Arsenal vs. Schalke

Tuesday, Nov. 6th
19:45
Veltins Arena

We really need a win after our poor form. Not to mention they outplayed us a couple weeks ago at home. Ramsey has been left out of the squad due to the groin injury he picked up on Saturday. Curious to see what team Wenger puts out without Ramsey. I think Walcott deserves a start. I also wouldn't mind seeing Arshavin in the starting 11. We can't afford defensive mistakes and Santos was a disaster on the left side when we last played them. Our offence really needs to start producing chances. Here's the team travelling to Schalke.

Arsenal squad:
Vito Mannone
James Shea
Bacary Sagna
Thomas Vermaelen
Mikel Arteta
Johan Djourou
Per Mertesacker
Laurent Koscielny
Jack Wilshere
Olivier Giroud
Santi Cazorla
Andre Santos
Lukas Podolski
Theo Walcott
Andrey Arshavin
Carl Jenkinson
Francis Coquelin
Marouane Chamakh

If Mannone, Santos and Vermaelen all start, we wont win this match.

Jenks1981 wrote:If Mannone, Santos and Vermaelen all start, we wont win this match.

Fully agree with you fella.....why not slot Dj in at left back....how much worse could he be than Santos by all accounts he is chomping at the bit to get back into the team....even say fuck it and play with anybody fit back there...still pissed off with him over united's first goal..
Give Theo the start he wants up front...fully believed he should have been handed it against united..if not agains these bigger teams the knock on effect will drag him down and possibly away....


No idea how to call this game....possibly a 1-0 to us....

Koscielny to replace TV, Theo to replace Ramsey and that is it. 1-0 to us, Giroud.

Djourou at left-back? No need to commit suicide. He just about survived at right-back, why kill him at left-back. Besides, in the great tradition of AW back-up players, he has become a total joke since he stopped playing regularly for the first-team. Two seasons ago he looked quite promising again but all that turned to nowt, and seemingly he can't even do a job for us now.

The least controversial and most logical solution would be to put Vermaelen at left-back and bring back Koscielny.

I think we made Schalke look better than they are, even if they are a good side with a potent attacking line-up. We could come out of this with some credit if we play sensibly.

[quote="John Foxall"]Djourou at left-back?


There was a huge amount of sarcasm from my. Point there...I don't really care who slots in just as long as Santos is nowhere in sight....

I would start with Vermaelen at left back.

He has been pretty shocking this season. I really wish he was not made club captain so Wenger could drop him and bring in Koscielny (Mr.I-Will-Score-At-Both-Ends).

Expect the typical Arsenal mini-revival at Schalke. Don't get carried away though, our season will come off the rails again in January.

I'd go,

Mannone

Sagna Mertesacker Koscielny Vermaelen
Arteta Wilshere Cazorla
Walcott Giroud Podolski


Our options are rather limited and I hear Walcott was sick overnight. If he doesn't start then it's obvious there are issues between him and Wenger, probably in that he is already looking to leave and Wenger won't play him. We'll see. He might start and still be off, we may as well get the most of him whilst he's here considering we don't have many options.

Don't really see us winning the game, not many teams win many games away from home in a Champions League season. A draw wouldn't be a huge shock but it also wouldn't be surprising to see a narrow defeat.

Would like to see Coquelin start at LB. He's been better in the few games he's played at either fullback positions last season than he has in midfield this term. Koscielny and Vermaelen both in the same team looks like an accident waiting to happen. At-least right now. However, that's how we'll line up at the back I feel. Win will be a bonus, draw a fair result.

At the actual one-on-one defending with Farfan I think Coquelin would struggle. The easiest decision, politically as well, is to move Vermaelen to left-back. Coquelin just generally is never a very inspiring selection. Hunger, effort etc blah blah blah but he's limited.

Wenger probably deserves the sack if he keeps Santos at left-back.

As for Koscielny and Vermaelen, they don't make a nice CB partnership but I don't see the problem with them both playing if Verm is at left-back.

As for the midfield, I think in the long-run a three or Arteta, Wilshere and Cazorla is too short on defensive quality but we'll see. It may well be the three to start again. As ever, for the fifth season in a row, the blindingly obvious lack of a specialist DM hurts us. Arteta does that Alonso role quite well, but in a team with our defensive problems, the lack of a Mascherano/Makelele character hurts us. Sure, there aren't hundreds of them out there but we've barely been looking. M'Vila would have been a good signing.

I honestly think Mannone has been playing quite well. I don't automatically see him as a risk. He made several important saves against Manchester United that kept us in the game. I really do not want to see Santos at LB but I have a feeling that Wenger is going to play him on the off chance that he hits a patch of form.

We all know that Wenger is stubborn and that stubborness has brought us success, but we need to change something up here. The team is low on morale and a win tomorrow would be huge.

M'Vila would have great. And agree that a proper DM would have been very handy. With no Macherano/Makelele character, we've been quite incapable of winning the ball regularly as high up the pitch as we'd like, and hence the whole team has been playing very deep. As a result, limiting our attacking opportunities as well.

How has stubborness brought him or us success? (Honest question)

I think it was mostly having a disciplined and talented team, like most successful teams.

He is currently unable to instill that discipline (unable and/or unwilling) and certainly not able to get the same kind of talent in as he did before.

We can live with Mannone as long as he realises his limitations. No silly charges out to claim crosses that go over him etc. I think in the Champions League, he passes for a reasonable GK, his troubles have been regarding decision-making and anything in the air in the league.

I mean his way of coaching and style of play has brought Arsenal success in the past. He has stuck to his philosophy over the past decade and has seen relatively good results

But now he is unwilling to change and adapt, which is hurting the team.

We were playing far more conventional English football ten years ago. He changed the team to reflect the way that he wanted it to play, which complicated our task hugely.

In the airport waiting for my flight out psyched!

Knowing Wenger, I think this is the team we're seeing tomorrow:

---------------------MANNONE---------------------
SAGNA-----MERTESACKER---VERMAELEN----SANTOS
-WILSHERE----------CAZORLA--------------ARTETA-
WALCOTT------------GIROUD-------------PODOLSKI

Although I too wish that Vermaelen was shifted to LB and Koscielny put in next to Mertesacker, Arsene's too stubborn to do that. With Ramsey out, Wenger would be mad not to start Walcott. Although let's be honest, I'd have been starting Walcott for the past couple weeks. Arshavin to come on if Podolski has another flat game. Coquelin to come on if we somehow have a lead in the later stages of the match. By the way, our midfield depth is awful.

Either we're scraping a win or losing big tomorrow, we'll see which.

If I were Wenger I'd start with:
Mannone
Jenkinson Mertesacker Koscielny Sagna
Arteta Wilshere Cazorla
Theo Giroud Arshavin
Yes, Arsha-fucking-vin! Podolski isn't doing anything right now. No tracking back, and nothing going forward. At least with Arshavin we have that (false) hope of him being able to do something. And recently, he hasn't been that bad. Knowing Wenger, he will go with this:
Mannone
Sanga Mertesacker Vermaelen Santos
Arteta Wilshere Cazorla
Theo Giroud Poldi

Don`t be surprised if the team has a great match, gets an easy victory, no mistakes from the defenders and controls the match, 3-0 to Arsenal!

Early team news.......



Kick-off: 19:45 GMT Coverage: BBC Sport website, BBC Radio 5 live and Sky Sports

Aaron Ramsey will miss Arsenal's Champions League game against Schalke on Tuesday with a groin strain.

The Wales midfielder was substituted during the second half of the defeat at Manchester United on Saturday and is replaced by Johan Djourou.

Boss Arsene Wenger makes one other change from the loss, James Shea is in for ineligible keeper Damian Martinez.

Theo Walcott will be assessed on Tuesday to see if he is well enough to feature after picking up an illness.

The 23-year-old has been ill overnight and is a doubt for the Group B encounter, which will not see the return of Wojciech Szczesny (ankle) despite the goalkeeper joining in with training on Monday.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (hip), Gervinho (ankle), Kieran Gibbs (thigh), Abou Diaby (thigh) and Tomas Rosicky (hamstring) are all still out.

Schalke centre-back Kyrgiakos Papadopoulos is a doubt after suffering a cut above his eyebrow on Saturday.

The Greek international suffered the injury in German side Schalke's 3-2 defeat at Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga on Saturday


This offers us a couple of headaches...no front start for theo nor his pace for a second half run....Rambo out,well its could be a blessing in disguise but offers us no room for subs
A straight 4-4-2 is needed for this game...they will come at us boyed by the previous result... Shifting the middle over and slotting AA in the left channel will prob be our only real attacking choice

I would assume the team will be


-------------------mannone-------------------

-------sagna----kos-----mert----tv--------

---wilshire-------cazorla-------arteta----

----?????-------giroud------podolski-----

Why would Shea start ahead of Mannone?

mannone is injured.....

Why is Martinez ineligible? He isn't in the 25 man list.

Scrap that mannone is NOT injured...just got changed from where I see the update.....

Not sure why Martinez is...will have a look around...

Martinez isn't registered as he would have to be one of the 25 man squad if he were. I agree with Mario's team but think its unlikely, I also have no idea who will fill in for Walcott if he is not fit, playing 4 midfielders and moving Podolski more centrally might be an option, but Wenger is so inflexible its unlikley.