March 7th
Only a day to go before the big game and the build up is beginning in earnest. We have Gilberto saying the tight pitch at Highbury could cramp Madrid’s style while Arsene Wenger says the tight pitch might work against us as Madrid are very good technically. Tony Adams says we won’t win the Champions League the big party pooper. There’s no team news as of yet but I suppose the only one we could realistically hope to have back is Robin van Persie. Given the fact the manager said he couldn’t even get a boot on his foot for the Fulham game it might be a bit much to hope and even if fit he’ll probably find himself on the bench after being out for so long. Will we play 4-4-2 with Bergkamp and Henry or stick with the 4-5-1 that served us well in Madrid? We shall see.
In other news the boss has reiterated his desire for Robert Pires to stay at the club but insists he won’t be offering him any more than the one deal offered to all players over 30. He says “I want him to stay. We have such a young squad the experience of players like Robert Pires will always be important. He wants more than one year but I remain faithful to our policy.”
He’s also spoken about Freddie Ljungberg who has looked much more like the player we’ve known over the last couple of weeks. That’s no surprise to AW though as he says “Freddie’s a winner and can suddenly get a second gear. He’s done that many years from March onwards, he’s always been very strong. He’s one of the more experienced players in the team as well. He can make a difference. I cannot imagine that Freddie in five or six months lost his ability to score goals. It was just that as a team we were not as dangerous.”
It is one of the things we have missed this season. The goals from the flanks that Pires and Ljungberg have provided every season have won us many games. It shows how important they have been to our success when things haven’t gone so well this time around.
Ian Wright says Thierry Henry should seriously consider leaving Arsenal for Barcelona. He says “With everything that Henry has done at Arsenal and with the desire he has to win the Champions League and other titles I would have to consider it if Barcelona called me.”
Ok, have to dash. Team news will emerge during the day so keep checking the news feeds and I’ll have a preview tomorrow. Tonight it’s Barcelona v Cuntski which should be fun around these parts tonight. Till tomorrow.
