The better team from Fulham travels to Ashburton Grove on Saturday for a late afternoon kickabout, with a 1730 start, local time. The Cottagers currently sit five places above their neighbors from the Bus Stop (ok, only a point above with three more goals in the differential basket, but still 🙂 ).
Arsenal, of course, sit atop the table after three games (sing “we’re top of the league!”). Admittedly, and with the rose-tinteds set on the side table, our three games were against teams we are expected to beat. And, yeah, it’s only three games. But it was the manner, the method, the verve, the vitality, and the beauty of the football we played that has launched a thousand happy trains into the Arsenal lebenswelt.
Speaking of happy trains, and taking up the rose-tinteds, we can hope that for the first time in more than a decade The Goonerholic(sforever) Happy Train will pick us up at Arsenal or Holloway Road and carry us along home after the match, its Columbian medicine cabinet restocked with free samples of green goodness from California (and perhaps a new wine bar). Just don’t forget to shelve Shaft’s moustache wax, and certainly avoid stepping on Wofie’s Jimmy Choos (or his MiuMius, or whatever brand he’s currently sporting). If the twins are still on the train, tell them I’ll be over in October!
And long may we ride. But first we must remember that the skin of a banana can be slippery underfoot, or under the wheels of the Happy Train.
Cottage, er, Pie
Coming off the weekend win at Brentford the Cottagers played Tuesday at League 2’s Crawley Town in the 2nd round of the Carabao Cup. Led by ex-Arsenal U23 skipper Kevin “To” Betsy, Crawley Town strolled to a comfortable 2-0 victory against a largely second-string Fulham. Fulham started 10 players who usually don’t start PL games; now that another ex-Arsenal man Bernd Leno has debuted against Brentford in the league it may well be that none of the side that played Crawley Town will make an appearance except from the bench.
Mitrović is their leading goalscorer with 3 (and he has previous with us from his time at Newcastle, earning a red-card in 2015 for stamping on Coquelin). They offer threat from others in their 4-2-3-1 formation, including second striker De Cordova-Reid and Pereira from the midfield. Their defense hasn’t been terrible, but can be expected to exhibit porosity, having let in 4 goals so far this season (2 from Liverpool and 2 from Brentford).
Fulham’s injury list is short, with long-term absentees Solomon and Wilson possibly joined by Kebano, who picked up a groin injury in training before the Brentford game. He’s scheduled to be a game-day decision for coach Marco Silva.
Da da da da da da da da…
Arsenal will have had a full week’s rest after our 3-0 juicing of Bournemouth’s Cherries (nurse!), and with the exception of long-termer Reiss Nelson Super Mik has a full squad from which to choose on Saturday. Given the consistency of our first three lineups, unless there’s a refined tactical or a red-zone reason for not starting a player I expect we will start as we have been starting:
Ramsdale
White — Saliba! — Gabriel — Zinchenko
Mø — Thomas — Xhaka
Saka — Jesús — Gabigol
And I expect us to be fast out of the blocks, with the interplay between our forwards and midfield augmented by our tucked-in or overlapping fullbacks. Our defense should be solid against Fulham’s wing play, with Saliba! and Gabriel cementing their partnership into a wall through which Mitrović will have a hard time scoring. But, remember, the banana skin.
I expect a good game from Saka, and with an assist or perhaps a goal; while he has been excellent this season his contributions have been in the build-up rather than the final product. His Ego seems to be such that he can continue that way indefinitely, but I have to believe that same Ego is going to burst through and we’ll see him catch fire. Gabigol is another who is right on the edge of blowing up, hopefully adding assists to this season’s goalscoring threat. Indeed, Mø’s brace against the Cherries might have given him the taste for more; his silk is mixed with steel, and that lovely left foot.
Of course, there’s our savio(u)r, Gabriel Jesús, who leads the team in both goals (tied) and assists, and rests tied atop the League table for goal involvements with Leeds’ Rodrigo. His presence and its effects have been written about ad infinitum; needless to say we have leveled up at least a few notches since he has joined the team, and can expect that to continue. Such a potent front three plus midfield we haven’t seen in any number of years.
Our bench will be uncertain, but won’t include Pépé, and shouldn’t include Ainsley Maitland-Niles or Bellerin. Pépé has been loaned to Nice in France’s League Un; AMN may be off to Southampton in the PL, also on loan. Bellerin still doesn’t know where he’s going, but longs for one of the white cities of Al-Andalus. This might be a game for Super Mik to blood one or another of our young tyros. We’ll see.
The Holics’ Pound
Keeping in mind the banana-skin potential contra our security at the back and our firepower up front, your best odds are on the final score or goalscorer. It’s clear the bookies see our fourth straight win as the likely outcome. For final score 4-0 gets you 14s, 4-1 gets you 18s, and, if you think a draw is likely 0-0 or 2-2 are 20-1 or above. Gabigol is your best bet at 11/2 to score anytime.
So have at it, enjoy the game wherever you are, and pack at least your toothbrush so that you can jump onto The Happy Train as it is leaving the station…
As bright and breezy a preview can get, thanks scruzgooner.
I’m confident of another rip roaring, never boring, always scoring goalfest with 4-0 lowest on my expectations, come for the Gabi’s and stay for the Arsenal!.
Super preview, Scruz. This one does indeed have the feel of a potential slip-up. They’ve started the season very well, not least in their opener where they pushed Liverpool very hard. I’m sure Mikel will have the players as prepped for action as possible though, and fancy a 3-1 win.
Excellent stuff Scruz and shows the value of a thoughtful preview. Well researched, (I had forgotten Mitrovic’s attack on Coquelin) and putting in context our team and their’s. Mitrovic will be a test for Saliba and Gabriel, but one I expect them to pass. 5.30 kick off (civilised for those in California Scruz) at what should be a warm, rollicking bear pit of sound at the Emirates. TTG will be in Club Level, so if you pass an old gent in a hand tailored whistle, it’ll probably be him.
Thanks for an extremely uplifting preview even without Zico’s chemical assistance. Despite that uplift, I am more conservative in my expectations – it’s a London derby and we all know form goes out the window! I hope for a two goal victory, probably 2-0 or 3-1 (sorry, Aaron!) but expect a closer run 1-0 or 2-1 (sorry again, Aaron!).
C100, I think Club Level is overrun by old gents in hand made whistles. He’ll stand out in his new Arsenal shirt!
Go win, Arsenal.
An excellent bit of early morning reading your preview made, Scruz Gooner. Is Lebenswelt what happens to Leno’s knee after Arsenal belt a few balls off it?
Is that anything like bodoglimt?
That was a trip down memory lane, Scruz, a real shot in the arm.
Assuming we don’t slip on the banana skin, and the team seems more attentive to those than it was last term, we’ll emerge as comfortable 3-0 winners. Both keepers will be desperate for clean sheets, however.
thanks, all, i’m glad you enjoyed. i do hope the ride home is happy!
europa league draw: Group A: Arsenal, PSV Eindhoven, Bodo/Glimt, Zurich
holland, norway, switzerland. all relatively close, and beatable.
Magnificent preview Scruz! Fulham is my least disliked club in London, but that doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy when we used to occasionally thump them at Emirates. 🙂
As others mentioned this would not be an easy one but the way we are playing now if we just carry on we should be fine. Agree with the unchanged team, it’s also giving KT and Tomiyasu a gentler reintroduction to first team football (allowing their post recovery process to be smoother and more effective) and we will need them at their best as the schedule starts getting more and more hectic.
I like the EL group opponents. Short travels. Not traveling to any of those highly charged and ferocious away crowds that turn the games to messy affairs, and with PSV being there no chance of complacency as we must finish first to avoid having to play tricky qualifiers against CL dropouts to get to play the round of 16.
Cheers scruz, nice preview. 4-0 would be nice but I’ll take any victory.
I certainly hope for a Happy Train, having used some of the bad luck on a 4h25min late train from Nice last weekend…
Bodo are not to be underrated, apparently. Sky says Norwegian side Bodo/Glimt thrashed Jose Mourinho’s Roma 6-1 at home in the Europa Conference League group stages last season, but eventually lost to the Serie A side in the competition’s quarter-final round.
Ødegaard would point out that Bodo is missing one of those slashes or null signs where the o is.
Scruz,
A very enjoyable and bright preview which has increased my anticipation of the game . It’s difficult to choose the right tuxedo for Club Level so I have left it to my manservant . Fulham have never beaten us at home in the League but came mighty close the last time they were at our place, conceding to Eddie in injury time .
Marco Silva has them very well organised and motivated and they have a lot of quality among their new signings and of course Mitro . But we are in prime form and if we can get off to a fast start I think we can take it 3-0 .
Interested that we have drawn a team of Hobbits from Norway. We should be very dangerous at set pieces 😀😀
If I read this table https://understat.com/league/EPL correctly, Arsenal are 17th best in the league at converting expected goals through the first three matches. Not a great record, and one we should start sharpening. If anyone spots that I have misinterpreted the data, please correct me.
Looked at those numbers again and I think Arsenal are in 4th place, not 17th, in converting expected goals into goals. If so, it’s not quite such a worry.
Great preview Scruz. I’ve given up predictions and prefer to reduce my exposure to disappointment by hardly thinking about possible results in advance at all. (Such are the scars of the past few years.) Even so, it’s hard not to approach the game with some confidence.
I’ll be there tomorrow; let us indeed hope that the return journey will indeed be a happy one (aboard the Happy Polo rather than Train if travel plans come to fruition).
COYG
Happy Polo like this, PG?
Let’s not get carried away now, there are people watching. Like this guy: https://www.theguardian.com/football/2022/aug/26/the-fiver-arsenal-giddy-gunners
Top notch preview, Scruz. Extra points for the references to some of the regulars from the old bar.
TTG, thanks for your explanation re my Lars/las question in the last drinks.
Hi, Trev and bt8, good to “see” you too, gents.
I watched Fulham match Liverpool for skill, goals, and industry on Matchday 1, I fully expect them to cover more distance than us and maybe even match us in certain skills departments but our firepower should be just too much for their defence. My prediction is a heated 2 – 1 win for our boys in red and white, with a Man of The Match performance from Leno.
Plausible scenario Cent. I hope their defense is not as successful
Dr F@9: A well-made point about avoiding Europa League play-offs to get into the knock-out stages. Some quality teams will drop into the competition from the CL, one of Barca, Bayern or Inter from Group C, one of Ajax, Liverpool, Napoli or Rangers from Group A, and probably Sevilla or Dortmund from Group G and likely Benfica from Group H. We don’t need an additional qualifying game against any of them.
L O Cent!
Thanks scruz, a fine preview and l agree that we might see a
change or two this game as we have a midweek match
coming up. I don’t think Fulham will sit back so am expecting
a few goals to keep me awake in the wee small hours
Cheers scruz!
Good to see Cent in the last two bars, hello mate!
And nice to have Depressed and Ollie here so often too. As well as all the rest of the general miscreants, obviously.
Drinks all round!
And Esso has been in too!
Essssssoooo!
Excellent preview Scruz. Nicely penned and thanks very much.
A fast start and a dominant opening 20 minutes would go a long way to settling this one, especially if, like last week, we turn that into a scoreboard advantage. Mind you, if it gets a bit tight I’d also back us to find a winner in the last 20 and hold on. Hopefully it doesn’t come to that.
With our Europa and League Cup fixtures decided this week, and the last of the transfer window action all coming to a head, this is the sort of game where everyone can talk about staying focused and taking it one game at a time… and then subtly take their eyes off the ball and fail to get up for it properly. This would be fatal. This is a tough league and Fulham will be all over us if we fail to match them for application and desire.
If we do play with the intensity (and growing maturity) we are capable of, then I think we can win by a couple of goals, maybe more if we really turn up. Frankly though, I’d take 3 points any way they come. The longer we can stay out in front of the chasing pack, the better.
UTA!
Fofana to Chelsea for £75m. Wow. Martinelli ran him absolutely ragged two weeks ago. Now he gets two more league games to do it again.
Nicely summarised there GSD @28. I agree with that 100%. We should win this game but if our attitude isn’t right this will be no cakewalk/happy train/bed of roses/jolly trip home in the Polo etc, etc!
C100 @29, utter madness! That money the consortium had to promise to spend for their bid ‘to win’ is clearly burning a hole in their consortium pocket. This headlong splurge might just be giving the gnomes in Clearlake Capital Group the jitters.
Hi Esso! Cricket or football today?
The previous Eurostar just left on time. So it’s looking good so far. Less people at the station too (well the Eurostar bit, because for the rest it’s a heavy weekend with people coming back from holidays).
Thanks scruz – great preview and a trip down the tracks on the old Happy Train – the sometimes ironically badged happy train but they were good times in Dave’s bar.
Fulham was Dave’s favourite day out – this is at the Emirates of course, but a chance for a celebration win anyway.
Essoooo ! Good to see you, mate !
It was indeed Trev. Hoping I get the chance to do Fulham away this season. Haven’t done away matches in ages, and it would be a reason to celebrate.
In typical fashion, as all was looking fine and rosy on a Saturday afternoon for a stress-free journey. ‘Due to mechanical checks on youd train still being performed (note that the train has been there for about an hour…), boarding is delayed ‘by a few minutes’. We’ll let you know when there’s an update.
Hahahaha and now boarding so what the fuck was the point of this annoucement two minutes before?
“Harry Maguire not guaranteed to start because of captaincy, says Erik ten Hag”
What is he guaranteed to do then, other than to scowl and look ugly?
bath@32: I doubt your last sentence very much. Clearlake has deep pockets, $72 billion of assets under management and has raised more than $25 billion in capital since January 2021. That is spread over hundreds of investments, of course, not just at the Bus Stop, but private equity guys tend to have steel-hearted control over every penny their portfolio companies spend, and this lot has a lot of experience in industries where talent commands Mickey Mouse numbers.
That said, if Fofana can command a £75 million transfer fee (and I am sure he has boosted his wages, reportedly he was on £20,000 a week at Leicester), then what must Saliba be worth?
bt8@39: Isn’t Maguire not guaranteed to start because he isn’t good enough to displace Varane or Martinez?
Ned @40, I stand corrected, thank you. It was a comment based entirely on ignorance and uninformed hope.
Point conceded, Ned.
Nice stuff Scruz.
On the train, Tolly bound, and looking forward to my first game of the season.
Same as the last 3 please. Keep it professional and it’s 4-0 to the good guys.
Up the Gunners
Hello Steve T., Esso, Ollie and all the people who seem to be cropping up. 😆
My ‘Ned knows’ drink didn’t get through, but that’s because we’re zooming through at high speed I guess. Cheers bt8. Probably won’t make Tollie pre match for practical reasons Steve T, but might do after if your’re still about. Less than 10 min to St P. This might not go through either as tunnels ahoy!
Cheers Scruz! Excellent thoughtfull and uplifting preview.
I can’t explaine why but I have a feeling that we will have a different starting eleven. I expect Tomy and KT starting.
This Fulham will give us hard times especially Leno will be fired-up against us.
But of course we will win but it won’t be a walking in the park.
COYG
Hi Cent! Nice to meet you. Unfortunately (or not?) I am not Lars only Las. That is a nick or rather the short form of Laszlo. A half-life long gooner from Hungary.
Drinks on me. Cheers!
same lineup as last week except no partey in the squad. mo’neny deputizes.
Pardon my poor attempt at humor Las, but we have been hungering to hear from a Hungarian Gooner or two for quite some time so thanks for identifying yourself as such.!👍🏼
thanks all. glad you enjoyed. but it seems already the happy train is delayed at a siding.
steve, cent, glad to see you around. don’t be strangers!
also tierney in for zinchenko.
Hey bt8! Thanks for this. Quite an achievement being well in the half-ton.
🙂
Partey and Zinchenko picked up light strains in training on Friday, according to the club, and are being kept back for precautionary reasons. Sensible, given the increasing frequency of games coming up, and doable thanks to squad depth.
Steve T: Good to see you joining some of the other alumni of the old bar. Drinks on the bar for you all.
🎵North London Forever!🎵
COYG!
Dominating this game but without a decent final ball or a decent chance. You can see why Arteta is prioritising more ‘firepower’.
More nervous-making than I would have liked, but three points dug out in the end, and a comeback win.
Well done boys, never in doubt. Sort of. Great to see the supporters ramp up the noise after we went down 1-0. COYG.
Massive atmosphere!
Greetings, gedo! Great to see you in here. It must be old home week.
SALIBA!
Goodnight.
Gedo, good to see you in. A drink on the bar for you. Don’t be a stranger.
bath@4: Good call on the scoreline.
Thanks Ned.
>>>>>>>