april 9th
So will it be a Good Friday for Arsenal, or will our week go from bad to worse as we get crucified by the Scousers and their wicked leader Pontius Houllier?
Arsene Wenger has called on his weary troops to raise their game and prove that they are the best team in the land. Despite two defeats on the trot by our two biggest rivals, winning the league will prove the Gunners are the best. The boss says “It’s very important for us to get back to normal business. We want to come out strong mentally and we shouldn’t feel too sorry for ourselves. You don’t achieve 30 games unbeaten in the modern game without a special character.”
And we’re going to need all of that character today against a Liverpool side who seem to have found a bit of form. Patrick Vieira has echoed the words of the manager, saying “It hurts that we have lost the two games but now it is all about how we react as a team. We have to recover from this blow. We have to be strong and go for it.”
In team news Thierry Henry could play after it turns out he doesn’t have a hamstring problem after all. Instead he’s suffering from a back strain and he’s currently undergoing extensive treatment and will have a fitness test before the game. There’s also some interesting reading about Thierry on ANR and Arsenal Mania, both of whom suggest a conflict between Henry and Reyes, certainly from the Frenchman’s side anyway. Not sure I buy that myself, but it’s interesting reading nonethless. If he doesn’t make it we could see Bergkamp and Reyes up front. Also in contention again are Gilberto and Wiltord, two players who have had a difficult time from sections of the Highbury crowd over the last little while. Now that the injuries are piling up and the legs are tired we need the full depth of our squad, and these guys are important to us. Give them the same support you’d give any other player, it might be more effective than calling them names, eh?
We’ll say a good morning to some first time visitors I think. To those of you who have found Arseblog for the first time because of our brand-new listing business on NewsNow, welcome along. Now, I’m off for some brekkie and then it’s to the wireless for the radio coverage of the game.
More later.
