Good day to you positive Gooners.
A late kick off in Blackpool in the competition that has been kind to us in recent years.
I seriously have no idea what sort of a team we will put out. If Mr. Emery feels it’s a good game to reintroduce some of our walking wounded then it could be a strong line up with a sprinkling of youth. However, if it is too soon for some of our returning stars, we will see more of a second string with a good portion of youth.
Whatever the team I am quite looking forward to the game, I love the FA cup and like nothing more than winning it. Despite what many say ,cups matter to a lot of us. I was very disappointed to lose to Spurs in the quarter final of the league cup. I doubt we will be winning the league anytime soon, so winning domestic cups not only pleases us, but it annoys the teams that can’t seem to win anything at all. That’s fun.
So enjoy the game and your weekend.
Positively Arsenal 
Afternoon George and ye Positively Gooners many thanks for the curtain raiser. I hope the magic of the cup means no romance for Blackpool! Please no Hereford v Newcastle…
I was looking at the highlights of the game in the last round (replay) against Sollihull Moors, they didnt look too convincing, some dubious reffing decisions (our old favourite) going their way.
Oddest thing are all the problems going on at Blackpool. Three of the four stands were empty, and the stand were the cameras are placed also contained a crowd of 500+ Sollihull Moor fans. Whether or no the Blackpool fans will break their strike and turn up or not remains to be seen. Either empty or not, it seems like a cauldron of sweat ground that can do yer head in if youre complacent?
I suppose (in theory) the trick is to not be pulled into Blackpools game, like we were against Forest.
Still I hope UE doesnt leave it all to the kids, really we have only two hopes for the silver out of four now.
Enjoy the game. And COYG!
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Good afternoon George and all readers about to have lunch, waking up, and on their way to bed across the Arsiverse.
3rd round day, mud, blood and the chance for those dreamers in the stands to see their favourites take on the TV globetrotters. Blackpool – What is it known for ? donkeys, a Tower, George Formby, the Matthews final, rock ………not a damn thing new in 65 years.
We visit a club today that has been, according to reports in chronic civil war mode for years, with the Oystons owning the club and everyone else in tangerine at daggers drawn to them. Boycotting home games has been going on season after season. It makes AKB/WOB hostilities appear a mere tiff over whether the tea or the milk should go in first.
Nevertheless I suspect come 5.30 the warring Fylde coast factions will have come together, intent of removing Emery’s head and sending it back south on a spike.
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George who ? I hear some of you say …
He was a bit of lad though was George. The BBC banned more of his songs (30) from the airwaves than any other artiste before or since.
And he was global, oh yes, with his ukelele. On tour in South Africa in 1946, Formby played to black audiences despite threats from Daniel Malan, head of the National Party and one of the chief architects of apartheid. At the end of one show a three-year-old girl presented “the wife” (Beryl) with a box of chocolates. Beryl gave her a big kiss and handed her on to George for another. Malan had the couple thrown out of the country. “Never come back here again,” he bellowed. Beryl gave as good as she got. She told Malan: “Why don’t you piss off, you horrible little man?”
Ah yes.
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Just seen our old friend Mr Dean is in charge of our game
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And no VAR in this game apparently.
Hopefully we can see a few youngsters put in a performance
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Excellent LG,
Interesting line up experience at the back, Alex in his best position, Eddie given a chance and a mixture on the bench COYG.
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In case anyone has seen yet:
Arsenal: Cech, Lichtsteiner, Koscielny, Sokratis, Kolasinac, Elneny, Ramsey, Maitland-Niles, Willock, Iwobi, Nketiah
Subs: Martinez, Jenkinson, Medley, Torreira, Guendouzi, Saka, Lacazette
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BBC 16:14
Arsenal on the scene
Blackpool v Arsenal (17:30 GMT)
A Blackpool fan reportedly sat on top of the Arsenal team bus to prevent it leaving their hotel with the aim of delaying the start of tonight’s match.
It was in protest at the Oyston family’s ownership of the club. Thousands of fans are boycotting the team’s games as part of the same cause.
Anyway, Arsenal have found a way to get to Bloomfield Road. They are heading into the away dressing room as I type.
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Will be interesting to see how many are in the ground tonight.
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Not sure if its true or not, but somebody thinks (oh brother!) that up to 6,000 AFC fans will be there tonight, so they will try to fill out the stadium one way or another!
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Kos not playing, Corp Jenks is in.
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Theres one.
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Willock puts us 1 up, a Ramsey freekick hit the post and Joe is there to head home
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Willock makes it 2-0, iwobi to jenkinson to nketiah to willock to the net
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Hope Eddie can get on the score sheet.
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HT: Blackpool 0-2 Arsenal
Willock with both our goals in a game we have been mostly in full control off.
Nketiah could have had a hattrick by now, and certainly should have scored a least one.
Jenkinson has been good.
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Creative football, plenty of chances, opposition defenders finding it difficult on a bumpy pitch – enough about Blackpool though.
Pleased we are 2-0, Iwobi in charge, Jenks doing well, and Eddie working his butt off. More goals here.
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Not good to hear Kosc has a back problem. His back problems were a long term cause of him missing matches for months before he did his CL.
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lacazette on for nketiah
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willock goal rightly ruled out for offside
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Theres three.
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iwobi makes it 3-0 tapping in the rebound after the keeper parried a Ramsey shot
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Saka on for Iwobi
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medley also came on for Kolasinac
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Fred Halibut 0- Arsiverse 3. Nice. Even Jasper Carrot couldnt put a spanner in the works.
I hope Blackpool can sort out their problems though.
COYG!
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FT: Blackpool 0-3 Arsenal
Willock x2 and Iwobi with our goals in a game we controlled right through. We got to give game time to a number of our younger players, with Nketiah, Willock and AMN all starting and Medley and Saka coming on as subs.
the bad news – Koscielny withdrew from the team due to a back injury in the warm up.
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Comfy enough and some fun moments. Pity that the hat trick goal for Willock was ruled out.
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from football.london – Emery’s after game press conference
Emery on whether preparations were hit by the protester before the game
No change for us. We know some problems here between the fans and the club.
We have respect and we prepare for the match with respect for the competition.
I think for 90 minutes we saw a big match for us and for them.
Emery on the performance
I am very proud of the players today, of our work.
Every player played with big commitment, good concentration. We impose our positioning and sometimes our quality.
I am very happy.
Emery on Willock and Nketiah
We need every player to have commitment and so when the team needs, they can help us.
Opportunities come in some matches like today.. Young players like Willock and Nketiah. They can show us their progress.
I am very happy with Willock but also with Eddie. He had three good chances but the most important he created the chances.
Emery on Koscielny
I hope it is not a lot. We have one week before the next match. I hope he will be OK.
Before the match he felt some pain in his back and we decided he should not play.
On how close a deal is for Denis Suarez
I don’t know. I think the club is working for the possibility to take some players during the next month.
Emery on what he thinks Suarez’s best position is
He was playing in his career and with me, winger right and left.
Maybe the transfer market can help us with a centre-back, but it is not easy because also [Konstantinos] Mavropanos is also coming back after injury.
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you know looking at our squad and going on some of Emery’s comments I would not be surprised if AFC signed a CB, Midfielder and a forward this window, with maybe the guys coming in being Reece Oxford – 29 year old CB/DM from West Ham, Denis Suarez – is 25 tomorrow, RW/LW from Barcelona, and Wesley – 22 year old striker from Club Brugge
although we may want a much more experienced CB than Reece Oxford
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its not only our mens team that have lots of injuries, the Arsenal Women’s team have some of their biggest stars out injured
Here’s the latest update from our medical team ahead of Sunday’s Women’s Super League game at West Ham United.
Jordan Nobbs
Jordan has returned to the training ground following a successful surgery and is hard at work getting movement back in her knee.
Dan Carter
Dan has entered the more complex phase of her rehab and is working on explosive single leg movements as she nears a return to pitch based rehab. We are hopeful for full training around March.
Jess Samuelsson
Jess sufferered a broken foot in November. She is building up her fitness with running but will not be available against West Ham.
Viki Schnaderbeck
Viki has been running on the anti-gravity machine following a complex knee injury.
Tabea Kemme
Tabea is at the beginning of a running program after a flare up of her knee injury that she has been managing since March.
Copyright 2019 The Arsenal Football Club plc. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to http://www.arsenal.com as the source.
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Ed, with the new system in place the head coaches short term priority is not a factor. Any transfers in will be long term replacements to the squad. Under this system the head coach is easily replaceable and so what he needs in the second half of the season is not important. Three players would seem excessive this window especially as we have Nelson, Welbeck, Holding,Chambers, Asano, Bielik and Nwakali all returning to the squad.
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a_o_b, well I very much doubt Welbeck, or Asano will be back with us, and there is much doubt over Bielik and Nwakali’s arsenal futures. We still are not sure if even Chambers will have a future here.
also it may have just been the way he phrased it but Emery said this evening that we are working on transfers for players who will help us for “the next four months”, now that could imply that its only short term signings, maybe loan deals or veteran signings we are looking for, as has been suggested by some over recent weeks. Or as I said, it might just be the way Emery speaks English.
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Reasonably comfortable. More good experience for young lads.
Happy for Willock to get his goals- has undoubtedly developed well over last year or so and if he can continue doing so could be a very interesting player for us.
I thought early on it was going to be the Ramsey show. Looked a class above and that there would be loads of chances for him to supply killer passes and totally boss game.
Think most eye-catching performance in the end though was probably Iwobi. Did a lot of good things. This is the most hopeful I’ve ever felt about him. Needed to kick on some this year and I think he’s doing just that.
Nice to see Jenkinson get some love. All the senior lads did their bit. Sokratis probably the most noticeable for me and did plenty of good solid work.
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So is this Dennis Suarez rumour a thing then, and if so what sort of player might he become for The Arsenal? Which I suppose is a roundabout way of wondering what style will characterise Emery’s Arsenal.
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Some Elvis Costello for Eduardo’s music show.
Emery’s Arsenal is here today
Emery’s Arsenal is here to stay
I hope we get an easy next round of the cup as would love to see Nkethia given another chance.
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Foreverheady
Well, career history suggests he did enough to impress managers of Sevilla and Villarreal in his 1 year at each club to play frequently as a young player. And that he did well enough with the latter to persuade Barca to resign him *
From clips he looks to like a dribble, from centre mid areas by looks of it. Nice smoothness to his touches but at same time in those clips of dribbling he often doesn’t look in 100% control as he progresses.
I’m a little unconvinced, but that’s no more than a hunch.
*with caveat that the buy back looks to have been modest 3.5 mill. So it makes sense economically to give him a try and be able to sell for decent amount if doesn’t work out.
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New post up
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