In an unprecedented move Arsenal have released a picture of the players set to make a début against Hull City on Saturday.
routine 0-4 Aluko hat-trick, Panenka style pen from Powell 90th min and a yellow card for celebrating like Robbie Fowler on the white line..
Don't get me wrong - I shall be at The Emirates on Saturday & will be ecstatic if we win & if we lose by more than two goals I will be gutted. In the cold light of reality today - and no doubt on Sunday - however the FA cup is a sideshow and if SB risks any player that he wants in the team at Ipswich on Tuesday I will not agree with him! If we can win both games - great.. If not, then the priority this year is, and must remain, the Championship. And yes, I fully accept that next year I will be saying that staying in the Premier League is more important than the cup - although I must admit that it's a nice feeling going to games & expecting to win rather than hoping to, as we have often done in the Premier League!
Enjoy the match, I have a feeling we have a squad that can handle a decent cup run this year, just a shame we couldn't cope very well last year
Spot on. The league is important for every team. It's never not going to be. Yes there's always next year but we might get knocked out in the third round like we always used to. We're two games from Wembley and we have a score to settle. Let's smash the ****s.
Can't see us winning this, but I'm not really bothered anyway. In fact I haven't been since R3. Their fringe players are better than our first teamers anyway. 3-1 to them, us to take the lead and then do that thing where we get tired and take all the strikers off because we think putting loads of defenders or midfielders on equals a clean sheet.
I think Tymon might be starting. He's tweeted a nervous/excited smiley, just as he did 2 days before the Bury game.
He's a very good squad player but he does ok? Which is it? He's like Meyler, more than capable at this level, not consistently effective enough to be a Premier League player week in, week out.
I'll explain which it is .he is a very good squad player because hes capable at this level.is that ok
Yes and No. The fact that Arsenal wont be anywhere near as strong as they could have been should help. Let us see just how good this lad is on a big stage. Even if he does have a mare it wont matter that much in the bigger scheme of things. I think and hope Tymon does play.
I don't play FIFA, that seems to be your go to put down, but it doesn't hold much creedence because a) I've been to 99% of the Premier League games in which they've played and b) would only be applicable if I based my viewing of the players solely on video games and not real life, perhaps because I was living in another country. I was basing it on what I saw when they played in the Premier League. Both Bruce and Meyler had good games up there, but they don't have the quality to be Premier League regulars and were only that with us because of a lack of options (or if you believe Macca, a bit of nepotism). Look at the other players that are playing there now for the newly promoted clubs, the likes of Arter, Watson and Surman. Would you say they were good enough to play at the top level for a number of seasons? Watson has been in and around the Premier League for years so he may be a bad example, but even the likes of Ashbee and Dawson (Andy) you couldn't argue were strong candidates to be solid Premier League quality players, they were lower league players drafted in at a higher level. If Meyler and Bruce left us, would there be Premier League clubs queuing up for their signatures? I'm not saying they are poor players at all, just that at the top level, you need more to your game than a brave heart and a good tackle. Neither are any good with the ball at their feet and have pretty poor awareness of their team mates positioning. You can get away with it more at Championship level because the quality isn't as good, but we were relying on players of that ilk for large parts of last season for one reason or another and look where it got us. Now we're in the Championship again I'm happy to see them in the side, but if we got promoted, I'd be annoyed if they started week in, week out unless they were more consistent.
New goalie has to wait his turn. Jakupovic has done nothing wrong so far. Yes I would like to see Brian Lenihan but he has been out injured a while so is not ready for a game like this. Even though I have shown Taylor as a full back he can switch with Elmo for sure.
