A guest post from @Labo_Goon
Good morning guys.
Here we are, having to play catch up once again after other top teams already had their game-week fixtures, but I guess that’s the down side of playing Thursday nights. Not that that it in any way would stop broadcasters from messing about with our timetables. But I digress.
We host Brighton for the very first time at the Emirates. They did of course play against us 16 times before, beating us on 2 occasions… both in 1982 – “I want my Arsenal back” I hear the weirdos shouting from the back. But those losses were a lifetime ago, and so was our defeat at Anfield!
I’m gonna be honest, on paper and reality this is a game everybody expects the Arsenal to win, whether it’s gonna be a comfortable victory I guess is what today will be all about.
In the 6 previous Premier League games thus far Arsenal conceded 8 goals and Brighton 7. Them letting in about 1 goal/game is reason why Arsène Wenger said, “they are well organized and disciplined defensively”, so we might need to be a bit patient breaking them down. And other than that ‘organisation’ at the back I can’t really see them doing very much going forward. They scored 5 goals in their previous 6 PL outings and their striker Tomer Hemed, responsible for 2 of those is suspended. Pascal Groß, their other attacking threat, who also scored 2 will need to do something special to puncture our defence.
On team selection, Brighton might not make us quake in our boots but I doubt Arsène will tempt fate, so I don’t see us changing from a strong team that beat WBA this past Monday, apart from Mo ElNeny that could miss out. He played Monday and Thursday, so is due a rest. With Mesut Ozil still unavailable I think we could see Theo Walcott making the matchday 11 in place of ElNeny. Of course it would be great if it could be Jack but 2 games in 4 days might be a bit too soon as he continue his rehabilitation and integration back to first team consideration. With Koscielny and his suspect achilles being called-up for national duty, perhaps he too could get a rest, but who knows?
Victory today will mean we finish the period since the previous International break unbeaten. With the draw away to Chelsea the only dropped points, we couldn’t had asked for more. I just love it that slowly the cream is making its way to the top. Ya Gunners Ya!
Forgive me if it sounds like I don’t give Brighton any chance, but it’s hard to see anything other than victory for Arsenal.
Good luck to all watching from wherever, to those going to the Emirates… do cheer on behalf of the rest of us and don’t forget to give a warm welcome to our opponents on their first visit to our spiritual home, especially more so around the 27th minute mark.
Positively Arsenal 
These ‘easy’ games almost always end up being tense 1-0 affairs so I’m going to pretend it’s a banana skin-in-waiting.
Ever since I cancelled my BT subscription out feels like half our games have been shown on that channel. Guess I’ll just have to man up and get myself down to the pub for a very early lunch and some beer and some more beer.
With the continuing presence of Sanchez it’s hard to know how confident to feel. It used to be a case of ‘which Arsenal will turn up’ but these days it feels more pertinent to ask that of our wantaway Chilean. For all his undoubted but unarguably flawed brilliance, I can’t imagine missing him very much when he goes in a few weeks time. Is it Xmas already? Sadly, not quite.
Nice write up Labo.
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Morning team – a win today and I see we set an Emirates record for consecutive home victories. Surely Chris Hughton will not spoil that ?
On a purely hypothetical note how many goals do we need to win by to sail past London’s current crisis club from SW6?
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5 Andy, Just the 5!
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The big guns are up early this morning.
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Well done George although with Alex Iwobi training yesterday it could be him coming in.
I’m just about to set out to meet Steve I in the Eaglet which is far too early on a Sunday morning but it’s worth it to see the mighty reds COYG.
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Brighton’s best chance surely those couple of gigantic cb’s who are very good in the air. Hopefully we can keep their set pieces to a minimum.
Very hopeful for a good win today but you never know. Sometimes, though not often, full bus, which we can expect today, holds out against odds.
Speaking of which- bus- anyone else grimace at Chelsea’s first last week at Stoke, where they scored through a long ball over the top against a high, unpacked defence in the early minutes?
Very unlikely we could ever do similar against those bums as there’s little chance they’d be in that sort of shape against us. Feck knows why they use a different approach against Chelsea though.
No guesses on line-up, though the vid I just saw of determined Wilshere striding off bus first has got me wondering if he’s playing from start.
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yes Rich, I have never understood why so many teams take a different approach when facing Arsenal, than when they face the other top teams, ultra defensive, overly rough (refs may be the reason for this one)
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Ed
I’m sure refs play a pretty big role.
Bus efforts generally require a healthy dose of luck anyway- bounce of ball,etc- but also go hand in hand with extra aggression, and of course involve a lot of defending. ‘lenient’ refereeing is therefore extremely helpful, especially when in the box for handballs, shirt pulls etc.
Stoke was text book this year. Not sure their defenders would risk grabbing, say, Kane or Alli, as they did Welbeck when he was through.
Got to laugh at that pen we got midweek mind. A potential problem with my theories about our refs is that European games over the years should have produced a giant contrast- very wrong vs much better- and I’m not sure they have to the expected (by me) degree.
Still, often four or our 8 games have been against top teams, usually ones who are, as well as strong, well, huge cheats.
That pen we got on Thurs wasn’t what I had in mind but did leave me thinking for a moment- ‘wow, is this what it’s like to be Real, Utd, Bayern, etc’
We may get more in Europa than prem this year!
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COYG!
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On this day in 1996, Arsene Wenger officially began his role as Arsenal manager. 1,185 games so far
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This game is affecting my beauty sleep
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I am genuinely perplexed. These English pundits really do not rate Özil. Is it possible that I can have a better ability to evaluate a player than ex-professional footballers?
Can there really be an almost uniform agreement by the pundits with regard to Özil? Or is it a case of “group think? I have a feeling in my growling gut that it is the latter…
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oh so close from lacazette, 30 yarder pile driver off the post, alexis puts rebound wide
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Monrealllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll ping ball at a freekick and nacho fires home, no more than Arsenal deserve
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Poachers instinct from the all round action hero Nacho man
COYG!
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awful foul by duffy on alexis gets a yellow, deliberate foul
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oh so close, rasmey shot hits the keepers foot after a real breakaway from edge of our own area
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HT: Arsenal 1-0 Brighton
Monreal with out goal, both teams have hit the post, AFC been mostly in control, and really should be further ahead.
For me we are a bit too static in attack, and again Alexis is too predictable, always taking too many touches and turning inside.
Brighton playing a massed defense, and our tempo and movement needs to be better. This is a game that really shows what we miss when Ozil is not there.
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We should have it sorted by now.
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Interesting half. Goal, brilliant shot at post, two golden chances, some other decent moves, but not that fluent after the goal.
Hopefully 2nd early in second half then might really turn it on.
Bellerin looking super fit again and, prob not coincidentally, getting back to his best by looks of it.
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Iwobiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii Wengerball buildup, alexis and ramsey, and Iwobi’s shot was a real power one
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I hope we score a few more, but I got love for Chris Houghton
I deserves lots of sucess
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Alexis and then Kolasinac have efforts cleared off the line
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Alexis is in the mood this second half.
Its almost a game of backs against the forwards
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odd ref could not see that shirt pull on lacazette seeing as he could see it the other way round a few minutes ago
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Giroud and Walcott on for Iwobi and Lacazette
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brighton have brought on two big lumps for up front for the last 15 minutes of the game
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Elneny on for Xhaka
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we really dropped a level once we brought on our subs
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FT: Arsenal 2-0 Brighton
mostly in command, Monreal and Iwobi with the goals. Several more good chances spurned. AFC up to 5th, equal on points with CFC.
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BT made Sanchez MOTM, personally I thought he was poor ,all bar his assist, that was genius.
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a lot of unhappy so called Arsenal supporters today
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The Anger monkeys are arguing
Monkey A:Iwobi was good
Monkey B: Nah ,he’s shit..always get him off (sad)
Monkey B :We miss Ozil
Monkey C: He is shite
and so it goes
thru to Cech
Bizzare
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Kolasinac needs a pair of stuart pearce shorts
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I love Nacho
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we have just equaled our best run of wins at the Emirates – 9
AW has not beaten the most teams in BPL history, 45, overtaking sir red nose whose man utd beat 44 different teams.
4 BPL clean sheets in a row
Crisis club Arsenal that
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wwwb but merse says he would not get in a lower half bpl team
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Orbinho @Orbinho 18m18 minutes ago
Only Liverpool (13 v Palace) have managed more shots on target in a single game this season than Arsenal mustered today.
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our next 6 games see us play 3 away games in a row – Watford, Red Star, Everton, then 3 home games in a row, Norwich, Swansea, Red Star
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Jaysus. They played our game unusually early for me out here across the pond. Just caught most of the 2nd half. Thanks for the comments which gave me a flavor of the 1st half.
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I thought Bellerin and Mustafi both had their best games of the season, Monreal and Kolasinac both at usual high level, and Holding was untroubled.
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eduardo792
Paul Merson
Is known in most circles as a comedy turn
Merse, always good for a laugh
Nothing more .
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That Burnley goal was class
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rumor that if Everton lose today Koeman will be sacked
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Apparently we won today, but you wouldn’t think it with our so called fans slating the team on social media as their Spud love in continues unabated, the same Spuds we sit a single point behind.
Sounded fairly routine today, but three wins in a week of difficult scheduling is a credit to the players and coaching staff for managing the squad well.
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Wenger: “Nobody talks about Kolasinac because the transfer amount was not excessive. I’m very happy with his performances.”
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Koeman could be sacked! that would be harsh but would be a continuation of the fate of those managers the malcontents were desperate to replace Wenger with.
Whatever happened to Coyle, Laudrup, Moyes et al?
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the iwobi goal
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