With a new manager arriving on Monday, and the Transfer Window just weeks away, every Wigan player knows he could be playing for his future today. That will make them a tougher proposition than they’ve proved over the past few games.
The back four and goalkeeper however, will remain solid and unchanged. In midfield, Rosicky and Eboue are likely to flank an inexperienced but talented pairing of Denilson and Diarra. Upfront, “our secret weapon”, Eduardo da Silva could partner Emmanuel Adebayor, though Theo Walcott’s impressive form for the England U21s could thrust him into contention.
Our next four games after today are all away from home, so it’s essential we pick up three points today going into that slightly tricky spell. I have no doubts that we will.
With Fabregas, Flamini, Gilberto and Diaby all missing from our central midfield this weekend, Carling Cup regulars Denilson and Diaby are set to be handed rare Premier League starts -indeed for Diarra it will mean a full Premier League debut. Robin van Persie is still out, whilst Aleksandr Hleb is an unfortunate addition to a lengthening list of absentees. I really hate internationals.
One thing working in our favour on Saturday is that Steve Bruce will not yet be in charge of Wigan, so they hopefully won’t have the buzz about them that a new manager can bring, and will instead be serving up the kind of insipid performance that summed up Chris Hutchings’ brief reign.
That really is it for today. Or tonight, depending on which way you look at it. Tata.
Although early reports indicate the substitution was because of an injury, I’m yet to receive confirmation of the nature of Hleb’s knock. Considering the short recovery time before the match with Wigan on Saturday, it seems likely he could be forced to sit out at the weekend.
It would be a significant blow – Hleb’s form this season has been a big part of our charge to the top of the table.
The bad news about Hleb could be offset by the fact that Robin van Persie is very close to full fitness and could be in line for a place on the bench on Saturday. After a few weeks being forced to play a more cautious 4-5-1 formation, the return of Van Persie alongside Emmanuel Adebayor would sharpen our attacking game considerably.
I don’t know about you, but as I type this I can safely say that I don’t think I’ve ever been more pleased not to have any Arsenal players in the England team.
Tomorrow I’ll hopefully be bringing you video footage of Nicklas Bendtner’s latest goal for Denmark. Till then.
For the majority of his Arsenal career, Theo Walcott has resembled a boy playing a man’s game. Granted, he is but a teenager, but he’s one who could eventually cost £12m and has been built up as this country’s best footballing prospect. Expectation levels are spectacularly high, and the pressure has weighed heavy on Walcott’s (sometime dislocated) shoulders.
On Friday night, playing for the England U21s, we saw a glimpse of the emerging confidence in the maturing Walcott. After a surging run drew a penalty, he was furious that James Milner was allowed to take the kick, and made sure manager Stuart Pearce knew all about it:
Now whilst those pundits seem slightly put out by Walcott’s behaviour, as Arsenal fans we should be encouraged. Not that I expect Walcott to ever take that kind of tone with Arsene, but because it shows he’s finally beginning to find his feet atop the heady podium of expectation. He now has the confidence to be “The Man”, and his two clinical finishes in the 7-0 thrashing of Prague will only have helped him blossom.
Well, so says The Guardian’s David Lacey as the remarkably boring “foreigner debate” hots up. I have to say, I’m a huge fan of Adebayor, but I think Lacey might be going a little overboard here. For all Adebayor’s good work this season, he lacks the pure technique and instinct of a talent like Rooney.
I’ve gone with a fairly sensationalist headline today, but nothing compared to this from the Daily Mail:
