European and Domestic Cups Discussion 2018/2019

Having just seen a picture, it looks like a dislocated kneecap.

Not confirmed, of course.

I think we need to replace Mkhitaryan in summer.

RealGunner wrote:I think we need to replace Mkhitaryan in summer.

word.

Maybe even January, if we can.

Hope Wele‘s injury is not too serious.

Licht hamstring. Niles on.

Eddie was about to come on too

Looks like Smith-Rowe has an issue as well but he has to play

Annoying performance. Sporting were dogged but our end product was terrible. Iwobi and Mkhitaryan the biggest culprits. Been a while since we've seen Mkhitaryan have a good game, tbh.

Feel for Nketiah, who still can't get minutes because Lichtsteiner's hammy went the moment he was about to come on. Kid can't catch a break atm.

So frustrating not to score

Final third was awful.

A point was enough for us to go through, at least.

Now we have Qarabag at home and Vorskla away. No reason not to send the u23 team to both of those games.

Already through but may still need a win to top the group

Arsenal 10
Sporting 7

Vorskla 3
Karabakh 3

Finish 1st or 2nd, we'll most likely face a shit team next round anyways.

But knowing Emery, he will play at least 4-5 key players to get 3 more points and maybe send kids in the final match. Big maybe.

It does seem like Emery's style has started to catch on to players in terms of injuries and knocks. I am not sure if it was the same at Sevilla but these players seem to have started picking more and more knocks.

Luckily international break has come at the right time.

Exactly, finishing first in the group stages doesn‘t really have a huge importance in the EL.

There‘s no excuse not to start Eddie Nketiah/Joe Willock in these last two games.

I don't remember many injury crises at Sevilla under Emery tbh.

But we just got through a week where we played Monday, Thursday and Sunday, before playing another mid-week game, then against Liverpool. And Sporting kicked and fouled our players all game.

Considering we've played each one at a high intensity, it's probably not a surprise that the players are starting to feel it a bit. Knocks and strains are unavoidable when you play six games in two and a half weeks.

International break really does come up at a good time. Gives our squad a chance to rest up a bit.

Wolves H  Sun Nov 11 - 16:30

Bournemouth A  Sun Nov 25 - 13:30
FC Vorskla A  Thu Nov 29 - 17:55
Tottenham H  Sun Dec 2 - 14:05
Manchester United A Wed Dec 5 - 20:00
Huddersfield H Sat Dec 8 - 15:00

We just need to make sure we beat Wolves and go into the break with positivity.

Our game vs Vorskla has been moved to Kyiv's Olympic Stadium due to martial law being declared in several regions in Ukraine.

It's also going to be cold. Like, -13 degree Celsius or something. Almost as bad as Ostersund last season.

well just perfect game for the kids aint it >.<

The whole squad isn't out yet, but here're some of the players who have travelled to Ukraine:

Petr Cech
Emi Martinez
Zech Medley
Stephan Lichtsteiner
Carl Jenkinson
Jordi Osei-Tutu
Dominic Thompson
Mohamed Elneny
Charlie Gilmour
Mateo Guendouzi
Aaron Ramsey
Emile Smith Rowe
Joe Willock
Bukayo Saka
Eddie Nketiah
Tyreece John-Jules

Medley can't play, so I don't know why he's travelled. I imagine a couple of our senior centre backs have travelled as well.

Thompson is a left back who has been training a lot with the first team this season (likely because of injuries). Osei-Tutu is a right back who's pushing for more first team games.

Gilmour is a midfielder. Saka is an explosive left winger who can also play left back.

John-Jules is yet another number nine who has been prolific at youth level.

Maitland-Niles hasn't been mentioned but has probably travelled, and there was some talk of Koscielny going as well.

Arsenal XI vs. Vorskla: Cech; Lichtsteiner, Holding, Jenkinson, Maitland-Niles; Elneny, Guendouzi; Willock, Ramsey, Smith Rowe; Nketiah.

Nketiah
@urban

So proud of these youngsters, I'm really excited to see how they develop in the future!

Good to see the young boys are putting in a shift.

we have got a black left footed center back,WATTBA
Our kimpembe i wish lol

Nketiah looked very frustrated by the end there. Didn't get a good chance come his way and snatched at a few half-chances. You can tell he's super eager to impress in the little time he's getting.

Smith Rowe was great in the first half but faded in the second. His combinations with Maitland-Niles were fun to watch and I really enjoyed his scoop pass for Nketiah. Should have had two goals on the night.

Willock impressed me the most throughout the game. He's playing with a lot confidence at the moment and looks like a strong ball carrier.

Saka looked decent as well. He's the first of his scholarship group to get a debut and you can kinda see why.

We're away to either Blackpool or Solihull Moors in the FA Cup 3rd round.

Solihull Moors is a club near Birmingham that play in the National League. It'll basically be like that time we played Sutton in 2017.

Seeing the reaction of the Solihull executive after the draw makes me hope they can do it against Blackpool as a fixture against Arsenal could be like winning the lottery for these non-league clubs.