IN BRUGES
ROTATION ROTATION ROTATION
The beauty of a jam-packed fixture list? You barely have time to lick your wounds before a shot at redemption arrives.
OPENING THOUGHTS
I thought I'd start with a question that we, as Arsenal fans, should be asking ourselves: "What kind of fan am I when adversity strikes?"
I say this because time has settled on our defeat at Villa Park, and I have to say some of the fanbase handled it predictably horribly.
Every disappointing result seems to trigger a witch-hunt, and this time, it's poor Martin Odegaard running for his life from the pitchforks and flaming torches.
To hell with injuries, exhaustion, or the whims of Lady Luck (we blocked three shots before the ball hit the net), some of our Twitter/X fanbase decided to zero in on him because he didn't cry on the pitch immediately after their winning goal. I checked the mentality manual, and it does indeed say that if you don't sink to your knees within 0.7 seconds of conceding a late goal, it signifies your lack of dedication to the cause.
The blame game wears thin fast. We rise and fall as one. As of today, our record in all competitions reads: Played 22, Won 17, Drawn 3, Lost 2, GF 46, GA 10. What does this mean? It means we have the second-best attack domestically, backed by a fortress-like defence. Our two losses came late at Anfield and very late at Villa Park. Oh, and it included an 18-game unbeaten run.
The 'supporters' calling for Arteta's head need to get a serious grip and remember the bins we were eating out of before he pitched up. They can toss their Emery nostalgia in them while they're at it.
With that off my chest, it's time to look ahead and set sail for the Champions League as we hop on a Zeebrugge ferry to northwest Belgium and the 29000-strong Jan Breydel Stadion, the home of Club Brugge, whose club motto reads 'No Sweat No Glory'. I'll claim the No Sweat part; they can keep the No Glory.
I started this preview yesterday and had a whole bit lined up about their manager, Nicky Hayen, including my fun fact that he once coached Welsh League side Haverfordwest County. No sooner had I hit the save button than the news broke that they had canned him and replaced him with Croatian Ivan Leko, so that put the kibosh on that angle. Oddly, we seem to get a lot of 'new manager bounce' games.
So the 'new' voice in the dugout is a familiar one for Brugge, having previously coached them from 2017-2019, where he won both the league and cup. He arrives from K.A.A. Gent, who are currently 7th in the league, nine points behind Brugge.
He is an offensive-minded coach who likes to play three/five at the back and emphasises getting the ball wide with crosses into the box via his wing-backs, so midfielder and captain Vanaken should welcome his appointment (more on that in Key Matchups). His teams play with a fast tempo and press high once possession is lost.
As for our approach, it's a game where many fans, including me, are calling for rotation, rotation, and more rotation, which is always difficult without sounding like a "turn up and win" smug, arrogant arsehole.
But here's the thing. We sit at the top of the Champions League, being the only team to have already qualified, so the three games we have left are essentially bonus rounds. We need to maximise a scenario like this and rest and rotate heavily, as placement barely matters in the new format, just ask Liverpool.
FORM BOOK
Despite the doom and gloom, our last five games actually paint a pretty strong picture.
We have three wins, one draw and one defeat with 11 goals scored and 5 against. Considering our wins include a NLD and Bayern of the Munchens I'd say we've not hit panic stations yet. However, our away form is beginning to trend downwards as I've mentioned in recent blogs, and that needs fixing fast.
Our Champions League form is perfect with 5 wins from 5, the only club with a 100% record in the competition.
Our Flemish hosts have stumbled lately, with 3 wins and 2 defeats in their last five games, including a Champions League mauling by Sporting 3-0. They currently sit third in their domestic league. Obviously, it was not good enough for their manager to keep his job.
They qualified for the League Stage by finishing second in their domestic league (being pipped by USG on the final day), then defeating a god awful Glasgow Rangers 9-1 over two legs in the playoff. They sit 26th with 1 win, 1 draw, and 3 defeats (all on the road).
Their four points have come at home. They have been strong at the Jan Breydel with a comprehensive victory in their opener against a tricky Monaco side, 4-1, then went toe-to-toe with Barca, drawing 3-3, leading the Catalans three times.
Rotation feels like a gamble because Brugge seems to find another gear at home on European nights, making this away tie challenging regardless of selection. Would I trade meaningless points for fresh legs? Given recent performances, absolutely. Best-case scenario, we send out a duct-tape lineup, nick the win and return unscathed. Worst case, another away defeat (meaningless with regards to the competition) and a dent in our momentum before Wolves.
Squad rotation is like a puzzle, and I'm not sure Arteta has ever figured out the solution. At this stage, there has to be a question about whether he ever will. He has always clung to his trusted core when shaking things up might do wonders.
HISTORY BOOKS
If there were an actual, real history book detailing our previous encounters, it would be the shortest read in history. We have NEVER played Club Brugge in a competitive match. Two clubs that have been around since the 1800's, both giants of their respective leagues, and we have never crossed paths in European competition. Isn't that weird?
As for their European pedigree, they are the only Belgian side ever to reach a European Cup Final, losing 1-0 to Liverpool via a Kenny Dalglish goal in 1978. Their only other European final was in the UEFA Cup two years prior, where they again fell to Liverpool 4-3 over two legs.
TRANSFER BUSINESS
Despite being regular qualifiers for the Champions League, they aren't known as big spenders; this is more due to the Belgian Pro League's Modus Operandi than them being tighter than Scrooge. Hey, it's December, so I had to get a Christmas reference in at some point this month.
As one of Europe's 'smaller' leagues, with a total revenue for 24/25 estimated at roughly £505m, they have to develop superstars and sell them for massive profit to survive. "Buy/Develop cheap, coach hard, sell high" should be the Belgian Pro League's motto, as they excel at it with a whopping £400m of said revenue coming from player sales.
Compare that to the EPL, where last season's revenue was £6.5 BILLION. That's 16.5x the amount.
True to form, they invested in potential. Teenagers Stankovic and Diakhon joined for £9m each from Inter and Stade Reims. Notably, Aleksandar Stankovic is a midfielder like his dad, Inter Milan Hall of Fame inductee Dejan Stankovic.
Then there's 20-year-old Nicolo Tresoldi, snapped up from Hannover 96 for £7.5m, already making waves with four league goals and two in the Champions League.
Man City and Wolves fans might recognise the name of another signing, 21-year-old Carlos Forbs Borges. He came through the youth academy at the Etihad after signing from Sporting Lisbon, but never featured for the senior side. Despite this, they managed to convince Dutch giants Ajax that he was worth £14m. He spent his first season on loan at Molineux, contributing an uninspiring one assist in eleven appearances before returning to Amsterdam. Even with a breakout year of sorts in 24/25, Ajax decided to cut their losses on him, and Brugge signed him for £8.5m.
They rounded off their transfer business by signing 'veteran' Ludovit Reis, all of 25, from Hamburg for £6m.
Among their departures, one of their best players, left back Maxim De Cuyper, left for Brighton for £20m.
Their marquee sale of the summer was the £36m transfer of defensive midfielder Ardon Jashari to AC Milan.
Jashari is the poster boy for the Belgian League model. Bought for £6m from the Swiss side Luzern, sold a year later for £36m, replaced by Stankovic for £9m and a tidy £21m profit banked.
Their third and final big sale, as Sunderland fans will know well, was Chemsdine Talbi. The Mackems forked out approx £20m, including add-ons, for the winger's services.
KEY MATCHUPS
I always feel the player to keep an eye on whenever I watch Brugge (yes, I do occasionally dip into the Belgian League) is 33-year-old veteran midfielder Hans Vanaken. He is a bona fide club legend. West Ham once chased him big time a couple of summers ago, but he stayed loyal to Brugge and has now surpassed 500 appearances and 100 goals for the club.
He is at his best when arriving late in the box and is terrific in the air. A bit 'Merino-esque' if you will, but more adept on the ground, dictating a game if allowed. Norgaard, assuming he gets the start (more on that later), has to be aware of the timing of Vanaken's runs and mark him accordingly.
ONE TO WATCH
Joel Ordonez is a 21-year-old centre-half who has already collected 14 caps for Ecuador. Hailing from the famous Independiente del Valle that produced Hincapie and the recently signed Quintero twins, he is already valued at £35m. He has been on the radar of some of Europe's most prominent clubs and Liverpool. Known for his pace and duel-winning either on the ground or in the air with excellent reading of the game, he could be Club Brugges' next big marquee exit.
INJURY REPORT
Definitely out are Gabi at the Back, the soon-to-be fit forever ago, Kai the Guy, the day-to-day, that's turned into weeks, Saliba (we don't even know what his injury is), and the worse-than-first-feared Mosquera.
From Villa, you can add Rice, who is ill, and Trossard, who was fit enough for a quick goal-scoring cameo before promptly getting injured again. You can now add young Max Dowman to the list; he's been jettisoned from the Champions League squad due to injury and replaced by Gabi Jesus.
Brugge has a goalkeeping crisis (yay), having to play their third-choice keeper, van den Heuvel, at the weekend. Familiar face, Simon Mignolet, and back-up Jackers are both injured, and the likelihood is that neither will feature against us. van den Heuvel is 22, was let go by Leeds United, and has 4 career appearances to his name.
Their other big miss is centre forward Vermant, who got a concussion in a recent Croky Cup match. He opened the scoring at Ibrox vs Glasgow Rangers in the 1st leg of their playoff.
PROJECTED ELEVEN
This one's a real head-scratcher. It's not like Port Vale away in the Carabao. It's the Champions League, where Club Brugge has taken four points out of six against Monaco and Barca at home.
Our defensive depth was already being tested before Mosquera went down. Do you go full-blown Project Youth and throw sixteen-year-old Marli Salmon in? Not like you can give Dowman a run out now that he's caught the injury plague.
Ask yourself, who needs a breather? Who needs minutes? For example, Odegaard and White. They've both missed a ton of football, so are you now overloading them with too many minutes too soon, or do they need all the game time they can get to help build fitness? Does Nwaneri come in for our captain? So many questions. Such a delicate balancing act.
Our best guess is below, but honestly, it's pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey stuff at this rate.
I cannot see Arteta deviating from type and going full-blown teen disco. He's fully aware how tough a night it could be and doesn't want us to get turned over. He didn't start Salmon in the Carabao away at Port Vale, so I can't see him starting away in the Champions League.
With that train of thought in mind, I have selected 4 of the back 5 from the weekend, with the only change being MLS replacing Calafiori. Despite the Italian player being suspended for this weekend's game, we have given him the night off here as well. A few reasons why. Arteta made a point of mentioning managing his minutes in his press conference. He won't start at LB as MLS needs the game time. Plus, the added fact, as far as I can remember, I don't think Calafiori has ever started for us at centre half. If he played there tonight, then it would most likely be for Timber, and I can't see two lefties in central defence.
After keeping the defensive core essentially the same, I have made wholesale changes to the rest of the lineup. Only Eze keeps his place, and I even pondered whether Mikel has lost trust in him in away games after his error at Villa and might drop him.
I think Mikel will go strong, try and get the game won, then hook guys like White and Timber off at the earliest opportunity.
After all that debating, you watch Mikel mug me right off by pulling a madness and playing all the kids... and Calafiori... at centre half....
FINAL THOUGHTS
None of us as fans EVER want our own team to lose (unless you're the Spuds), and we all know momentum is a huge factor in sports. Still, honestly, if Brugge turn us over when our starting lineup included three teenagers and a freshly unfrozen Gabriel Jesus, it's a sacrifice I'm willing to make. Our Premier League title charge is suffering due to injuries and fatigue, so when we get a chance for heavy rotation, I say let's take it and do the same when Inter and Kairat come calling.
We'll see you tomorrow for the usual recap.
Until then, Kom op SCHUTTERS!