Match Day Thread Preston North End vs Arsenal - FA Cup

Lazy ****ers haven't put up a match day thread for our FA Cup game later today!

I'm not as fancy as you bastards so I'm not adding pictures and history and all that other jazz. One of you can reply with that shizzle and a mod can edit it into here!

 

Arsenal will be missing Kieran Gibbs, Per Mertesacker (both knee), Santi Cazorla (ankle) and Francis Coquelin (hamstring).

Arsene Wenger says he will also rest goalkeeper Petr Cech, defender Laurent Koscielny and forward Alexis Sanchez.

 

• This will be the first FA Cup meeting between the sides since January 1999, when Arsenal triumphed 4-2 at Deepdale in the third round.
• In three previous FA Cup meetings at Deepdale, there have been 15 goals between these sides (seven for Preston, eight for Arsenal) at an average of five per game.
• The Lilywhites have won one of their past 15 FA Cup games against top-flight opposition, their solitary win a 4-1 away hammering of Derby in January 2008.
• The Gunners have a near imperious recent record against lower league opposition in the FA Cup, losing just one of their last 36 ties (1-0 v Blackburn in February 2013).
• Preston manager Simon Grayson has met Arsenal three times previously in the FA Cup, all while Leeds boss (D1, L2).
• Theo Walcott has had a hand in three goals in his past two FA Cup appearances (two goals and one assist).
• Alexis Sanchez has scored five goals and assisted four in nine FA Cup outings for Arsenal, with each goal involvement coming either at the Emirates or Wembley Stadium.

 

Team news

Post-Bournemouth, Lucas Perez (ankle) and Francis Coquelin (hamstring) have been ruled out with respective injuries, of varying lengths. Coquelin is sidelined for three or four weeks, whilst the attack-minded Spaniard has no return date.

Arsène Wenger publicly revealed he’ll play with “90 per cent of the squad”, despite resting a few key players. First choice centre back Laurent Koscielny came off with fatigue on Tuesday and David Ospina will feature for the first time since the first week of December during our 4-1 win over Basel.

Alexis Sánchez will be rested, but the likes of midfield duo Aaron Ramsey and Granit Xhaka are expected to feature as usual.

Kieran Gibbs (knee), Theo Walcott (calf) and Mesut Özil (illness) are unavailable for selection but all should return to first-team action at some stage in the next fortnight.

Possible XI (4-2-3-1): Ospina; Jenkinson, Holding, Gabriel, Monreal; Xhaka, Ramsey; The Ox, Iwobi, Reine-Adelaide; Giroud.

 

Starting XI: Ospina, Maitland-Niles, Mustafi, Gabriel, Monreal; Ramsey, Xhaka; Oxlade-Chamberlain, Iwobi, Perez; Giroud

Substitutes: Holding, Welbeck, Jenkinson, Martinez, Reine-Adelaide, Da Silva, Willock

 

Strong side (rightly so), but I thought this would be a game where Holding is worth starting. He's looked more assured in his displays than Paulista.

 

Lazy ****

 

Great to see Welbeck back in the team. I'm sure he'll get some game time today

Good strong looking team and I'm encourgaed to hear Wenger saying that the FA cup is a 'big priority' for us this season. We should be trying to win every comp that we can.

 

Big setback for Perez, just as he was pushing for a starting place

 

Lucas in the starting 11 so all good!

 

He's in the starting 11 mate

 

Ah that's good I just read in your previous comment that he was out with no return date ....

Great that he's in the team, been really impressed with him recently.

 

Same lack of intensity as was in evidence against Bournemouth, and we've been punished again. Pull your finger out Arsenal !

 

Basically this is the team we would have in case we sold Ozil and Alexis (with no replacements) ....loosing 1-0 so far. Ouch.

 

Paulista was absolutely all over the place for the Preston goal, he played everyone onside and then struggled to clear his lines . He's looked shaky all game. Mustafi not much better.

We also look very vulnerable from long balls over the top. Every time they play a long pass, our defence is at sixes and sevens. Be more assertive for gods' sake.

 

Maitland-Niles and Mustafi are pushing too high up the pitch leaving Gabriel isolated. We almost got punished there because they got in behind and it would have been a 2 v 1.

I'm sorry, but this has just been dreadful. Robinson almost made it 2-0 there. They look like scoring every time they attack . What the hell are we doing?

 

Lucky not to be two down.team looks like the manager :clueless :

 

or 3 ....or 4! faaacking hell.

 

What the **** is this ? WAKE UP ARSENAL FFS

 

This could very well be 3-0, they're getting in behind so easily.
If we're trying to play an offside trap, it isn't working. Defenders are getting pulled out of position and aren't tracking runs, which is a horrid combination.

They're 11th in the Championship, for god's sake.
And this is what we're serving up?! Why does every team we play seem to dominate us at the moment?