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Standard Liege pay us a visit tonight and with the current standings in the group they could still qualify if they lose but to be honest a win is a must for them as it would leave matters in
their own hands going into their last match at home to AZ in 2 weeks time. In the other game in our group AZ are at home to Olympiacos and if AZ win we are through regardless. Having said all
that I fully expect us to go out tonight and give them a footballing lesson from start to finish. After the initial shock of going 2-0 down to them in the first 5 minutes of our away match we
managed to come back and win 3-2 and I’m sure the manager will not allow the players to start with the same lack of concentration tonight.
I expect Almunia to keep his place despite the fact that he was unconvincing at Sunderland on Saturday and I expect Eboue to play at right back as he seems to be a permanent fixture in the
Champions league this season. Gibbs is back in the squad but I’m not sure if he will start despite the fact that traore was not exactly the greatest defensively on Saturday. I wouldn’t be
surprised to see Gibbs stay on the bench to make sure that he’s ready for Chelsea on Sunday. I hope that both Gallas and Vermaelen continue together in defence although a lot of people seem to
think that the boss will play Silvestre or Senderos or even both of them. In midfield I hope Cesc and Song start together and that Rosicky gets a run out alongside Cesc although Ramsey would
probably benefit from starting again. The front 3 should be led by Eduardo with Theo and Arshavin or possibly Vela playing in the wide positions. I’m not sure if Nasri is suited to playing as a
wide player when Eduardo is our central striker though.
We need to impose our game on them from the start and use our wide players to get in behind them so that we can get good balls into dangerous positions for Eduardo to finish off. I’m sure Liege
will try to close us down and pressurise us at every opportunity but we just have to keep possession and use every inch of the pitch to stretch them and the goals will come. I’m predicting a
3-1 win for Arsenal with Eduardo and Theo on the scoresheet and maybe Cesc or Arshavin getting in on the act too. Even if we go behind there is no need to panic as we showed in the away game
that their defence is beaten easily enough when put under pressure.
The boss spoke about our defeat to Sunderland yesterday and he said that it was caused because we didn’t create enough in the final third of the pitch. He said Sunderland defended very well and
made no defensive mistakes although when they did make 1 we didn’t take advantage of it. He was also sure that we should have had a penalty when Campbell took Vela down in injury time but even
though the referee was in a very good position he turned down the penalty claim. The players were disappointed with the result as they didn’t expect to lose but with the team we have we
shouldn’t expect to lose to anybody in my opinion. The manager also said, when asked, that Vela was the reason why he didn’t replace he who shall remain nameless when he was sold in the summer.
That shows how much he values Vela and with a new contract being discussed at the moment hopefully Vela can see that he has a future at the club and stay with us. The manager is also confident
that Gallas and Rosicky will extend their current deals and I hope he’s right.
Cesc has said that he is happier than ever at Arsenal and all the talk about Barcelona doesn’t bother him as it has been going on for years. He said that he doesn’t think about it, he doesn’t
want to think about it and he doesn’t think he should as he is at a graet club and in a great team. When asked if he would like to stay for the rest of his career he said “why not” , he’s never
thought about it and he’s only 22 but he’s already in his 7th year at the club and he’s “really happy, better than ever”. He also said that he thinks we can achieve the success that Barcelona
have and we have been close in the past and we are more than capable of doing it this season. Say what you will about Cesc but he can’t make it much plainer and it’s disgraceful that a player
under contract to us is linked by Barcelona to them so often.
Cesc also said that we have to bounce back against Liege tonight and that the Chelsea game on Sunday is a vital game that we have to win. He also said that it’s great to have Theo back and he
looks really sharp in training and once he gets games and minutes under his belt he’ll play a big part in our season as he’s a very important player for us. When the boss was asked about this
season being a big season for Theo as the World cup squad will be chosen at the end of it he stopped the reporter short and told him it was a big season with Arsenal not for the World Cup. He
said the club do not pay players to go to the World cup but to play for their clubs and do well. Any of our players who play well enough will go to the World Cup as long as their country is
going as well of course. The players are all good enough and it’s just a matter of doing it on the pitch to show that they deserve a spot in their country’s squads in my opinion.
With the African Cup of Nations coming up in January there’s an article which details
which players will be missing from which club and with Song and Eboue missing for us we aren’t as badly affected as a few other clubs. The question mark for me has always been who replaces Song
and with Denilson back to fitness he seems to be the favourite. I have never thought that he is a defensive midfielder in the way that Song has developed and I would worry about our prospects
for as long as Song is playing with Cameroon. The competition itself starts on January 10th so I would imagine that we will be missing the 2 of them from the 1st of January onwards. I’ve said
all along that I think we should buy or borrow a replacement in January but as it approaches I doubt that the boss feels the same way.
In other news Stan Kroenke has bought 10 more shares in the club as he edges closer to a potential take over. He’s doing it bit by bit and I’m sure he knows exactly when he intends buying the
shares that will tip him over the 30% mark and trigger that bid for all the other shares. Kolo Toure has said that he had to leave the club because of a whispering campaign against him by
another player at the club. He claims that the un named player told the boss they couldn’t play together and he didn’t get much game time as a result. I know he had his problems with Gallas but
he was dropped prior to Christmas last season as his form was very bad and he regained his form after putting in a transfer request and he played for the rest of the season. I’m sure he had his
head turned by City last January and he waited until the summer before the club would sell him as they had bought The Verminator to replace him. He said he had wanted to finish his career at
Arsenal but I also think that he realised his days were numbered in the first team and his opportunities would be limited so he took the big money on offer from City. It’s a pity that we had to
hear his thoughts on the matter but I suppose he felt he had to get them out there and he was a legend in his day at the club. That’s it for today except to wish my wife a happy 20th wedding
anniversary and for obvious reasons I won’t be watching the match tonight.
Here’s a little bit of what the talented Vela can do.
And to finish here’s today’s title track from The Cure. All I want is a league championship and A champions league and it would seem that Cesc feels the same way too.
See You Tomorrow.
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