@Nemeth- Oezil was moved to the 10 shortly before his injury so Wenger realised (albeit 10+ games later than the rest of the world) that he has none of the attributes required to be a winger barring what's required to be an Arsenal player full stop. Oezil will be warming the bench for a while I suspect. No way can you take Cazorla out and Ramsey was world class last season with his passing, goals and industry.
@SteveHyland there's literally 0% chance Wenger will be letting a record transfer player sit on the bench. all the fickle arsenal fans seem to have convinced themselves that Ozil isn't a worldclass number 10. He's been great whenever Wenger has played him in the middle, this season or last.
If Wenger continues with this formation, it'll likely be Ox or Ramsey benched for Ozil. Rambo was amazing last season, but he's a shell of himself. He's been poor for most of the games hes played this season. And while Cazorla has been in great form, the chances of him playing like that the rest of the way in unlikely. Rotating with these kinds of players is a great problem to have though.
@Bert_Macklin- I haven't convinced myself of anything of the sort, I've been saying forever that Oezil is world class in the 10 and calling for Wenger to play him there or not at all, but he has a similar problem to Pires- he is physically weak and until he builds up and toughens up he wont be able to consistently show his quality. He got away with it in Spain. Ramsey hasn't played well but he's a box to box midfielder and in the absence of Wilshere, our only other player of that type, he will start. Oezil cannot do what Ramsey does so they aren't interchangeable. You also can't play Oezil and Cazorla in the same team without one of them being out of position and ineffective so Wenger will likely wait for Santi's form to drop (which likely wont be for a while) then put him in the 10 provided he's toughened up. That's what I meant by him warming the bench for a while. Rotation doesn't work, all it does is guarantee players to have a lack of rhythm through stop start playing time.
the difference was in the managers as well , wenger set up the team very well and they repaid him the faith whereas pellegrini who i have been saying all along is a very average manager with a great team . i don't know why they bought bony , to save the title , when he was obviously going to afcon and the important month was january for them . the title is now chelsea's to lose . i wonder what will wenger do against chelsea at emirates . congratulations to arsenal fans and especially to chelsea fans ;) .
@Jonty- Pellegrini is a bit like Rijkaard at Barcelona. The first XI picks itself and you'd have to be an especially terrible manager to make them any less than perennial title contenders. At the Emirates we'll play much more offensively because Mourinho always has, and will, play conservatively away from home against us and we'll look to win while he'll be happy with a draw even though I'm sure he'll set Chelsea up to counter due to our gargantuan vulnerability in that area and expect to create many chances that way. Our performances at home have been ok against the big teams tbf and we could've conceivably beat City (definitely should've beat Spurs and Utd!), it's just the away games against the big teams where drastic improvement was needed and a different game plan required. It is Chelsea's title to lose for sure but you've been unbelievably lucky with injuries, or lack of, to key players thus far and you wont want it to be like busses- Matic, Fabregas & Costa. Just saying... Ha ha
at 2-0, always nervous whether we concede at last minutes like always (even 3/4 goals lead win not secured when sczezsny play).. good job ospina.. stay healthy.. coq shows that he is belong to DM position.. cazorla magical.. wenger please keep this player on first eleven.. another clean sheets.. good job.
Cazorla MotM, who would've predicted that. ;-) He's been excellent for the last few weeks and I'm not surprised he was great again today playing in the middle. Coquelin was superb too. Sanchez was very good even though it didn't happen offensively for him. I'm not sure why it took so long for Wenger to devise this type of game plan away to the big teams but better late than never.
Incredible win for Arsenal and deserved as well. Great display of grit , determination and hard work. Arsenal can be serious title contenders if they buy a couple of world class players and stay clear of injuries.
@NotBiased- We only need to buy a central defender and pure defensive midfielder. It's the injuries which kill us every year, our first team with everyone fit is as good as any other it's just we almost never have a core 6 or 7 players fit for the majority of the season like Chelsea have had this.
@SteveHyland Yeah think yous need a striker as well but with Sanchez banging them n regularly , you could do with just a midfielder and and a defender.
@NotBiased- I wouldn't turn down a world class striker that's for sure and Cavani has been talked about. That'd be a great signing because he can do the things Giroud does and is more potent in front of goal when the main man and given service.
@rhysdesmond47- Kompany made a move towards Monreal and touched him so not a dive. Did he go down too easily? Yes but every footballer nowadays does so the answer is don't give them an opportunity to.
Really like how Arsenal have set up to counter City. They've got pace and power which could come handy when they break. However not sure about the substitution of OX.
He has been excellent so far and they might miss his pace and work rate.
@NotBiased Well... , Wenger clearly showing why he has one of the best tactical minds in the game. Rosicky comes in , City sleep due to the substitution and they get their second...
City wins 2-1. Coquelin has David Silva in his pocket, so City create nothing. They score off of brutality and Arsenal's poor set peice defending. Sanchez to score a beautiful solo goal.
I honestly don't see us conceding 3 against a Toure-less Man City when we have Per and Kos starting (and assuming both play the whole game). The 6-3 last season could easily, on run of play that day, have been a 6-6 or 6-5 to City, and the defensive players who were terrible that day (Szczesny, Vermaelen and Flamini) wont be starting/playing this match. Coquelin has been ok but will need to stick to Silva like a fly on you know what otherwise he'll have free range to create chances for Aguero. A win will be difficult being Kompany is back and I think both teams will score, it will likely be similar to the game at the Emirates and I'm gonna go for the same result. 2-2. MotM Cazorla.
@SteveHyland hope ospina start.. sczesny has no improvement.. always lose concentration. i dont think ospina concede alot in one game like sczesny always did.. 4-4 from 4-0, 8-2, 6-3, 5-1, 6-0, 3-3 from 3-0.. for record i seldom see the arsenal teams concede more than 3 goals but i see it when he between the sticks..
@rdjet2008- Wenger has said he'll give Ospina a run in the team. I think his patience is wearing thin with Szczesny. I agree with Szczesny and his concentration. Nobody questions him as a shot-stopper but my heart sinks whenever I see him running off his line. I'm sure Mertesacker & Koscielny are on edge with him in goal too.
@spacesh1p I don't think those teams are nearly as dependent on the players you name as you suggest. City have gone 10 games unbeaten (with eight wins) while Aguero was out injured, while Costa good as he is isn't even the most important player for Chelsea - he's arguably fourth behind Hazard, Fabregas and Matic. Even if you do rate him above those three, the point remains that Chelsea and Man City have way more major contributors who have shown the ability this season to take over a match than Arsenal have.
Another problem is that Arsenal lack balance. Playing 3 centre halfs and 4 attacking mids doesn't bode well. Coquelin is the only one there to break up City's attack and he lacks both the ability and the experience to do this. Flamini may play instead of him but he hasn't been good enough.
@David20- I'd be surprised if Bellerin doesn't play ahead of Chambers. Calum has been poor at right back in most of the games he's played there & Bellerin at least has pace so is more likely to recover if somebody goes past him than Chambers. I hope Calum doesn't play at right back ever again. It will only hurt his development as a central defender. I also don't think one can say Coquelin lacks the ability as a defensive midfielder per se, purely because he has hardly played in that role so how can we properly judge? But his inexperience, in particular in regards to knowing when to stay put and when to attack the ball, might be telling. That is something that had to be learned for Matic, Carvalho, Krychowiak etc. I see Coquelin in more of a M'Vila role- a sitting passer who can break up play on occasion rather than a pure DM, but for this game all he needs to do with Yaya out is make life difficult for Silva and pass the ball 5 metres to Ramsey & Cazorla.
I think it will the whoscored prediction of 3-1. Arsenal haven't really improved since last season's hammering with the exception of Sanchez(signing of the season imo). Aguero's speed and tenacity will prove too much for Mertesacker and Koscielny.
But if City are going to play Mangala, Arsenal have a chance. Proven to be a liability. Demichellis is a better pairing for Kompany than he is.
Cazorla is the better than Fabregas, amazing
@ivanGH different players... Cazorla has better close ball control and is more agile, Fabregas has amazing vision (see: 15 assists).
@ivanGH lmao
Ospina. so calm..
Excellent predictions, WhoScored. And where are all the Man $ity plastics now?
@What4 City have fans? Well that's a surprise...
@NotBiased- They're probably 1 of the world's most supported clubs..... now. Not sure why the sudden leap in fan numbers though. Emmmmmmm...
@What4- In London with all the Man Utd fans. ;-)
Damn, Monreal went ham
Kompany should have been sent off, got away with 2 or 3 things he should have been booked for which would have given him 2
@JoeB91- Kompany get sent off at the Etihad? No chance, even if he kills someone.
Cazorla is playing his very best in the middle... I hope this doesn't mean that Wenger moves Özil to the flank
@Nemeth- Oezil was moved to the 10 shortly before his injury so Wenger realised (albeit 10+ games later than the rest of the world) that he has none of the attributes required to be a winger barring what's required to be an Arsenal player full stop. Oezil will be warming the bench for a while I suspect. No way can you take Cazorla out and Ramsey was world class last season with his passing, goals and industry.
@SteveHyland there's literally 0% chance Wenger will be letting a record transfer player sit on the bench. all the fickle arsenal fans seem to have convinced themselves that Ozil isn't a worldclass number 10. He's been great whenever Wenger has played him in the middle, this season or last. If Wenger continues with this formation, it'll likely be Ox or Ramsey benched for Ozil. Rambo was amazing last season, but he's a shell of himself. He's been poor for most of the games hes played this season. And while Cazorla has been in great form, the chances of him playing like that the rest of the way in unlikely. Rotating with these kinds of players is a great problem to have though.
@Bert_Macklin- I haven't convinced myself of anything of the sort, I've been saying forever that Oezil is world class in the 10 and calling for Wenger to play him there or not at all, but he has a similar problem to Pires- he is physically weak and until he builds up and toughens up he wont be able to consistently show his quality. He got away with it in Spain. Ramsey hasn't played well but he's a box to box midfielder and in the absence of Wilshere, our only other player of that type, he will start. Oezil cannot do what Ramsey does so they aren't interchangeable. You also can't play Oezil and Cazorla in the same team without one of them being out of position and ineffective so Wenger will likely wait for Santi's form to drop (which likely wont be for a while) then put him in the 10 provided he's toughened up. That's what I meant by him warming the bench for a while. Rotation doesn't work, all it does is guarantee players to have a lack of rhythm through stop start playing time.
Cazorla is fantastic because he gets you out of pressure and finds space to create chances.
the difference was in the managers as well , wenger set up the team very well and they repaid him the faith whereas pellegrini who i have been saying all along is a very average manager with a great team . i don't know why they bought bony , to save the title , when he was obviously going to afcon and the important month was january for them . the title is now chelsea's to lose . i wonder what will wenger do against chelsea at emirates . congratulations to arsenal fans and especially to chelsea fans ;) .
@Jonty- Pellegrini is a bit like Rijkaard at Barcelona. The first XI picks itself and you'd have to be an especially terrible manager to make them any less than perennial title contenders. At the Emirates we'll play much more offensively because Mourinho always has, and will, play conservatively away from home against us and we'll look to win while he'll be happy with a draw even though I'm sure he'll set Chelsea up to counter due to our gargantuan vulnerability in that area and expect to create many chances that way. Our performances at home have been ok against the big teams tbf and we could've conceivably beat City (definitely should've beat Spurs and Utd!), it's just the away games against the big teams where drastic improvement was needed and a different game plan required. It is Chelsea's title to lose for sure but you've been unbelievably lucky with injuries, or lack of, to key players thus far and you wont want it to be like busses- Matic, Fabregas & Costa. Just saying... Ha ha
at 2-0, always nervous whether we concede at last minutes like always (even 3/4 goals lead win not secured when sczezsny play).. good job ospina.. stay healthy.. coq shows that he is belong to DM position.. cazorla magical.. wenger please keep this player on first eleven.. another clean sheets.. good job.
Santi Carzola, The legend of Gunner!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Respect you too much!!!!
Cazorla MotM, who would've predicted that. ;-) He's been excellent for the last few weeks and I'm not surprised he was great again today playing in the middle. Coquelin was superb too. Sanchez was very good even though it didn't happen offensively for him. I'm not sure why it took so long for Wenger to devise this type of game plan away to the big teams but better late than never.
Santi Cazorla. Fucking incredible today.
Incredible win for Arsenal and deserved as well. Great display of grit , determination and hard work. Arsenal can be serious title contenders if they buy a couple of world class players and stay clear of injuries.
@NotBiased- We only need to buy a central defender and pure defensive midfielder. It's the injuries which kill us every year, our first team with everyone fit is as good as any other it's just we almost never have a core 6 or 7 players fit for the majority of the season like Chelsea have had this.
@SteveHyland Yeah think yous need a striker as well but with Sanchez banging them n regularly , you could do with just a midfielder and and a defender.
@NotBiased- I wouldn't turn down a world class striker that's for sure and Cavani has been talked about. That'd be a great signing because he can do the things Giroud does and is more potent in front of goal when the main man and given service.
Perfect game for Arsenal. Simply perfect. We prove we are a great team, no matter what!
no soul no win
Fantastic team performance
Great substituion from Wenger. Rosicky doing brilliantly.
Santi Cazorla take a bow lad what a performance
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOSPINAAAAAAAA!
carzola was god today , a great team performance as well.
COQUELIN XDDDDDDDD GOOD GUY
That was a cool dive from Monreal! 10/10!
@rhysdesmond47- Kompany made a move towards Monreal and touched him so not a dive. Did he go down too easily? Yes but every footballer nowadays does so the answer is don't give them an opportunity to.
Really like how Arsenal have set up to counter City. They've got pace and power which could come handy when they break. However not sure about the substitution of OX. He has been excellent so far and they might miss his pace and work rate.
@NotBiased I think its more of Rosicky needing games
@NotBiased Well... , Wenger clearly showing why he has one of the best tactical minds in the game. Rosicky comes in , City sleep due to the substitution and they get their second...
One shot for ManCity and not even on target in a at homeagainst Arsenal ?? How absolutely pathetic is that ?
Apparently no one saw Milner's shirt getting pulled quite blatantly.
@krdskrm- I did, but I also saw the carthorse bundle Bellerin over a millisecond before so committed the first foul. ;-)
@krdskrm Nope, just you mate :)
@Titou14 Not even me. No one.
Coquelin's been brilliant again
Arsenal are better when playing on the counter.
Arsenal win 1 - 0
Le Coq keeps getting better
So it will be a 2/1? City is good at that. :)
team news ospina bellerin monreal bfg kosh ramsey coquline carzola oxlade giroud sanchez bench szcy chambers gibbs flamini rosicky campbell walcott
Man City 4 Arsenal 2
2-1 or 2-2
2-2
2-2 or 3-2 GO CITY!!! From AZERBAIJAN
0-2 to Arsenal. Up for Alexis Sanchez
Manchester City 2 - 1 Arsenal ( 2 goals Aguerro , 1 goal Sanchez )
over 2.5
Touré Nasri out absolutely will be a draw
I see a draw here. MOTM will be Joe Hart (>﹏<)
City wins 2-1. Coquelin has David Silva in his pocket, so City create nothing. They score off of brutality and Arsenal's poor set peice defending. Sanchez to score a beautiful solo goal.
a draw
I honestly don't see us conceding 3 against a Toure-less Man City when we have Per and Kos starting (and assuming both play the whole game). The 6-3 last season could easily, on run of play that day, have been a 6-6 or 6-5 to City, and the defensive players who were terrible that day (Szczesny, Vermaelen and Flamini) wont be starting/playing this match. Coquelin has been ok but will need to stick to Silva like a fly on you know what otherwise he'll have free range to create chances for Aguero. A win will be difficult being Kompany is back and I think both teams will score, it will likely be similar to the game at the Emirates and I'm gonna go for the same result. 2-2. MotM Cazorla.
@SteveHyland hope ospina start.. sczesny has no improvement.. always lose concentration. i dont think ospina concede alot in one game like sczesny always did.. 4-4 from 4-0, 8-2, 6-3, 5-1, 6-0, 3-3 from 3-0.. for record i seldom see the arsenal teams concede more than 3 goals but i see it when he between the sticks..
@rdjet2008- Wenger has said he'll give Ospina a run in the team. I think his patience is wearing thin with Szczesny. I agree with Szczesny and his concentration. Nobody questions him as a shot-stopper but my heart sinks whenever I see him running off his line. I'm sure Mertesacker & Koscielny are on edge with him in goal too.
Think it will be a hard game for Citzens. Sánchez FC can difficult the things for home side. 3-2
@phuchoa Aguero FC, Costa FC, Erikson FC. You can level that accusation against most teams, my friend.
@spacesh1p I don't think those teams are nearly as dependent on the players you name as you suggest. City have gone 10 games unbeaten (with eight wins) while Aguero was out injured, while Costa good as he is isn't even the most important player for Chelsea - he's arguably fourth behind Hazard, Fabregas and Matic. Even if you do rate him above those three, the point remains that Chelsea and Man City have way more major contributors who have shown the ability this season to take over a match than Arsenal have.
Another problem is that Arsenal lack balance. Playing 3 centre halfs and 4 attacking mids doesn't bode well. Coquelin is the only one there to break up City's attack and he lacks both the ability and the experience to do this. Flamini may play instead of him but he hasn't been good enough.
@David20- I'd be surprised if Bellerin doesn't play ahead of Chambers. Calum has been poor at right back in most of the games he's played there & Bellerin at least has pace so is more likely to recover if somebody goes past him than Chambers. I hope Calum doesn't play at right back ever again. It will only hurt his development as a central defender. I also don't think one can say Coquelin lacks the ability as a defensive midfielder per se, purely because he has hardly played in that role so how can we properly judge? But his inexperience, in particular in regards to knowing when to stay put and when to attack the ball, might be telling. That is something that had to be learned for Matic, Carvalho, Krychowiak etc. I see Coquelin in more of a M'Vila role- a sitting passer who can break up play on occasion rather than a pure DM, but for this game all he needs to do with Yaya out is make life difficult for Silva and pass the ball 5 metres to Ramsey & Cazorla.
I think it will the whoscored prediction of 3-1. Arsenal haven't really improved since last season's hammering with the exception of Sanchez(signing of the season imo). Aguero's speed and tenacity will prove too much for Mertesacker and Koscielny. But if City are going to play Mangala, Arsenal have a chance. Proven to be a liability. Demichellis is a better pairing for Kompany than he is.
so Nasri Yaya Bony are all out for City /// AFC have lost debenchy with gibbs a major doubt
i hope bony plays and scores against arsenal 2:0
@meesh he can't play as he's with the Ivory Coast national team for the AFCON
Man City look strong, Id guess a 2:1 or 2:0 win for City!