Aston Villa preview; Adebayor is a mentalist & Almunia is a polar bear
40 comments December 1st, 2007
So, Aston Villa today. They’re in a rich vein of form, and we’re without Cesc Fabregas for certain, with Hleb and Clichy both equally doubtful. The absence of Cesc and Hleb, along with long-term absentee Robin van Persie, could leave us with the creative difficulties we suffered in Sevilla. Arsene is keen to avoid another defeat, and seems fully aware of the scale of the task at hand:
“Aston Villa is a place where certainly we will need to play our football, but also be strong enough to counter what they are good at. They are a very strong, direct side with a lot of pace and body strength. The first test [this week] is very interesting.”
At the start of a week that also sees us travelling to Newcastle and Middlesbrough, three points would be a timely boost.
Manuel Almunia has revealed that he and Jens Lehmann don’t talk anymore. It’s probably for the best. Perhaps Almunia’s newfound mean streak is something to do with his resemblance for The Golden Compass’ armoured polar bear:
Finally: The Madness of King Adebayor. After claiming that the only thing that could tempt him away from Arsenal was a £100m bid from Real Madrid, he now says he’ll be retiring from football if Arsenal fail to win the league this season.
As motivational techniques go, it’s pretty intense. Still, if it helps him put in a good performance today, you can’t complain…
