It’s a very wet and windy morning in Dublin.
Football is back and we face Nottingham Forest at home. On paper, it wasn’t the most demanding game we could play, but considering the form so far this season (and perhaps ours) it’s not a foregone conclusion by any means. Mikel Arteta was surprisingly forthcoming about his players’ fitness yesterday, and there was some good news and some bad news as he provided an update.
According to him, Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice, Leandro Trossar and Ricardo Calafiori could all be available today. They all received training to varying degrees and managers spoke quite positively about their participation. I also thought it was quite interesting against Martin Odegaard, who played 96 minutes in the first game and had a bit of a reaction. Arteta said:
After not playing for a long time, he needed time to recover. The ankle reacts and puts too much load on other parts of the body. It wasn’t ideal, but he was okay with it. I’ve been training with the team for the last day and a half and I’m feeling good, so I’m really positive.
I don’t think it was entirely unexpected that it took so much away from him. Going from 0 to 100 in his first game wasn’t ideal, but now that we start the season with a game every three or four days, it will be important to manage his load very carefully. That said, I expect him to start today, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we line up like this: Raya, Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori, Rice, Merino, Odegaard, Martinelli, Saka, Havertz.
Of course it can be adjusted, but as I wrote yesterday I think it’s worth making some changes to the midfield balance and today seems like a good day to try it. I don’t think we need Rice and Thomas Partey at home against a team that doesn’t give us space and tries to attack us on the counter. And while I don’t think Mikel Merino can be classified as an attacking player per se, he does have the ability to get into the box, his timing on runs into the area is generally good, and he also provides an aerial threat there. .
The manager has options from the bench if he needs to change things up in the second half, but three points are essential no matter how we go today. We returned home and the manager clearly explained what was needed.
It’s important to build momentum, get results, and achieve back-to-back wins. This will regenerate the energy we need for all the good we are doing. Tomorrow and after every break, especially as we approach the Christmas period, we need to build on that momentum, knowing that there is something special about that period. We believe now is the right moment to begin.
Opponents have been flying high so far this season. Chris Wood has scored as many goals as Mo Salah and has plenty of pace and direct running, especially on counters, along with the likes of Anthony Elanga, Calum Hudson-Odoi and Morgan Gibbs-White. So how to manage these transition moments and break down a very stubborn defense will be key. Forest have the second-best defensive record in terms of goals conceded so far this season and have struggled a bit in terms of scoring (although with 18 goals they are three behind leaders Liverpool, so not too bad). I felt it).
Our initial goals today are idealistic. I don’t think it’s a case of getting Forest fired up, but at some stage a little bit will have to come out and hopefully that could give us the space we need more.
Okay, I’ll leave it there for now. Don’t forget that a preview podcast is available now on Patreon. Later you can join in on the live blog coverage and get match reports, goal clips, reactions, player ratings and more from Arseblog News.
Welcome, commies!
