24' Another corner for Cardiff, who continue to find joy stretching the Arsenal defence. Paterson again rises for the header but he cannot test Leno as the attempt is blocked.
22' Guendouzi, to the relief of Unai Emery and the home faithful, is able to continue.
21' A break in play as Guendouzi is down requiring some attention and looks to be in discomfort. Arsenal will be hoping this is not a more serious problem as they cannot afford further injury woes.
19' Now then, replays of the Cardiff penalty claim from a different angle tell a different story. It seemed it was the pressure from Kolasinac sent Niasse tumbling but it was actually a kick of the heels from Monreal. Arsenal are very fortunate.
18' Arsenal's turns for half-hearted appeals now as Guendouzi picks out Lacazette, who squirms through the middle and is caught by Manga. He elects to stay on his feet, which may have been why the referee gave nothing.
16' NO PENALTY! Appeals from the travelling fans as a free-kick puts Arsenal's defence under threat once again and Niasse is brought to ground under pressure from Kolasniac. The officials wave play on and, after seeing the replay, it is the right call.
16' Arsenal are unbeaten in 11 home league games (W9 D2), winning the last five in a row. Only Liverpool (32) are on a longer current such run in the Premier League.
14' Arsenal's early performance defensively has down little to erase any nerves that are lingering around the Emirates Stadium and it is obvious this is far from Emery's first-choice defensive line. The old cliche says the best form of defence is attack but the Gunners are offering little at the other end.
12' WIDE! A big chance for Cardiff after a fortunate break falls kindly to Reid off Elneny but the visiting striker cannot hit the target, leaving Leno untested.
12' Another corner for Cardiff is taken by Ralls but this time Arsenal are able to clear their lines comfortably.
10' Peltier blocks the run of Aubameyang and Arsenal win a free-kick in a wide position on the left side. Torreira is the man hovering over the ball and he drills a delivery into the middle but Mustafi is unable to make contact at the far post.
8' Niasse is having to work hard leading the line on his own for Cardiff but the on loan Everton man is already doing a decent job by causing some issues for the Arsenal defence.
6' First opportunity to create a chance for Cardiff as Niasse wins a corner off Elneny. Ralls' delivery finds the head of Paterson but Elneny is there to block the effort.
4' The Gunners are dictating the tempo during the opening exchanges and already look dangerous, with Cardiff pegged back inside their own half.
2' HUGE CHANCE! Arsenal immediately through as Guendouzi tees a pass through to Kolasinac, who drills a low cross into the box. Etheridge cannot take control and it comes to Lacazette but he cannot get a shot away immediately, with his attempt eventually blocked.
1' Cardiff get the action underway at the Emirates Stadium!
Arsenal have won all three of their previous Premier League meetings with Cardiff. In all competitions, the Welsh side have lost in each of their last six visits to face the Gunners.
After over a week off, Neil Warnock makes three changes to the Cardiff side that lost to Newcastle by bringing in Arter, Reid and Gunnarsson. Hoilett and Mendez-Laing drop to the bench, while there is no Victor Camarasa in the Bluebirds squad.
Unai Emery shuffles his deck for the visit of Cardiff, making seven changes to the side that lost to Manchester United. In come Leno, Mustafi, Lichtsteiner, Monreal, Elneny, Guendouzi and Ozil, the latter of whom is the captain. Cech, Ramsey, Iwobi and Xhaka drop to the bench, while Laurent Koscielny and Sokratis Papastathopoulos are injured. Ainsley Maitland-Niles is also not in the squad.
Cardiff subs: Alex Smithies, Kenneth Zohore, Rhys Healey, Nathaniel Mendez-Laing, Junior Hoilett, Greg Cunningham, Kadeem Harris.
Cardiff XI (4-1-4-1): Neil Etheridge; Lee Peltier, Bruno Ecuele Manga, Sol Bamba, Joe Bennett; Aron Gunnarsson; Callum Paterson, Harry Arter, Joe Ralls, Bobby Reid; Oumar Niasse.
Arsenal subs: Petr Cech, Eddie Nketiah, Granit Xhaka, Carl Jenkinson, Aaron Ramsey, Alex Iwobi, Konstantinos Mavropanos.
Arsenal XI (4-3-1-2): Bernd Leno; Stephan Lichtsteiner, Nacho Monreal, Shkodran Mustafi, Sead Kolasinac; Matteo Guendouzi, Lucas Torreira, Mohamed Elneny; Mesut Ozil; Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Alexandre Lacazette.
On the field, Arsenal will be looking to bounce back after an FA Cup exit at the hands of Manchester United on Friday which has raised questions about Unai Emery's side, although their last league outing was a superb triumph against Chelsea. Cardiff, meanwhile, are two points off safety following their recent defeat to fellow strugglers Newcastle United.
The world of football was shocked last week by the disappearance of Cardiff's new signing Emiliano Sala and a moment of reflection will be taken ahead of kick off. Arsenal have also made the nice touch of including Sala amongst the visiting side in tonight's programme alongside a picture of a daffodil. The player's family are also in attendance.
Hello and welcome to our LIVE coverage of the Premier League clash between Arsenal and Cardiff City, following what has been an extremely difficult week for the visitors.
0 Comments