please log in to view this image Saturday 25th August Emirates Stadium KO Time: 15:00 Overall Record vs West Ham: All: 138Won: 65 Drawn: 39 Lost: 34 Last six meetings: Arsenal 4-1 West Ham Arsenal 1-0 West Ham (League Cup) West Ham 0-0 Arsenal Arsenal 3-0 West Ham West Ham 1-5 Arsenal West Ham 3-3 Arsenal please log in to view this image please log in to view this image please log in to view this image please log in to view this image Team News: Arsenal are still missing Laurent Koscielny, Sead Kolasinac and Ashley Maitland-Niles in defence, so the unit which struggled at Stamford Bridge will likely continue, despite Stephan Lichtsteiner’s pressure on Hector Bellerin for the right-back berth. Neither of West Ham's new signings, Issa Diop or Andriy Yarmolenko, have yet started this season. Attacker Manuel Lanzini is not expected back until the new year after a serious knee injury, whilst Andy Carroll is still missing after ankle surgery.
Didn't think we'd be needing a must win game so early in the season, but this is what this game is. If we apply ourselves properly, then we should get a 3 pts, which should go a long way to settling the nerves and giving the players some confidence.
Despite West Ham losing their last two games (like us), I know this won't be an easy match-up. Wilshere and Perez will be coming back with a point to prove, whilst Arnautovic has caused us a few problems in the past for both Stoke and West Ham. The pressure will be completely on us after losing the first two matches. We're at home and it's another London derby. Regardless, we should still win this with the talent and quality we have in our team. Let's hope we get our first 3 points on the board!
Had a dream last night that we lost this 0-2 And there was a proper **** storm after the game. Pretty sure that was just based on my anxiety for this game as it really is a must win (or certainly a must not lose)
Already feel like the Media are trying to destabilise Arsenal. They really want this whole Emery thing to go wrong. Its weird to see BBC pundits critiquing the fact Emery has started Guendousi ahead of Ramsey. The fact is Guendouzi has been our best player in the opening two games except for one mistake in the City match his performances have been superb. (as they were in Pre-Season) I'm hoping we continue to show improvement in terms of performance level and if that happens - we will beat West Ham for sure.
There's no panic in the squad, and rightly so. Mkhitaryan came out and said as much. He also had a pop at Merson for chatting ****e (which he often does) The manager and players know that this project is going to take time. Everything has changed from top to bottom and we have new coaching systems, new fitness regimes, new tactics and on it goes. Gary Neville actually hit the nail on the head in midweek when he said that Fat Sam was talking **** for saying that Emery should adapt his style to suit his players. It's the other way around, the players need to adapt to suit Emery's style. And that will take time. It's going to take Emery the best part of the season to sound out who can work within the structure he wants. As for Guendouzi, he's been a gem of a buy. Only just 19 and already looking like he can go on to be a midfield boss. His style of play, his courage and attitude as well as his vision and passing are excellent and he's only going to get better. There's a positive future on the horizon for Arsenal. We just need to give it time.
Yeah totally agree. Neville is one of the best pundits around. One of the few explayers who is actually smart and articulate enough. I find it totally ridiculous that Paul Merson is given air time. He's an embaressment.
When they were players, I loved Merson and ****ing hated Neville with a passion. Now that they are pundits, the opposite is true. (Merson will always be an Arsenal legend though)
No doubt Guendozi is an exciting prospect. Good passer and tackler, but can give it up a bit easily sometimes, which can be worked on. I trust Emery will use him wisely
Looking at his past record, I am not entirely convinced he is the tactician we are after. Will he earn his dosh and get the team firing on all cylinders and pull results out of the bag? I somehow doubt it. We have lost 2 matches, in the league - granted many gooners felt we would lose. However, would have been pleasantly surprised to get something out of both games. Mancity and Chelsea are not foootball gods and we are not Cardiff, we should not be thinking well we are playing City at home and Chelsea away and almost accept a defeat even before a ball is kicked - we should be aspiring for higher than that!he If we lose today, my worst fears will be confirmed and it will be a struggle for him to get acceptance from here on. The fans deserve more after the debacle of Wenger's last few years. He has a chance to prove himself as he is walking into an environment where fans are looking for a saviour, as Wenger really sullied his legacy by hanging about for too long. I hope we give a good account of ourselves and at least register something on the board.....
Ozil is 'ill' apparently and isn't in the squad. Xhaka is starting and Ramsey in the no.10 role? Very questionable decisions right there. We should still have enough quality to win, but I must say I don't know how much longer Lacazette will be content being a substitute, especially with how sharp he looked in pre-season.
Arsenal: Cech, Bellerin, Mustafi, Sokratis, Monreal, Xhaka, Guendouzi, Ramsey, Iwobi, Mkhitaryan, Aubameyang Subs: Leno, Holding, Lichtsteiner, Elneny, Torreira, Welbeck, Lacazette
Some of our defending is pub standard. They look like a lot of fat blokes having a kick about in a park somewhere.
I wasn't expecting much this season but I think I might have underestimated how rough it's going to be...
They have had the better chance's,will probably feel they should be ahead.I knew thing's would probably get worse before getting better and boy has that been true.
1-1. HT. Have to say, that was a thoroughly underwhelming half. Given how positive we were against Chelsea, I expected to really be raring to go in this game, but it's just not happened for us. Our passing has been wayward, we are taking too many touches with the ball and we are leaving so many gaps open in midfield/defence that they are cutting through us with ease. Bellerin has been poor, but he has also had no support from Mkhitaryan. They are overloading on the flanks and Micky isn't tracking back to help his full-back. Arnautovic is really giving us a rugged time, he has outmuscled every single one of our defenders at least once. It's all too easily and we aren't strong enough in our tackles. We've also committed a lot of lazy, careless fouls when we lose possession. If we're going to play a high-line, we need to know when to step up and when not to. Bellerin and Monreal have been caught out on a couple of occasions. They've managed to get away with it though. Very frustrating half and I actually think we're lucky to be going in level.
