetail. Full confidence but full focus don’t underestimate the opponent.
COYG!!!!!!!!