Morning to you.
Lots to get through starting with the team news for tomorrow. The only thing we were waiting on was the fitness about Eboue and he has miraculously recovered from his West Ham knock and will be available. Given the paucity of options in midfield for tomorrow I expect he’ll start on the right hand side.
Of much more interest was the potential involvement of Andrei Arshavin. He was only due back in London last night after sorting out his affairs in Russia so it remains to be seen whether or not he’ll take part. Arsene Wenger said:
I will see what kind of shape he is in tomorrow to see if he will be involved in the squad or not.
I know it’s a risk and the manager says he has reservations but I think he’ll have him on the bench. When you go past the four midfielders we have, which hardly represent the cream of our crop, then you’re looking at the teenagers – Ramsey, Wilshere and Vela (who is a striker, let’s not forget) – to make the difference should it be required.
He may not have had a full pre-season or played a match since November but Arshavin is a professional athlete and should be capable of a 20-30 minute cameo if it’s required.
The importance of the game is hardly worth mentioning. For us we need to win games to keep up in the race for the top 4, for them it’s a case of dragging themselves out of the mire. They do have an annoying habit of scoring first in many of the recent games so hopefully our defence can stand firm and Wenger has identified Adebayor as the man to make the difference at the other end.
The Mirror has a run down of his eight goals in eight North London derbies and that kind of a player, even if he is in poor form, always troubles the opposition. We have a couple of those ourselves, who always seem to score against us, so perhaps Sp*rs keeping a closer eye on Adebayor might free up some space for others, not least Robin van Persie.
There’s a good interview with him in the Daily Mail this morning and he now sounds like a much more mature person and we’re seeing the benefit of that this season. Well, that and the fact he’s not injured non-stop. I don’t think were ever any real doubts over his talent, he has produced truly world class goals since he joined the club, but has never been able to stretch his influence over a whole season. In the interview he talks about the club’s position at the moment, saying:
I appreciate we have to first catch Villa. But it’s not my ambition to finish ahead of Villa. That’s not how I started the season. For the moment this is not good enough. It’s not our aim to be fifth. But we are working hard to change that.
And the focus is on the team, not himself:
This is not an individual sport and my first thought is what I want to achieve with my team. And only if you achieve something with your team can you then sit back and reflect on the contribution you made to that team.
It’s a good read, some of the comments about Henry and ‘that look’ are funny and very interesting, and although Adebayor has the scoring record against Sp*rs, if I had to put money on any Arsenal player making the difference tomorrow it would be Robin. Some final thoughts on the game in tomorrow’s blog.
Now, onto other news and some good news regarding Cesc. According to his doctor he may be fit enough to play against Roma in the Champions League at the end of the month. According to him:
The Arsenal doctors said it normally takes three-and-a-half months to recover because of the way it happened. But I believe he will return quicker than then.
The one that will know best is the player. I saw him last week. He passed the tests, there had been a clear improvement and … what is even better is that he could recover more quickly than is considered normal, which is very good.
Now that is way ahead of schedule so while on the one hand I want it to be true on the other I’d be more than a touch cautious. Cesc’s enthusiasm and desire to play might mean he considers himself ready when he might not be quite fit. We’ve seen it before. Robin van Persie admitted to coming back quicker than he should have, so frustrated was he with being out injured and not playing. It’s normal, I think, at every level for a footballer to want to play badly enough that you ignore what your body is telling you.
If he is back at the end of this month then it’s brilliant news, the team needs him, no question, but let’s make sure he is 100% fit. No relapses, no little niggles, just 100% Cesc. Oooh, that makes my spine tingle a bit. In a very manly way though.
Leopold is back on the real ANR with Pipe aboard the new cadet to the good ship Arsenal.
Right then, that’s your lot. Have a good Saturday, more tomorrow.
