Hey guys, after an international break and a reality check type of defect to Palace it's easy for the mood to change quickly around our hopes for top 4. I like many other fans often find myself looking at the table and the fixture run-in almost like the popular Money Heist meme, extensively plotting where points will be lost and won. I know everyone in football always say 'one game at a time', but it's hard to keep this in mind when you lose a game you thought on paper you shouldn't. Palace at home was a tough game and we shouldn't have expected it to be much easier at Selhurst park. However, the showing from the majority was beyond poor, terrible even, not to mention the injuries that may have a bigger impact on our coming fixtures.
So naturally as fans we start to wonder is all hope lost, why don't we have a bench. Who's fit? How can we adjust the way we play to cope with our injuries? Can Arteta squeeze anything more from this young team? All valid questions by the way. And I suspect all questions the staff are pondering going into the Brighton game.
But the fact of the situation is all the teams will drop points, we all will. None of the teams chasing 4th have shown that they can go and win all the remaining games, and I might even put Chelsea in that bracket too. We just need to be prepared for it I guess and hope we are finding the solutions in game to break teams down more often than our rivals. Brighton have been a team struggling for goals all season and it might just be the kind of game our defence need to build a bit of confidence again. Brighton are also a team known to play with 3 at the back, so whether the option to match them up, with Tavares and Cedric as wingbacks is in Arteta's mind, again we'll just have to wait and see.
I actually think we shouldn't change too much from the last game. I think the backline should remain the same, as Tierney and Tomi are both out. I'd have a two-man base of Xhaka and Lokonga with Odegaard taking a more central position. With Martinelli Laca and Saka as the attacking 3. I don't think we should move our biggest goal treat, in Saka to fill in defensively and Pepe's lack of consistency means I wouldn't put much faith in him doing half of what Saka does up top. But I would be open to bench Laca and play Martinelli as a 9, which I think should be our plan b, if you were to go to a back 3 as a tactical change during the game.
Much of the team talk for the next few games with depend on who can show us they can dust themselves off and put in a real performance. But they should be giving the chance to do that, I guess. So, let's not panic just yet, because 2weeks ago in was United and Tottenham stressing.
At least save the panic for 2pm when the team news is announced, and we can all lose it together. Come on Arsenal