Good morning from a dismally wet and cold Dublin.
There was no squad announced yesterday for tonight’s Carling Cup game but the manager says we’ll see 90% of the team who played against Sheffield United in the last round. If you need reminding of who played that day then click here.
Again it’s another good opportunity for young players to show their stuff and I suppose all eyes will be on those closest to the first team. Carlos Vela will be looking to add to his hat-trick in the last round, Aaron Ramsey has another chance to show what he’s made of while Johann Djourou, who must be frustrated to find himself behind Alex Song in the central defensive pecking order, will want to get a good 90 minutes under his belt.
I wonder if the manager will play Bendtner though. Any injury to the Dane would leave only Vela as a striking option for Saturday’s game against Villa and you suspect we’ll need a bit more physical presence against Martin O’Neill’s side. So perhaps there’s an outside chance of someone like Jay Simpson being involved.
Update: Squad announced, Amaury Bischoff PI is in, as suspected there’s no Bendtner.
The boss has been speaking about Fran Merida. Obviously there are comparisons with Cesc, due to their common backgrounds, but the boss says:
Merida is different to Cesc but he is very dangerous in the final third. If you analyse a game and look who gives the ball every time in the final third, you will see Fran. That is the most difficult part of the game and that is where he is strong.
And young English players like Jack Wilshere, Gavin Hoyte and Kieran Gibbs will all be looking to make their mark too. As I said yesterday it’s going to be a tough game. Wigan are a decent side, and have plenty of attacking potential. Amir Zaki is the unsung hero of the Premier League so far with 8 goals, while Valencia, Kapo, de Ridder and Palacios (a man who was on trial with Arsenal) all add quality. Of course they also have Titus Bramble at the back so that’s something we should be looking to exploit. I’m expecting a decent game of football and without any of the nerves or pressure of the weekend it should be fun to watch too.
Away from the Carling Cup the boss has been talking about playing 5 in midfield and says he doesn’t know what he might do when all the strikers are fit again. In a way it does make sense for a team that is somewhat suspect defensively to add an extra body in midfield and we saw on Saturday that it was no hindrance to playing good, attacking football. The danger is that the wrong players are used in that formation and we become a bit stagnant. Didn’t we play 5 in midfield for Sunderland with van Persie on the left? That was one of most ineffective performances of the season? I think we might see this formation more in games against higher quality opposition but the personnel has to be right. You need the movement and energy of Nasri and Walcott to make it work.
He’s also been speaking about the January transfer window but if nobody minds I’m going to leave any discussion of that until much closer to the time. Like January 1st. We should put an embargo on it. There’s going to be a ton of speculation and spurious transfer rumours, the transfer addicts will be out in force too. Honestly, it’ll be like a mini-summer. The site will go mad with people looking for news on possible player purchases. They’re like stoners frantically searching down the back of the sofa for something to make a joint with. There’s a lot of football between now and then and I suspect we’re better off leaving it for as long as possible.
Of course results and performances will be the main dictator of transfer discourse. Should things not go well then we may well have to address the issue before we’d like but let’s play it by ear until then.
David Dein, ex of Arsenal and the former orange part of Fat & Orange (who are now simply known as Fat & Ugly), has defended Arsene Wenger, calling him a miracle worker. Citing the time Arsene came over for a late dinner and turned regular tap water into a jeroboam of 1982 Château Mouton Rothschild he says the team should be judged in May, not November.
Ok, not much else going on. To those going tonight enjoy the game. Here’s to a good game of football and a good win for the Gunners. Till tomorrow.
