One game at a time is the mantra from now on. The next game takes place at the KC Stadium this evening as we look to continue a run of four straight wins in the league. Only the away defeat to Porto sandwiched in there since the loss at Chelsea.
I don’t want to hark back to it too much but it just feels a bit different since the Ramsey injury. The improvement of some players, Nasri and Bendtner, for example, who had been performing below expectations. The fantastic reception the fans gave Bendtner after his horror show last weekend, the way he repaid that in midweek, there’s a sense of togetherness I don’t think we’ve felt for some time. And perhaps that’s because players and fans alike can all see the prize. The Premier League title is most certainly up for grabs now and the players know it.
He’ll miss tonight’s game but Cesc says:
We have never talked (about the title), we just kept going and going – but now even more it is the time to be doing our talking on the pitch because we have a great opportunity.
Sensible words but I’d be very surprised if it hadn’t been commented on and spoken about on the training ground. What more motivation do you need? ‘We can win this league’. Of course the focus should be on the next game but like us I’m sure the players are going over the permutations. Who will drop points where? What if they do this and we do that? As we keep saying though, what we have to do is not complicated, but it’s hardly easy either. Just win the next game.
At the moment Hull find themselves in the relegation zone and will be scrapping for their lives. Let’s face it, they’re so wound up at the moment they’ve taken to engaging in fisticuffs with each other. They got a right pasting from Everton last weekend and they’ll be out to restore some pride this evening, especially at home. It’s not going to be simple by any means but you have to think we have the quality overall to do it.
We have no further definitive team news. There were doubts about Rosicky and Sol Campbell and of course we’ll be without Alex Song. I’m not going to guess at the team but I suspect Denilson will come in for Song, Sylvester could well play at the back and Theo Walcott could be thrust into the forward three if Rosicky doesn’t make it. Leading the attack will be Nicklas Bendtner who will want to build on his midweek hat-trick. Consistency and being 22 years of age don’t always go hand in hand but strikers often go on streaks of scoring and I hope he continues his.
Interesting comments from Arsene Wenger about him:
He can sometimes be completely wrong when he walks in and says, ‘I am the best’ – but if you tell him ‘You are not the best because you haven’t done that, that and that’ he listens to you and tries to take advice on board. So his is not a blind confidence in himself – that is why I like him and always believed in him.
I have to give him more leeway, but I have also learned you can’t have a robot playing up front.
He’s definitely an interesting character and as Amy Lawrence pointed out in yesterday’s Arsecast this is a crucial time in his development. He’s got a big chance to make an impact at Arsenal now, it’s all there in front of him if he wants it. Let’s hope he rises to the challenge.
It’s a tea-time kick off, so far this season those games have been successful. We’ve won away at Everton, Fulham, Wolves and most recently Stoke. Fingers crossed we can keep up the run and get three more points before we turn our focus to the next game.
The Guardian has a nice piece about Samir Nasri and his dribbling skills. David Lacey calls him a throwback to the days of Stanley Matthews. Days way before my time, I might add. Arsene Wenger talks about him here and praises the attitude of Emmanuel Eboue after the way he’s performed this season, which is admirable, I have to say.
And that’s about that in terms of the news. Final thing for today is to announce the winners of the Arsenal TV Online competition to attend Monday night’s recording of the Q&A with the legend that is Ray Parlour. The answer to the question was c) The Romford Pele and the RNG did its thing and chose Ian Metcalf and Lesley Watters as the lucky winners. I’ll be in touch with both of you this morning to give you more details.
And remember a subscription to ATVO costs only £3.99 a month or £45 for the year. Well worth it, in my opinion.
Right, that will have to be that. Time to keep busy till 5.30. COME ON YOU REDS!
