FA Cup Semi-Final: Arsenal vs Manchester City | Saturday July 18 | KO: 19:45 BST | BT Sport

[SingmeasongSong]

Shame we didn't get Chelsea or Utd. They both would have rested lots of main players.

ManU would get 3 pens and all VARs against us though !

 

[roz]

Really hope im wrong but can see nothing other than an absolute pummelling.

City were barely even running v Bournemouth. How we beat Liverpool is beyond me, awful first half, defensively good 2nd but still got very lucky imo

 

[bingobob]

I suspect Aubameyang and Ceballos will be back in for this. I hope we ditch a forward and put in an extra midfielder. I'd even consider placing Saka in there with Kolasnic playing at wing back.

We will probably lose but as long as we remain competitive and give ourselves a fighting chance to win that is progress.

 

[Oxeki]

Keep eleven men on the pitch and we're in with a Chance

 

[Beany]

This’ll be a dry bumming.

Bring in Mustafi and Kolasinac so they can enjoy it.

Not sure it will even be dry.

Then again, I said that in 2017.

Will be the first FA cup semi final I’ve failed to attend since 1983, I believe.

 

[freeglennhelder2]

Do not delude yourselves. Not a cats chance in hell. Their B team could give us a sound thrashing. We are 8/1 in a two horse race and that’s generous.

If we get to the final I will know the Lord is real - which is bad news for me at it means I am destined for the hot place down below.

 

[Riou]

Do not delude yourselves. Not a cats chance in hell.

They will likely beat us, but as a great Futurama character said... "Nothing is impossible!"

The best teams don't always win every game, if they did football wouldn't be as fun to watch...we can beat them.

It may take us on our best day, them on their worst day, luck on our side...whatever...but we can do it.

You go into every game believing you can win someway, even if you aren't the favourite...what's the point otherwise?

 

[dashsnow17]

This is pretty cool

 

[boxerumble]

Despite Mikel having lived behind enemy lines, there’s only so much you can drill into the team when you have players who tend to have mental lapses during matches.

I do agree keeping 11 men on the pitch gives us a slight glimmer of hope.

 

[Dennis_Bergkamp_10]

This is going to be such a tough game. We need Auba to run behind their defense and play the ball over the top or through and hope our clowns at the back keep it together.

I'm not sure what I want regarding Pepe. Could be useful in a game where there is space behind but he's so goddamn frustrating at times.

 

[Big Poppa]

This is going to be such a tough game. We need Auba to run behind their defense and play the ball over the top or through and hope our clowns at the back keep it together.

I'm not sure what I want regarding Pepe. Could be useful in a game where there is space behind but he's so goddamn frustrating at times.

That ball is on every single time against City but we never use it. If we had anyone young Cesc tomorrow Auba and Saka would wreak havoc.

 

[Monstar-Gunn4r]

That ball is on every single time against City but we never use it. If we had anyone young Cesc tomorrow Auba and Saka would wreak havoc.

I think a long diagonal ball trying to get behind the city defence on the left wing where Auba is normally playing on wont come to much. City will probably play Walker at rightback, it is his bread and butter to clean up those kind of balls, hes also very quick and not easily pushed off the ball. In the last match against them we tried more than a few times to play that diagonal and nothing came of it, maybe it was the quality of balls but Walkers has years of teams playing hoofball against city and is brilliant at it and we 'll pretty much have the same team as last time.

If you wanted to use the long ball strategy I'd switch Aubemeyang to the right wing and let him go in between whoever is their full back on the day. It is one of the positions that nobody has cemented and nobody ahs been really convincing there. While Laporte can come out in support to meet the ball in the air it is unlikely he will with Lacazette hanging around and a lack of communication and familiarity. Push Bellerin up a bit to give the full back more of a haadache and see if Sterling follows, if he doesn't then we should be able to at least win the second ball if not the diagonal in the air, at worst Sterling is now in his own half. Xhaka can drop a bit deeper on the left and spray it from there while Tierney and Saka push the left wing. Then we can all sprint back when we dont win the ball and get everyone on the goal line again.

 

[Gunners1616]

Anybody remembers this ? Hard to believe 2 years later we are going to Wembley against City again and Mustafi will still start.

We had Jack, Özil, Ramsey and Aubam' in attack and we couldn't score 1.

 

[Big Poppa]

I think a long diagonal ball trying to get behind the city defence on the left wing where Auba is normally playing on wont come to much. City will probably play Walker at rightback, it is his bread and butter to clean up those kind of balls, hes also very quick and not easily pushed off the ball. In the last match against them we tried more than a few times to play that diagonal and nothing came of it, maybe it was the quality of balls but Walkers has years of teams playing hoofball against city and is brilliant at it and we 'll pretty much have the same team as last time.

If you wanted to use the long ball strategy I'd switch Aubemeyang to the right wing and let him go in between whoever is their full back on the day. It is one of the positions that nobody has cemented and nobody ahs been really convincing there. While Laporte can come out in support to meet the ball in the air it is unlikely he will with Lacazette hanging around and a lack of communication and familiarity. Push Bellerin up a bit to give the full back more of a haadache and see if Sterling follows, if he doesn't then we should be able to at least win the second ball if not the diagonal in the air, at worst Sterling is now in his own half. Xhaka can drop a bit deeper on the left and spray it from there while Tierney and Saka push the left wing. Then we can all sprint back when we dont win the ball and get everyone on the goal line again.

Just play him through the middle! Laca off the bench when he tires.

Saka left.

Pepe right.

Give Dani the ball and he'll find one of those 3 easily.

Walker also pushes very high up the pitch, so if we win the ball and go direct quickly, he is not catching Auba.

 

[Monstar-Gunn4r]

Just play him through the middle! Laca off the bench when he tires.

Saka left.

Pepe right.

Give Dani the ball and he'll find one of those 3 easily.

Walker also pushes very high up the pitch, so if we win the ball and go direct quickly, he is not catching Auba.

I think Pepe and Saka would struggle to beat defenders in the air, Aubemeyang up front means he can be watched and follwoed by the centrebacks or whoever is deepest in midfield. Ceballos might get on the ball a few times but that City press is fairly intense when in knockout games and unlikely to give him much chance of beating it or finding much space or time.

There might be times that Walker pushes up high but we didn't manage to find that space last time and I don;t think he gets caught out there too much by anyone, but I haven't seen City too much this season so maybe it is a weakpoint we can exploit. If Walker does push up its likely the centreback can track Aubemeyang and cut out the ball with help from midfield if we're playing longball. I think matching Aubemeyang against the weakest link in their defence where the centreback and left back meet is best if the left centreback is occupied with Lacazette and can't help the fullback.

Lacazette is in really good form, and the only one out of our forward line that is. I can't see Laca being dropped and I don't think he should be either.

 

[Tir Na Nog]

No way do people think we have a chance

 

[GDeep™]

No way do people think we have a chance

“Magic of the FA Cup”.

This is the cup where the minnows (Arsenal) have traditionally upset the big boys of English football (City).

 

[Monstar-Gunn4r]

No way do people think we have a chance

Its a really small chance and tough to see it, but we've seen bigger upsets.

I think we'd need to do serious damage early or find a mismatch somewhere on the pitch, like one longball that causes their defence serious problems or one defender that can't cope with one of our players kind of thing. They aren't as settled as they'd like and they might be got at. Their right centre back and left back positions are iffy in relative terms. We'll probably get hammered though.

 

[GDeep™]

Maybe the big favourites will underestimate the smaller struggling team, and we escape with a big famous victory.

 

[Tir Na Nog]

City will be 100% focused and 100% up for this. Forget about their recent league games for them this a real chance to add to yet another domestic trophy.