Arsenal – Manchester City Preview

By: Darren_v | November 28th, 2011

We at Arsenal Offside would like offer our condolences to the family and friends of Gary Speed in light of his the news that he has taken his own life yesterday. Arsene Wenger offered his own message on the Arsenal website saying:

“It was a shock of course. I did not know him very well as a person but you did not like to see him on the team against you. You knew he was a great player – very good in the air, fantastic work-rate and very intelligent on the football pitch.
“As a manager he had started to turn things around for Wales. We know they have a young promising team and he was the ideal figure to go with this side from improvement to improvement.
“It is extremely sad. I am speechless when confronted by things like this. All we can do is express our condolences to his friends and his family.”

Well respected former writer of the Arsenal Offside, Martin, likely summed it up best in the comments section yesterday.

Really tragic news. Young, successful man with young family. Really shows that mental illness and depression can strike anyone, no matter how perfect your life appears to the rest of the world. On the off chance anyone reading this does suffer from severe depression/suicidal thoughts — suicide really is a permanent solution to a temporary problem, and help is available. Please seek out professional help, it could save your life and you’ll be so very glad you did.

I’m sure I am not the only one at a loss for words at a time like this, but it surely makes me realize how insignificant our beloved football is in the grand scheme of things in life. I can only hope the Speed family and friends get the privacy they deserve while they grieve and deal with the passing of a loved one.
______________________________________________________________________________

carling-cup As with all things however, life continues on despite all events and the same goes with the footballing world. Tomorrow Arsenal welcome the Sheik of Oil City to the Emirates for the Carling Cup. There has been plenty of player familiarity in the last number of years between ‘Citeh’ and Arsenal with Emmanuel Adebayor, Kolo Toure, $amir Na$ri and Gael Clichy all switching venues. Manchester City are in impressive form and are currently unbeaten in the Premier League, and their second string of players likely cost more then our first string. There is a lot of money on the pitch, on the bench and in Argentina whenever the Citizens play. Roberto Mancini has rotated his squad a lot to start the season, and will likely continue this practice for Tuesday night’s clash, and it really doesn’t matter too much as there is very little change in terms of quality when he chooses to go to the bench. Joe Hart will likely get a rest in goal for their second string keeper Costel Pantilimon to get his third start in the Carling Cup. I would expect a complete switch of their defense from their Sunday draw versus Liverpool giving them a still very solid line of Zabaleta, Kolo Toure, Savic and Kolarov. As defensive midfielders we will likely see Canadian Owen Hargreaves and the highly skilled Nigel de Jong who will look to break up play and allow the attacking force of my expected front four to do their thing. For those four I would expect to see Dzeko lead the line as he was rested on Sunday, combined with Adam Johnson James Milner and Na$ri. Regardless if this is correct or not though, they will be a strong squad and difficult to beat.

Arsenal are coming off a tired display against Fulham as their starting squad has largely been unchanged since the transfer window closed, except for forced ones due to injury concerns. Arsene Wenger has been challenging his squad to show their quality and support the first choice players by their play when they get the chance. Andrei Arshavin had his chance against Fulham, and failed to impress. It is notable that his only ‘good’ performance for Arsenal this term was in his favored position behind the striker, so one hopes that if given another chance, it will be in that position but I wouldn’t hold my breath on that one. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Chu-Young Park have been selected to play according to Sam Wallace and Yossi Benayoun will likely start as well as Wenger has admitted the Israeli has “not played as much as he deserves” and can rightly feel unlucky not to have started against Fulham over the out-of-form and favor Arshavin. I would expect Tomas Rosicky to get the start behind Park as he has not played since the match versus Chelsea.

Lukasz Fabianksi is sure to start in goal, and he will be keen to impress as he has been frustrated with his lack of playing time at Arsenal and wanting to be selected for Poland in the upcoming Euro 2012. Vito Mannone has also spoken out at lack of game time himself, but will sit on the bench. The rest of the squad for Arsenal is harder to predict as Wenger will need to ride a fine line of experience and giving players a break. Andre Santos is the only fit left back at the club right now and has played a lot of matches lately and will be rested you would assume. But who to play? Miquel had the task against Bolton last time out in the Carling Cup, but he is not a full back and could well be exposed by Milner or Adam Johnson. Do you play Thomas Vermaelen, or stick with the youngster in knowledge he will have a torrid night? On the right side Nico Yennaris had a solid debut and recently signed a new contract with Arsenal, but the same goes with him as with Miquel. At the center of defense Koscielny will likely start as he did not feature on Saturday, and Sebastien Squillaci could get a rare game with Arsenal. The two players who played in front of the defense against Bolton was Emmanuel Frimpong and Francis Coquelin, the two players competing for the backup position for Alex Song. They are both very limited when playing the ball however and that was shown the last time they played together. Finally my predicted line up is largely based on the Arsenal.com website training pictures that were posted today and who seemed to be featured in the photos:

Flaps

Yennaris Koscielny Squillaci Vermaelen

Frimpong Coquelin

Chamberlain Rosicky Benyaoun

Park

Subs: Mannone, Miquel, Ozyakup, Diaby, Miyaichi, Arshavin, Chamakh

I actually hope Diaby starts ahead of either Frimpong or Coquelin, but we will see. I largely don’t really have any expectations for this match, and feel that we should not play our first team players, other than for the fact I would hate to see our second-string get rolled over by the billionaires. The Carling Cup should be the least of Arsenal’s worries this year, trophy or not. Ensuring qualification to next year’s Champions League must be priority, and running our important players ragged chasing the ‘Micky Mouse Cup’ just doesn’t seem like a bright idea. Of course, we all remember past seasons when Wenger and the squad clearly didn’t care about these matches, and subsequently were rolled over in embarrassing fashion to Manchester United and Tottenham in this competition. It will be a fine line for Wenger to get the balance correct. Manchester City will be tough regardless of who send out onto the pitch and while Napoli has shown they are suspect to quick counter attacks, it is reasonably questionable if we have the quality to exploit that weakness. I really have very little expectation of a win this time, and really only hope Arsenal go out and play with an honest effort and not get thrashed. Is that harsh? Maybe so. I predict a 2-0 defeat and hope I am pleasantly surprised.

***There has been a trend lately on Twitter with Arsenal fans taking to bashing former Arsenal Players. While I have an immense dislike to Emmanuel Adebayor and look to slide tackle him while I play him on FIFA because it’s a game and its fun, I have zero concept of abusing former players in any way. While Cesc Fabregas is not as well liked in my mind as he was three years ago, if he wanted to go, go. I don’t care about Barcelona now that they are not talking about Arsenal players for once, and really have zero interest in how they do in La Liga, even if it’s slightly ironic they are ’struggling’ now that Cesc has joined them. $amir Na$ri gets an inordinate amount bile thrown at him on twitter by Arsenal fans, and I just wonder why gooners still follow him, let alone waste energy on tweeting him. The furthest I will get to caring is having to write his name for this blog and therefore the $ sign. Insulting the player will just re-enforce his decision that leaving Arsenal was a good idea. Gael Clichy was a class-act professionally at Arsenal. He worked hard and never spoke a bad word about Arsenal, and still refuses to make a single critical remark about the club. Yes his theory on the offside line is not exactly horizontal, but he played hard, was professional when wanting to leave and most Arsenal fans wanted him gone, so to now slate him for being somewhere that he makes a lot more money is depressing to see.
And finally Kolo Toure. Anyone who slates one of the Invincibles and genuine good guys in the world of football needs to look themselves in the mirror. It’s telling that when Toure was suspended for misuse of drugs that Arsene Wenger is the one who Kolo talks about in helping him through the difficult period. Kolo Toure emphatically did not leave for money, but due to complications in the relationship with William Gallas, and his slipping form. How anyone can slag off such a good man is beyond me. Dislike player all you like, but to give them the bile that some of them get from Arsenal supporters is sad to see. The Arsenal has always been about class and quality. Sure they fail at times, but no one can say that the club does not strive for these qualities at all times. Arsene Wenger is called the most horrid of names and never mentions them and is the epitome of class. That is the Arsenal way. We fans would do well to follow the example that our beloved club sets.

Some Related Stories:

Norwich – Arsenal Preview, Plus Some Team Notes

Category: Arsenal News

« Arsenal 1 – Fulham 1 : Vermaelen Scores for Both Teams as Winning Streak is Snapped | Home | Liveblog 3000! Arsenal v. City, Carling Cup edition »

Gigi_man

18 men squad already in official site, no Theo, no RvP.
Darren_V

The squad as been announced.

Arshavin, Benayoun, Chamakh, Coquelin, Djourou, Eastmond, Fabianksi, Frimpong, Gervinho, Koscielny, Park, Mannone, Miquel, Yennaris, Chamberlain, Ozyakup, Squillaci, Vermaelen

A strong squad with the biggest surprise being Eastmond.
Orion

Can't agree with you more when it comes to respect between fans and players. People seem to forget that players, like evey one of us, are motivated by money. If, at the moment, you are earning "x" amount of money per year and a rich firms comes along and scoops you up with twice that wage, no one would give you stick. The same goes for professional sportsmen. Then again, you'd never kiss your firm's logo. So footballers need to draw a line in terms of where loyalty and professionalism meet.
Benjamin Dockter

For the most part this whole loyalty/money thing is a bunch of crap. Unless you are a player like Jack who's spent his entire life at Arsenal or someone who owe's Arsenal a huge debt of gratitude (i.e. moving them and family from a bad situation, getting their career on track, etc.) I expect no "lifetime loyalty" from them. Like any career, the goal of ANY professional footballer is personal glory and a fat paycheck. Some people strictly play for the love of the game and only want to play for their favorite team (whether or not they win titles) for the rest of their lives (i.e Wilshire, Gerrard, Terry, etc.). MOST EVERYONE ELSE wants a combination of the two. If there's another company (team) that will offer greater money and recognition for your work (titles in this case), you will move without thinking. That's it.

As long as you go about your move in a respectful way (Toure, Clichy, Henry), you shouldn't give an f about it. "Thank you very much for your service and I look forward to seeing you in the future." I have a nice job with nice people right now, but if someone offered me twice as much as I'm currently making and a greater chance at being recognized in my field, you better bet your ass that I'd drop these dickweeds like a sack of potatoes.
eijner

"Arsene Wenger
is called the most horrid of names and never mentions them and is the
epitome of class. That is the Arsenal way. We fans would do well to
follow the example that our beloved club sets."Quoted for truth, my fellow gooner. Well said.
download mass effect 3

AS I now Speed’s death came a day after the former Liverpool footballer Stan Collymore
spoke candidly about his battle with depression but I think he was a an incredible man and as I know that Sun Newspaper had reported that he had a fight with his wife and she was not reason for his suicide.
Modi

Darren, On Riyo Miyaichi & Rosicky, you got this one wrong. Miyaichi is out for 4-6 weeks, and Rosiscky was not even fit for Dortmund. Riyo will therefore never be anywhere near the bench while Rosiscky will likely not make into the starting lineup.

Having been a sub in the Fulham game, I think Chamackh will start. Ozy would probably start, and the bench will definitely include RvP or Gervinho, the game changers.
Perry S.

You were on the money.
Gigi_man

Great comments on the non abuse, very fair, and logic. Keep that attitude up. As I do not care for players who leave, I do put myself inn others peoples shoes. One French singer once sang a song about how easy it is to (ih nevermind that was boring but you get the point)
As for the game, well, I expect less than you do, but hope we are both wrong.
Diaby could use this game, but I dont see him starting. I hope that even if we lose Park and/ or AOC DC take their chances and show AW he can rely on them elsehwere.
Defence....well, I will say a prayer since I dont want any of the 1st team there.
Still, hope is the last thing you lose, or you lose it when you lose...
Oh and Arsha behind the striker, pls AW give the guy a real shot, (ah Perry?) ;P
Perry S.

Arsha behind the striker will lead to a goal or great assist by the little Russian boyscout.
JG

I sincerely hope Vermaelen, Ramsey, Arteta, Walcott, Song, and RvP are kept far away from the pitch tomorrow. Andre Santos will do fine at LB. A big test for Yennaris if he starts- let's hope he's up for it. I would rather start Mertesacker over Squillaci, but it's much more sensible to rest the German- right now, our main objective is to make it to the Top 4. As much as it hurts to say, we will, barring a miracle, finish trophyless again. So, much to Homey's chagrin, making it to the CL next year will be our "trophy". Again, our reserves could very well win tomorrow and go all the way, but I'm not holding my breath- and strangely, I'm not too worried about it.
Big, big chances for AOC, Coq, and Park to establish themselves a little bit more on the 1st team. Benayoun deserves a start and he'll get it. A big test for Arshavin- this is probably his last chance to assure Wenger he still has something in him.
Gigi_man

On the trophy issue, I think our target is to behave like those teams having nothing to lose, on the UCL.
What if we get injured, what if we waste anything else? Tops of the Europa league, or No cups won, we should go for that one to ammend everything.
Yeah, yeah, I am crazy, hopefully I will never manage the Arsenal :P
Patoux21

I hope Diaby starts too so that he can rediscover his form and pray he stays healthy
Perry S.

He already smashed your hopes...he's injured yet again.
city_blue

A city fan here. Good preview. I doubt city will play quite as strong a team as you predict. Indeed they have recalled Razak from Portsmouth - the only reason could be to play him tomorrow. I think we may see a couple of other kids such as Denis Suarez. Should be an interesting game - but I guess neither camp will be taking it all that seriously.
Darren_V

Thank you for the kind words. Do me a favor and throw the game, you need to worry about Europe after all :)
Seriously though, good luck tomorrow/today.
gradew

please put Arshavin in place of Rosicky, let us see him play there.
Bumblefock

wasn't rosicky injuried lately?
Martin

He did have a minor injury for the Dortmund game, if I recall. Not sure if he's back for this one or not.
Darren_V

I thought I read somewhere he was fit again. If I'm mistaken, perhaps we will see Yossi in the middle with Gervinho playing on the flank. I'd be a fan of that idea.
Martin

+1 on the civility comments. I honestly don't understand the bile that gets directed Nasri's way. He signed a contract with the club. When there was a year left on his contract, the club came to renegotiate. They offered him far less than he knew he could make elsewhere. He refused to sign it, and said that he would fulfill the contract but would not leave money on the table. And he was willing to do it, too -- remember that he played, and played well, for us early in the season before he was sold. But the club sensibly sold him.

Did he do it for the money? Yes, that was probably the main thing. But before you cast stones -- if someone offered you three times as much money as you are currently making to do the same job, can you honestly say that you would have so much loyalty and gratitude for your current employer that you would turn it down? He doesn't play as much as he did for Arsenal, but he does play in almost every game (if he doesn't start), and injuries will definitely give him his chance down the road. He never disrespected the club, or the fans, and while some of his comments have been a bit ill-advised, it's nothing over the line in my opinion.

For me, what Cesc did was much worse -- he had three years left on his contract, and he had collected "loyalty bonuses" for signing new deals. But he decided he wanted to leave for Barcelona, and refused to honor his commitment to the club to force a deal to Barcelona, which he got, and Arsenal had to sell him for well below his market price.
begoodgunner

because nasri would be nothing if it werent for wenger, yes he put in hard work, but wenger put in much more.
LachlanS

It frustrates me that Nasri and to a lesser extent Fabregas used our club as a means to an end. Nasri played two thirds of a good season and was willing to jump ship immediately, and Fabregas must have always known that if the chance came that he would move back home.

I am not too worried, because we did make gains out of these two players, but either way we are increasingly being given a feeder club stamp, and players using us for their development and abusing Arsene's good will annoys me to no end.
Martin

I agree that it's frustrating, but I'm not sure what the answer is. Above all else, players want 2 things: to make a lot of money, and to win competitions/trophies. We haven't won a trophy in six years, and certain other teams pay higher wages than we do. To that end, we'll always be a "feeder club" in some degree because other clubs are offering players the things they want in a way that we can't/won't.
Benjamin Dockter

I think our "feeder club" reputation has become both a curse and a blessing. There's a reason why we are able to attract young players with lots of potential such as Ramsey and the O.C. They know they will get much more playing time and be developed much quicker than at any other high level team. There's no way Ramsey would have had even 1/2 the opportunities he's had at Arsenal if he'd gone to ManU.

The problem we have is getting/keeping players that are already meeting their potential. Cesc/Nasri were becoming very very good players. The problem is that Arsenal's squad will probably always be too light on top class players and too heavy on not quite there youth. When our players start to get to their peaks, they see that combination of not being willing to spend $ on experience and consistently being so close yet so far on winning things, that when someone does offer them a huge paycheck and guaranteed titles, it's a no-brainer.
Lana Dawood

The Nasri part I agree with. But like you said, what Cesc did was so much worse. Basically went on a damn strike to be sold. Was sold below what he's really worth and I dont care if he just want whats best for us. You don't kiss the badge and then leave. You just don't!
Martin

Yeah, I've gotten pretty cynical about the whole badge-kissing thing. Seems like the players that do it tend to be gone within a season or two. Jack might be the one guy I believe it from, having been with Arsenal since the age of 9, but overall players should probably just knock it off, plenty of other ways to celebrate that won't come back to haunt you.
Gunnerson

My maturity as a football fan is embarrassingly low but the Fabregas saga has made me a quite cynical as well, which is a great because the sort of emotional attachment I develop with Arsenal players is unhealthy. I understand why he left, and why Nasri left, and I can't say I would have done any different if I was in their place (and not obsessed with Arsenal FC)... but it doesn't mean I forgive either one of them. Yeah, players shouldn't kiss the badge, but then they should run to fans and and celebrate with them either, or say things to the media that may increase fan attachment. Its part of the game, I guess. Fans will be as pissed if RvP leaves, even though he doesn't kiss badges and is reaching his "last big contract" age. Then again, it has a lot of do with the quality of the player. Arshavin leaving this summer won't affect most of us, Denilson leaving was a celebration... Are we dicks for publicly celebrating when over someone getting transferred away to a shitty job? Probably not...maybe a little. Poor Eboue.
Patoux21

Finally some sensible comments about Nasri and Cesc. In addition Nasri was sold for c25m for his remaining 1yr contract whereas Cesc left for c30m with 3yrs left on contract. It was a win-win situation regarding Nasri and the money should have been used to acquire Mata but I am just speculating here
Clevblue

Nice Preview, ta. A City fan here, who thinks you may be pleasantly surprised, we were very leggy second half on Sunday and so I don't expect to see Yaya (or Kolo, not just yet) or Nasri, who is pretty much invisible at the moment. Aguero may still be carrying a groin injury. I can see Adam Johnson and David Silva starting with Milner in midfield and Dzeko up front. Balotelli and Barry suspended. Let's hope for a good game and best of luck
Darren_V

Thank you for the kind words, and I do hope you play a weaker squad. Would make life easier on our 2nd string which is notably worse than yours.