Good morning from a freezing cold Dublin. No league action this weekend, it’s FA Cup all the way and it looks as if we’re set to rotate a bit, which is no bad thing.
We’ve got our ‘game in hand’ against Bolton in midweek then a tricky game against Everton at the weekend. We have to prioritise and that means resting some players. The problem is, of course, is that many of the players who might have played are already injured so he’s going to have to play more fringe players than he might like. If we don’t get a result I can already see the headlines and stories about Arsenal disrespecting the FA Cup because of our team selection but under Arsene we’ve got a fantastic record in the competition.
I love the FA Cup myself, I always want us to do well in it. Some of my earliest Arsenal memories are FA Cup related. That clump of finals in 78, 79 and 1980, and I vividly remember listening to us playing Liverpool in a series of replays – in the run to Wembley in 1980, I think. So for me it always has a special place in the football calendar, however, I think we’ve got to be sensible. We can’t keep playing Gallas and Vermaelen in every game, hence the reason we might see Philippe Senderos if he passes a fitness test.
With no Eboue to fill in we might see Kerrea Gilbert at right back to give Sagna a rest. There’s no Denilson or Cesc so Ramsey should continue in midfield, Alex Song plays his last game before going to the ACN and maybe we might see Merida in order to give Diaby time to read the small print of his new contract. Up front I’d inclined to stick with Eduardo, let him have another chance to find his groove, Carlos Vela can come in and with Rosicky back he might get a run. Also in the frame Sanchez Watt, possibly Jack Wilshere and a couple of others from the Carling Cup squad.
By no means the strongest possible team we could put out but as I said think expediency is the order of the day. West Ham have their own struggles, financially and they’re slap bang in the middle of a relegation fight this season, but cup football is a curious beast at times and it’ll be an interesting match, I’m sure.
Away from the FA Cup game and Abou Diaby says consistency is the key to success this season. He says:
We have a good opportunity to win the title this year so we have to really work hard for that. For the last six months we have to be really consistent and win games. The team is ready, the spirit is there and the quality as well, so we have everything to win the League and even the Champions League as well.
I may have this wrong, having not looked at stats in any great detail, but we do tend to be a more consistent outfit in the second half of the season. Last season we lost 5 games before the end of the November. It was May, against Chelsea at home, before we lost again. That kind of a run would keep us well and truly in the mix. Obviously a lot depends on who’s fit and available to play. The manager has ruled out anybody leaving in January, bar possibly Jack Wilshere on loan, and that makes perfect sense to me. We simply can’t afford to let anyone go.
I guess it depends as well on how Arsene views certain players. Does he view Senderos as someone who can do a job when called upon? Would he be happy to play him in big games if Gallas or Vermaelen got a knock? If yes, then fine. If he has doubts then maybe he’s got to do something about that situation during the transfer window.
He spoke again about transfers and the signing of a striker. I think if Bendtner had been fit now he’d be happy enough to play him and not go into the market but the Dane won’t be back for another few weeks and will have spent the best part of 3 months out. It’d be a lot to expect him to hit the ground running on his comeback. Who he brings in is anybody’s guess. Maroune Chamakh has become the Sebastian Frey of strikers. Surely the fact that he won’t leave Bordeaux in January is not newsworthy now, we know this. We don’t need to be told every single day.
His is about the only name anyone has at the moment though. There’s talk about Dzeko from Wolfsburg but it’s all pretty vague. I’m sure the only people who know who we might be after are Arsene, his scouts and Ivan Gazidis. Arsene said in his interview that we are ‘active’ so obviously there’s work being done behind the scenes. How quickly that comes to fruition is anybody’s guess.
In other news Henri Lansbury has signed a new deal with the club and Arsene says he could become a ‘big player’ for us in the years ahead. He’s out on loan with Watford this season and doing ok.
I’m sure you’ll have read over the last few days about young Brazilian striker Wellington signing for us. Of course regular Arseblog readers won’t have been surprised at all. I told you this way back in January, I think, so despite what other blogs might have said “I WAS RIGHT! I WAS RIGHT!”. Not that I’m gloating or being an ‘I told you so’ merchant but I told you so … *gloats*.
That’s it then. I’m going to try and get the icicles off the end of my nose. More tomorrow.
