A 24 Kairat Gold Performance Please, Reds!
On Wednesday evening, in what seems this busiest of seasons, we welcome Kairat Almaty to the Emirates for the final round of Champions League league-phase matches. The Arsenal stand proudly at the pinnacle of the league table and, barring a mathematical catastrophe, are guaranteed to finish there with a perfect record. Kairat, on the other hand, sit rooted to the bottom of the table, although curiously only separated from a team like Villarreal by a four goals inferior goal difference. This must be due to the vagaries of the “new” draw. Perhaps it says something about the new format being less predictable – or maybe Villarreal are just having a very poor season?
As I’m sure we’re all now well aware, a major benefit of finishing in one of the top two positions is that we will play at home in the 2nd leg of every knockout round right up to the final – or as far as we might have the good fortune to go. In any event this match appears to be the very definition of a dead rubber. It will be interesting to see how close to capacity the ground looks but it could well be a quiet night for Kairat’s own version of a ticket super tout, Kazakh Stan.
Thankfully, from a travel point of view, the game is at home and will save our fans an arduous trip to Kazakhstan. It should also leave them less exposed to the attentions of the Almaty Ultras – or the Kairat Crunchers as they are known – albeit mostly to themselves.
I will be forever grateful to my dad for taking me to my very first Arsenal game and making me a Gooner. He knew I was consumed by football but had only a passing interest in it himself. As a result our trip to Highbury turned out to be a one off but I was hooked – amazed by the lights, the size and the magic of the occasion. So I was even more amazed to discover that, even all those years ago, as far as his “fandom” went, my dad was a Kairat Almaty supporter. He was an extremely keen gardener but had neither the inclination nor the skills required for DIY. But on several of those occasions when forced into a bit of repair work, I heard him yelling “Kairat Almaty!” from the shed as another misdirected hammer blow found the end of his thumb.
The Opposition
Kairat Almaty was founded in 1954 under the name Lokomotiv Alma-Aty as a works team representing the local railway company. After a series of mergers dictated variously by politics and the agricultural employment sphere to which its expanding membership belonged, the club adopted the name Kairat Almaty in 1956. Kairat is a Kazakh word with Arab roots meaning “strength, courage, vitality and fighting spirit”, and is the romanised version of the name of its owner, Qairat Boranbayev, a Kazakh businessman.
The club is comfortably the most successful in Kazakhstan, having won four league titles, eight Kazakhstan Cups and two Kazakhstan Super Cups in what is described as its modern history. During the Soviet era, Kairat Almaty became a symbol of Kazakh football at national level.
The club has undergone several phases of development in its time but, while I always enjoy and admire North Bank Ned’s superb histories of our upcoming opponents, I have neither the time nor desire to impose similar detail on you about Kairat Almaty. The following excerpt from their particular history will hopefully explain why and has been lifted from Wikipedia if you really can’t resist: “The 1971 season was highly successful for the club. Under Viktor Korolkov’s rule, Kairat finished 8th in the Top League, a significant increase compared to previous seasons. On 12 November 1971, Kairat won the European Railworks Cup, defeating Rapid Bucharest 2–1 in the final.” That’s quite enough of that!
During the break up of the Soviet Union they reportedly appointed Mikhail Gorbachev as Director of Football. He achieved little, in truth, but did at least manage to find them a perestroikas.
The three most famous players who played for Kairat – and in all probability the only ones anyone here will ever have heard of – are our very own erstwhile winger Andrey Arshavin, former Bayern Munich midfielder Anatoliy Tymoshchuk and Brazilian striker Vagner Love. They do currently have a 28 year old No 7 called Jorginho but he is nothing to do with any of the similarly named players that might just spring to mind. Neither is he Brazilian – being in fact a Bissau-Guinean.
The club is actually quite stable with almost all of the coaching staff having been in place since around 2019. The exception to the rule is their manager, Rafael Urazbakhtin, who was appointed more recently, in September 2024, and is apparently well known for his cairat and stick coaching methods.
For the technically inclined, according to the club’s website, Kairat play in a 4-4-2 or a 4-3-3, or a 4-2-3-1 “for defensive stability and attacking creativity”. It seems pretty rudimentary information, should cover all bases, and whichever one they choose will hopefully prove utterly futile against our table topping superstars.
The Arsenal
On the injury front we have to wait and see whether Ricardo Calafiori is deemed fit enough to make the squad. He’s been out since pulling up in the warm-up before the win against Brighton just after Christmas. That must have been some warm up as he’s now missed nine games across all competitions with the resulting muscle injury. He was spotted in training ahead of the Manchester United game and Arteta said he could be available for selection. He wasn’t selected in the event so eyes will now be on Wednesday evening.
Kai Havertz also failed to make the matchday squad on Sunday. There were suggestions on social media that there are concerns over the German, but Arteta has reassured Arsenal supporters that he is “very close” to full fitness.
He said: “Obviously, he has been out for a long time, almost a year, for different reasons, and now we have to be very smart in the manner that we manage that load, the minutes.
“I am sure in the next few weeks he is going to play minutes. I cannot tell you which competition because that will depend as well on the game context, and it is a context that is positive to throw him in or not, with his qualities.
“It is great that we have him. We can use him in different positions. We will see him in different positions, and we are really happy to have him.”
Personally, I would love to see him in positions other than supine or prone on the treatment table. Fingers crossed.
Max Dowman has been out since suffering an ankle ligament injury in a behind-closed-doors game against Manchester United before Christmas. The 16-year-old was ruled out for two months and has consequently been removed from Arsenal’s Champions League squad. Arteta confirmed recently that Dowman was still “a few weeks away”.
Ethan Nwaneri has now completed his loan to Marseille and scored on his debut with a trademark Nwaneri goal – a run through the right side of midfield, turning inside to curl a left footer from distance inside the far post. If it works well for him, I do wonder if he might spend next season there too. He appears a different, less extroverted character than Miles Lewis-Skelly and this loan is probably as much about his personal development as it is about football. In 18 months he can grow physically and mentally, and the overcrowded pathway into our midfield might be starting to thin out a bit by then. He’ll be joining Jurrien Timber’s twin brother, Quentin, there too. Maybe, one day, they will return to Arsenal together.
Last week Gabriel Jesùs spoke of his own pride at scoring twice in the San Siro but also took a moment to acknowledge his striking comrades: “I was so happy that Vik came on and scored a goal because a striker without a goal is always difficult. I have been fighting with this all my career, but still, I’m so happy that I scored, Vik scored, and then I’m 100% sure when Kai has the chance, he will score and help us as well.”
Nice touch. We all hope so. Very much.
That brings us to the question of team selection. There has to be a mixture of rest, rotation and a chance of playing time and confidence restoration for some of our squad members. Declan Rice and Mikel Merino are suspended so my guess / preference would be:
Kepa;
White, Mosquera, Hincapié, MLS;
Nørgaard, Eze, Jesùs;
Madueke, Gyökeres, Martinelli.
- with hopefully some playing time for at least Calafiori and Havertz as subs on 60-70 minutes.
Whoever plays, this has been a tremendous Champions League campaign with brilliant wins against Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid and Inter Milan. This team deserves everyone’s support despite whatever frustrations and anxieties we might currently be experiencing. Sticking together is the only way we can help.
And finally, at this time of year, a note to particularly any Scottish, or Chinese, Holics – a couple of my mates were throwing a joint Chinese New Year and Burns Night party on Sunday. It was called Chinese Burns night. I didn’t want to go but they twisted my arm 😉
Enjoy the game, all !
Boom-boom! Puntastic from front to back, Trev. Ticket tout Kazakh Stan was worth the price of admission alone.
I wonder if we might see a back four of White, Mosquera, Salmon and Hincapié with MLS in midfield alongside Nørgaard and Eze. I see, also, that the Ox was training with the first team, although there is no way he can qualify to play against Kairat.
And in rail news: this is a European Railways Cup year. The 23rd edition of the quadrennial tournament is being held in the Bulgarian Black Sea resort of Albena in June as part of the International Sports Union of Railway Workers championships. True, the last football tournament was in 2023, but you know how railway timetables can change unpredictably. Sadly, there will be no team representing Great Britain, but RailSport GB (yes, it is a thing) will be sending its angling team (silver medalists behind Luxembourg in 2022) — for the fishing competition, not the football, I assume.
Great work Trev.
You’ve set it up very nicely and amusingly as ever .
Bath and I will take a libation pre- match but we may be quite lonely as a lot of people have jettisoned their chance to see Kazakhstan’s finest.
I don’t think we will see Jesus in midfield it might be a chance to start for Havertz or a first game in midfield for MLS . I hope for a comfortable victory so I can be on the 10,20 composing the report of the match
I think Odegaard will start at left 8 and hopefully play his way back into form
Immensely enjoyable preview — amusing and informative in equal measures, thanks Trev!
Almaty — near the eastern frontier of the Eurasian steppe. From the Scythians to the Golden hordes, just next to the silk route along the northern edge of the Taklamakan Desert.
And of course, right on the western boundary of the mysterious, urban, Buddhist Tocharian civilization of the oasis city-states in the Tarim basin, from Kuch to Khotan. The word “Shaman” in English originated from Shramana (Sanskrit word for the itinerant Buddhist monks), but most likely it came via one the Tocharian languages that borrowed “Samana” from Pali, the language used by Theravada texts. Likely when the Tocharians were displaced by the dual threat of the oasis drying out and the start of the invasions that led to the eventual pax Mongolica, some of them kept moving west…just as Scythians or before them the Yamnaya did, at the very dawn of our Indo-European world. The shifting sands of time …
Your predicted eleven offers a fresh way of looking at the squad, and I would be very much supportive if we were to line up that way. However, my preferred would be
Kepa
White-Mosquera-Hincapié-MLS
Merino-Nørgaard-Eze
Madueke-Gyökeres-Martinelli
Marli Salmon and Kai to come in later in the second half, so should captain Ødegaard after Eze has scored a goal or so and got some confidence back.
Let’s get back to the habit of keeping clean sheet, and get some attacking edge resharpened. A dominating 4-0 should be satisfactory.
Come on Arsenal!
Thanks Trev, a pun read as ever along with some very sound advice.
Your team is fine but personally I’d like to see Salmon start as RB with Havertz starting on the left of midfield and Jesus as CF. We can bring two or three youngsters on after an hour
when hopefully everything is going swimmingly.
Fine historical work there Dr. F, 10/10 sir.
But only 10/11 on the team as Merino is suspended 😃
Matt@7: thanks! For the compliments and the corrections. 🙂 Can’t believe that I forgot to remember about Merino and Rice earning couple of useful yellows against Inter.
Forced into a reshuffle, I will keep the same team, but have Ødegaard starting in that midfield and perform more as a number 10 to get his creative side some match practice, and once a healthy lead (hopefully) has been established, bring Marli Salmon in as the right back, put MLS in midfield as the left side 8, shift the rest of three defenders towards left, and play Eze in the Martin role.
Still good for the 4-0, I hope!
Come on Arsenal!
Great stuff, Trev. After Sunday I needed a good laugh. As Ned says, the Kazakh Stan made me laugh out loud, echoing that bête noire of 70’s toutdom, the Barnet Behemoth, Mr Flashman.
In very nearly the words of Paul Weller, Kairat’s entertainment..
Good stuff, Trev. I’m looking forward to a team of Arsenal wannabe’s providing us with an eighth win by trying to show MA8 that they deserve to be in the front line. They will be playing against a team of central Asian athletes who may be physically imposing but hopefully have little organisation or craft. Yet the Norns do not generally weave us a smooth path and there’s many a slip….
I would replace Jesùs in your proposed XI with Ødegaard for whom a stroll in the park alongside Eze in midfield might be therapeutic.
Your matchday trivia: The assistant referees, Benjamin and Marco Zürcher, are identical twins, the only known identical twins to be, or have been, top-level officials. But this will not be their first time running the line in England. They (and the same ref as for tonight’s match, Urs Schnyder) made an all-Swiss crew at Villa Park for Villa’s Conference League game against HSK Zrinjski Mostar in October 2023, and then repeated the act for the Scousers Europa League game at Anfield against LASK the following month. They also did the England v Wales friendly at Wembley during last October’s interlull.
Where else would you find such useless information…
Nice one, Trev, made me chuckle 🙂
Looking forward to tonight’s game. Red and white Sou’wester and matching wellies on – I’m ready for the boat.
The matching twins will be an added treat, Ned. No such thing as useless information. Knowledge is power and I’ll astound a few with that piece tonight. 🙂
COYG. NLFE
Thanks, Trev and COYG. Identical twins for linesmen, Ned? At least they didn’t clone Mike Dean. Hope that’s not over optimistic of course
Re: Faustus. From your description Almaty does sound like a veritable trek. Good thing we don’t have to travel for this one then.
Or as Rev. Al might have said in similar circumstances, Good God Almaty. 👍🏼
Close to a correctly selected first XI, Trev. BBC says Mikel went for:
Arsenal starting XI: Arrizabalaga, White, Mosquera, Calafiori, Lewis-Skelly, Norgaard, Eze, Havertz, Madueke, Martinelli, Gyokeres
Havertz show us what you can do!
Thanks fellas – yep, 1 out on selection 👍🏻
Oh, looks like 2 out – just seen another line up with Calafiori in place of Hinkapie
Nice to see Kai back and on the scoresheet.
And Cala back on the team sheet. Hopefully
the 45 minutes will help both
Welcome to Bailey-Joseph! Hadn’t heard of him before to be honest
Oh well, gave away another silly goal but 3-2 and 8 out of 8, great achievement to win
every match and by at least a couple of goals until the last one.
Now, can TTG catch his train?
That all went a bit flat at the end. Appropriately moribund for a dead rubber.
One of Atalanta, Bayer Leverkusen, Borussia Dortmund or Olympiakos in the Round of 16 come March.
I don’t mind which of those four I think as Dortmund are not the threat of old.
Seems Nwaneri’s Marseille just missed out on the qualifiers on goal difference
when Benfica got a last minute goal against Real Madrid.
I hardly needed the sou’wester on Mikel’s boat tonight. We didn’t make too many waves or splashes and played more like the Vital Spark than a battlecruiser. It looked toward the end that the wellies might be needed along with a bailer when our defence started leaking.
Unbeaten in eight. What’s not to like. Toot toot on the boat’s steam whistle.
Choppy waters ahead as we sail up the A1 to Yorkshire at the weekend. I hope Mikel releases the handbrake on the boat’s propellers.
A nice pacy first half with three good goals and a stupid penalty. Kai added poise, flair and incisiveness – his goal was the best of the three and his assist was inspired. Great to see him back. In the second half we huffed and puffed but just couldn’t get another goal. I’m not convinced that we could blow out candles on a cake let alone blow a house down. Overall that was a disappointing second half where we had huge possession and territorial advantage against a poor side and multiple opportunities but produced either a poor final ball or a fluffed effort, failings that were underlined by the second Kairat goal. – a free header inside the 6 yard box in their only attack. I’m not convinced that Hincapié is an upgrade on Andy Linighan.
>>>>>>>