Good morning. At this stage the team are in Rome. Or on their way to Rome. Or hanging around Luton airport trying to find out what EasyJet did to their bags.
Either way they’ll be there in time for the game tomorrow. We’re still awaiting the full squad announcement, the only real doubt is over Kolo Toure who is expected to recover from a calf strain. Eduardo and Theo Walcott should both be in the squad, adding quality and depth to the bench.
And the latter is looking forward to a good physical game. His shoulder is obviously going to be a worry until he finds himself on the end of a robust challenge, but Theo’s not worried, saying:
It feels fine now. I still haven’t experienced getting clattered yet so that’s the next test. Our new doctor, Gary O’Driscoll, comes from a rugby background. He has regularly dealt with dislocated shoulders and says players tend to come back without suffering any reaction.
Gary O’Driscoll is the cousin of Ireland rugby captain Brian O’Driscoll, a man who has had more injuries than Rosicky, van Persie and Darren Anderton put together, so hopefully he’ll have had plenty of practice and can see Theo right.
It’ll take a little time for him to find his match sharpness but in the final stages of tomorrow’s game it’d be great to throw him on. His pace would trouble defenders under normal circumstances, trying to keep up with him with tired legs will be even more difficult.
From a Roma point of view they’ll have Totti fit but will be without Daniele di Rossi (suspension), Cicinho (injury), Perrotta (injury) and Panucci (being a crotchety old twat and falling out with the coach).
More on the squad and the game itself tomorrow. The club have been advising fans on how to avoid trouble in Rome. We’ve seen some nasty scenes in recent years when Manchester United have played there so fingers crossed there’s nothing like that and everyone stays safe and sound.
Meanwhile, Emmanuel Adebayor, who misses the game with a hamstring strain, reveals there was indeed interest in him in the summer, but says he chose to stay at Arsenal:
Arsenal are a club that I want to repay with important victories for having allowed me to become one of the great players in world football.
I find myself well here, even if, as I say in life, you can never know what will happen in the future.
Erm, ‘one of the great players in world football’? I’m really not sure about that. It will be interesting to see what happens when he comes back from injury and gets a chance in the team. Carlos Vela is showing he’s got the stuff, Eduardo is back and scoring as if he’d never been away, Nicklas Bendtner, for all his troubles, now only has one goal less this season than Adebayor, and Robin van Persie has established himself as the main man this season.
I wonder in the face of this competition will we see the old Adebayor back. The one who ran, chased, harried, worked hard and did 90 minutes of graft. If we do then it’ll be good for the team. However, I’m sure I won’t be alone in wondering where that Adebayor was earlier in the season when his place was assured.
It’s something I’ve always maintained – that competition for places is absolutely crucial. If a guy knows a bad performance means he’s going to be dropped and a ready and willing replacement is standing by then he’s going to put in the effort. Some players aren’t motivated enough, aren’t professional enough, to put in that kind of work when there’s no pressure.
I’m not saying it’s deliberate, I think it’s just a fact of life. You have some players who want to win every game, who can maintain a high standard week in-week out. Then there are those that need to know they’ve got someone else itching to take their place to do it consistently. It’s human nature and I think Adebayor falls into the latter category.
He needs to work on becoming one of the great players in this Arsenal squad first. The world can wait.
Right so, not much else to tell you this morning. More build-up and such tomorrow.
