Arsenal News 24/7Writer: Rocky7 
Date:Wednesday January 16 2013
Time: 6:56PM
UK time is: 20:21:46
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Team News: Swansea vs Arsenal
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Arsenal look to bounce back from another disappointing result tonight as we face ________ at ___________.
The defeat against ___________ last weekend leaves the Gunners feeling a little demoralised and in much need of a positive result this evening, anything other than a win will surely leave the Arsenal faithful howling at the moon and baying for blood.
Let`s check out the starting line up Wenger has tasked with getting the win against __________.
Arsenal team: Szczesny, Sagna, Mertesacker, Vermaelen, Gibbs, Coquelin, Wilshere, Diaby, Cazorla, Walcott, Giroud
Arsenal subs: Mannone, Jenkinson, Santos, Ramsey, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Arshavin, Podolski
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Your Comments
I'll fill in the blanks later.
Rocky7
Hehehe, Rocky. That line up is a good one for this game and indicates the manager is willing to treat the Swans with respect. Wish we could have some rotation in defence though, with Jenks coming in for Sagna, but no problem. It is the FA cup and a game we should win in the end.
Naijagunner
Good start but just that little bit of composure lacking when it matters most. We need to score some goals for the confidence tonight.
Naijagunner
I find it hard to understand Theo Walcott over our free kick opportunities or even the corner kicks. The fact Henry wore the No. 14 and took our set pieces doesn't make it fall on his shoulders to do same.
Naijagunner
Phew! Thanks Jack. What a nervy end!
Naijagunner
Good team effort all round and hard to pick out one man who hasn't worked for the cause tonight. Except the keeper...of course, only because he was hardly tested;-)
Naijagunner
Oh for a team of Jack Wilsheres! Excellent second half. Probably the best we've played for a while now. You can see how much this one meant.
Wyn Mills
2nd half was awesome. Nice to have a clean sheet too, no coincidence that it was without Kos.
Will-i-am10
Could probably have got by with Arshavin at CB tonight. Four man midfield helped us get more control too. That's possibly the way to go. 4-3-3 doesn't seem to suit what we have.
Amos.
Coquelin was impressive tonight too. Will this signal a change of formation for the side? I can't recall a game where we created so many opportunities this season, as tonight's. A fit Diaby is bound to make a difference to our game as it showed in this game. I hope he can put his injury problems behind him and just enjoy his season. Bring on Brighton.
Naijagunner
I was just going to ask, how did Coquelin do. Thanks, Naijagunner.
FunGunner
You are welcome, FunGunner. He certainly didn't look out of place in that midfield and wasn't awed by the occasion. He was assured defensively, dropped back when Diaby ventured forward, showed off his nice footwork in the opponents danger area a couple of times and had the composure to hit a volley under pressure just outside the opponent's crowded 18 yard box, which fortuitously, went straight at keeper Vorm (easilySwans' MoTM). I will pick the lad for more Ames and every domestic cup game just for his passion.
Naijagunner
*more games*
Naijagunner
Amos, I agree. I have felt for years, and it's been particularly obvious to me this season, that our biggest downfall has been that Wenger has tried to force the team to play to a system that doesn't suit the personnel at our disposal rather than create a system based upon the personnel. Everybody played well today and Wenger got the team selection and even his one substitute right. I just hope it doesn't placate Wenger so he thinks he can't improve the squad. He can, in every position. The margins are so fine, just improving each postion by a bit can make a huge difference at the end of the day.
Call it Schadenfreude but Michu looked like a £2m player in his cameo - did he touch the ball?
elbondo
Coq was excellent in the midfield - neat and tidy, and skilful on the ball. I just wonder why he doesn't get more games. The team played well, excellently well going by our recent standards. We were confident bringing the ball outta our defence and created tons of chances. Personally, I still think we need a DM, a proper DM. Arteta should play higher up. Jack played so well today cos he was deployed higher up the pitch and I feel Arteta will do well in that position too. With Chelsea struggling at home these days, wouldn't be a bad time to nick 3 points at the Bridge. If we play like we did tonight, we just might. Well done Gunners.
Guyfox
I don't how they set up but 4 midfielders looks a lot better than our usual 3-man midfield system. It provided an extra cover to the backline. When we pressed harder in the second half we limited the Swans to almost no chances at all. Even Michu didnt have a sniff. The sad truth is Wenger will still stick to 4-3-3 and we are back to square zero. Maybe he won't. In his post match reaction, he admitted there was a lot more balance to the team. I hope to see this setup come Sunday at the Bridge.
Guyfox
Excellent performance. So so pleased with the way we played.
It's been a while since we played well and won in the same match. First rate perfomances from Wilshere, Gibbs and Coquelin!
Rocky7
The four man midfield worked well in the second half, with Jack and Santi swapping to good effect. I still worry that, without The Ox, it lacks a bit of width and puts a lot of pressure on the full backs. Gibbs and Sagna were up to the job last night but long term that's got to be very draining.
Little Dutch
I thought midfield used the wide areas quite well last night. Though Gibbs and Sagna played their role in that if anything the four man midfield should take some pressure off them. In a 4-3-3 the same attacking demands are put on them but their support can be too far away. It depends on the players we have I guess but I'm not sure we have what it takes to play 4-3-3 as well as we have done at times in the past.
Amos.
I agree in that I think what we saw last night was an improvement balance wise. Cazorla looked much more comfortable given license to drift around. The fact is, we certainly got more out of Jack last night and, as we did with Cesc and Robin, it’s often worth playing the system that gets the best out of your best player. My worry is that it relies an awful lot on understanding between Santi, Jack and Theo to cover the flanks offensively and defensively, which is fine with work. But given that it relies so heavily on understanding, it’s hardly a simple system to slot into if someone’s injured or covering for a game. There again, that much is still true with what we have now. Basically, last night’s system seems better than what we’ve been doing, but I can still see it being flawed.
Little Dutch
Walcott's finishing was truly awful last night, let's hope he has got all his misses over with and will show more accuracy at Chavski. Wilshere was fantastic and the team looked a lot more balanced overall. If our forwards had their finishing boots on we could have won by 4 or 5. Still think we could do with another DM, striker and left back (as Santos clearly can't play at this level) but it all depends as to what is available out there.
bowiecokemirror
I think the understanding between all the midfielders determines how well we cover the flanks. Last night we saw Diaby and Coquelin covering the flanks well at times with Wilshere and Santi covering the middle. Whatever system we play greater understanding needs to be there but it just seems to me that whatever combination of 3 forwards we pick from Poldi, Giroud, Walcott, Gervinho or Ox we don't have a combination of any 3 of our midfielders that works well enough behind them. Pick 2 of them and we seem to have a few possible permutations of 4 in midfield. Maybe I'm talking nonsense but the feeling I have is that we just don't have the type of forwards to make a 4-3-3 work this season.
Amos.
No I see where you're coming from, it can work. With a player tucked in when one of the full backs comes forward, we can create better angles for our play rather than just tossing the ball in hopefully. I fancy Podolski and Walcott can play that "winger cum striker" role alongside Giroud, assuming we start nominally with Cazorla one side and Podolski / Walcott the other and give them license to roam. Cazorla looks like he prefers to drift around rather than being a number 10. It was notable that Wilshere was popping up on both flanks. (Ramsey's time on the wing, hypothetically means he could slot into this easily enough too). I think it's worth persevering with. We adopted the 4-3-3 to get the best out of van Persie and Cesc. If this system gets the best out of Jack and Santi, then it at least bears further investigation.
Little Dutch
Exactly. 4-3-3 worked because RvP in particular made it work. We need to find something that works for what we have now.
Amos.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2013/jan/17/arsene-wenger-arsenal-edinson-cavani
Looks like there could be some last minute action again if we can agree the right price for the right player. I can see some fans getting frustrated at AW for waiting until the last minute but at the end of the day he has to have a limit as to what he thinks a player is worth and if he can't get it for less than that we have to move on to other targets.
bowiecokemirror
While we're into transfer speculation then am I alone in thinking that perhaps when Wenger says we'll decide what to do after Walcott makes his mind up that could mean if Walcott does sign he won't bother going for Zaha and he doesn't he will?
Amos.
I think you'd be right there Amos, hopefully it will be done and dusted this weekend. Theo has some big brass balls asking for 100k a week based on his performance last night but I'd prefer to keep him over getting Zaha still. We need more experience in the team as promising as Zaha is.
bowiecokemirror
Interesting discussion, LD and Amos. I'll bear your observations in mind when I watch the game later. Regarding AW's remarks on Zaha, I also thought he might be saying Zaha was the fallback if Walcott doesn't sign. I'd be very cautious about the Cavani rumours, though. AW had THAT smile and look on his face, but he could just have been messing with the reporters' heads. And even if there has been a bid or an enquiry, it doesn't mean anything will come of it. Napoli would be mad to let him go. @ guyfox, I'd love to see him get more games as well. I think he has been at the back of the queue because of a tendency to make the odd careless pass - he's not as secure an option as Arteta. But for me, Le Coq has no stand-out weaknesses. He just has to get a little bit better in all areas, strength included and we will have one hell of a player. Likes a shot at goal as well.
FunGunner
2nd half was most enjoyable last night, i do enjoy 4 across the middle and sometimes even 5. A cup game is one to miss them in if you're ever going to (unless it's a final). Hope upon hope Walcott doesn't start on his own up top against Chelsea, he's so much more effective off the right, always will be i reckon.
shewore
4 in mid field is worth a shot, coz this team has looked so unbalanced so far. We can then play 2 up front (I'm not convinced Theo can play on his own), and there is an option of playing Poldi & Giroud together (Poldi had a fantastic understanding with Klose) with Theo & Cazorla wide. I'm really really hoping this was the game which turns the confidence around. Should be able to see some evidence of that against Chelsea.
prits
As for Cavani, there is no way we can afford him, his release clause is 63M EUR and although we could sign him for less, I don't think Napoli would sell him for under 40M. Wenger didn't commit to anything, just said he liked him, in the same way he likes Messi I guess.
prits
out of interest, where did the Cavani rumours originate? I gather someone tweeted we'd made a big bid, but there was no name mentioned. How did it turn into AW bids £30m for Cavani?
FunGunner
If we play with Giroud and Poldoski as a pairing with Theo out wide it means we're playing with 3 forwards/strikers. Theo doesn't do midfield anymore than Giroud does. Poldolski does a better job but isn't a midfield player either.
Amos.
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