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Match Day Thread FC Zurich vs Arsenal - Matchday Thread

Discussion in 'Arsenal' started by BrunelGunner, Sep 6, 2022.

  1. BrunelGunner

    BrunelGunner Well-Known Member
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    Venue: Kybun Park
    Date: Thursday 8th September 2022
    KO time: 5:45pm BST​
     
    #1
    Last edited: Sep 7, 2022
  2. BrunelGunner

    BrunelGunner Well-Known Member
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    If anyone’s wondering why there’s no images or statistics in the OP, it’s because these are brand new opponents who we have never played against before.
     
    #2
  3. TheBear

    TheBear Well-Known Member

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    Honestly find it very hard to be enthusiastic about Thursday nights.
     
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  4. BrunelGunner

    BrunelGunner Well-Known Member
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    Honestly? Me too. But I see it as an opportunity for our fringe players on whether they can fill in where possible or if they’re capable of pushing for a first team spot.

    Also, Arsenal have never won a Europa League before and that’s really not great for a club of our stature. I would like to see us win a European trophy in my lifetime.
     
    #4
  5. cini65

    cini65 Well-Known Member

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    It should be..... Turner, Tomiyasu, Holding, White, Tierney, Lokonga, Xhaka, Vieira, Smith Rowe, Nelson, Nketiah.

    Worried Arteta will play far more first teamers though.
     
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  6. BrunelGunner

    BrunelGunner Well-Known Member
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    Just found out the game isn’t being played in Zurich, due to some athletics tournament that the ground is being used for. We are playing at Kybun Park in St. Gallen’s instead. Yay…
     
    #6
  7. PINKIE

    PINKIE Wurzel Gummidge

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    Should give us a little more advantage seeing at it's not at their home ground. But to be honest, this should be a game we should be winning. That said, it will probs be a 2nd team playing tonight with a peppering of 1st teamers.
     
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  8. BrunelGunner

    BrunelGunner Well-Known Member
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    I’ve seen the squad we’ve taken and he’s taken a stronger squad than I expected. So yeah, it will probably be a mix of first teamers and second string players.

    Also, I’ve had a look at FC Zurich’s form this season. They have 2 draws and 5 losses from 7 games and sit 2nd-from-bottom in the Swiss league. We should be looking to win this 3-0 minimum.
     
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  9. cini65

    cini65 Well-Known Member

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    Almost bang on!
     
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  10. BrunelGunner

    BrunelGunner Well-Known Member
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  11. BrunelGunner

    BrunelGunner Well-Known Member
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    1-0! Marquinhos!

    Lovely counter attack, great feet by Vieira to bypass the press and then a lovely weighted pass into Nketiah, who delivered a perfect cross for Marquinhos to finish off clinically.

    Great team goal.
     
    #11
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  12. BrunelGunner

    BrunelGunner Well-Known Member
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    Unlucky from Vieira to not make it 2-0, but really intelligent diagonal run. Good vision from Lokonga to spot that run, too.
     
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  13. BrunelGunner

    BrunelGunner Well-Known Member
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    30 mins gone and after the dodgy opening 10 minutes, we've taken control of the match. Good positional play and rotations. Dominating easily. Winning the ball back high up the pitch. But we need to make this dominance count and increase our lead.
     
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  14. BrunelGunner

    BrunelGunner Well-Known Member
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    As well as we are playing, we are leaving a lot of space open on the flanks which they are starting to hurt us with when they counter. Need to close the distances out wide a lot better and in transition.
     
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  15. BrunelGunner

    BrunelGunner Well-Known Member
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    Nketiah has conceded a penalty when defending a corner <doh>. Stupid tackle.
     
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  16. BrunelGunner

    BrunelGunner Well-Known Member
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    Goal. 1-1.
    Against the run of play, but we have to be honest. We haven't created anywhere near enough considering our ball possession.
    We've also been a bit sloppy when defending counter attacks.

    This team are 2nd bottom in the Swiss league. We are making this harder work than it needs to be.
     
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  17. BrunelGunner

    BrunelGunner Well-Known Member
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    Started the second half much better and had 2 good chances already with Tierney and Nketiah, but they both needed to do better with those chances.

    Xhaka’s had an excellent game tbf to him.
     
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  18. BrunelGunner

    BrunelGunner Well-Known Member
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    2-1! Nketiah.

    Great cross from Marquinhos and nice header from Eddie to put us back in front. Now kill this off like we should have done in the first half.
     
    #18
  19. BrunelGunner

    BrunelGunner Well-Known Member
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    FT. 2-1.

    We made much harder work of that than was necessary.

    Not entirely happy with the performance, as we dominated for large periods and didn't really have as much cutting edge as we should have. Nor did we test the goalkeeper as much as we should have. And toward the end of the game, we made it very nervy with some misplaced passes and turnovers in possession.

    However, there were some positives.

    Marquinhos looked excellent. Goal and assist on your first start. Nketiah led the line well despite not having an abundance of chances. Vieira looks very silky and reminds me a bit of Cazorla. Xhaka and Lokonga were solid. Our defence didn't really give too many chances away, although they should have dealt with some situations better.

    3 points is the main thing at the end of the day. But we'll need to put in a more assured performance against Everton on the weekend if we want to win, though.
     
    #19
  20. TheBear

    TheBear Well-Known Member

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    Tomiyasu was excellent today again.. As much as I like White I do think Tomi might be the better option at RB.
     
    #20
    Last edited: Sep 8, 2022

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