Saints At Arsenal The Preview Friday, 22nd Nov 2019 13:59 Can we win at rsenal ? Can we even get a draw ? hopefully they will be ranting on Arsenalfanstv about this one at 5pm on Saturday ! As I have mentioned earlier in the week Ralph Hasenhuttle needs to get back to basics on this one, with a squad low on confidence, organisation and leadership on the pitch, he needs to play in a formation where all those playing understand it and know their job in it. Too often this season that has not been the case and even though the last three games have seen better defending we still conceded 7 goals and virtually all of them should not have been conceded. For me this means playing a 4-4-2 formation and Ralh selecting those that have done it for him before and not those that have continually let him down this season. I would stick with Alex McCarthy in goal and play a back four of Valery, Bednarek Danso & Bertrand. I am not sure what Valery has done to annoy Ralph, but he is still the best option we have in this position as is Jan Bednarek at centre half and likewise Ryan Bertrand at right back. I would partner Bednarek with Kevin Danso if for the only reason is we have never played him in his true position and given how badly Vestergaard, Stephens & Yoshida have fared, then we have nothing to lose by trying him there, yes he might be as bad as the other three, but you never know it might just work. In midfield I would have the pace of Redmond & Djenepo on the flanks with a central two of Hojbjerg and Romeu to graft. Up front Danny Ings may get some stick by some but he has the knack for scoring goals eve when he is completely isolated as he has been in some of the games he has scored in, don't underestimate either this skill or whatever else he has in his armoury. That leaves one remaining position, I know I said 4-4-2 but in this final position we can be flexible, we could play James Ward Prowse to sit in front of the defence and try to get the ball and get it out wide or play in Ings or we could play a second striker. If we did this then Shane Long could offer battle and the ability to hold the ball up and draw fouls to create set pieces or Che Adams could offer pace and running,. Either of these three options could work, but just as much they could all be spoiled by some poor defending and this has been our downfall, I am not saying we would be challenging the top six, but without the atrocious marking in the centre of our defence we would certainly be well clear of the bottom three. Putting it in perspective good defences can hold up good sides and win them games, in contrast a poor defence can cost good sides vital points. The answer to our plight is simple, stop conceding goals though poor marking both from set pieces and from the break then we will pull out of trouble, don't do that and we are doomed, there is still a long way to go this season and survival won't be achieved by beating Arsenal it will be by beating the sides down there with us. This is far from being a free hit, the fact that we have got only 1 point in our last 7 games takes that away, but if we lose it is far from the end, the season has to be kick started and Watford at home is the one that matters, that is the one when everyone needs to be kicking in the right direction, fans players, manager and the board. Arsenal by their standards are in disarray, but for them that means being sixth in the League and that tells us a lot about what the Premier League has become. Photo: Action Images Please report offensive, libellous or inappropriate posts by using the links provided.
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