FourFourTwo UK – September 2019

FFTVERDICT

FourFourTwo Season Preview 2019-20 5

PIERRE-EMERICKAUBAMEYANG

TheGabonesehitmanis goodfor 25 to 30 goals

a season,andArsenalarenotsuddenlygoing

tobecomea balancedattackingunitnextterm.

Theex-Dortmundman’sgoalshidea multitude

ofsinsinUnaiEmery’sdisjointedforwardline.

KEY PLAYER

4

TH

Where there’s the front

two, there’s hope, if the

boss can fix the defence.

VIEW FROM THE STAn DS

PEDRO@LEGROVE

Thebigtalkingpointamongthe

fansisthekit:thesecondcoming

ofAdidas.Therestis a mess.

Thisseasonwillbedifferent

becauseUnaiEmerywon’tfool

ustwice.Underlyingnumbersare

grimandhedidn’tprogressthe

team.Heis ourDavidMoyes:the

bigquestionis howlongtheclub

waits to pull the trigger on him.

Our most underrated player is

Bernd Leno. Cat-like reflexes and

very good with balls into the box.

The first keeper in 10 years you

can rely on to keep you in a game.

LookoutforwingerBukayoSaka

• if he’snotloanedout.
  ThebestawaygroundisSpurs’.It
  wouldhavebeenStJames’Parkif
  PatrickVieirahadjoinedNewcastle.
  ThebestawayfansareCrystal
  Palace’s.Theyareprettymental.
  TheplayerI’dhappilydriveto
  anotherclubisGranitXhaka.
  Looks better on a spreadsheet.
  The pantomime villain will be
  Mustafi. No one will buy him.
  The one change I’d make to the
  club would be more ambitious
  owners, because we lack vision.

Thefans’opinionofthegaffer

is thathewasthesafestoption.

A direpragmatist,uncharismatic,

confusingandindecisive,hewon’t

becutthesameslackthisseason.

Ifheleft,heshouldbereplaced

byLeonardoJardimofMonaco.

Hecanbepragmatic,hecanbuild

explosivefootball,andheis very

good at nurturing young talent.

Save the date for September 1.

Fresh off the back of losing at

Anfield, we welcome Tottenham

to the Emirates. It’ll set the tone.

We’ll finish 6th.

AUGUST

11 Newcastle(a)

17 Burnley(h)

24 Liverpool(a)

SEPTEMBER

1 Tottenham(h)

15 Watford(a)

22 AstonVilla(h)

30 ManUnited(a)

OCTOBER

6 Bournemouth(h)

19 SheffieldUnited(a)

26 CrystalPalace(h)

NOVEMBER

2 Wolves(h)

10 Leicester(a)

23 Southampton(h)

DECEMBER

1 Norwich(a)

3 Brighton(h)

7 WestHam(a)

14 ManCity(h)

21 Everton(a)

26 Bournemouth(a)

28 Chelsea(h)

JANUARY

1 ManUnited(h)

11 CrystalPalace(a)

18 SheffieldUnited(h)

22 Chelsea(a)

FEBRUARY

1 Burnley(a)

8 Newcastle(h)

22 Everton(h)

29 ManCity(a)

MARCH

7 WestHam(h)

14 Brighton(a)

21 Southampton(a)

APRIL

4 Norwich(h)

11 Wolves(a)

18 Leicester(h)

25 Tottenham(a)

MAY

2 Liverpool(h)

9 AstonVilla(a)

17 Watford(h)

FIXTURES

FIVE-POIn T PLAn

1

DEVELOP YOUNG PLAYERS

Arsenal drafted Freddie Ljungberg
into the first-team coaching setup
with an eye on better integrating
the club’s talented academy crop.
Promoting under-23 players into squad
positions is a smart way to build on
a budget. The Gunners needn’t spend
on utility players if an academy product
or two can help occupy those roles.

2

REST THE FIRST TEAM

DURING THE EUROPA

LEAGUE GROUP STAGE

Arsenal collapsed at the business
end of the Premier League season, and
one can only speculate whether picking
strong line-ups in the Europa League
group stage contributed to that. Many
first-team players are now 30 or over
and Emery needs to develop his young
stars at the Emirates. Leading scorer
Aubameyang played a total of 2,733
minutes last term, which is too many.

3

SPREAD THE GOALS

AROUND THE SIDE

There is too heavy a reliance on
Lacazette and Aubameyang. The
list of top scorers after the strike pair
last season makes for pretty depressing
reading – Mkhitaryan 6, Ozil 5, Ramsey
4, Iwobi 3 – and Ramsey has departed.
Arsenal need to up their end product
from other areas of the pitch. If Emery
can tighten up the defence, he might
be able to squeeze another attacking
midfielder into the Gunners’ starting XI.

4

PANIC OPPONENTS

Arsenal will have more chance
of spreading goals around if they
take more shots. They averaged
12.3 per game last season – fewer than
all of their top-six rivals plus Leicester,
Crystal Palace, Everton, Wolves and
Southampton. They were also 12th in
the league last season for dribbles per
game, with eight. Arsenal don’t do
enough to stress opposing defences.

5

GET CHINA ON THE LINE

In order to reinvest and rejuvenate
the squad, the Gunners will first
have to shift several of the ageing,
underperforming players from the wage
bill. Manoeuvring them out of the north
London club might prove tricky, given
their generous salaries. Hello, Chinese
Super League. Who would you like...?

SEASOn PREVIEW

ElComandanteon

Annette Rd. Great

bar staff, there’s

a garden, you can

drink on the street,

and in the summer

it’s just delightful.

Go and check it out.

If you’rea nerdfor

the business side of

football, regular radio

presenter (and Arsenal

fan) @Matt5cott is

one for you. Always

a learning experience

when he’s around.

ArsenalvsSheffield

United at Highbury

in January 1927

was the first live

radio broadcast

of a football match.

PieburyCorneronHolloway

Road.Best pies in London, to go

with great music and a cracking

atmosphere, too. A must-eat.

WanderdownLiverpoolRoadand

graba roastin any of the excellent

restaurants and pubs. It’s one of

London’s most chilled-out areas.

MATCHDAY PACK

AWAY PUB

SIGn ATURE DISH WHILE YOU’RE HERE...

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K nOW...?