Going forward, not looking backwards !!!!
March came to pass and here we are again;
As usual we are trying our hardest to remove ourselves from the top 4 in the Premier League.
With no disrespect to Lincoln, we will meet a top 6 side in the FA Cup semi and probably stuff that up as we will be technically away from home (at Wembley)
And then…..there is the Champions League. We are 99.9% out of the competition, so I plead with you Arsene;
Please, please, please, let’s go out, all guns blazing, shit or bust.
Realistically, it doesn’t matter if we go out 5-1 or 10-1, let’s give a bloody go, give the fans something to believe in, a different attitude, a different formation …….44 fcuking 2.
I know he won’t listen to me, but my suggestions for Tuesday night are as follows:
In goals –
It’s a cup match, that’s what we do
Defence-
As long as he concentrates on the job in hand.
Kos is the rock of the team and the closest to a captain we have,
Mustafi may not be as good as his hype, but he’s a darn sight better that Gabriel
Another who needs to step back up to his early season form.
Midfield
Trickery & speed on the left
Our best central midfielder in the past couple of months, can do a defensive job whilst being attack minded
A shift to ‘Number 10’, but this guy can play anywhere and makes the team actually play (see Saturday 4th March 6.30pm to 7.15pm)
Short on form, but if back at his early season best can run riot on the right
And Up Top
Power and pace up front and really, really, really don’t know what Lucas has to do to get a start in the team.
So Arsene, I plead with you, give the tie a go, give the fans something to believe in, give us some glimmer of hope in your ability to think outside of the box and let’s at least go out going forward not looking backwards.
English by birth, Australian by choice. Traffic Engineer, Arsenal ST Holder, Sun DreamTeam Winner, Writer on @GunnersTown, Depeche Mode, Welcome to my world…
Steve, I agree with your approach to the match because we need a seismic change in the morale of the club, not just for this match but for the battle ahead to stay in the top 4.
I can`t agree with you regarding Monreal and Iwobi. Monreal is a liability because whether it is his by his own volition, or by what he has been instructed to do, he will occupy himself around the left corner of the penalty box. That will leave a vast empty space which all teams know about and which Bayern exploited last time. I forecast that if he plays, Ribery will have a field day from the right wing and he will probably score again.
Given the above situation, it would be suicidal to play Iwobi, because when Monreal goes absent on duty, we need a defensive midfielder in the left centre position and I am afraid that Iwobi belongs to the Ozil school of defending. That increases the weakness on the left and we are wide open to runners on the counter attack. Because of the imbalance in the team others are dragged out of position and Kos Mustafi and Bellerin ( who also deserts his position to bomb upfield ) are panic stricken. We have our defenders running about like headless chickens and the forwards are getting no supply from our midfield because it is trying to stem the flow of the opposition.
We need to set the team up as preparation on how to cope with a good team just as we did with Man City last year. We are going to need a blueprint because this season will be our hardest yet to remain in the top 4. The EU Championship is gone, so I think the match would be more important for us to start playing like a disciplined unit even if we don`t improve our situation for the present tie.
If, at the end of the game, the fans see some semblance of a team which knows what it is doing, we shall all be much happier for what lies ahead.
I do agree that Perez has to play and I would replace Iwobi with him. I would play Holding in place of Monreal as he is a much better defender than either Monreal and Gibbs. I would use him with Kos and Mustafi, to tighten the centre up as a unit. If Coquelin is given simple instructions to fill the hole in midfield and harness his ambitions to move beyond the half way line it would stem the flow of runners who are currently a feature of every match. . Unfortunately, he is not top notch but if he recognises his capabilities, he is the most competent destroyer we have. After that, it is a choice between Xhaka and Chamberlain to provide some additional defensive qualities, but to transform defence to attack as effectively as possible
I would start Welbeck because he didn`t play in the first match so Bayern will not be familiar with him. Sanchez has to play but I would have him alongside Welbeck. That leaves Walcott, Giroud, Elneny and Ramsey and Wenger could use one or two of them to modify the team as the game progresses, but at least we would have a core of players who know what they have to do. If we can make a go of it against Bayern, we will have the framework of a team which will have a chance of staying in the top 4. The present one does not have a clue of how to play to a plan. That is if there even is one.