Morning all. It’s a brand new week so let us put the events of Saturday evening behind us and concentrate on the upcoming games against AC Milan and then Birmingham.
Most the news this morning comes from the Milan camp. They’re struggling with injuries to their two main keepers. Australian Zeljko Kalac is a doubt with a hand injury while comical Dida managed to injure his back sitting on the bench. No, he really did. This could mean a start for 38 ear old Valerio Fiori who hasn’t played a game for them since 2003. Shades of John Lukic against Lazio.
Much will be made this week of the contrasts between the sides. Milan, vastly experienced (Paolo Maldini played his 1000th appearance for them in the weekend’s o-0 draw against Parma), against Arsenal, a team that has put its stock in youth. Clarence Seedorf, one of the old heads of the Milan side, says:
In my view, although Arsenal are one of the best teams in Europe and have been playing very well lately, they lack experience. We have experience and we also have cunning, especially when it comes to ties over two legs.
We have experience. Experience and cunning. Experience, cunning and the element of surprise! Still, there’s no better way for this Arsenal team to gain experience than playing in matches like these. I don’t think our boys will be overawed, especially not in the home leg, and I don’t think we’re as inexperienced as they think we are. Remember, many of this team got to the Champions League final a couple of seasons ago – they won at Real Madrid, gotten a result at Juventus, survived a Villarreal onslaught and though the final didn’t go well they’ll have learnt plenty from it.
Domestically Milan’s season has been relatively poor, interrupted by their jaunt to the FIFA World Club Championship, they’re currently scrapping for the 4th place position. In the Champions League they’re a different animal though. There’s the feeling that this is what their season is all about, the domestic league merely serves to gain entry to the Champions League and this is the prize they want every year. Three finals in the last five seasons tells its own story.
Kaka, who seems like one of football’s nice guys, talks about his perception of Arsenal but he feels the experience in the Milan side will see them through.
Back to our lads now and Gilberto is backing us to bounce back from the United game. He says:
We will come back even stronger, starting in the Champions League against Milan on Wednesday, because we don’t want to let the opportunities pass us by this season. We must bounce back if we want to achieve something. This group is ambitious to win trophies this season.
It is also important that we focus on our position in the league, where we are five points clear, a situation very much in our favour. We must learn from our mistakes and not let a performance like this happen again.
I don’t know that too many people would argue with him there. He’s absolutely right too. As shambolic and upsetting as the performance against United was we can’t dwell on it or let it affect us. There are certainly things to be learned from it but between now and the end of the season we have to concentrate on the games ahead of us, not the ones behind us.
Demento has called for Alan Wiley to retrospectively look at William Gallas’s kick at Nani on Saturday. An FA spokesman says they need to clarify if the ref saw it at the time. If he says he didn’t then they could use the video evidence to punish the Arsenal captain. Obviously the United manager’s agenda is to get Gallas banned but if it does happen then really William Gallas has nobody to blame but himself. It was petulant and unnecessary.
And that’s about it. As the week goes on we should get more of an idea what sort of team we’re going to field. As well as injuries it seems Bacary Sagna is a major doubt for the game due to a ‘big family problem’. Whatever that might be we wish him well but I’d feel more confident with him in the side on Wednesday.
Update: This Guardian article suggests his brother died suddenly, which is really awful. The best to him and his family.
Ok, more tomorrow.
