december 11th
Lots of build up to tomorrow’s game, as you might expect.
Wenger says this, Mourninho says that. Wenger says Chelsea have more money, Mourinho asks if Henry was free, sycophantic hacks laugh but fans of good comedy remain stone faced. Henry says we’re ready, José Antonio Reyes backs AW in the battle of the coaches which seems to have overshadowed the fact that it’ll be the battle between the 11 on the pitch.
And it will be a battle, especially in midfield where Chelsea have much more experience than the two youngsters we’ll have in there. No doubt they’ll play 3 in the centre of midfield to try and squeeze the play. We need big performances from our big players. It’s not necessarily a game we have to win but it’s definitely a game we can’t really afford to lose. 5 points is nothing in December, 8 points is a healthy gap at any stage of the season, even though we know how quickly larger gaps can be overturned from both sides of the coin.
The Mirror is reporting that Jens will be back in goal.
The Sun says Lauren has signed for Real Madrid. They quote Real president Floretino Perez saying “Lauren will play for Real Madrid next season because his contract will expire. We have him signed.”
This story also appears in AS, the Spanish sports daily who say that Barcelona are also interested in our right back. What’s more both Barcelona and Real Madrid are interested in signing Edu if, as seems more and more likely, he fails to sign an extension to his contract leaving him free to listen to offers from January onwards. Adding some substance to the Lauren story is the fact we’re bringing in Manu Eboué from Beveren after failing to sign Trabelsi in the summer. Add to that the stories that Mrs Lauren really fancies moving back to Spain and there’s more to this one than the normal speculation.
As for Edu I still believe we’re a stronger squad with him in it. I watched him last night on some programme on Bravo and was struck again by what a nice guy he is. He said he’d be fully commited to Arsenal whenever he played and was looking forward to getting back from injury. There aren’t too many players – especially a Brazilian – who wouldn’t have a think about it when Barcelona or Madrid came calling (right, Paddy?). Anyway, whatever he decides I’m sure the boss has a plan to cope, whether he leaves in January for a nominal fee or if he goes in the summer.
Right, that’s it. Off to the market. Till tomorrow.
