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Tuesday 22 February 2011

Six Nations Rugby team come to Arsenal (Stoke City (h) preview)

Pulis - no football to be seen here

So tomorrow night sees our postponed match with Stoke City finally take place. You will recall that this is the match originally scheduled for the Saturday before Christmas, but it fell victim to the heavy December snow. It's interesting to note that we will not be seeing the original referee for this match. Lee Mason has been replaced by Peter Walton tomorrow - whether this would have happened anyway I don't know, but it seems a bit of a coincidence after Mason's decisions during the Everton game a couple of weeks ago.
The visit of Stoke City means that we will be, for the first time this season, playing against a team from another sport. Fabregas may have said that Ipswich played a game more akin to rugby, but they have nothing on this lot. I watched Stoke play Sunderland a couple of weeks ago and, eventually, batter them in to submission at the end of the game. You can't deny that Stoke's "style" is effective, but how anyone could sit and watch that every week must be one of life's great mysteries. The difference in aesthetic quality could not be more stark from last Wednesday to this. The ridiculous thing is that Stoke are even more likely to cause Arsenal major problems than Barcelona.
Arsenal's team news is not encouraging. Robin Van Persie and Laurent Koscielny have both been ruled out of the fixture. RVP has got a hamstring problem while Koscielny has suffered a back injury. This is a major problem. We shouldn't be surprised at Van Persie getting a knock as he's played unhindered for a couple of months, but what a terrible blow it could be. The Dutch striker has been the best striker in the Premier League since Christmas and our current run has no small part to do with his form. Koscielny, meanwhile, has formed a passable partnership with Johan Djourou. We will now have to watch Djourou try and carry Squillaci through a game against the tallest and most physical strike pair in the country - John Carew and Kenwynne Jones. If Diaby was fit and available (he is still suspended...and injured) I would have put Song alongside Djourou, but that option is not available without a change in formation - more of that below.
Stoke will stick with their usual game plan - kick the southern/foreign softies off the pitch and pile as many high balls in to the box as you possibly can. The injuries to RVP (our best header of the ball - he intercepts more than his share of set-pieces at the near-post) and Koscielny could be particularly costly tomorrow night. At the other end they will have the talentless Shawcross making his first appearance against Arsenal since breaking Aaron Ramsey's leg this time last year. I would have fancied Van Persie to take him apart. I expect Bendtner to replace him up front and we will need a repeat performance of his dominant aerial display at the Britannia last year if we are to prosper. I gave Bendtner a slagging on here yesterday, and deservedly so, but if he plays through the middle tomorrow we might just see a different display from him.
Having been forced in to changes, and there being little chance of Chamakh getting another start after Sunday, Wenger's available personnel would lend itself much better to a 4-4-2 formation. With the players at our disposal we would be much better off with a midfield comprising Nasri, Wilshere, Fabregas and Arshavin, supporting a front two of Bendtner/Chamakh with Walcott. This would give the big striker some support, while Shawcross and company could not handle the pace of Theo. It would also free Alex Song to join the back four. Sadly we know Arsene doesn't do tactics, or horses for courses, so here is the team I expect to see:
Szczesny - Sagna, Djourou, Squillaci, Clichy - Song, Wilshere, Fabregas - Nasri, Bendtner, Walcott.
As I said on here last week I am having to miss the game tomorrow thanks to the late change of date - the game was supposed to be tonight - so I will have to make do with Sky's version of the match highlights. I have no doubt that the abridged version of the game will bear little resemblance to the actual play, but my review of the game on Thursday will be largely dependent on it unfortunately. I hope that those lucky enough to be in the stadium will give Ryan Shawcross the abuse he deserves - he is not a footballer, but a licensed thug who shouldn't be anywhere near a football pitch. Such odious characters deserve to know what we feel about them.

11 comments:

  1. What a good thing you are not our manager.

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  2. Usual dross spouted by thick southern prawn eating armchair fan GO ON STOKE!!!

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  3. Take a look at the disciplinary table you muppet. Most red cards in the league, some angels Arsenal are? How does the song go? Same old Arsenal, always cheating.

    Why is it that every Arsenal fan can't see what a filthy team they are? Every fan of every other team in the league knows that Arsenal only won trophies with the dirtiest team to ever grace the Premier league. Just looking at an Arsenal teamsheet makes me sick. Every player is dirty.

    "Ryan Shawcross the abuse he deserves - he is not a footballer, but a licensed thug who shouldn't be anywhere near a football pitch. Such odious characters deserve to know what we feel about them."

    You do realise that the dirtiest and most odious character in the English game plays for you? Hopefully he'll finally escape the clutches of Dirty Arsene and get his dream move to Barca in the summer.

    #dirtyarsenal

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  4. may you choke in your own venom come tomorrow night.
    stoke city forever

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  5. Ha ha a few northern women not being beaten tonight, as the mugs are too busy writing on here

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  6. Shame you can't come up with a decent response to any of the points I made though eh? Why's that?

    I'll tell you why, because Arsenal ARE dirtier than Stoke, you're just another know-nothing-gooner that believes anything and everything written in the media, with no regard for the facts. That's the problem with internet access, there's no 'retard-filter'. Any imbecile can write a complete load of drivel and publish it.

    #dirtyarsenal

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  7. Just cast your fishing line and catch the neanderthals.
    As for the "armchair fan" bit check the strapline you illiterate twat - SEASON TICKET HOLDER. If I was an armchair fan I wouldn't dare to comment as I wouldn't deserve a say. Fucking wanker.
    I knew slagging Stoke would draw a response from the horrible northern inbreds. The team only reflects the fans - that's why away fans visiting Stoke City are escorted from the motorway in to a steel cage behind the away end for their own protection, and then away again after the match.
    Apparently Cesc Fabregas is a dirty player. Hmmm. Not yet seen anyone carried away from a challenge by Cesc with their leg at right angles, whereas Shawcross already has two (maybe more if I've missed some).
    By the way David - are you an Arsenal fan? If so perhaps you can tell me which bits of the post you disagree with and we can get some footballing debate on the go - that's what the blog is here for. If you're not an Arsenal fan then what are you commenting on here for?

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  8. What's with the #dirtyarsenal? This isn't Twitter you northern twat!

    It must be awful being northern and having to carry around all that anger.

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  9. "It must be awful being northern and having to carry around all that anger."

    It must be awful writing a blog when you clearly know fuck all about football and can't even reply in a sensible manner when your whole article is blown apart. Throwing insults around is the last resort when your intelligence and/or football knowledge has been exhausted.

    As usual, another 'tard that thinks he's right and everyone else in the whole world is wrong. The first reply from one of your Arsenal brethren says it all, no one cares for your blinkered opinions.

    #dirtyarsenal

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  10. Show me where you've "blown apart" my article. By stating that Fabregas is the dirtiest player in the country? You're a deluded fool.
    If you read the article properly (difficult I know) you will see that I say how Arsenal will struggle with Stoke. The fact that I hate Shawcross and believe him to be a dirty bastard is rather backed up with facts - just ask Fracis Jeffers and Aaron Ramsey. Arsenal's red card tally is irrelevant - how many of them are for terrible fouls? There is a difference between indiscipline and foul-play.

    Was that eloquent enough?


    And I know fuck all about football - what a waste of the past twenty-seven years watching Arsenal in the flesh. I am ashamed of myself for knowing so little.

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  11. Actually the way Google works by using #DirtyArsenal it still trends, not through twitter but through Google.

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