August 17th, 2007
To be fair, glass can be quite sturdy. Tomas Rosicky and Emmanuel Eboue are made of something closer to the consistency of a Sesame Snap bar. They are the Ryvita of the footballing world: quite tasty, but remarkably easy to snap.
If there were any doubt about whether or not Arsene should bring in a new winger, then surely these two injuries are a reminder that it is absolutely essential. To add to our fitness problems, he’s now back-tracking about his willingness to start Eduardo:
“Eduardo might be back. I’m not sure if he will start because he has not done a lot yet. He had a little session today, but that was the first time with the team. He will have a test tomorrow morning and then I will decide. At the moment I am tempted to say no but he will be in the squad.”
Only two games in, and our squad is looking terrifyingly light. If things continue in this vein, before we know it Alex Song could be starting on Sunday.
August 17th, 2007
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Early team news has arrived for the fixture at Ewood Park, and it seems that of the players who missed the victory in Prague, only Denilson and Eduardo are fit to return. For the latter, Blackburn could mark his full debut in Arsenal colours, and Arsene would have little hesitation in starting him:
“Why not? We have played two hard and physical games this season already so we need fresh legs.”
Having seen Eduardo play a couple of times in pre-season, it’s clear what he would add to the side. In spite of some impressive moments in displays against Fulham and Sparta, Robin van Persie has looked incredibly isolated. Although Alkesandr Hleb has performed well and even (shock/horror) scored a couple of goals, he’s been more of a fifth midfielder than a second striker.
Eduardo would change the entire shape of the side, providing a foil for Robin van Persie. He has greater mobility than the Dutchman, and is arguably a superior finisher to almost any of our squad members – his goalscoring record would certainly suggest so. If he is able to blossom into the lethal Premiership goalscorer he has the potential to be, then he could prevent the need for late winners like Aleksandr Hleb’s strike against Fulham. Da Silva could be the man to finish the many chances Arsenal create – to reach Cesc Fabregas’ through-balls, to get on the end of crosses from Eboue and Sagna, and to fire in the rebounds from Tomas Rosicky’s millionth saved shot. At least, it’d be nice to think so.
Speaking of Eboue, he is a doubt for the Blackburn game. If he misses out, I’d expect Hleb to return to the right side of midfield (shudders).
More detailed team news tomorrow, I expect. ‘Till then.
