{"id":6854,"date":"2022-10-27T10:07:32","date_gmt":"2022-10-27T09:07:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/?p=6854"},"modified":"2022-10-28T12:23:24","modified_gmt":"2022-10-28T11:23:24","slug":"aiming-high-in-the-low-lands","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/?p=6854","title":{"rendered":"Aiming High In The Low Lands"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"getty embed image\" style=\"background-color:#fff;display:inline-block;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:#a7a7a7;font-size:11px;width:100%;max-width:594px;\"><div style=\"padding:0;margin:0;text-align:left;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/1435093523\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal !important;border:none;display:inline-block;\" rel=\"noopener\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div><div style=\"overflow:hidden;position:relative;height:0;padding:66.66667% 0 0 0;width:100%;\"><iframe src=\"\/\/embed.gettyimages.com\/embed\/1435093523?et=vNlKFvKOSTtu-HTks_L_tw&amp;tld=com&amp;sig=_b6FJWttWfkAgjMc9P6YK2tNxuAVxO0KnfLJis1YquU=&amp;caption=true&amp;ver=1\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"594\" height=\"396\" style=\"display:inline-block;position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;margin:0;\"><\/iframe><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>So, we meet the Philips Sports Vereniging from North Brabant once again! If you are not one of our regular readers, and after reading that opening line&nbsp;&nbsp;you are already doubting yourself if you really have landed on an Arsenal match preview, I urge you to start your excursions with North Bank Ned\u2019s&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/?p=6817\">inimitable piece from a week back<\/a>&nbsp;\u2013 a compellingly readable amalgamation of history, anecdotes, and footballing insights about PSV Eindhoven.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Along with Ajax and Feyenoord, PSV Eindhoven completes the big three of the Dutch football. But unlike Amsterdam and Rotterdam, Eindhoven \u2013 which didn\u2019t become part of the Netherlands until the seventeenth century \u2013 became a population center only after the start of the industrial revolution, and in the early twentieth century enjoyed an explosive growth driven by the technology industry, pioneered in Eindhoven by Philips. Much of the old city was destroyed by bombing in WWII, with hundreds of civilian casualties, and the post-war reconstruction preserved almost nothing of historical heritage. I would like to believe that a decade from now, while writing a match preview of Arsenal, the reigning Premier League and Champions League winners, visiting a surprising winner of UPL, say Dnipro-1 or Metalist 1925, we will be able to paint pictures of cities beautifully reconstructed while also historically preserved.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Back to happier thoughts: we are currently top of the league, and top of our group in the Europa. One more point from the remaining two matches would ensure that we maintain that position, and avoid a potentially tricky double-header qualifier before the round of 16. Especially given that (how) the mighty (have fallen) Barcelona too would jostle in that qualifier round for further continuation of their European adventures, and given that we never miss the chance to draw them as our opponents in European competition and inevitably something goes wrong when we meet them, I think we will all feel better if Arsenal finishes on top of the group.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mikel agrees vehemently. And as he astutely observed in previous weeks, when you are in a good position in European competitions you must take that opportunity as things can quickly change. There may be a school of thought that suggests we can take this away match against a domestically high-flying PSV team relatively lightly \u2013 resting key players for the upcoming league matches &#8212; knowing that our final match will be at home against struggling FC Zurich, but I suspect Mikel and his team will not go for that kind of hubristic thinking. Actually, I am certain they won\u2019t. They would rather ensure that the group is secured this Thursday, and that would allow them to play a more experimental team next week with no pressure, resting the big boys then before a crucial away match at Chelsea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The traveling squad didn\u2019t include Oleksandr Zinchenko, who remains sidelined with a persistent calf problem since the NLD, and the young Brazilian Marquinhos who is reported to be unwell. Let us hope both recover soon. The little of Marquinhos we have seen so far tells us that though he needs a fair amount of growth and polishing before becoming a true first team contender, he has enough skill and grits to offer Saka some rests, especially in the Europa. And while Tierney and the versatile Tomiyasu both offer high quality alternatives in their own way \u2013 Tierney with his galloping overlapping runs complements Martinelli\u2019s style a bit better, while Tomiyasu brings out the best in Saka on the right \u2013 in matches against top of the table teams I think Zinchenko offers an irreplaceable combination of technical quality and winning know-how, especially drifting into that uniquely floating auxiliary midfielder role.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Even though the current PSV team started superbly in the Eredevisie, in the last few weeks Ajax has overtaken them in the league table. But they remain a strong team, especially at home, where in a raucously supportive atmosphere young talents like Gapko, Sangar\u00e9, or Xavi Simons thrive most. The great PSV teams of the past always had one or two emerging talents that then went on to become household names: Ruud Gullit, Koeman, Romario, Robben, and probably the best of them all, one Ronaldo&nbsp;Naz\u00e1rio, or the \u201coriginal Ronaldo\u201d. The teenage Ronaldo scored 54 goals in his 58 games for PSV over two seasons before joining Barcelona where in one season he scored 47 goals in 49 matches even before turning 21. Well, I have no complains if Gapko or Simons go on to climb such great heights in their respective careers, as long as they don\u2019t suddenly find any special inspiration against us.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As mentioned earlier, Mikel is likely to start a team that he will feel strong enough to see out a positive result. An important change we are likely to see is Reiss \u2013 who had spent last season on loan at Feyenoord, becoming better as the season progressed, and hence has recent familiarity of the PSV ground \u2013 starting on the left ahead of Martinelli or Nketiah, and Eddie going back to his central striker role ahead of Jes\u00fas, who we hope will not need to exert himself at all this midweek. After the magnificently supercool start to his Arsenal career, Saliba has, in the last couple of matches, finally show his fallible human side, and even though someone who spent a season at the frantic chaos of Stade V\u00e9lodrome should find no away ground difficult, maybe he too can enjoy a bit of breather to reset himself before the weekend.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, my predicted line-up:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">Turner<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">Tomiyasu \u2013 Holding \u2013 Gabriel \u2013 Tierney<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">Vieira \u2013 Lokonga &#8211; Xhaka<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">Saka \u2013 Nketiah \u2013 Nelson&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is an important game for Reiss, Vieira and Lokonga to showcase their readiness and personality \u2013 I am sure their talent and discipline have passed the eagle-eyed scrutiny of Mikel and his coaching team, otherwise they would not be getting these opportunities \u2013 to fight for a first team position.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>PSV\u2019s home color may be red-and-white, reflecting the colors of the North Brabant flag, but there is only one true Red-and-White in football, even though they might be wearing their black away kit this evening.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This would be a challenging match, but I believe we have enough quality and now also the game management abilities to see out a narrow victory, and to seal the group\u2019s top position with one game to go. As PSV will come at us to score early goals, I think this would be a more open affair than the previous encounter at the Emirates, and I predict a somewhat atypical 3-2 score line in our favor.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Come on Arsenal!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-vivid-red-color has-text-color\"><em>Remember it&#8217;s a 5.45pm kick off, fellas! (Ed)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Embed from Getty Images So, we meet the Philips Sports Vereniging from North Brabant once again! If you are not one of our regular readers, and after reading that opening line&nbsp;&nbsp;you are already doubting yourself if you really have landed on an Arsenal match preview, I urge you to start your excursions with North Bank [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"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\/6854"}],"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\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6854"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6854\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6864,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6854\/revisions\/6864"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6854"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6854"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6854"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}