The Clash of the Invincibles takes place at historic Deepdale this evening. Quite rightly held back until the less significant fixtures have finished, this is the unquestioned jewel of the third round. A meeting of two venerable clubs, both famous for their contributions to the English game and both special for achieving unbeaten success at the pinnacle of the league.
Their fortunes have varied in recent years. Arsenal have become a byword for consistency. While other clubs have risen and fallen, enjoying their moments in the limelight, North London’s pre-eminent sporting establishment has been an ever present in the heady atmosphere of the upper echelons of top class football.
Preston North End have been quietly working their way back towards the top flight. Their rise from the fourth to second tier has been achieved in a steady fashion winning the promotion as champions twice in four years and finishing in the top five of League One (and Championship after it’s name change in 2004) no less than five times. This season they’re sitting in eleventh place having won ten, lost nine and drawn six.
What can we expect from them? Reading a Preston forum their fans seem to think Arsène is either arrogantly resting players or frightened his pampered softies will be scared of getting a kicking from the North End midfield. How refreshing such forward thinking attitudes are still prevalent in the modern game. In fairness most of them were bemoaning the absence of Sanchez, feeling deprived of witnessing at first hand one of the game’s true greats. This is odd when you consider that the real treat they are being deprived of is the sight of Mesut Özil. I suppose this just shows the influence the media have on the opinions of fans.
We are of course anything but arrogant and entirely aware of the possibilities for a lower division team to overturn the odds and beat one of the nations greatest ever clubs. Cup competitions thrive on such tales. Needless to say it is a romance we as Arsenal fans indulge in only when someone else is on the receiving end. My only concern is whether the side will gel. We all know the reserves are good enough individually but we saw against Southampton in the League cup how a patched together eleven can lack understanding and cohesion, but I don’t expect a repetition today.
I await the team sheet with interest. We know who won’t be there but the question is who steps up? Everyone assumes a Xhaka Ramsey central partnership but how about the forward line? I really want to see more of Lucas Perez but he is little bit ankle nobbled or something. I hope it isn’t serious and he gets to play – ideally alongside Olivier Giroud.
While it’s true that Giroud almost single handedly dragged us back into contention on Tuesday and could have taken a twenty minute naked lap of honour as far as I’m concerned so herculean were his efforts, it was his partnership with Perez that most caught the eye.
It was almost an old fashioned forward pairing, with the big guy winning the ball and the smaller bloke running off him. That is the kind of set up even footballing illiterates like me can understand. Of course the skill set of our number twelve is way in advance of the old big bruising centre forwards who used mainly to provide the knock downs on which their trickster little cohorts would feed. However I don’t want to get too side tracked into talking about players as I usually end up wasting words on guys who then don’t even make the bench.
For romantics the FA Cup got off to the worst possible start yesterday with the oil rich money burners flattening plucky little West Ham like a steam roller taking on a bag of Maltesers. It was clear from the team sheet that Man City were not going to mess about and I wasn’t surprised Guardiola took the tie so seriously – even fielding a proper keeper for a change.
With so many so called top managers and so many of the world’s best players crammed into the Premier league and with all the rabid, out of control fan bases demanding the league title as a minimum price for their support, the FA Cup has taken on ever greater significance. As long as only one team can finish first the scrabble to get the second most important crown in English football becomes increasingly frantic. I don’t anticipate the giant killings of yore, the tournament is simply too important to the top clubs to risk making a bollocks of their first round.
This just means getting to Wembley will be that little bit harder for Arsenal this season, but the journey will be all the more enjoyable for it. I hope we start today with an emphatic victory to make the pundits weep but most of all I just want us to win without any more injuries. Please.
If you’re making your way to the Clash of the Invincibles I wish you a safe journey. I’ll be schooling my nephew in the significance of his first ever FA Cup tie, safe and warm by the radiator. And for those Preston fans mourning the absence of a certain sulky Chilean – chin up – this may actually be the day you get to tell your grandchildren about. The day you saw Alex Iwobi in the flesh.
Positively Arsenal 
our U18’s lost 1-2 at home to Brighton this morning,
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steww any link for the game, you put up a very good one for our last game
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COYG
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The Förward Öbserver @LennyPetsPuppys 4m4 minutes ago
The latest reminder that Wenger doesn’t GAF what you think. Nor should he, BTW.
The Förward Öbserver added,
FK³ @fkhanage
Giroud split the fanbase with his celebration in midweek. Wenger makes him captain. Banter.
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we have started very sloppy and pne take the lead
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Monreal was poor on that goal.
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Owen justifying going down when barely touched, funny that
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arsenal still playing poorly
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we are all over the place at the back, awful stuff so far, lucky to not be more than one behind
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ospina made a meal of that long range shot
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giroud heads well wide
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half an hour gone, and its as poor a performance as i’ve seen from us all season.
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ramsey looked to be in but wanted it on his right foot and the chance was gone
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Giroud with a poor miss after iwobi opened them up.
couple of better attacking moments in last few minutes
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another mistake and pne almost score
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Ramsey with a header, the keeper holds it
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i’d like to see ox and lucas swaps wings
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pne goal ruled out for foul on ospina
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woeful stuff
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Gabriel gets elbow in side of the head, is furious, blood running down the side of his face, pne player booked
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HT: Preston North End 1-0 Arsenal
Preston deserve their lead, could easily have been 2 or 3 up. Not seen Arsenal as poor all season, passing sloppy, energy levels poor, tempo far too slow,
I hope Wenger tears into them at half time, that first half was just not good enough or acceptable.
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So that was no foul no pen? How many of less than that have we had awarded against us FFS
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Well, that didn’t go according to plan. Let’s hope for better in part two.
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Sorry missed your request for a link Eddy – you ok now?
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Not at our best – at times we have been ok but too often our passing has been wretched.
One positive is that it ain’t 2 or even 3-0
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sportpl.eu/qisszG
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A lot of people joining in with the commentators who are relishing the ‘it could have been 3 – 0’ approach. If you’re making up non existent goals for one side you have to give us some too. It could have been 3 – 1 to us. There. Just as meaningful, just as nonsensical.
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its been little short of disgraceful from our lads, playing like they thought it would be easy. Damn lucky that the game is not already out of sight, Preston have had 2 or 3 more very good chances.
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stew the chances preston have missed have been far closer and better chances than ours, the giroud one the only really good chance we have had.
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I agree with Eddy. This is a an embarrassing performance so far….
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thanks steww, I got a link earlier.
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If I was making up non existent goals I’d probably go 5-1
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some of our passing has been 20 and 30 yards off intended target, that is shocking.
If Arsenal get going in the second half we will have too much for preston, but it will take a massive improvement on that first half. At times in that first half our players did not look like they knew what to do when the had the ball
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Anyway – the players know what they need to do – we will begin the second half fast and hard and rattle in the equaliser – let’s get on with it.
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our players back out early for the second half, hope that is a sign they are keen to put it right and wipe the memory of that first half from our minds and give us some great football to remember.
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ah selfish hollywood ramsey shoots instead of passing
1-1
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That was Ramsey’s first goal of the season.
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that should be a booking, it was a deliberate late foul on ramsey.
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giroud should have been booked for that nonsense too
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ox loses the ball so easily and so fucking often, its unreal.
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Lot of “nudging” going on
Much much better
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Yes, Ox not having his best game
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That will teach me to say “much much better”
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Arsenal supporters? Come in!
The clue is in the replay date, announced before the game.
PNE are in deep, deep financial straits. A replay at the Ems is justice, done!
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that was an awful tackle by cunningham
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for fucks sake the commentators saying nothing wrong with cunningham going right through the back of lucas.
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only two fouls on giroud there, so understandable that the ref does not give a penalty, oh and a another reason not to give it it that it would have been for arsenal
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ah giroud only tripped off the ball, why would it be a freekick.
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Gabby takes his revenge – good lad
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