Photo from Arsenal.com
Morning guys.
The December fixture changes for television viewing have been announced and Arsenal will be on our screens a lot. Not one step will be taken outside of London during the month as our Champions League fixture against Real Madrid, which is sandwiched between the Totts and Bournemouth fixtures, is at The Emirates.
A – Wednesday 2nd Brentford 8.15pm
A – Sunday 6th Tottenham 4.30pm
H – Sunday 13th Bournemouth 2pm
H – Sunday 20th Man Utd 4.30pm
A – Sunday 27th Crystal Palace 7pm
A – Wednesday 30th Fulham 7.30pm
December might seem a while away right now but it’ll be here before we know it, although an international break next month will no doubt drag on, they always do but at least this one is just for two weeks.
Champions League football returns tonight for Arsenal with a huge fixture against Bayern Munich in Germany. It’s a potential mouthwatering tie between two excellent groups of players.
In 2023/24, Bayern knocked us out of the competition over two legs, last season, Arsenal won the League stage fixture 3-1 at The Emirates.
Missing for Bayern is Jamal Musiala through injury and Michael Olise who is suspended.
Arsenal is without William Saliba, Christos Tzolis and Piero Hincapie.
The Arsenal squad were all smiles in training yesterday, more than smiles actually as the players looked like they were having a right old laugh. Take that onto the pitch tonight I say, the joy I mean because enjoying playing can bring positive results.
I think we can be sure that Bayern, playing at home especially, will not be parking a double decker bus in their own half so we should in theory, see a more upbeat Arsenal performance.
During his pre match press conference, Mikel Arteta was asked about the difficulties of facing a low block:
Again, a low block demands a different kind of game to the high block, with a team that is constantly putting a ball in the last line, it’s different. I think it requires something different to the team. Still, I think on Sunday, we could have done things better, but that’s in our hands and we need to recognise that openly as well, but we did a lot of great things as well during the game against a really tough opponent, very, very well coached as well. We did something that we didn’t manage to do two years in a row, so that’s another step and a positive one, a really positive one. Then we learn from it and we go.
What about the ongoing debate about his teams style of play:
I don’t have that impression because I heard that the style was incredible because we have scored so many goals. We have more possession, more shots, different players participating, no goals on set pieces. So the story is completely different to last year. I think we are talking about a very small minority. I think the bigger ones, they know that they have enjoyed a lot the way we have played and dominated games this year. I think we have proven that. So, that’s my opinion.
Talking Tactics with Arsenal’s Adrian Clarke:
Michael Olise’s suspension weakens Bayern Munich, as does Jamal Musiala’s unavailability, but their all-star attack is still a unit that we must work exceptionally hard to contain. Defensive discipline will be key.
In their 4-2-3-1 shape, deciding how to cope with Harry Kane’s positioning is potentially the most challenging aspect for us. When the England captain drops deep into midfield, will one of our centre backs follow him, or will he be passed on without fuss to a teammate? How we communicate in those moments will be crucial. Out wide Luis Diaz’s pace and directness will test us down our right side, and because the Colombian joins in as a second striker so often, Ezri Konsa will often be responsible for handling him. If he starts, whiz kid Lennart Karl, who scored against us last season, is a clever No.10, who we cannot afford to leave too much space for.
Bayern’s strength is to control matches with pass and move football, rotating positions seamlessly, and having netted 25 goals in their last six matches in all competitions, they have more than enough firepower. The weakness is in their off the ball work. The German champions like to play an expansive style, which does mean they leave themselves open at times. Keeping clean sheets in just three of their ten games so far, opponents do tend to get chances to score against Kompany’s attack-minded outfit. Minnows Viking proved that in a thrilling 3-3 draw last time out in the UEFA Champions League. They scored from a corner, a counter-attack, and from a far-post header in that shock result.
Tactically, we must balance between pragmatism and adventure in this clash of the titans. You can’t go toe to toe with Bayern, but equally it would be risky to soak up waves of pressure too. Mikel Arteta will trust his players to defend stoutly. But picking the right times to commit bodies forward, in a bid to hurt Bayern, will be so important to our prospects of winning the game. Get that balance right, and another victory could be on the cards.
Watch for Kane dropping deep into defence as well as midfield to collect the ball and ping passes out to the wings too because he’s being doing that of late and it’s been effective. If as Clarke suggests, Bayern aren’t as keen to dig in off the ball, our players should enjoy a bit more freedom than they’re used to in the Premier League and I hope Arsenal can make it count.
Mikel Arteta and his team have come under a lot of scrutiny this season and much criticism has been made over the playing style. Sometimes it’s been awful to watch admittedly, but against Premier League clubs, it can be a bit like trying to get into the sea when the entire beach is full of holidaymakers crammed in like sardines.
It’s hard to find space to get through. Sometimes patience, a lot of patience is required but football fans aren’t good at that. I know I’m not. I want to be entertained, I want to see Arsenal attack with pace and smooth passing and I want to see the team I love score goals. But, not always in life do I get what I want, not many people do.
Again, as Clarke said, Arsenal will need to be smart tonight. Over commit and Bayern will be bearing down on David Raya’s goal in a flash. But when we break, do it quickly and efficiently and when opportunities to score come along, don’t waste them.
Catch up in the comments.