Morning all,
it’s all about the Cesc today after the Arsenal man inspired Spain to a 3-0 win over Russia last night. He made two, nearly scored one, set up another couple of chances and was, overall, the best player on the pitch by a country mile.
Despite not starting he came on for the injured David Villa and stole the show. On the big stage he did the business while the man everyone was talking about, Andrei Arshavin, was practically anonymous. Amazingly he’s not even guaranteed to start the game on Sunday despite being Spain’s best player in their last two games. If Villa is fit the same starting XI is the one most likely to start the game with Aragones seeing Cesc as someone who can make an impact from the bench.
That’s not because he’s a ‘super sub’ or anything like that. It’s simply down to the fact he’s a quality player and of course you can make a difference when you’re as talented as he is. Ever modest he spoke after the game saying:
I know what it’s like to lose a major final, I don’t want to lose another one. If the boss says I can play that’s better for me, but I just want to help my team.
Frankly I think Aragones would be mad not to start him. Which is why I expect Aragones not to start him (Villa’s fitness notwithstanding). In the final he’ll face Jens Lehmann, still officially an Arsenal player until July 1st. He said:
It’s a great end to a tough year and it would mean a lot to win it because in the end my difficult season was down to my club manager. We have had some discussion about that and I always told him what I was thinking about his decision. But I’m quite proud to represent Arsenal in Sunday’s final.
It should be a cracking game. Germany can beat anyone on their day and Spain look like they’ve overcome that psychological hurdle that held them back for so many years.
But back to Cesc. What a player. Seriously. It’s hard to believe he’s just 21 and has his best years ahead of him. Further thoughts on the young man and why I think he should be captain of Arsenal can be found in today’s Arsecast.
In other news we’re linked with a move to Sporting Lisbon’s Miguel Veloso. That’s according to his agent anyway so we’ll take that news with a hefty pinch of salt. He’s a kind of Flamini type player though which is a gap that needs to be filled this summer, either via the transfer marker or with an existing player.
Tomas Rosicky is off his crutches and now spends his day wrapped in a titanium frame which means nobody can bump off him and injure him again. He’s coming back to London to continue his rehabilitation.
Spanish press round-of the day: Txiki Begiristain says that Adebayor is not the only striker that Barcelona are looking at while Sport mentions a possible €45m double bid for Hleb and Adebayor but Barcelona won’t pay any more than €30m for Adebayor on his own. All more of the same crap though.
Right, that’s about that. Time for the Arsecast.
In today’s show I chat to the ‘holic about Adebayor, Cesc and other stuff. The Man in the Bar is still on his holidays but we’ve got Eboue, Adebayor, a tale of the Unexpected and more.
To subscribe to the Arsecast in iTunes simply click here, to download this week’s arsecast directly – click here (16mb MP3). You can find the arsecast archives here. And you can listen directly below without leaving this very page.
And that’s about that, more tomorrow.
