Arsenal Vs QPR Preview, Live and Post match

Arsenal Vs QPR
Friday 26th December: 17:30BST Kick Off
Emirates Stadium


Merry Christmas

Austin attacks, Flamini defends, Red card all the way, Oh what fun it is to watch and suffer, Arsenal play for 90 minutes! Hey!

Yea sorry about that. So, it's the festive period and what makes it even more festive than football not just once a week but thrice! After the awkward match against Liverpool, Arsenal hosts QPR lead by the biggest wrestling personality of Attitude Era, Stone Cold Charlie Austin, who is in the best form of his life since the iconic match with The Rock. And while our own Big Show, Per Mertesacker is suffering from a bad form or a bad season. This match isn't going to be as comfortable as we would like. But saying that, if we don't beat QPR at bloody Emirates. This season can F right off.

The biggest dilemma Arsene will have is who to play. Because we have Southampton in just 48 hours after QPR. I am going to say that the southampton game is bigger, but we can't focus just on that. We need to put same amount of effort in both games. And despite the injuries, think we can afford to rotate a bit. Players like Podolski, Joel, Coquelin, Monreal, Bellerin will all be useful and should be used.

I don't really know what we are aiming for now but it would be nice to win both the next 2 games and enter the new year with at least some joy.

Team News

Arsenal Wenger will have midfielder Tomas Rosicky and keeper David Ospina available again after thigh problems. Laurent Koscielny and Aaron Ramsey won't be fit to face the Hoops but could return for the other festive fixtures.

QPR have a number of players - too many to list according to boss Harry Redknapp - who will be assessed prior to their Arsenal clash.
Left-back Yun Suk-Young is a definite absentee with an ankle injury.

Arsenal Expected Team

-------------------------------Szczesny---------------------------------
Chambers---------Debuchy--------------Mertesacker---------Gibbs
-------------------Flamini------------Oxlade--------------------------
Sanchez----------------------Cazorla---------------------Welbeck
--------------------------Giroud---------------------------------------

QPR Expected Team

-------------------------------Green----------------------------------
Onouha-----------Dunne---------------Caulker-------------Hill
Vargas------------Karl Henry-------Fer------Joey Barton----------
-----------------------Austin----------Zamora-----------------------

Match Facts(FourFourTwo)

• Arsenal have only ever lost one Barclays Premier League match on Boxing Day (W11 D5 L1).
  
• QPR have won none of their three Premier League games played on Boxing Day (W0 D1 L2).
  
• The Gunners have won the last seven Boxing Day matches where they have been at home and the first of those seven wins was a 3-0 victory over QPR in 1995.
  
• Arsenal have scored exactly one goal in eight of their last nine Premier League games against QPR, with the exception being the 3-0 win on Boxing Day 1995.
  
• Queens Park Rangers have failed to score in five of their six Premier League visits to Arsenal, the exception being a 3-1 win in December 1994, famous for John Jensen scoring his only goal in an Arsenal shirt.
  
• Harry Redknapp has only lost five of the last 18 Premier League games as an opposition coach against Arsenal (W3 D10 L5).
  
• QPR have lost five successive Premier League London derbies and are winless in their last seven (L5 D2).
  
• Arsenal are unbeaten in their last 11 Premier League London derbies at the Emirates Stadium (W8 D3 L0).
  
• Santi Cazorla has had a hand in five goals (three goals, two assists) in his last five Premier League appearances for Arsenal. In his previous nine PL apps, he didn't have a hand in a single goal for the Gunners.
  
• Charlie Austin is the top scoring English player in the Premier League this season (11). Only five English players scored 11+ PL goals in 2013-14.
  

Final Words

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas

Good Work RG.

QPR will be a tough match for us, we need win at home and no more room for excuses.

Wenger 'We have a good opportunity over Christmas to show that we are much better than people think we are.

Not sure, what Wenger has been smoking. We missing half team and play 3 games in a one week, 2 of them away.

Last month he said November is the month for Arsenal, now its Christmas.  

Good work RG
the game after this is @West Ham btw

but point stands
have to rotate as much as possible in this one
Alexis and Welbeck need a breather
a Must Win match obv

Merry Christmas to you all

“After the World Cup, we had too many players who came back not ready to compete again and then you look at the number of players that we lost when they just came back to their best.

Wenger says Injuries and the world Cup are the reason Arsenal are not doing well. Same old Wenger always with excuses, I guess he was not listening when the whole world begged him for DM and CB. All these years of injuries didn't teach him anything, what stubborn fool he has become.

clueless should be added to his name, lack of tactics and playing players out of position is not the reason Arsenal doing so bad.

Monreal as a CB, dont know how to feel about that. Wenger likes to experiment hopes it doesnt affect the result.

GET IN THERE ARSENAL

We really need to convert something soon. Can't let QPR hang in there. Charlie Austin 3:16 will punish us if we let them hang around

Wish I could say we looked real good today. Really just look like we can control possession without a clue in the final third.

Giroud out for one or three?????

straight red 3

The moron is out for 3 games.

Either way, we created more chances without him even with 10 men. Walcott is back so we can go 442

Giroud is the most frustrating player of all time

As soon as you think he's worthless shite he does something great

As soon as you think he's great he becomes worthless shite

Tired of his ridiculous nonsense flip flop form

Lool vendetta I still love Giroud although he has screwed us over with that ridiculous red card

Tbf his form has been good since coming back, for me the frustration is born in the fact we are now stuck with Welbeck up front.

1 goal in 10 PL games and Giroud who has basically missed the whole season so far has more goals ffs

All that pace but that's it

julias wrote:Lool vendetta I still love Giroud although he has screwed us over with that ridiculous red card

Tbf his form has been good since coming back, for me the frustration is born in the fact we are now stuck with Welbeck up front.

1 goal in 10 PL games and Giroud who has basically missed the whole season so far has more goals ffs

All that pace but that's it

11 goals and 3 assists in 18 games when playing centrally this season while offering great link-up play and playing in a shitty 433 formation early in the season. Combine that with his great form away from home  (unlike Giroud) and there's nothing to worry about him.

If our defense shows up against Southampton/West Ham, we'll be fine with Alexis and Welbeck playing centrally. The only thing we'll probably miss is his impact off the bench,

I think that this is the only team I have ever seen that can posses the ball like we do and never look like we are going to score. It is so frustrating and without Alexis this year I do not think we would be off the bottom of the table. Is it injuries, tactics, team management or are our players a lot more average than we would like to think. World cup?, I do not think so every team in the top of every top league had players that were there and we are the only team that consistently looks at best average.

still needed Giroud physicality vs West Ham
idiotic by him

Plus no engine for Alexis and Welbeck

Goldi Poldi and Theo to step up

thankfully Arry didnt use Zamora from start
they couldnt cross though

All Hail Alexis the GOAT

Welbeck has 6 goals in all competitions (18) 3 in the PL, 3 in the Gala game.

He's scored in 4 games all season for us and has started pretty much started every game since signing if my memory serves me right....

But forgetting that I personally don't think his link up is that great, his final pass is panicky and I regularly see his first touch taking him a good 5-6 yards back in the direction of where the pass came from.

Can't really dribble but has pace. Has really good movement but even that has petered out recently.

I'm just not convinced and I wasn't convinced before he came either. I'm just glad we signed Alexis because he has been firing on all cylinders whether from SS or LW or RW

Why do we need Giroud against West Ham?

He's awful away from home and West Ham have slow yet physically strong CB's you need quick players against the likes of Collins and Reid, if Giroud played they destroy him physically either way like everyone else does against him away from Emirates. My only worry is our defence, I hope Koscielny is back and Oxlade-Chamberlain too if Walcott can't start but I doubt that.

julias wrote:Welbeck has 6 goals in all competitions (18) 3 in the PL, 3 in the Gala game.

He's scored in 4 games all season for us and has started pretty much started every game since signing if my memory serves me right....

But forgetting that I personally don't think his link up is that great, his final pass is panicky and I regularly see his first touch taking him a good 5-6 yards back in the direction of where the pass came from.

Can't really dribble but has pace. Has really good movement but even that has petered out recently.

I'm just not convinced and I wasn't convinced before he came either. I'm just glad we signed Alexis because he has been firing on all cylinders whether from SS or LW or RW

I just told you he has 11 goals in 18 when playing centrally in all competitions, he's a very good CF just not a LW or what Wenger is doing with him. And he's expected to play centrally in our next 3 games so we should be fine.

His link-up play is great with everyone, Cazorla, Alexis, Oxlade-Chamberlain - he fits in our team as if he's been for years here so I don't know where you got the idea that he's been bad really.

Much better fit to our team than Giroud anyway.

he could help defending set piece/long balls

agreed with your other points re welbeck

btw Flamini covered 12.81 KM
Only 3rd to George Boyd and Eriksen this Whole Matchday
plus that clearance from their corner


but rubbish first touch on occasions
we aint getting fooled
should be released end of the season

urbaNRoots wrote:

julias wrote:Welbeck has 6 goals in all competitions (18) 3 in the PL, 3 in the Gala game.

He's scored in 4 games all season for us and has started pretty much started every game since signing if my memory serves me right....

But forgetting that I personally don't think his link up is that great, his final pass is panicky and I regularly see his first touch taking him a good 5-6 yards back in the direction of where the pass came from.

Can't really dribble but has pace. Has really good movement but even that has petered out recently.

I'm just not convinced and I wasn't convinced before he came either. I'm just glad we signed Alexis because he has been firing on all cylinders whether from SS or LW or RW

I just told you he has 11 goals in 18 when playing centrally in all competitions, he's a very good CF just not a LW or what Wenger is doing with him. And he's expected to play centrally in our next 3 games so we should be fine.

His link-up play is great with everyone, Cazorla, Alexis, Oxlade-Chamberlain - he fits in our team as if he's been for years here so I don't know where you got the idea that he's been bad really.

Much better fit to our team than Giroud anyway.

I have no idea where you're getting your numbers from because he hasn't scored 11 goals for Arsenal all season let alone when he's played up front, please link me to where these ghost goals have come from I beg you....

http://www.uefa.com/teamsandplayers/players/player=1901680/profile/index.html

6 goals in 18 appearances villa, hull, west brom, gala