Team v Arsenal - North London Derby

[CockFlavour]

Rest Eriksen and Kane for a decent opponent..

 

[Shadydan]

Same team we player against Chelsea albeit Lamela for Townsend.

 

[Yid-ol]

Soldado

Soldado Soldado Soldado Soldado

Soldado Soldado Soldado

Soldado Soldado Soldado
​

Not sure who to stick on the bench?

Ade?

 

[Larryjanta]

Now Bentaleb is back, and we have rotation issues with Liverpool so soon, I'm going for the following teams over the next two games (Liverpool in brackets unless sample player):

Lloris

Walker
Fazio
Verts
Rose

Bentaleb (Stambo)
Mason

Chadli (Dembele)
Eriksen
Lamela

Kane

 

[WiganSpur]

Lloris
Walker Dier Vertonghen Davies/Rose
Bentaleb--Mason
Lamela--Dembele--Eriksen
Kane
​

Vorm, Vlad, Davies, Stambouli, Chadli, Townsend, Soldado

 

[Flobadob]

Lloris

Walker
Dier
Verts
Rose

Bentaleb
Mason

Chadli
Dembele
Eriksen

Kane

I love this line-up. We need Dier's pace to deal with their attack, Fazio will get burned up against Sanchez and Walcott. We MUST win the midfield battle against Arsenal and having Dembele in the hole with him dropping back to help out will help us do this. Having the likes of Townsend and Lamela on the bench to liven things up late on could prove crucial, as I feel this will be a really tight match

 

[St José Dominguez]

Hopefully Bentaleb is on a plane right now. He's basically been playing same amount of games as all players have, we have 5 days to game so got no problem with him starting.

I'd go this now he's back:

Lloris
Walker Fazio Vertonghen Rose
Mason Bentaleb
Lamela Dembele Eriksen
Kane

Subs: Vorm, Dier, Davies, Stambouli, Paulinho, Chadli, Adebayor

If Ade is gone today obviously Soldado, but if he's here not enough people have considered what a sub option he could be versus Arsenal.

 

[DaSpurs]

Where Arsenal are their most dangerous is countering down the flanks. Having Eriksen on the wing for the sake of having Dembele to add physicality against a side which could run circles around him just sounds dangerous.

Lloris
Walker - Dier - Verts - Rose
Bentaleb - Stambouli
Lamela - Eriksen - Chadli
Kane
​

Big fan of Mason, but he's been poor since his return and gave the ball up far too often against West Brom. Love his tenacity, but Arsenal's speed and press thrives off players out of confidence and struggling to maintain possession. Stambouli and Bentaleb give us two excellent readers of the game, and crucially a bit of pace to plug the gaps Arsenal like to exploit so much.

Mason and Townsend on late if needing a goal, Dembele and Paulinho on if holding a lead.

 

[eddiebailey]

Not sure why everyone want Lamela on the right rather than Townsend...

 

[stemark44]

Not sure why everyone want Lamela on the right rather than Townsend...

To be honest I don't think there is much between them over the season so far.
None of them have really stepped up for the team yet and made that spot their own.

 

[keenu]

Lloris​

Walker Fazio Verts Rose
Mason Dembele
Lamela Eriksen Chadli
Kane
Subs: Soldado, Adebayor, Townsend, Stambouli, Dier, Davies, Vorm

 

[Mr Pink]

Not sure why everyone want Lamela on the right rather than Townsend...

Because he gets his head up a lot more on the ball and works a shit lot harder off it.

I know Andros gives us a bit more pace in an attack but I don't think he's bringing more to the team than Lamela will - overall.

 

[SamR]

Hopefully Bentaleb is on a plane right now. He's basically been playing same amount of games as all players have, we have 5 days to game so got no problem with him starting.

I'd go now he's back:

Lloris
Walker Fazio Vertonghen Rose
Mason Bentaleb
Lamela Dembele Eriksen
Kane

Subs: Vorm, Dier, Davies, Stambouli, Paulinho, Chadli, Adebayor

If Ade is gone today obviously Soldado, but if he's here not enough people have considered what a sub option he could be versus Arsenal.

I'd start Chadli over Lamela any day of the week. Like the rest of the team though!

 

[DEFchenkOE]

I don't even care who starts, just please beat these mugs from Woolwich, not even 10am yet and my boss is going on and on about Ozil and how great they are. Want to punch him in the face and tell him to pipe down. Getting on my nerves already

 

[Everlasting Seconds]

We must beat Arsenal. Not only for all the obvious & historical reasons, but also that since 2011/2012, the matches vs. Arsenal have decided the season.
2011/2012: 1 point behind Arsenal, loosing out on 3rd/CL. Stat vs. Arsenal: 1 win, 1 defeat.
2012/2013: 1 point behind Arsenal, loosing out on 4th/CL. 1 win, 1 defeat.
2013/2014:10 points behind Arsenal. 2 defeats. 2 wins vs. Arsenal would have changed the entire outcome.
2014/2015: 2 points behind Arsenal. 1 draw, 1 ???...

We must win. We simply must.

 

[ajspurs]

Where Arsenal are their most dangerous is countering down the flanks. Having Eriksen on the wing for the sake of having Dembele to add physicality against a side which could run circles around him just sounds dangerous.

Lloris
Walker - Dier - Verts - Rose
Bentaleb - Stambouli
Lamela - Eriksen - Chadli
Kane
​

Big fan of Mason, but he's been poor since his return and gave the ball up far too often against West Brom. Love his tenacity, but Arsenal's speed and press thrives off players out of confidence and struggling to maintain possession. Stambouli and Bentaleb give us two excellent readers of the game, and crucially a bit of pace to plug the gaps Arsenal like to exploit so much.

Mason and Townsend on late if needing a goal, Dembele and Paulinho on if holding a lead.

Hmm that's a good point, I think we'll genuine wide players for the sake of cover. I've been really impressed with Dembele as of late and I'd be temped to drop him back into the midfield two, maybe to partner Mason as I'm not sure if Poch will put Bentaleb straight back in but I agree that Mason's performances have dropped in quality.

 

[DaSpurs]

Hmm that's a good point, I think we'll genuine wide players for the sake of cover. I've been really impressed with Dembele as of late and I'd be temped to drop him back into the midfield two, maybe to partner Mason as I'm not sure if Poch will put Bentaleb straight back in but I agree that Mason's performances have dropped in quality.

Yeah I think it's pretty crucial we combat them with pace on the wings or they'll find it far too easy to slice us apart. Dembele has done well lately, but I worry about him even centrally against how much pace Arsenal have. Physicality will not win this battle against such a quick team with such clever and incisive passing. Bentaleb and Stambouli are decently mobile and are good readers of the game to counter some of their moves, so I do hope Poch plans to reintegrate Nabil as this is one of his greatest strengths. These two are also decent passers, so I think they'd provide sufficient supply to the more forward players and keep Eriksen integrated. Eriksen has also proven efficient at disrupting passing from the central positions, which I think is important to keep their central options away from being able to turn at us in space.

 

[DaSpurs]

Not sure why everyone want Lamela on the right rather than Townsend...

I like Townsend, but Lamela contributes far more defensively and I think that will be crucial against this Arsenal side which love to attack down the flanks with sheering pace. Townsend should be ready to go though as I expect our wide players to be worked extensively, and of course Townsend is a beneficial sub when we need to be more aggressive.

 

[ajspurs]

Yeah I think it's pretty crucial we combat them with pace on the wings or they'll find it far too easy to slice us apart. Dembele has done well lately, but I worry about him even centrally against how much pace Arsenal have. Physicality will not win this battle against such a quick team with such clever and incisive passing. Bentaleb and Stambouli are decently mobile and are good readers of the game to counter some of their moves, so I do hope Poch plans to reintegrate Nabil as this is one of his greatest strengths. These two are also decent passers, so I think they'd provide sufficient supply to the more forward players and keep Eriksen integrated. Eriksen has also proven efficient at disrupting passing from the central positions, which I think is important to keep their central options away from being able to turn at us in space.

Yeah you could be right mate. I just like the kind of 'bully boy' traits that Dembele can present if he's in the mood. Like when he came on against Chelsea, he just shored things up a bit and against West Brom and Sheffield United he provided quite a bit of control in the midfield. But they are all different games to this one you could argue, I just think if he's playing well like he has been recently, he imposes his strength, physicality and control of the ball really well.

Further thinking about it it does just depend on what type of game it is. If it's one of those ones where if we seem quite reserved and just look to counter (like against United) then that type of game may pass Dembele by. It's a tough one. If I'm honest I can imagine Poch being a bit stubborn and sticking with Eriksen on the left.

 

[DaSpurs]

Yeah you could be right mate. I just like the kind of 'bully boy' traits that Dembele can present if he's in the mood. Like when he came on against Chelsea, he just shored things up a bit and against West Brom and Sheffield United he provided quite a bit of control in the midfield. But they are all different games to this one you could argue, I just think if he's playing well like he has been recently, he imposes his strength, physicality and control of the ball really well.

Further thinking about it it does just depend on what type of game it is. If it's one of those ones where if we seem quite reserved and just look to counter (like against United) then that type of game may pass Dembele by. It's a tough one. If I'm honest I can imagine Poch being a bit stubborn and sticking with Eriksen on the left.

Well I think much of the rationale for using Eriksen on the left has been of course because he's decent there, and because Chadli has been down n out in terms of fitness. With Chadli brought back up to speed, I think he'd clearly be the better option on the flank to try to contain Walcott. Eriksen dropping back to try and content with that pace just sounds like not only a mismatch and a losing battle, but we've also removed our most creative player from a forward position.

You're right, there are some games in which Dembele is excellent. He was brilliant in that Chelsea match because as the game was slipping away from the mercs, they tried swarming him with their attacking mids and Fabregas, and they were never going to win the ball away from him. But this Arsenal side is just wicked fast, and I don't see Dembele being as effective in this one as a result. I'd also like to see Eriksen disrupting that ball movement from the center as he did against Man U and Chelsea, and forcing them to their flanks which we would combat with decently quick players (we're just not quick on the wings) who are willing to get stuck in (Lamela and Chadli).