Beleaguered Arsenal Survive Stern Turkish Test

Strangely, the best chance of the game fell to us despite our disadvantage. Chamberlain, who’d replaced Alexis, danced into the area, evaded a couple of tackles and smashed the ball towards the far corner, only to see his effort tipped on to the post by the keeper and the rebound cleared. If it had gone in, we’d have had a great smash and grab result, but as it is, the job will have to be done at the Emirates. We should have more than enough to beat them on our own turf, particularly as we play on a football pitch, not a patch of tired farmland.

There were some signs that the interplay is beginning to develop, but we’re really going to have to step up at the weekend. Ideally, we could have done with a game against someone like Hull or QPR just to give us a bit of margin for error, but Everton will give us a stern examination. They’ll also be confident given the beating they handed us last time up there and with our injuries mounting, it’ll be a really big test for the lads. However, there’s good news in the form of returning Germans, of which I’d expect Mertesacker to start and the other two to be on the bench. With Arteta’s injury, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Chambers have his first outing at CDM. He certainly has the positional awareness, ability on the ball and the mobility to be a real success there, which may provide us with a good option for the season. I’ll be at Goodison on Saturday to see how things unfold, let’s hope we can gain another positive result and continue building a solid foundation for the season ahead.

Teams

Besiktas (4-5-1)
Zengin, Gulum, Motta (Y), Koybasi, Franco, Sahan (Tore 73’), Kavlak, Uysal, Pektemek (Tosun 88’), Ozyakup (Y) (Koyunlu 81’), Ba
Subs
Gonen, Kurtulus, Sivok, Tore, Koyunlu, Tosun, Boral

Arsenal (4-5-1)
Szczesny, Debuchy, Chambers, Koscielny, Monreal (Y), Arteta (Flamini 50’ (Y)), Ramsey (Y-Y-R), Wilshere, Cazorla (Rosicky 90’), Alexis (Chamberlain 73’), Giroud
Subs
Martinez, Bellerin, Miquel, Flamini, Rosicky, Chamberlain, Campbell

Player Ratings

Szczesny - 7/10 - Did well to be alert for the kick off and made another good save too
Debuchy - 7/10 - A really solid start to his Arsenal career and will hopefully progress
Chambers - 9/10 - Stunning performance by the youngster, dominated in defence
Koscielny - 7/10 - Didn’t have much to do but admire his young apprentice
Monreal - 7/10 - Looked good again after a shaky end to last season
Arteta - 6/10 - Was playing fine until he injured his ankle, doesn’t look good
Ramsey - 6/10 - Like the rest of the midfield, struggling to click with a different system
Wilshere - 7/10 - A promising performance, looked able to go past players and not lose the ball
Cazorla - 6/10 - A fairly anonymous performance really, did nothing of note
Alexis - 7/10 - Looked dangerous, but struggling to complete passes and find an end product
Giroud - 5/10 - Had a fairly poor evening which has stirred up his haters somewhat
Subs
Flamini - 6/10 - Did a decent job and managed to get booked practically as he came on
Chamberlain - 6/10 - Looked lively, didn’t get much time but nearly found us a goal
Rosicky - N/A

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