UPDATED – CONFIRMED LINE-UP: (GK)Cech, (RB)Bellerin, (RCB)Mustafi, (LCB)Koscielny, (LB)Monreal, (DM)Coquelin, (CM)Chamberlain, (CAM)Ozil, (RW)Walcott, (LW)Iwobi, (CF)Sanchez
It is about time to dust off the feeling of irritation, disappointment, of the Watford game on Tuesday and focus on the challenges that are imminent.
One of such challenges is the trip to Stamford Bridge to take on Chelsea, who are seemingly quite equipped to inflict more misery, fuelled by vendetta for their 3-nil loss at the Emirates earlier this season.
That humiliation has been pegged as the origin of the form that has seen them ascend to the top of the League table whilst amassing a historic 13 game winning streak which was ended by Arsenal’s arch-rivals Tottenham about 3 weeks ago.
Considering the Gunners propensity for capitulation under pressure and Chelsea’s current form, one can only presume his weekend’s fixture is a foregone conclusion which should see the Blues exert revenge on The Gunners.
I wouldn’t be so confident to embrace that logic as this is the Premier League and no game can be concluded on until it has been played.
Furthermore, the North London club have a squad capable of beating any team when the right mix is fielded and they operate with the right mentality.
Having read Wenger’s defense for playing Gabriel in the right back position when Bellerin was available, I can begin to understand how his mind ticks.
Looking at the right side of the squad we put out at the Emirates on Tuesday, it is no surprise that we leaked in goals and were very vulnerable at that area of the pitch.
With Iwobi, Özil, Ramsey, and Gabriel cramped up in that zone, both attacking and defending was always going to be an issue, to be honest. However, I believe lessons have been learned and the need to claim maximum points against Chelsea at the Bridge just became imperative.
There’s a common sentiment amongst The Gunners’ faithful which entails the expectation of winning every game we play irrespective of the opposition. This is a sentiment that was built over the years and threatened when debts were accrued from the building of the Emirates stadium.
However, it was on this premise the club was able to charge the fans exorbitant rates for tickets and still sell out all the seats every season. On that note, most Arsenal fans are justified in their insistence for success at every turn.
It will be no surprise that The Blues will line up in a 3-4-3 formation and the flanks behind the wing backs will be their Achilles heel.
Our default formation this season of 4-2-3-1 would suffice so long as we use natural wingers who are tuned in and locked on to the game.
It is imperative that our flanks are fully operational hence, anyone outside Bellerin, Monreal, Walcott, Perez, Welbeck and/ or Sanchez shouldn’t be found there!
In the event Iwobi and Özil are fit to start, one has to be benched for the other to come on later as Chelsea are quite resilient in defense especially when they score first or go ahead in a match.
PREDICTED LINE-UP: (GK)Cech, (RB)Bellerin, (RCB)Mustafi, (LCB)Koscielny, (LB)Monreal, (DM)Coquelin, (CM)Chamberlain, (CAM)Ozil, (RW)Sanchez, (LW)Perez, (CF)Welbeck
A review of how Victor Moses and Marcos Alonso operate must be taken into serious account as they serve as instruments for stretching out opposition defenses to give Diego Costa room to capitalize.
Cech has been saddled with the responsibility of telling us every time the importance of concentrating a 100% after lost games but the time for talking is over.
With 9 points separating both sides at the moment, we have no choice but to get maximum points on Saturday.
Groans of the game being an early kickoff which dovetails to ill performances based on history isn’t a fun fact any Gunner is interested in paying attention to.
The loss to Watford has put us in a very dire situation as far as our title hopes are concerned. It is, therefore, prudent the players come out that day all cylinders firing.
All thoughts will align with talking tactics for the fixture at the Bridge.
COYG!
