{"id":4294,"date":"2021-12-01T17:53:45","date_gmt":"2021-12-01T17:53:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/?p=4294"},"modified":"2021-12-02T23:34:14","modified_gmt":"2021-12-02T23:34:14","slug":"hold-the-line-at-99","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/?p=4294","title":{"rendered":"Hold the line at 99"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<a id=\"I91WXv3VRMFNDfxlVdABpA\" class=\"gie-single\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.co.uk\/detail\/1283408944\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal !important;border:none;display:inline-block;\" rel=\"noopener\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'I91WXv3VRMFNDfxlVdABpA',sig:'n0KKqOjE-j7UNfY4Xq-KnC6HeqqRC_IYb5wwlK6kUMI=',w:'594px',h:'369px',items:'1283408944',caption: true ,tld:'co.uk',is360: false })});<\/script><script src=\"\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\" async=\"\"><\/script>\n\n\n\n<p>Thursday evening&#8217;s visit to Old Trafford will be the 235th encounter between the two sides. The first, in October 1894, saw Woolwich Arsenal drew 3-3 in League Division Two with the then Newton Heath at their Bank Street ground in Clayton, now the site of the car park for the Manchester Velodrome.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Let me start with what is at stake today. The Mancs will become the first club to beat us 100 times in all competitions if we lose. This cannot be allowed to happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Our record at Old Toilet is not encouraging: 16 wins in 94 visits. Among the 54 losses are the ignominies of the 8-2 in 2011, the 6-1 in 2001, a similar scoreline in 1952 and the 6-2 in 1957.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One defeat especially sticks in the craw, October 2004, thwarting our attempt to go a 50th consecutive game unbeaten. Van Nistelrooy fired home a 73rd-minute penalty after Mike Riley deemed Rooney throwing himself to the ground, probably not for the first time and certainly not for the last, to be a scything down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Perhaps Riley was giving Rooney a present on his 19th birthday. He had earlier demonstrated his generosity by handing out free passes rather than red cards when Horseface put his studs through Ashley Cole&#8217;s knee, and Rio Ferdinand bowled over Freddie Ljungberg when clear through on goal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Thunderous affairs<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There was a time, not so long ago, well, perhaps longer than I remember, the years blend as they advance, that the visit to OT was a clash of colossi.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>For the best part of a decade<\/em>, the Guv&#8217;nor once wrote,&nbsp;<em>the thunderous encounters between the charges of Wenger and Ferguson would be the most eagerly anticipated clashes on the Premier League calendar, and invariably decided the destination of the Premier League trophy and FA Cup. They hated us and we returned those feelings with a vengeance.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Not so much these days. Scrappy affairs between two diminished sides have replaced the Herculean battles of thought and thew.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>OT was not a happy hunting ground for Arsene Wenger, just three wins in the league and two in the FA cup in 27 visits. He lost 28 of his 60 games against United and 23 of the 49 when Fergie was in the opposing dugout.&nbsp;<br>His final trip to OT was in April 2018. A minute into added time, a Fellaini header gave Mourinho&#8217;s United a last-gasp 2-1 win against a youthful but spirited Arsenal side lacking several big guns rested for a Europa League semi-final a few days later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yet, we have not lost at Old Toilet since.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As a player, Michael Arteta lost on all four of his visits, twice with Everton and twice with us, and was only on the winning side twice in 17 games against United. As a manager, he is one for one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He had the hex on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, with two wins and a draw. The Bilbo Baggins lookalike is no longer at the wheel, having been thrown under the bus after turning the talented players on which United spent heavily for him into less than the sum of their parts.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Someone who knows what they are doing could turn that motley crew into a formidable side.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pochettino, a man for a poisoned chalice having previously managed the neighbours, is reportedly favourite to succeed OGS permanently. He seems unavailable until the summer, when his likely replacement at Paris Saint-Germain, Zinedine Zidane, plans to return to work.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ralf Rangnick, the former RB Leipzig manager and most recently head of sports and development at Lokomotiv Moscow, will take over in the interim as head coach. That will transmogrify into a two-year consultancy to revamp the club&#8217;s football operations that have atrophied since Fergie&#8217;s retirement.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Rangnick is the anointed father of gegenpressing, even if its roots predate him, and the inspiration for a generation of accomplished German coaches, notably Klopp, Low, Nagelsmann and Tuchel. He turned once little-regarded, Hoffenheim and Leipzig, into powers in German football. Previous with non-entities may prove helpful in his new gig. We shall see when the Mancs come calling at the Ems in April.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, United wait on Rangnick&#8217;s immigration paperwork. (Gooners doing God&#8217;s work in the Home Office, perhaps.) Michael Carrick will continue as caretaker manager for our game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The Opposition<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Carrick secured a CL win at Unai Emery&#8217;s Villareal and a scarcely merited point at the bus stop in Fulham on Sunday in his two games in charge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pogba remains a long-term injury absentee, and the game will come too early for the returns of Varane and Cavani. Shaw faces a late fitness test. Greenwood will be available after Covid-19 and Slaphead Maguire after suspension.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Who knows if Rangnick has a say in team selection and formation or whether Ronaldo will again start on the bench? We shall likely see most of the same personnel that mugged the Chavs. Yet, it will be not so much who plays as how they play together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The Arsenal&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Games against the two Manchester clubs bookend a hectic month with 24 league points and a place in the League Cup semi-finals at stake. Minutes management and fitness will be key in a critical sequence for our season&#8217;s success. We need a solid run of wins to have a shot at a top-four finish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We know Xhaka and Kolasinac will miss the United game (please don&#8217;t all weep at once). Saka is a serious doubt, having limped off on Saturday with a hip or pelvic injury. Given the rush of fixtures and nature of the injury, allowing him more recovery time would be more prudent than risking a prolonged absence by aggravating it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Arteta&#8217;s choice would be to replace him one-for-one with Pepe or Gabi keeping \u00d8degaard as a ten, or to play the Norwegian on the right with Laca as a hybrid nine.&nbsp;His other questions are: who fits like a T at left-back, and should he take advantage of the rotation necessary as December&#8217;s fixtures start to come like Aaron Lennon, thick and fast, to &#8216;rest&#8217; our out-of-sorts skipper?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is not a game to take lightly; United have plenty of potential match-winners. Thus Arteta will likely start a strong XI.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">Ramsdale<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">Tomiyasu \u2014 White \u2014 Gabriel \u2014 Tavares<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">\u00d8degaard &#8212; Partey \u2014 Lokonga \u2014 ESR<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">Lacazette \u2014 Aubameyang<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Bench: Leno, Tierney, Maitland-Niles, Holding, Cedric Soares, Pepe, Elneny, Nketiah, Martinelli<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The &#8216;holics pound<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The bookies have the hosts as clear favourites. Any Arsenal win offers attractive odds starting with the classic 1-0 to the Arsenal at fourteens, and a realistic 2-1 is available at the same price.&nbsp;<br>If you think the defence can hold out, including against Martin Atkinson, who has the whistle for the game and has given more penalties against us than any other team and more than twice as many as for us, then 2-0 can be found at seventeens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Three points are needed; an away point, the bare minimum. Defeat is unthinkable for a hundred reasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Enjoy the game, &#8216;holics near and far.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Embed from Getty Images Thursday evening&#8217;s visit to Old Trafford will be the 235th encounter between the two sides. The first, in October 1894, saw Woolwich Arsenal drew 3-3 in League Division Two with the then Newton Heath at their Bank Street ground in Clayton, now the site of the car park for the Manchester [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4294"}],"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\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4294"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4294\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4311,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4294\/revisions\/4311"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4294"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4294"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4294"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}