Same, but he apparently is. Elneny too which I’m fine with but I can’t see Wenger benching Ramsey so probably Cazorla on the bench.
So the one signing Arsene made, the one guy we supposedly chased all last year and almost didn’t sign because Arsene got the sweats over the fee is going to start on the bench? 
So now we’ll have a midfield of Elneny, Coq and Ramsey at the ten? With how bad our CB pairing is I can see both Elneny and Coq having to stay deeper creating a big gap between the two and Ramsey at the ten.
Seriously?
Without Özil we will probably play 4-3-3 so Xhaka will play. Why on earth wouldn’t he lol
I was just going off a rumor on Twitter that Coq was playing.
I assumed Elneny was always going to play and without Ozil ready Arsene wouldn’t be able to resist the temptation to play Ramsey at the ten.
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Has the same feel as when we played them at home back in 2011 when the team was in chaos just before we did all our transfer business in the last week. I believe it was just before we went down 8-2 to United.
We’re not ready for the season and I think that will show. I think we’ll lose by a clear 2-3 goals.
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Apparently no Xhaka or Cazorla in the lineup. Holding & Chambers to start.
We’ll see how true this is.
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Damning statement but very true. Wenger is an absolute shambles of a manager. Mertesacker was injured as early as July. What the fuck takes him so long to sign players we need.
To not be ready for the first game when you have 2 months to buy player’s is infuriating and in any other job you would be sacked for such gross negligence of your duties
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I cannot remember us going into a season I thought we were well prepared for, certainly not within the last decade. That is simply not the case with clubs we consider to be our peers. They might have a difficult summer some years but by and large they are well set up when the first game comes round, whilst we are still tinkering with targets we probably won’t end up signing.
It’s an appalling pattern for a club with the resources we have. I understand the need to be careful with the money the club has because it’s not as replaceable as at City, Chelsea or even United but I don’t think it’s an unwillingness to spend as such, just awful planning and crippling hesitancy to pull the trigger on important deals.
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I think it’s a stretch to feel it’s THAT bad. That then was a full blown crisis. Was the worst Arsenal team in Wenger’s tenure hands down. There’s certainly more structure and quality in today’s Arsenal line up.
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I’m confident we can get a result.
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I’m seeing a 2 nil Arsenal victory
In my gut I feel like liverpool could throttle us. However I think that’s just the nerves of the new season. Maybe a draw is a more realistic result.
Seems to be a safety first approach. While it’s not a bad idea given the options we have, it’s also not really encouraging going into the first game of the season trying not to lose instead of actually having confidence that we’ll win.
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Whilst I would agree that situation was worse, we are currently looking at a squad for whom, without intervention from the transfer market, a top six finish is out of the question.
Though the group of players may be a bit more settled and the quality going forward greater, there is massive instability at the back, in a team that struggles to put out a coherent defensive display at the best of times.
I would certainly regard avoiding defeat today as a major upset and a remarkable result in the circumstances.
Problem with twitter is I’ve seen CB pairings of Chambers-Holding. Chambers-Debuchy. Coquelin-Holding.
What a shambles. Whatever though, hope the team can win, but considering the makeshift defense, 3 key players rested, a point wouldn’t be all that bad with those factors.
Seriously dreading this game, but equally excited.
Also, I am currently in York with the girlfriend, and it’s such a shite place, it really is.
York, Pennsylvania? Or the original York?
No Xhaka, Ramsey over Santi at 10. We’re going to be useless in midfield and get pressed to death.
At least Holding starts.
Called Elneny over Xhaka.
Xhaka would get ruined first game in Prem against a high pressing Pool side.
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