morning.
Here’s a quick Leicester preview for you. As with the midweek fixtures, it’s great to be home again for a Premier League game after a difficult schedule so far this season. David Raya appears to be a significant doubt, with Mikel Arteta saying he needs another 24 hours to assess the muscle injury, according to team news. It really isn’t that much time for things to improve sufficiently.
Even if he misses the opportunity, there are experienced options to call. Neto scored in the cup tie against Bolton but could feature today in the absence of Raya. I wouldn’t say this is a good time to lose a player. Injuries have already been too great this season and our goalkeeper has probably been the player of the season so far. However, a look at the fixture list would make his absences less likely. This is a problem I had a few weeks ago.
The manager has been positive about Jurrien Timber and Ben White in training so he hopes they will both be ready. It remains to be seen which full-back combination he will choose. It may be a matter of who is most prepared, but more on that later. I think Thomas Partey will return to midfield alongside Declan Rice, and there is a compelling case to rely on the talent and potential of 17-year-old Ethan Nwaneri, who was in action in midweek, but it would be a bit of a surprise to see him start.
I think we’ll either have Leandro Trossard or Gabriel Jesus nominally starting as a centre-forward, with Kai Havertz a little further back, and either Gabriel Martinelli or Bukayo Saka next to him. There is also Raheem Sterling to consider after a good performance in his first selection, so there are options.
I think there will be an interesting focus today on what Arsenal can do at the top tier of the stadium. A North London derby, a trip to Atalanta and then a trip to Manchester City with 10 men will test your defensive skills. Most people get it unless they consistently refuse to see or understand the context. We have passed that test with flying colors, but when we face a newly promoted team at home, people want to see how that defense provides a platform from which to provide attacking flair.
I’m not suggesting we should just turn Leicester over, that’s not going to happen. But to win a title you have to be able to defend it and maximize facilities like this. It may sound speculative to talk about a goal difference of just six games into the new season, but as we saw last time, it was a very important factor when the campaign came to a close. So let’s see what today’s young people can produce. Three points would be nice, but it would be even better if we could add some goal scoring icing to the cake.
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Meanwhile, I enjoyed Arteta’s response to a question about whether he was stung by criticism of Arsenal’s approach in the second half against Manchester City last weekend. When asked about his style of play and results, he said:
“I want to win the way we prepare for the game and the way we want to play our way. however… Understand context.
“I’d love to wear sandals, shorts and a t-shirt, but I think that would be too foolish in this weather. I think it would be a good idea to bring an umbrella. ‘Oh Mikel, what are you doing?’
‘no. But I’m very brave!’
‘Yeah, but it hurts tomorrow.’”
Some may not like it, but pragmatism is one of Arteta’s great strengths. He understands that while ideals are important, they are not the be all and end all. If you have to win ugly, win ugly. If you have to dig in to maintain the lead, that’s what you do. He said in midweek that Arsenal would have been ‘thick’ if they had not learned their lessons from their previous experience against Manchester City, and he was absolutely right.
If Arsenal had gone wild with 10 players, the weary pundits who said it was ‘small time’ or that they had an ‘inferiority complex’ would have been completely turned on their heads. We might have thought, ‘Why don’t they learn?’ And of the same people ‘they are naive’. Arteta pays little attention to what they say because he knows you can’t win in that sense. When asked if he had any reaction to the likes of Graeme Souness and Roy Keane, his one word answer was “no”.
As for All this Pep stuffPlease give me strength. Is that person ‘rattling’? maybe. But it all comes across as a media-driven frenzy. Basically, the statement in which Guardiola is known to have made an exception is in response to a question at Arteta’s press conference.
cue: We’ve all seen Silva, Stones, Akanji and countless other City players. They were very critical of the team’s approach. First of all, I was wondering what you did with it.
no way: There are no comments. I’ve been there before. I’ve been there before. It’s been 4 years since I’ve been there
cue: What does that mean?
no way: I know because I know all the information. Trust me.
It seems to me that Arteta is referring to the fact that all teams use the ‘dark arts’ (now I hate that expression) and that his time as a coach at City means he has seen it in action there. It seems obvious. That’s it. It may be said that Guardiola has mentioned 115 charges, but one thing that has been undoubtedly true since Arteta’s arrival – whether it is somewhat disappointing or not – is the time he has spent there and what he has said about the club. It’s respect. Relationship with Pep. He never once said a bad word about them.
Watching video (if you can get angry) – it seems pretty clear that the person asking the question framed it in a way that would produce that kind of response. He said he was not seeking an answer to what City players said, but rather a question about Arteta’s tactics and Pep fell for it hook, line and sinker. That’s his problem, but perhaps it just adds another layer to an already fierce competition.
I think it’s a proper storm in a teacup. But this is the media environment we live in.
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Okay, I’ll leave it there for now. join us later Real-time blog coverageYou’ll also get match reports, goal clips, reactions, player ratings and more. Arceblog News.
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