A nice midweek game to keep us entertained and the lad will be hoping to hoping to avoid the horror show (shit, did all that yesterday) we got when we last traveled to Bramall Lane. A 1-0 defeat there was one of the low points last season so hopefully the Carling Cup team can make amends.
It’s a chance for some of the fringe players to impress. Lassana Diarra has been unhappy with his lack of first team action but if he performs like he did against Newcastle in the previous round he’s sure to put himself into the manager’s thinking. Denilson too has been very much on the edges of the first team this season but the manager is advising him to be patient, his chances will come. Up front Bendtner will get a chance to put his money where his mouth has been while Eduardo will use the game as part of his settling in process.
One man who’ll also be playing is Gilberto. Yesterday there were reports that he had refused to play in the Carling Cup and that his time at Arsenal was coming to an end. It really did seem out of character for him and Arsene categorically denied any such incident. Life hasn’t been easy for Gilberto this season. Probably our best player last season he’s found himself frozen out because of his Copa America fatigue and late start to the season but he’s a big player and he’ll have a big role to play between now and May, no question.
Of course there’s some previous with some of their players, not least Chris Morgan, who prattles on like he’s some kind of saint instead of the niggly, cheating cunt that he is. He talks about comments made by Senderos and that the Arsenal man is probably embarrassed by them. If I remember correctly the comments were made by Robin van Persie who was unahppy that he had been punched off the ball by the Sheffield United captain. A punch which saw him banned for three games. I hope Bendtner creams him with all his Danish might. The boss is expecting a battle and we’re going to have to match them physically but I think we’re more than capable of doing that. Kick off is 7.45 and it’s on Sky Sports 1.
Update: Full squad announced hereÂ
Fran Merida talks about making his Arsenal debut and he could feature tonight, but probably from the bench.
William Gallas had a webchat with Arsenal.com yesterday and talked about the importance of winning trophies and how there are no egos in the Arsenal squad. Apart from his goalscoring penis, of course.
Alexander Hleb’s agent is angling for a new deal for his player. My cap is well and truly doffed to the Belarussian. He was so poor last season I thought he’d struggle to keep his place in the squad but he’s been fantastic this time around and it’s great to see. It might just be a bit cheeky to look for a new deal just now though, let’s see how the rest of the season goes.
In other news Michel Platini has criticised Arsene Wenger’s policy of buying the best teenage prospects. Quite why I don’ t know. Oh wait, I do know. It’s because Platini is a thunderous cuntbag. What’s the difference between buying the best 16 year olds and buying the best 26 year olds? At Arsenal kids know that they’ll get a great football education and, if they’re good enough, chances in the first team. If they don’t make it here they’ve got a great chance of making it elsewhere. Platini is horrible bastard of a cockfaced wanker and good friends with Septic Bladder too. Shut your mouth, you curly prick.
Jeremy Corbyn, MP for North Islington, made a written request in parliament to be given access to ‘reports received from British embassies relating to Alisher Usmanov’. His request was turned down. Corbyn said of Usmanov:
I believe the public needs and is entitled to know the character of the person who has bought such a large stake in the club. I would say that local people overwhelmingly would not like Usmanov to take over the club and would support the commitment of the current directors to resist a sale and remain independent.
He has called the government response ‘deeply unsatisfactory’ and will be pursuing the matter. The story was featured on BBC’s Newsnight program last night. If I can find a link later I will update here.
And that’s about it. Should be a good game tonight and I shall be ignoring any children that come to the door looking for tricks or treats. In fact, I might electrify the doorbell, that’d be a good trick.
More tomorrow and come on you reeeeeeeeds.
