As far as modes of transportation go submarines generate in me an unnamable hue of emotion, not the least because I never had really stepped into one, forget taking a tour into the depths of the majestic world of underwater mysteries. Growing up I was madly in love with the works of Jules Verne, and Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea – with the enigmatic, anti-imperialist, vengeful yet generous Captain Nemo inspiring in any child the romantic dreams of adventure and justice, while raising awareness about the limits of both – planted a seed of fascination, excitement, wonder and also a little fear (think of the chapter when Nautilus was trapped under the Antarctic Ice) about the Nemo’s beloved submarine and hence all submarines.
However, I have never really wanted to live in any submarine, yellow or not, but equally can’t feel too excited about sinking one either. I am more in favor of gently but sternly returning the yellow submarine back to its dock (Base? Bunker? Choose your favorite submarine stowing destination), putting it firmly back in its place.
And we do indeed have a history of taking care of Villareal at the knock-out stages of European competitions. In those days when we always only used to be just in the top four league positions and just manage to get into the later rounds of Champions League, we had beaten them twice. In 2008-2009 season Champions League quarter-final we won at home 3-0 after drawing the first league away 1-1, the great Robert Pires playing in the wrong shirt for the full ninety minutes in that match at the Emirates.
Before that in our last European match at Highbury in April of 2006 Kolo Toure’s goal – Hleb with an assist and not a pre-assist, as he was often accused of (or credited with) – giving us a slender 1-0 advantage in the first leg of the 2005-2006 Champions League semi-final before the return match away at Villareal. The match was heading towards a nil-nil draw when Villareal striker Jose Mari — I believe/hope no relation to our stalwart defender Pablo, who I think grew up in the Valencia region supporting Villareal — fell theatrically to the ground hurt by the shirtsleeves of Clichy. Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose etc., etc. … speaking of thespian forwards here, not Gaël’s shirtsleeves (I have no clue about the sartorial peculiarities of our once longstanding left back). Juan Riquelme was already celebrating the goal when his penalty-kick was saved by Lehmann in the 89th minute. And we were off to the final!
While this Arsenal side are nowhere near comparable to the great Arsenal teams of that era, the current version of the Yellow Submarine is comparatively closer to that Villareal team kept away by mad Jens’ outstretched hands. Villareal is currently occupying the 7th position in the La Liga table, with 49 points from 33 matches. In the intervening years they were relegated for one season, and since their return back to La Liga in 2013 their league positions have been 6,6,4,5,5,14,5. Even though their recent league form is less than mediocre, they do boast Mr. Europa League, one Unai Emery, as their manager. How much a nice man by all accounts our previous head coach might be, we can be guaranteed that proving a point against the club that did kind of fire him will give the ex-Arsenal head coach an extra incentive against his younger Basque counterpart. And given the current league form and position Europa remains the only freeway to find their way back to the Hollywood of European football next season. Just like us, you may want to add.
I haven’t watched even a single Villareal match this season so don’t have much tactical insights into our semifinal opponent. But reading this detailed enough analysis http://www.thehardtackle.com/round-up/2021/04/28/villarreal-vs-arsenal-preview-probable-lineups-prediction-tactics-team-news-key-stats/ I notice that Emery has kept his (in)famous “chameleon” approach to formations, but with Parejo, Chukuwuze, Moreno and Alcacer they have a potent enough attacking force capable of scoring different types of goals. Francis Coquelin had left neighboring Valencia to join Villareal this season, but it seems Etienne Capoue generally gets the nod from the manager ahead of him. Poor Francis, from playing with Santi Cazorla and winning FA Cups…
Santi “el mago” Cazorla is of course another connection between these two clubs, Santi having returned back to his old club after recovering from that hideous injury (or rather after recovering from the treatment of the original injury). Having left Villareal at the beginning of this season to join the Qatari league, he is still at the business of making assists, scoring goals, and providing joys to anyone watching him play. I don’t know about others, but I really hope that once he has ended his playing career, he will find his way back to the Arsenal, maybe to even start with as a valuable member in his good friend Mikel’s coaching team.
Mikel seems to have plenty of things to smile about before this match. It seems all of the injured and ill are back and in contention before the match, some of them even noticeably earlier than the expected returned date! I really don’t remember this happening ever in our history. Unless Mikel is bluffing to confuse his opponent … or is he?
This makes predicting the starting line-up more difficult than it generally is. For example, if Kieran Tierney is really fully fit and there is absolutely no gamble involved then I see no reason for not playing him, but on the other hand why not reintroduce him back gently by giving him thirty odd minutes from the bench in the weekend before using him in the decider at home? But then again will we not be better off playing him only in these two Europa matches given their relative greater importance compared to the league matches for this season? But then … etc.
I am assuming David Luiz, Lacazette and Tierney are all just fit enough to be on the bench for this match but not quite ready to be started. However captain Auba has completely recovered from malaria and there is no reason to need to reintroduce him gently. In that case the line-up I would like to see would be:
Leno
Chambers – Holding – Marí – Saka
Partey – Xhaka
Pépé – Ødegaard – ESR
Aubameyang
Saka can fly up the left flank and combine well with ESR with Xhaka dropping deeper to cover for him, as we had done so effectively a few times last season. Defense by all reports is not Villareal’s forte and keeping pressure on them, with the abilities of our highly talented forward line, I think we can score an early goal or two and that will then set us up well for the match.
However, I think Mikel will stick to his recent tactics of using Ceballos as a left sided midfielder, and Dani’s familiarity with the Spanish football also may count in his favor. I think Mikel will start with:
Leno
Chambers – Holding – Marí – Xhaka
Partey – Ceballos
Saka – Ødegaard – ESR
Aubameyang
My hope is that realizing very well that the league no longer provides even the safety net of Europa (though it is still mathematically possible it is highly unlikely) for the next season Mikel and the team will ensure a disciplined yet innovative display and complete focus at every area of the pitch. We won’t manage a clean sheet, but we should be able to score at least a couple of goals past them. Maybe even three, optimist that I am! So, a 3-1 away victory for the mighty Gunners then, with Captain Auba scoring a double and Lacazette coming on as a sub to replace his friend scoring a late third. Big match players stepping up in the season defining games. Enjoy the match wherever you might be watching from.
Come on Arsenal!
And with only 4 more days to go…
One day, our shirt may be sponsored by Spotify though Stan may disagree. However, if you want to see an iffy spot kick, check this one out. Celebrate the 50th anniversary of the ’70-71 Double with Goonerholics Forever.
An ice cool Peter Storey casually strokes that critical last minute penalty kick just a few inches past Gordon Banks to equalise and force a semi-final replay. 54 apps, 6 goals in 1970-71
Nice preview Dr F. So, you’re saying Villarreal are closer to the 2006 version that we only just squeaked past with a team that was a lot more efficient than our current version? That’s a bit worrying!
A win, my kingdom for a win!
Thanks doc.
As usual, 3-0 to the Arse.
UTA.
I took the opportunity to watch some of their match against Barca from last weekend, and I was quite impressed.
They were giving Barca a real battle until they had a player sent off midway through the 2nd half.
Very quick in transition, technically very sound, and more than held their own against a supposed superior opponent.
We will have to be very very diligent and tactically aware from the first minute till the last.
I don’t care what team Artets fields, I just want them to embrace the occasion, not be overwhelmed by it.
Play without fear, believe in the process, have that little bit of luck that all teams need in the big games and hopefully we will all be happy campers around 10pm Thursday night.
For those of you who might want to revisit our 2nd leg of the Cl semi against Villareal in 2006, Tim Stillman has written a beautiful story on it over on Arseblog.
They seem to be an average league team in not very good form then? No worries for us there 😁
I expect it to be a tight first leg and will be happy with one nil to The Arsenal. I imagine Laca will start as well as Luiz. The only concern would be that UE should certainly know our weak spots.
Banish the thought that UE could come back to haunt us. Banish it I say! Thanks Dr. F for your fine preview, and a Goodebening to you.
Thanks Dr F,
I like your team but we all know Mikel is no adventurer when it comes to selection.
Still remember that lovely evening at the Emirates when we sang the name of an emotional Robert Pires – a brilliant, sometimes under appreciated player.
There’s a superb 8 1/2 minutes of Sir Bob’s very best on YouTube if anyone wants a reminder.
Verne to Villareal. You have sweep, Dr F.
The second of your selections looks the more likely. I will take 3-1 in a heartbeat, remembering that it will be only the midpoint in a 180-minute game, with the second half to be played at home.
I’ve just acquired the latest collectibles from She Wore:
Surely they’ll grace every sophisticated Gooner household?
They’re not on sale at the regular She Wore shop but at kickoffmerchants.com/collections/beer-mats/products/arsenal-beer-mats
Gav has also offered them as a prize on Twitter:
Great preview Dr.F.
Experienced submariner here ?! I have been lucky enough to have two underwater experiences , one in the Gulf of Mexico and one off Waikiki Beach in Hawaii. I hope we keep our heads above water tonight .
I think your second selection will be very close to our starting eleven . I think we are miles better away from home and must look to attack and score tonight. Emery wasn’t good at organising a defence with us ( nb Southampton in October 2019) and they concede more than one goal a game on average in an inferior league . I really think we can win tonight or get at least a score draw and we must because we are pants at home .
I’m totally sober when I predict we will walk away with a 2-0 win tonight
Trev,
Re Bobby Pires. As you know we’ve been talking to Pat Rice recently . Pat, who worked with him for years is a huge fan and feels that in 2002 when he was Footballer of the Year he was the best player in the world . I thought he was a terrific player , one of my favourite Arsenal players .
I remember the warmth in that ovation at the Emirates . Fully deserved
Clive, Thanks for bringing up Tim Stillman’s for memories of our other semifinal with Villarreal, it’s worth a direct link: https://arseblog.com/2021/04/the-night-we-sunk-the-yellow-submarine/
I’m no fan of the fellow travellers on Le Grove But Peter Wood sometimes composes a brilliant paragraph. This is from his preview tonight . Who said football previews can’t be poetic ? We have this superb piece from Dr.F and now this
‘ We’re roughly 18 months into this project, there needs to be some joy. A shot at silverware is the Fairy liquid to the tarred wings of this season. Trophies have a way of making you forget, like parents with money after they’ve spanked you in a Tesco car park in front of your friends FOR SOMETHING YOU DIDN’T EVEN DO. They are a managerial elixir.’
I was that child . But it was Woolworths and they didn’t have a car park
Cheers Doc!
Cheers Doc. Top stuff, as ever.
I’m up for this one. The team fucking better be!
I had a lot of time for Emery. And, despite a couple of post-firing interviews that did not sit too well with me, I thought he displayed a lot of class during his tenure. Although he may not have fully understood what The Arsenal means to some, I thought he made a good fist of learning, and I though he was a principled man with the right sort of class to lead our club.
So, I hope he loses tonight (and in the second leg) but i wish him and his team well.
If you want a reminder of Riquelme’s indecisive, nervous look as he prepared to take that late spot kick and Jens’ stare that said, “Show me how big your bollocks are, son!”, this short video has the key moments, including Jens’ superb save.
Thanks everyone for the kind words!
All of those in the US of A, today’s match is not on the regular Spanish network and neither in CBS all access but a new(er) streaming service called Paramount+ . You can stream on your computer but also on Roku etc.
Leno, Chambers, Holding, Mari, Xhaka, Partey, Ceballos, Saka, Smith Rowe, Odegaard, Pepe
Subs: Ryan, Okonkwo, Bellerin, Gabriel, Cedric, Luiz, Elneny, Willian, Nelson, Nketiah, Martinelli, Aubameyang
Saka at centre forward?
or maybe Pepe?
Tierney and Laca didn’t make squad then.
Mind games from Mikel?
An opportunity for Pépé to put his name in lights.
Interesting selection at the front. Four false nines?
No Balogun on the bench, though I am not sure which of Nketiah, Aubameyang and Martinelli would have made way for him.
Holding is captain, which will please Scruz.
Great preview Dr F. Anyone else absolutely bricking it?
well-pleased, indeed, ned@25. c’mon capitola rob, show your mettle tonight and help keep a clean sheet. organize the back for few or no mistakes. get ready to use that sweet right foot for those long diagonals to release the hounds.
i was watching that 2006 semi in the living room, having taken an extra-long lunch that day and come home from the uni. we had a guy crawling around our half-basement/crawlspace installing our forced air heat. when jens saved that i ran through the house yelling and jumping and screaming like a madman. dude came up in about five minutes, and i was wiping away tears. he asked if i was ok, what happened. i told him. he gave me a really odd, annoyed glance, muttered “congratulations”, and disappeared below the house again. i should have used the well-practiced “silent scream” developed to keep the kid and wife asleep when games start at sparrowfart…but to hell with that. 🙂
COYG!!!
COME
ON
YOU
GUNNERS!
diamonds, c100, diamonds.
Scruz. Nah mate. Should have just chinnedhim 😂😂
C’mon boys!!!!!!
c100 i think he must have jumped and banged his head on a beam…
emery still has that vaguely gormless look on his face from the sideline. that never inspired confidence. but congratulations to him, and i hope we send him home tonight in shame.
We are behind in less than five mins. Shit start.
Xhaka let’s the man run into the box and a great finish.
Thumbs down
jesus. talk about shame.
That was not great.
They look like a good technical team and are well organised. Got to see if they can do it over ninety minutes.
COYG!
heads up, boys. keep your heads up, and concentrate.
Yup. 1-1 at full time will suit us just fine.
We have all our paceless wonders, Xhaka, Holding, Chambers, manning our defence. The only thing they can do is to get back to defend and that allowed them to run free into our box unchallenged.
We are also mis passing and playing our slow side passing routine. A little shaken, our lot.
I agree ksn. So slow at the back. Xhaka is not a left back. I’ve seen milk turn quicker. It was a poor goal to concede.
We have looked dangerous at times going forward but no striker means no end product. Dani looking sharp and incisive in midfield but we look sloppy at the back.
0-2. It is all going south.
Got to score some goals no. We haven’t had a shot on target yet.
ah well.
Disgraceful defending at the corner. A statuesque defence and no one on the posts??
Schoolboy defending for both of the goals.
Penalty!
We look so disorganised. That’s becoming something that is far to regular these days??
Bloody VAR again.
Sadly, correct decision.
Pepe has looked dangerous so far this half.
We are all over the pitch and they are opening us up at will. We are poor.
Pepe’s penalty win negatived by a handball by Pepe in the build up. Our VAR problems continue, correctly this time.
Our shape is Just horrible. We need a striker. There is no outlet and no threat.
I really do not understand this set up at all???
Dani roasted for pace there.
And again. This Spurs reject has got him on toast.
This is all so familiar.
Boy we stink
Very amateurish first half performance. Poor set up, slow and cumbersome at the back. Zero cutting edge up front.
Let’s hope that our bright young manager can buck the trend and actually has a plan B?
Half time and their players are smiling at how easy it has been for them. They have better technical players and they have pace and they are terrorising us. I have never seen us so outclassed in an European game. We have been second best, so far, by a mile.
Let us see how Arteta reenergises them for the second half. We have to up our game.
Different game if we score next guys. Keep the faith.
what a disappointing half. ceballos has lost half a step of what little speed he had; he has played some nice passes, though. our front four look lost, all are support personnel, not strikers. and i’m not happy with rob’s organization of the defense, though with four tugboats and no cigar boats we’re going to be in further trouble if they keep pressing.
How about a plan F?
looking at the stats on tv, talk about sterile possession.
watching their first, xhaka completely lost the plot. didn’t cover the pass in, got fooled by the carrier, and dani had to help off his man, leaving a gap for their guy to come in and score.
Nothing happening. Need a shake up.
Ceballos sent for an innocuous challenge.
Hope we have a better 2021-22 season. This one is over. Sorry to be so negative.
Not sure there was much in that but Dani was always walking a tightrope.
You don’t go into a semi final, even a two legged one, without a striker on the pitch.
Arteta is not the man. Sorry folks.
67 mins. Zero shots on target.
Brilliant from Leno, but how the fuck has he strolled between 4 defenders totally unmarked?????
No striker on the pitch? No shots on target? Anyone else spot the possible link?????
Come on Pepe ….
Huge goal ! Get in!
How big was that save from Pepe now …..
We don’t deserve that in the slightest.
But who cares????
And now Capoue if off!
Artur Soares Dias!
Team selection and substitutions?????
Xhaka ticking time bomb for a major error
Still in the tie. Any win and we’re through.
Should have started Cedric @ left back. Having started Cedric, Cebellos should have been subbed @ HT.
Somehow still in the tie. Slowest team we’ve fielded in the last 15 years.
Not sure I’ve been more pleased to only lose a game 2-1.
My view is that Arteta has to take a massive amount of blame for that performance. As tactically inept as I can remember. Totally not Xhaka’s fault, but he’s not a left back.
2 shots on target. One in the 94th minute???
Bizarrely, it’s Still all to play for. I just hope we actually have a bit of a think about it for the home leg?
Huge fightback to get a crucial away goal. Hope we have Tierney, Laca and Auba fit to play the second leg at home next week. Xhaka gets us playing better when he is partnering Partey in the midfield but is a misfit at left back. We are still in with a very good chance if Arteta organizes the side properly and makes the right selection of players.. Pepe had a man of the match performance. Can sleep better tonight after the away goal.
Coming away with just a 2-1 loss after that first half was no mean feat. An old-fashioned 1-0 to the Arsenal at the Ems and we will be through.
Saka must have legs of titanium given the battering they get every game. Amazingly, refs have given only 12 fouls on him in the entire EL campaign.
A surprising selection, a disappointing first half, a stupid red card, a superb tie-saving save, a good response, a wiley penalty and almost a late equaliser. Who’d be a Gooner by choice?
All to play for in the second leg.
Hopefully KT3, Auba and even Laca will be fully fit next Thursday.
Pretty much sums it up Bath.
In just over 50 words too, you
must have been a whizz at essays 😉
I guess MA didn’t believe enough in
Gabi or Eddie to start them at CF.
And I can’t remember a worse
campaign in Europe than Dani’s,
don’t know what he did to annoy
Lady Luck but payback has been a
real bastard and a half
One of the strangest European knock-outs I have seen us play. Why Mikel didn’t change the team around a bit — you get 5 subs so no fear of running out of subs — in the half-time after that diabolical first half is inexplicable.
The passing was mostly awful all throughout the match, as was ball retention. Way below the expected. Whether that’s nerves or trying to play an over-choreographed tactics or just being caught between safety-first approach and natural attacking instinct is hard to say, but the football we played in the first half was shockingly poor.
If we manage to salvage this tie it will be quite the comeback. Starting positively with a high tempo will be essential.
Most of us desperately want Arteta to succeed and can see there is a potentially fine CIA h there . But he didn’t help himself one bit with that selection tonight . And his teams must start quicker …much quicker
Is that coach there TTG?
Dr F.@89: I also expected half-time changes. That they did not happen may imply Arteta thought that his tactics were right but the execution poor. As you note, our passing and ball retention were way below standard.
ESR is clearly not a Laca-like false nine. If anything, playing him there negates his strenghs, particularly his forward runs. Once Martinelli was on the pitch, we looked more threatening.
Also Xhaka deserves credit for his second half performance, unfashionable though it may be to say it. Villafeal was nothing like as threatening down that flank as they were in the first half. Bonus points for Gabi, who was always racing back to support Xhaka.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>