Bournemouth arrive at the Emirates on a potentially
pivotal night in the season. So long as we take
three points, the pursuit of a top four finish will
receive a boost in one form or another with Chelsea
hosting Tottenham. If Palace could do us a favour
as well by taking points off United…
Unai Emery received a boost with the timely return
to fitness of Ainsley Maitland-Niles which allows
the omission of Stephan Lichtsteiner from the side.
The Swiss is “being assessed” which is the new
way of saying “out for the three weeks”.
It’s inevitable that Emery will rotate the XI for
tonight’s match but the question is how many? It’s
a relatively quick turnaround to Tottenham at the
weekend so those with knocks or just returning
from injury will miss out.
The outcome is likely to see Mustafi partner
Sokratis with Koscielny once again on the bench to
ensure we have one half-decent centre-back fit for
the weekend.
The bigger question is over Denis Suarez. Spanish
media reports suggest Barcelona hope we pay
€20m in the summer. To be honest, Emery raised
questions about that. Asked yesterday about his
compatriot, he said that Suarez “is improving” and
that he has the “quality” to improve the side.
However, concerns must surely be raised when
Emery noted that “it’s not okay today [for him] to
play 90 minutes because he needs rhythm”.
“He is working every day, improving and knowing
us. My philosophy is that adaptation needs time
and after, little-by-little he will grow confidence and
know his teammates in training and after playing
matches.”
To Exude Isn’t Rude
He doesn’t exude confidence as a player; maybe
that’s his nature and he will grow as a player. As
yet, nobody can say it will be €20m well spent. I
wonder if that depends on whether we reach the
Champions League anyway? Midfield is the least of
our issues if we have just a £50m budget. A couple
of centre-backs and a goalkeeper are more
important. That’s a decision for another day.
Tonight, Emery tantalised that he might start which
given Iwobi’s knock at the weekend but is it the
right choice? Should Mesut Ozil feature against a
side deemed to physical for him earlier this
season? The argument against the German’s
inclusion is Aaron Ramsey. The Welshman was part
of the XI which played very well during the first half
against Southampton and as far as the midfield is
concerned, keeping that quintet together as much as
possible is surely the objective?
It means no place in the starting line-up for Pierre-
Emerick Aubameyang with Alexandre Lacazette
impressing once again up front. The Frenchman
doesn’t score as many as PEA but his overall play
contributed to a more cohesive performance.
That the standard of opposition was poor did
contribute to it, there’s no doubt. However, Arsenal
still had to play effectively. Reproducing that against
a better side is the test.
The line-up I expect Unai Emery to ignore in favour
of a better one is:
Leno; Maitland-Niles, Mustafi, Sokratis, Kolasinac;
Torreira, Xhaka; Mkhitaryan, Ramsey, Suarez;
Lacazette
Emery was questioned on the Kepa incident at
Wembley but kept his thoughts to himself. I should
think Sarri is less than impressed with just a week’s
wages being docked from the player but
pragmatism means dropping your best goalkeeper
is not feasible, especially when you need three
points against a team above you in the table.
Boot Wrapped Round Your Head…
Elsewhere, it was sad to hear Abou Diaby retired at
the age of 32; injuries won in the end. He recovered
from Dan Smith’s assault but Michael Essien’s
stamp proved to be the career killer. Unsurprisingly,
Mike Dean was the referee on that occasion so
Essien received no punishment.
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