options v Arsenal. What's MH thinking?

[Gerryhatrick]

Sometimes it isn't a good idea to just pick our best team, but to look at individual match ups with opposing players.

For example, Clint at left back would be a stupid decision against the pace of Walcott, but at centre back doing a man to man marking job on RVP would be clever imo. Clint reads the game very well, he's a clever positional player, and it could work.

Their full backs Gibbs and Sagna also get well forward, and we need pace on the flanks to combat this, and not sure which of Young or Onuoha at RB is best, both make errors and often fail to stop the crosses, add SWP at right mid for one more chance due to how quick he is to cover our RB. LB needs to be Taiwo, plus I would put Traore at Left mid, and both should cope with the pace on the left from Sagna and Walcott.

If their full backs bomb forward we can get in the channels with Zamora, and I would play DJ to partner him up front playing off him. Arsenal have average-weak centre backs, and I also don't rate Arteta and Gervinho. I think one of Arsenals top 3 players is Song, fantastic passer of a football, and Derry needs to bite his ankles and make him hurry into errors.

I would have both Tarbs and Mackie as impact subs, neither to start.

[Gerryhatrick]

I now read that Traore and DJ won't be available, as well as HH. So I just hope we can keep them to less than 7

[Spaghetti-Hoops]

Just change it to Tabs in midfield instead of traore on the left and bothroyd up front instead of dj... got to be 4 4 2 imo and jay looked up for it in his 10 mins against sunderland... Personally i think Samba is going to own this game tomorrow

[Deadend_Friend]

Traore and DJ are real blows for us. Need Taarabt to work very hard defensively on the left side along with Taiwo tomorrow

[Gerryhatrick]

Traore and DJ are real blows for us. Need Taarabt to work very hard defensively on the left side along with Taiwo tomorrow

Tarbs defending worries me a lot. Maybe he could play up front off Zammo in a 4-4-1-1 system with Smith covering the left mid.

We just cannot give them time in possession or they will crucify us. And we have to pressure their centre backs which is their weak area. Barton and Derry centre mid against Ramsey and Song is a concern, and if we play Diakite will he last 20 mins without a yellow?

[Chopper]

All this talk about DJ. What the he'll has he done other than increase our expenditure on Deep Heat.

[MattyRangers]

All this talk about DJ. What the he'll has he done other than increase our expenditure on Deep Heat.

Were not talking about what hes done so far, were talking about what he could do for us in the run in.

[QPR Taylor]

Were not talking about what hes done so far, were talking about what he could do for us in the run in.

We're fooling ourselves if we think DJ will have any impact this season. Just hope he has a good injury free per season as I think he will do the job for us next season whatever league we're in.

[vblockranger]

All this talk about DJ. What the he'll has he done other than increase our expenditure on Deep Heat.

panic buy

[Sideshowrob]

panic buy

Not sure about panic buy, it was the only buy we could afford pre TF

[QPRDave]

I think we should not play 4-4-2, because they will just pass and move right through us,
maybe 4-2-3-1?

[stanleymarsh]

Sometimes it isn't a good idea to just pick our best team, but to look at individual match ups with opposing players.

For example, Clint at left back would be a stupid decision against the pace of Walcott, but at centre back doing a man to man marking job on RVP would be clever imo. Clint reads the game very well, he's a clever positional player, and it could work.

Their full backs Gibbs and Sagna also get well forward, and we need pace on the flanks to combat this, and not sure which of Young or Onuoha at RB is best, both make errors and often fail to stop the crosses, add SWP at right mid for one more chance due to how quick he is to cover our RB. LB needs to be Taiwo, plus I would put Traore at Left mid, and both should cope with the pace on the left from Sagna and Walcott.

If their full backs bomb forward we can get in the channels with Zamora, and I would play DJ to partner him up front playing off him. Arsenal have average-weak centre backs, and I also don't rate Arteta and Gervinho. I think one of Arsenals top 3 players is Song, fantastic passer of a football, and Derry needs to bite his ankles and make him hurry into errors.

I would have both Tarbs and Mackie as impact subs, neither to start.

Do you really see Derry biting anyone's ankles and making anyone hurry in the Arsenal team?

We have to pick an attacking team, not just one to try and contain Arsenal or they will batter us. We can't play Derry, it's just too negative.

Swansea took the game to them and got a result, if we sit back they will just pile on the pressure and pick holes in us.

[BUSHRANGER1982]

Possession will be critical today, if we are going to get anything at all against ArseAnal.
Giving the ball away sloppilly, as we are oft to do, will be deadly against Arsene Wenger's team.
We must, when in possession of the ball, keep our passing simple, short passes to feet, players continuously moving, looking for space, always going forward whenever possible.
We are up against it today, but we have the players to get something out of this game, if they have the balls, that is.