{"id":2091,"date":"2020-12-28T17:26:03","date_gmt":"2020-12-28T17:26:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/?p=2091"},"modified":"2020-12-30T13:26:10","modified_gmt":"2020-12-30T13:26:10","slug":"seagulls-versus-gunners-what-could-possibly-go-wrong","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/?p=2091","title":{"rendered":"Seagulls versus Gunners – What Could Possibly Go Wrong ?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Well, what went wrong last time we played at the Amex Stadium in Brighton was that we lost 2-1, just as we had done at the Emirates in early December 2019.
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Last time.<\/strong>
In that latter game, we had \u00d6zil, Mesut \u00d6zil, and I just don\u2019t think I understand quite how his situation has arisen, or been allowed to continue, at the club. He won\u2019t be available for this one but he did assist Alexandre Lacazette in that one, for his 50th minute equaliser, which cancelled out Adam Webster\u2019s strike for the visitors. This though was the modern day Arsenal and we found a way of losing in the 80th minute, to a goal from Neal Maupay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


I\u2019m no expert but I believe Maupay translates from his native French as \u201csnide little cheat\u201d ** – a belief borne out by his actions in our Covid-19 delayed fixture at the Amex on 20th June this year. A nasty shove on an unbalanced Bernd Leno resulted in an injury to our keeper that cost us his services for the rest of the season. Sadly, the Frenchman then went on to score a stoppage time winner – of course he did!<\/strong> – which condemned us to a second successive 2-1 loss against that opposition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


** (there are even reports that in the showers of the south coast club, Maupay can often be heard singing \u201cOh I do like to cheat, be snidely seaside\u201d) Oh yes there are!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n


It seems I \/ we may not be alone in disliking Le Mal-pay. In early November, Brighton manager Graham Potter revealed he was left out of the squad to face Tottenham because of an internal ‘incident’. … \u201cI spoke before the game about tactical reasons,\u201d Potter said. However, reports subsequently emerged claiming the 24-year-old had been involved in a heated incident with a colleague and of concerns about the player’s attitude. Sadly, because he can actually be quite good, it seems he has now been restored to the team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


This time.<\/strong>
On a more pleasant note, Danny Welbeck, formerly of this parish, seems to finally have found some fitness and has just played three times in a week – of course he has! – for his new club. He has played 8 times for Brighton since 1st November, scoring 2 goals, and has become the focal point of the Seagulls attack. He is 30 years old now and has missed, as we know, far too much of his career due to a number of serious injuries, incurred while in the employ of Arsenal FC – of course they were!<\/strong> He\u2019s a likeable fella though and we can wish him well for the rest of his career, while still hoping he has an absolute stinker against us. <\/p>\n\n\n\n


The Brighton manager, Graham Potter, is no stranger to us as he was in charge of Swedish side, Ostersunds FK, when we played them in the Europa League in 2018. Having secured a comfortable enough 3-0 victory in Sweden, we lost 1-2 to Potter\u2019s team at the Emirates in the home leg. The game will be \u201cno formality\u201d warned the Arsenal manager at the time, Arsene Wenger – oh yes he was!<\/strong> – and he was not wrong. 
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Tomorrow\u2019s game will also be no formality as Potter has them playing some decent football, but who, exactly, are our opponents?
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Just for fun.<\/strong>
To give them their full moniker, they are Brighton and Hove Albion FC. Is everyone quite clear on the distinction between Brighton and Hove? Well, \u2018tis still the season to be merry after all, so here is comedian Simon Evans to explain in the following clip, while offending the good residents of Brighton and pretty much everyone else \ud83d\ude06 –
https:\/\/m.youtube.com\/watch?v=gPyJMn_RXE8<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

And now for something completely different<\/strong>, as the Pythons used to say at the end of a sketch –
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The serious bit.<\/strong>
We come into the match on the back of a great win against Chelsea on Boxing Day, great insofar as it has surely shown Mikel Arteta the way ahead. Whatever the problems and rumours at the club are, there is no doubt that everyone in the squad for that Chelsea game was more than happy to give 100% for the manager. The young players who came in, Gabi Martinelli and Emile Smith-Rowe, the now established Bukayo Saka, the ever willing Joe Willock and a slightly older Kieran Tierney, gave the side the pace and creativity it has lacked for a long time.
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Maybe, Arteta threw the young players in as a desperate measure or, just maybe, he has been waiting for exactly the right moment in those players\u2019 development and fitness for them to be able to make the impact we\u2019d all been longing for. So who should play against Brighton ?
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To be honest I don\u2019t really mind who wears the shirt as long as they fulfil the basic requirements of 100% effort, 100% effort and 100% effort. No-one can ask more than that and no-one should be happy with less than that. If a player is not good enough, that is not his fault as he didn\u2019t recruit or select himself. If he gives less than 100% he should be removed and dropped from the squad. And that 100% should include a genuine fight for his teammates – not the silly squaring up to an opponent and pushing your head in his face because he\u2019s made your shorts muddy – but busting a gut to do your own job and cover your teammates, making yourself available to help them play better and stepping up, within the rules, to protect them if they are getting the \u201ctreatment\u201d from the opposition. It does not include the silly, petulant, mock rage at minor indiscretions designed to disguise your general lack of genuine commitment. We have seen at least two costly instances of that this season. No more please.
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Thomas Partey\u2019s thigh strain will keep him out of this game. Gabriel will be isolating, having been in contact with someone who tested positive for Covid-19 – not another player but someone in his bubble, according to the club website. David Luiz and Willian have apparently reported some symptoms and are not feeling very well, although they have not tested positive for the virus. Reiss Nelson is a bit of a mystery. He is not reported as injured but did not feature at all in the squad for the Chelsea match.
If pushed, I could imagine a team of : <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leno, Bellerin, Holding, Mari, Tierney, Ceballos, Smith-Rowe, Xhaka, Pepe\/Saka, Lacazette, Aubameyang 
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I would prefer to see Martinelli continue but feel he might be rested given his very recent return from long term injury. Saka could also start on the bench as he has to rest occasionally too, and while I would prefer Willock or AMN to Ceballos on the right of the three, I believe Mikel Arteta does not. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whoever is in the side, it is vital over the next five or six games that we capitalise on the win against Chelsea and start to find some consistency.
Brighton come into this one following their 2-2 draw at West Ham on Sunday and so will have had 24 hours less recovery time than ourselves. I can\u2019t pretend to know much about Brighton but they do tend to keep the middle of their defence very compact, so stretching them with good wing play will be important. That may well see Aubameyang in his wide left position again.
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Brighton have four players currently in the medical room card school – Lamptey, Izquierdo, Andone and Connolly, none of whom has a definite expected return date, so expect them all to be fighting fit for kick-off.
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The Holic Pound<\/strong>
We will start this game in 15th place in the league, with Brighton one place and four points behind us in 16th. The odds on offer from the three bookies I have checked reflect that closeness, with an Arsenal win looking slightly more likely than a Brighton one. The draw seems to be the favoured option but where\u2019s the fun in that ? Betfair are offering 7\/1 on a 1-0 Arsenal win, 10\/1 on a 2-0 win, and 8\/1 on a 2-1 win for the Gunners. A win, a clean sheet and no red card may be gifts that all three wise men can\u2019t quite manage just yet so, were I a betting man, my money would be on the 2-1 to the Arsenal. Good luck if yours is!
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The referee is Mr Craig Pawson. Like I said – what could possibly go wrong ? \ud83d\ude0f The match is on Amazon Prime this time at 18.00 UK time. If you\u2019re looking for a stream in the UK, they are all either frozen or have burst their banks !
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Enjoy the game, Holics !<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Well, what went wrong last time we played at the Amex Stadium in Brighton was that we lost 2-1, just as we had done at the Emirates in early December 2019. Last time.In that latter game, we had \u00d6zil, Mesut \u00d6zil, and I just don\u2019t think I understand quite how his situation has arisen, or […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2091"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2091"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2091\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2102,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2091\/revisions\/2102"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2091"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2091"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2091"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}