Goonerholics Forever

The Prologue
Some things are far more important than football. Freedom, human lives and dignity will do for a start. Those things have been under threat and in too many cases already lost in Ukraine during the last couple of weeks. We have to start by wishing everyone in Ukraine, and everyone around the world with ties of any kind to that country, our very best hopes for their safety and eventual release from the despicable events that currently affect them. 

There has been some early criticism of the Premier League for allowing this weekend’s matches to be shown in Russia. However, the League is doing so with the motive that viewers in Russia will see the reaction of people here to events in Ukraine, which will hopefully enlighten them and motivate them to rise against their government. Given the litigious nature of some people, it is probably better to be no more specific than that. We all wish the ordinary people of Ukraine and Russia the very, very best in their heroic endeavours.

The Football
If there is anything left in football to set the heart racing, the stomach churning and excitement levels through the roof, it is probably not the prospect of playing Watford at Vicarage Road. The stomach just might actually be churning as, after another ten day break since the victory over Wolves, the team returns to action and faces another “cup final”, with three vital points at stake in the pursuit of a Champions League place. Say it quietly, but we do seem to have found a way to win difficult, close games having just beaten Brentford and done the double over a resurgent Wolves side.

Watford is not a team I enjoy watching us play against. Under one of their recentish managers – I think probably Kicky Flores (sic) – they tried, for a while, to at least start matches playing a bit of decent football. Once a goal down however, they would become very kicky indeed and resort to the cojones busting tackling so favoured by their now departed captain, Troy Deeney. At least we no longer have to listen to him talking us down and kicking us up in the air in his sad efforts to get one over us.

So proud was he of his own cojones, that Mr Deeney reportedly walked into a sperm donor bank in London one day. “I’d like to donate some sperm,” he said to the receptionist.“Certainly Sir”, the receptionist replied, “ have you ever donated here before ?”“Yes I have,” replied Deeney, “you should have my details on your computer.”“Oh yes, I’ve found your details,” the receptionist said, “but I see you’re going to need help. Shall I call your wife for you ?”“Why do I need help ?” Deeney asked.“Well,” the receptionist replied, “ it says on your record that you’re a useless wanker ……”

Roy Hodgson took over as Watford manager at the end of January, their fifteenth appointment in the last 10 years. I thought they might be in close competition with Tottenham as the most unstable club currently in the Premier League, but they have absolutely battered them in even that race, the Spuds having had a mere eight managers over the same period. But as we know, Tottenham do get battered ………..

I always approach games against Watford with a degree of trepidation, expecting a much tougher and closer game than maybe we should have, bearing in mind the relative statures of the two clubs. Results since 2000 have been quite mixed – we’ve had some good victories but they did knock us out of the FA Cup in a 1-2 reversal at the Emirates in March 2016 – and they’ve held us to two draws and beaten us once in the league since the 2016/17 season. Overall though we have taken 38 of 45 points available in Premier League games against them, we’ve scored in all 15 PL games played, and scored first in 14 of those 15. 

However, Roy Hodgson has had an immediate impact, and In the 6 league games they have played under him, they have kept 3 clean sheets, as many as they had in their previous 38 league matches. So it looks like we can expect to find a determined defence fighting for its Premier League survival – the reason why it’s so important to observe the old managerial cliché about taking each game one at a time and making no assumptions about which ones should be winnable, or otherwise.

Our record against them in the 1980s is best forgotten as they had something of an Indian sign over us for most of that decade. Our overall head to head record against them shows that in a total of 33 matches played, we have Won 19, Lost 12 and Drawn 2.

The Teams
I have to say these are names I know nothing about but Watford will definitely be without Oghenekaro (Peter) Etebo, a central midfielder, who has a knee injury, and left winger Kwadwo Baah, out with a fractured ankle. Ismaila Sarr is doubtful and Nicolas N’Koulou is out until mid-March, both with hamstring injuries. Kiko Femenia, a defender, is also rated doubtful with a “knock” injury.

Watford have lost 3, won 1 and drawn 0-0 with Man Utd in their last five games. They sit 19th in the league table having Played 26, W5, D4, L17 Pts 19, GD -22.

The Arsenal should have an almost full squad to choose from. Kieran Tierney suffered no lasting damage after going off early against Wolves, and Emile Smith-Rowe has recovered from Covid-19. Both have been training this week. Tomiyasu news is elusive, however, and I can find no mention of him on the club site and I couldn’t spot him in any of the 25 training photos, so it’s a fair bet that the much improved Cédric will continue. Mikel Arteta has now confirmed that Tomiyasu will not be available this weekend.

In light of all that, I would expect to see us line up as:

Ramsdale

Cédric, White, Gabriel, Tierney

Partey, Xhaka

Saka, Ødegaard, Smith-Rowe

Lacazette  

Martinelli, Pépé and Nketiah are our obvious attacking options off the bench. It’s possible that Martinelli will start and Smith-Rowe will continue his super-sub role, but the latter is such a driving force for our attack that I think he will start if his fitness issues have been fully resolved.  

We have 14 “cup finals” to go. Fourth place is in our hands. Third place could be in our hands depending on how distracted or tired Chelsea become with their continuing Champions League and FA Cup involvements – and we still have to play them too. The main danger to us this weekend is that we take a while to get going after another ten day break as we seemed to do against Wolves. 

The Holic Pound
Bet365 have us odds on to win at 4/7, so if it’s excitement you’re looking for, a score cast might be more fun – they’re offering 16/1 against a 3-0 Arsenal win, Bukayo Saka is 9/1 to be first goal scorer, while Emile Smith-Rowe is 18/1 to score any time during the match.Paddy Power will also only give you 4/7 on an Arsenal win but have a 3-1 victory at 12/1. Or you can keep your hard earned for the gas bill which will be arriving soon …….

The Men In Black
This week’s 12th man playing against the Arsenal is ……. wait for it …… who would you want in charge against a team that usually likes to knock you around a bit ? ….. it’s Craaaiiiig Paaaaaawsonnnn (in the voice of that fella who introduces boxers to the ring). Fourth official is Simon Hooper – Whooooper ?

The man appointed to decide the outcome of the game, with a carefully selected number of camera angles on a screen about 200 miles away is Darren England. He has an assistant to ensure he gets every contentious issue completely wrong, and he will be Eddie Smart. Let’s hope he is.

The game is on Sunday March 6th, kicks off at 14.00 UK time, and will be shown on Sky Sports. Whether you’re going to Vicarage Road, watching in the pub or hiding behind the sofa, enjoy the game, ‘holics !

It feels somewhat premature to be facing the Wanderers from Wolverhampton again so soon after our spirited performance at Molineux but that is the result of Covid-induced postponement of this fixture due to a number of cases in Wolves’ ranks. This postponement provoked widespread media outrage and accusations of ‘abuse of the system’ for the temerity of following pre-agreed rules for Covid-related postponement. Wolves were cast by the world and his wife as self-serving pariahs for this act of self-interest that no-one else in the league would even remotely consider.

Oh! It didn’t? They weren’t? There wasn’t a squeak of the merest upset? It was another club that was subjected to prolonged outrage for a fixture postponement and labelled an uber-pariah? Oh well! How sad. On with the preview.

In the reverse fixture, so nicely previewed by 21^st Century Gooner and succinctly reported by TTG, we faced a Wolves team against whom our recent record had been very poor and who would have leapt above us with a win. However, they ended that game extremely frustrated by failure to at least salvage a draw from overwhelming possession for the last 20 minutes after the unusual, nay bizarre, red card for Martinelli. They also appeared to be angry that our goal wasn’t disallowed and that our ten men celebrated their hard won victory at the final whistle. It was an extremely tight game won by great work in the Wolves’ box by our centre backs and Lacazette and we would have won by a more convincing scoreline had the Frenchman finished a great chance created by Ødegaard and Saka and/or his one-on-one with their keeper from a superb Gabriel through ball. However that game will be remembered for the unusual red card and for a superb defensive performance by ten Arsenal men. It was also a crucial victory.

The importance of that result was highlighted by the results on the weekend after it, when our fixture at the Bus Stop in Fulham was postponed because the Chavs were playing in some God-forsaken desert land against God knows whom, simply to net FIFA more sponsors’ cash and raise the profile of some Sheikh, Emir, Princeling or other middle-eastern potentate. Delightfully, our closest competitors for a top four slot all dropped points and so, without kicking a ball ourselves, we have found ourselves in a position in which fourth place is a realistic target.

Of course, a principal contributor to that excellent turn of events was our forthcoming opponent who went to the wrong end of the Seven Sisters Road and proved that the Marshdwellers do not actually need to GO anywhere to get battered. That result does give Wolves a lift for their visit to the smart end of the Seven Sisters Road as they have, as a result, put themselves back into contention for fourth place. The boost they have gained from that result will be added to their determination to make amends for their failure to take advantage of the ten-men of Arsenal in our Molineux confrontation and their apparent and inexplicable anger about our goal. I have no doubt that we will see a very highly motivated Wolves team aiming to wrest three points from this match both to assuage their grief at the Molineux result and to haul themselves at our expense into the race for a Champions League spot.

Our Opponents

According to the 5-Live radio commentary, Wolves stole the points in their last game, the East-Midlands – West-Midlands derby. Leicester were the far better team and dominated the second half but spurned multiple chances whilst Wolves barely crossed the halfway line. – but clearly just enough. Interestingly, it was the first game this season in which Lage has had his whole squad fit; playmaker Moutinho returning from a short absence and talented, 20-year old forward Neto making his first appearance of the season after a long-term injury. Wolves won that game with two 20-yard strikes one of which saw Podence, their other talented and speedy winger opening his account for the season. The return of Moutinho and Neto, the latter likely to come off the bench, will make them more of a handful tomorrow.

Wolves have won 7 and drawn 1 out of their last 10 matches. Recent results have been based more on a miserly defence than a prolific attack. Their two wins since we beat them at Molineux have taken them to 7^th place only 2 points behind us, having played one game more. Once again, they have the incentive of leaping over us if they beat us.

Their new goalkeeper, Sá has had an outstanding first season in the Premiership and looks a real bargain at £6.8m. Wolves’ strong defence is generally based on three centre halves: generally, Kilman, Coady and Saiss who are extremely solid and well organised by Coady. Their wingbacks, usually Semedo and Marçal, readily push forward to join attacks but our dynamic young wingers will hopefully press them back. Wolves have a hardworking midfield likely to comprise Dendonka (Belgian for brick scheiss-haus), Neves (upon whom we have apparently cast an interested eye) and the ageing but dangerous Moutinho. Upfront they will probably start David Luiz’s head-bumping buddy, Jimenez and the tricky but until recently unproductive Podence. Against Leicester, a Wolves tactic was a long clearance from the keeper over the opposition’s high defensive line for Podence to chase. We can expect Wolves to try that again and will need to be alert to that threat.

The Arsenal

The final quarter of the Molineux game left some Gooners with a sense that we were lucky to get those three points. However, that last quarter with 10 men in no way resembled the previous three in which we could have ensured victory – and the heroic defending of those ten men ensured there was only a single ‘near thing’ and more than earned those points. The celebrations at the end which so annoyed Neves and others, suggest that our players have bonded and are focused on a common goal.

The 2-1 score line from our last game against Brentford doesn’t reflect our dominance in that game. We achieved 80% possession and produced some lovely passages of play. We really should have won far more convincingly.

This Arsenal team now looks like one that picks itself. Ramsdale is our best stopper in a very long time. The centre back partnership of Whibriel grows more assured every week and though Tierney isn’t quite ripping up opposition flanks as fearsomely as he did last season, he remains a reliable defender and attacking stalwart. The only question at the back is whether to select Cédric or Tomiyashu? The latter was on the bench for the Brentford game and well though Cédric has played in our last two games, the Japanese international is clearly the more reliable right back and provides better balance to the backline.

The first-choice midfield three is now settled. Partey is growing into the player we thought we had signed and is clearly acclimatising to the Premiership. Despite his propensity to brain-farts and cards, Xhaka is his most reliable double pivot partner and has had several fine performances of late (pacé TTG) while Ødegaard gets more and more influential with each game. In recent games we have played Partey as a single pivot with Ødegaard and Xhaka playing as right and left ‘Number 8’s’ ahead of him. As Mike McDonald points out on Gunnerstown, this switch from a double pivot is a result of the increased security of our back five. The addition of a more mobile, attack-minded number 8 in the summer will add to our goals threat next season in the way Aaron Ramsey did.

Saka is a nailed on starter when fit (tough luck Pépé) and for me, the only question up front is whether to retain ESR as a starter now that Martinelli has served his ban. I would stick with the the Croydon de Bruyne but it’s a close call. Personally, I would use ESR, Saka and Martinelli as the three prime rotational options for our two wide positions along with a leavening measure of Pépé, giving each of our youngsters a considerable amount of game time but also significant rest periods throughout our remaining fixtures and according to need within each match.

I have seen a lot of discontent elsewhere about Lacazette’s performances at centre forward and in particular his lack of goals. These criticisms overlook his outstanding work-rate, interlink play, assists, pressing and his clever movement to open up space for other forwards. He has clear flaws in that he has never been fleet of foot and this is particularly exposed when he drops deep to link play and then cannot reach the box in a timely manner to finish moves, and he just doesn’t score enough goals for a ‘centre forward’. However, he is by far our best current option at the moment. My heart sinks when he is substituted by Nketiah as inevitably our attack becomes blunter and for whatever reason, Eddie hasn’t grown into the forward we hoped he would become during his early career.

Those Siren voices calling for Martinelli to replace Lacazette in the middle have either not watched his brief attempts to play there and/or have no appreciation of the demands on a player in that central position. Martinelli is superb at cutting in at pace from the wing but he doesn’t yet have the upper body strength to deal with man-mountain centre backs when receiving the ball under pressure with his back to goal. He is enthusiastic and mobile and he is up for a fight but I think he currently lacks the physical strength to be fully effective in that role. One day perhaps, but not yet. Don’t even start with the idea of Pépé hopping on one foot in the centre!

An interesting suggestion a few days ago from Tim at 7am Kick Off is to play ESR as a false nine and I see that Mikel Arteta also discussed that possibility later. ESR certainly possesses the link-up skills Arteta wants from his 9/False 9 as well as having the pace to get himself into the box from deep to finish moves and he has acquired more upper body strength during this season. I think he’s currently a far better option. We may see either of those players play in the centre late in games as Lacazette tends to have exhausted himself after 60-70 minutes and either would offer more than Nketia. However, with fourth place now in clear sight but depending on every point if not also on goal difference, I don’t think now is the time to experiment with an internal replacement from the start unless our hand is forced by injury. We know Lacazette’s limitations all too well but we also know we will get maximum effort and clever interplay for the rest of the season and that we have goalscorers across the forward line. We definitely need to find a swifter and more incisive striker, but that is a task for the summer. 

I have absolutely no sympathy for those bemoaning the loss of Aubameyang from the squad, amplified by his Barça hat-trick last weekend. Firstly, Auba rarely prospered up the middle in the Premiership and he was far better coming in from the left. When in a central crowd scene his first touch is, more often than not, extremely poor and his hold up play with his back to goal is generally execrable. More importantly, he was clearly unhappy at Arsenal and his form had fallen off a cliff while, as soon as he was dropped, the team started playing better and getting results. I wish him well at Barça unless he is playing against us. 

Having said all that (too much, I know!), I expect the following starting 11:

Ramsdale

Tomiyasu, White, Gabriel, Tierney

Ødegaard, Partey, Xhaka

Saka, Lacazette, ESR/Martinelli

With a somewhat less helpful set of results from our direct competitors for fourth place this past weekend, we once again face a ‘must win game’ to keep up with the pack.

I expect this to be a tense, tight match and that Wolves will try hard to win it rather than simply sit in and try to catch us on the break as they have done in recent matches at our place. They are frustrated and even angered by the result at Molineux and as Mike McDonald observes may be emotionally driven in this game and therefore vulnerable if we can strike hard and early.

The Holic Pound

The Bookmakers appear to be offering quite generous odds on an Arsenal win by a single goal in this match at 29/5 on 1-0, 43/5 on 2-1 and 41/1 on 3-2. This Holic pound is backing 3-2 to the Arsenal.

I fear that our nerves are going to be shredded by its end. 

Enjoy the game, Holics, whether there, nearby or far afield.

It’s going to be tense.

Take your Beta-blockers and when your fingernails have gone, STOP BITING!

Arsenal avenged their surprise opening day defeat with a comfortable and thoroughly deserved victory against Brentford. The 2-1 score line was something of a travesty and did not reflect our clear superiority. Two second half goals by our two home-grown tyros, ESR and Saka, clinched victory after a frustrating first half.

My day began with severe travel disruption. I had fixed lunch with the Countrymen in Holloway Road and after Storm Eunice yesterday had left copious margins in my projected travel time. Sadly I arrived at a station to see a notice that all services were suspended; thankfully a train arrived about an hour later and proceeded to make very reasonable time to St.Pancras, disgorging a lot of Happy Hammers at Stratford on the way. I made lunch, and it was an excellent occasion with C100 and his son. The wine flowed (and a little Grappa) and we made our way subsequently to a wet but expectant Home of Football. It was almost exactly two years since I had seen Arsenal both score and win, my last goal being an Aubameyang header against Everton in what I think was a 3-2 win in February 2020. Arsenal were without the suspended Martinelli and the injured Tomiyasu but our Japanese defender made the bench. Toney was missing for Brentford and boy was his absence a problem for them.

I had treated myself to Club Level in the South-east corner and I’ve rarely had a better view of a football match. It was worth watching too although the first half was a little frustrating. Our passing rhythm was quicker than our last home game against Burnley and Partey and Odegaard were heavily involved in most of our attacks. Lacazette fired home from an ESR pass after 15 minutes but it was disallowed for offside. Our finishing was loose with Lacazette off the pace again and Saka and ESR missing presentable chances. We forced a number of corners but Brentford defended stoutly and looked organised; at the same time they made virtually no progress forwards, and White and Gabriel were able to push forward enterprisingly. A huge part of Arsenal’s game is related to creating overloads on the opposite wing and there is strong emphasis on keeping a structured shape in and out of possession.

As we moved towards half-time our pressure intensified and we had two very reasonable shouts for penalties turned down. Lacazette was bundled over by Ajer and then I felt quite strongly that Wisser had blocked a Saka cross with his arm. Jon Moss was unmoved by both appeals. Incidentally the programme (you get a free one in Club) had Martin Atkinson down to referee. He had apparently refereed fifteen PL games as well as several Carabao Cup games and has brandished only two red cards this season .Guess which side those players represented? Perhaps it was a blessing that Jon Moss was refereeing, words I never expected to type! I noted at half-time that we had enjoyed 80% possession but had nothing to show for it.

Half-time: Arsenal 0 Brentford 0

The Editor of the Gooner had recently asked me to recall the last time I saw Arsenal play Brentford at home in the League for my Rewind column. As that was a very long time ago even I was not born! So if Arsenal could score it would be the first strike against Brentford for seventy five years. We did not have much longer to wait to celebrate it. On 48 minutes Smith Rowe took the ball on the left and cut inside showing the value of an inverted winger and threaded a right foot shot past Raya into the corner.

Arsenal 1 Brentford 0 – Smith Rowe 48

The goal had little effect on the balance of play or possession. Brentford were hard-working but limited in their ability to get at Arsenal. One ball forward to Wisser almost saw him get in and a few crosses, often from free-kicks were repelled by an Arsenal defence that looked comfortable and well-drilled. But a second goal didn’t arrive until the 79th minute when Lacazette challenged Jansson and the ball fell to Partey who timed his pass to Saka on his left exquisitely and Bukayo showed the benefit of a winger playing on his natural side by whipping a fierce shot past Raya and in off the post.

Arsenal 2 Brentford 0 – Saka 79

That felt like a hugely decisive moment, Pepe had replaced ESR (forcing the switch of Saka to the left) and he looked comfortable in possession. Nketiah replaced Lacazette and looked no more likely to score. Brentford increased their intensity but made little impression until the last minute of the three added when we became discombobulated by Ajer’s challenge for a right-wing cross and Ramsdale was unable to prevent Norgaard poking the ball home, depriving a lot of Holics of hard-earned Fantasy points (including yours truly). The assistant referee in front of me raised his flag but after a long delay Mr. Moss was able to give the West Londoners some consolation by overturning that decision.

Arsenal 2 Brentford 1 – Norgaard 90+3

There was (fortunately) little time left for Brentford to press forward and Mr. Moss duly obliged with the final whistle. We had seen Arsenal win at home against Brentford for the first time in seventy five years and well-deserved it was. On the balance of play, the chasm in quality and the number of decent chances we created we should have won by a bigger margin. But this is an Arsenal team that are not going to be free scorers until they sign a prolific striker. On a day when the Spuds showed just how valuable lethal strikers can be it is a problem we have to overcome. Fortunately both ESR and Saka showed fine finishing and will need to if we keep relying on Lacazette as our spearhead. Admirable player though he has been for us he is some way past his scoring sell-by date.

Full time: Arsenal 2 Brentford 1

I hadn’t seen live several of our players before the Burnley game and this was my first view of Partey. He is a bigger unit than I expected and I was impressed by his intelligent use of the ball and his strength. I think he has adapted to English football after a difficult settling-in period. I was most impressed by White and particularly Gabriel, more for their ability to push into midfield and play incisive passes than their defensive capabilities as they weren’t tested seriously here very often. Ramsdale produces some terrific passes that completely confuse the opposition and is a terrific communicator and Odegaard was industrious and intelligent and able to provideI subtle and unexpected passes. Even the much-maligned Cedric had a very decent game.

Maybe it was the effect of a good lunch with the very positive C100 or just the opportunity at long last to enjoy a win at the Grove, but I found today very enjoyable. Yes, we should have won very much more convincingly and yes there are at least two positions where we need a significant upgrade but something exciting is stirring in N5 and we have a real chance of a very high placing at the end of the season. Roll on Wolves on Thursday!

On Saturday, we entertain Brentford for their first visit to the Emirates since September 2018, when we saw them off 3-1 in the Third Round of the League Cup. A late strike by Alexander Lacazette, who had come on for ESR making his first start in the senior team, complemented a brace from Danny Welbeck. Laca was a goal-scoring striker back then.

Our previous home league game against the Bees was more than three-quarters of a century ago. Reg Lewis and Jimmy Logie were our goal scorers in a 2-2 draw in October 1946 in the old First Division, only the fourth game at Highbury after the post-war return of league football.

Lewis scored 392 goals in 451 games in an Arsenal shirt. However, having broken into the first team in 1938-39 after scoring prolifically as a teenager for the Football Combination side, he lost the first bloom of his senior career to World War Two. Only 176 of his games and 118 goals count for the record book. Otherwise, Ian Wright might have chased Lewis’s goal-scoring record, not Cliff Bastin’s. Perhaps, TH14, too.

Lewis was 26 when league football resumed after the war. His Brentford goal was one of 29 that season. He and Ronnie Rooke, of whom we have spoken recently, scored 47 goals in the 1947-48 title-winning side. The apogee of Lewis’s career was scoring both goals when we beat Liverpool in the rain-sodden 1950 FA Cup Final.

Of the elite group of 19 who have scored 100 senior goals for the club, only Ian Wright, Ted Drake and Jack Lambert notched their century in fewer games than Reg Lewis.

Apian Bogey
In his programme notes for the October 1946 game, ‘Marksman’, the nom de plume of programme editor Harry Homer, noted that “It seems that the humming of ‘The Bees’ in the past often boded ill for us of ‘The Gunners’”.

Brentford had the hex on our all-conquering team of the 1930s; we beat them just once in eight attempts. When we won the league in 1937-38, the Bees did the double over us. As Marksman put it, ‘many, in fact, called them our bogey team.’

The bogey returned for our most recent meeting, the 2-0 defeat in the opening game of this season in West London. We fielded a team more deprived by Covid than realised from the outside when the team sheet was handed in. Nonetheless, it was the first time we had lost to a newly-promoted team in their opening game of the season since Bristol City beat us in Malcolm Macdonald’s debut game in 1976.

With Chelsea and City following, cue general weeping and gnashing of teeth as Arsenal was cast into the outer darkness by those in the less enlightened parts of the Goonerverse and beyond.

The Opposition
Yet now only City, Liverpool and Chelsea have won more league games than we have while only Norwich City and Watford have lost more than Brentford. Last Saturday’s scoreless draw with Crystal Palace broke a five-match losing run, seven counting FA and League Cup defeats. That is the Bees’ worst run of form since 2007 when they were in Division Two.

One problem has been scoring goals; 26 in 25 league games. Ivan Toney is the leading scorer with six. Fellow strikers Brian Mbeumo and Yale Wissa have three apiece. Toney has not proved as prolific in the Premiership as he was in the Championship, not because he has become a less efficient striker, but because he is getting fewer chances.

Manager Thomas Frank will hope that his Danish compatriot, Christian Eriksen, will address that. Eriksen joined in January after recovering from a cardiac arrest last June during a Euro 2020 game. While, thankfully, fit to resume his career, he has still to regain match fitness. He had an hour’s run-out in a friendly on Monday, but a place on the bench on Saturday is probably the most to expect.

Toney is more likely than not to return, having missed the past two games with a leg injury. Otherwise, Brentford will likely line up with the same players in the same flat 3-5-2 formation that served to defeat us on opening day.

The Arsenal
Our XI will, perforce, be much changed. Only Tierney, White and Xhaka of that starting XI are nailed on to kick off on Saturday. One of Smith Rowe or Pépé may join them depending on how Arteta replaces the suspended Martinelli.

Of the others from that day, Mari and Chambers have been sold, Leno (back from a Covid absence) and Lokonga are now cover for Ramsdale and Partey, respectively, and Balogun is out on loan, as are four others who were on the bench, Hein, Bellerin, Maitland-Niles and Nelson.

Having had more than a week to recover from the backs-to-the-wall heroics of Molineux, I would expect Arteta to name at least nine out of his Wolves starting eleven.

The choice of Martinelli’s replacement falls between Smith Rowe and Pépé. I favour the latter to start. It looks as if ESR is still being nursed through injury and his minutes managed, plus the way around a 3-5-2 is to counterattack down the flanks. Arteta, of course, may take the opposite view.

The other uncertainty is at right-back. Tomiyasu is so important to Arteta’s scheme of play that the manager will play him for as much of the game as he feels the defender can manage without aggravating his injury. That may mean a start or coming off the bench. Cédric Soares is his understudy. White to right-back and Holding partnering Gabriel in the centre of the defence is an option, but Arteta will, I believe, want to keep the White-Gabriel partnership developing. A tough call on Rob, who was outstanding during his 25 minutes at Wolves.

Ramsdale
Tomiyasu/Soares, White, Gabriel, Tierney
Partey, Xhaka
Saka, Ødegaard, Pépé
Lacazette

Bench: Leno, Soares/Tomiyasu, Holding, Tavares, Elneny, Smith Rowe, Nketiah

It scarcely needs to be said that this is a game we need to come out of with all three points. We need a substantial run of wins to have a shot at securing fourth place or even a top-six finish. Sixteen games to go, including trips to Chelsea, West Ham and the neighbours and visits from Liverpool and Man Utd, leaves little room for letting points slip against mid-table sides.

The ‘holics’ pound
The bookies have us as odds-on favourites. There is scant value to be found unless we rediscover our shooting boots. A 3-1 win can be had at 13s and 4-0 at 21s. Yet, Brentford tends not to get beaten heavily. A more realistic 2-0 is available at a miserly sixes, as is the classic 1-0 to The Arsenal.

Enjoy the game, ‘holics near and far.