By David 
So yesterday I thought, “Hey, Arsenal’s playing Monaco soon, let me try guessing their starting lineups.” Seemed straightforward, right? Spoiler: it wasn’t. I had zero clue where to start, so I just grabbed some paper.
The ‘Research’ Phase (If You Can Call It That)
First, I tried remembering who played last for Arsenal. Totally blanked. Ended up staring at my phone, scrolling through news bits from weeks ago – pure garbage info mostly. Accidentally clicked some rumor about a guy I thought played for Monaco but turned out to be a tennis player. Oops. Coffee got spilled on my notes halfway through.
Making Wild Guesses
Right. Washed hands, grabbed a napkin, started scribbling:
- Arsenal Defense: Figured those guys who always play… Gabriel & Saliba? Yeah, put them down. Left back… Tierney? Maybe? Had no idea if he was even fit. Pure guess.
- Midfield Mess: Forgot Odegaard instantly. Wrote “Rice” and “Someone else.” Genius. Later remembered Jorginho exists, maybe?
- Monaco Disaster: Honestly, drew blanks. Knew about Ben Yedder. Scribbled him. Goalkeeper? No clue. Just wrote “That big guy.” Defense? Made up names sound plausible.
My napkin looked like a toddler’s grocery list by this point. Crossed out half the names. Felt like picking lottery numbers.
The ‘Ah-Ha’ Moment (In The Pub)
Gave up. Went to my local later that night. Overheard two blokes arguing about “whether Arteta will start Havertz.” Eavesdropped shamelessly. Pure gold. They mentioned players I forgot existed. Took mental notes:
- Arsenal: Ramsdale in goal? Apparently maybe. Saka definitely plays. Martinelli if fit?
- Monaco: Fofana in midfield? Minamino? Akliouche?
My “prediction” suddenly had names I recognized beyond just Ben Yedder. Scraped the napkin notes, rewrote it semi-legibly on a beer mat:
- Arsenal (Guesswork Edition): Ramsdale; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Timber; Rice, Partey; Saka, Odegaard, Martinelli; Jesus.
- Monaco (Slightly Less Clueless): Köhn; Singo, Maripán, Magassa, Caio Henrique; Fofana, Camara; Golovin, Minamino, Akliouche; Ben Yedder.
Was it accurate? Who knows. I finally had two full starting XIs written down though. Mission accomplished. Sort of. Mostly pure luck.
The Big Conclusion
Took me coffee, a ruined napkin, a pub visit, and accidental eavesdropping just to cobble together eleven names per team. Half of it is probably wrong – injuries happen, managers are weird. Point is, predicting lineups feels like throwing darts blindfolded. But hey, the beer mat survived. That’s the real win.
