Archive for February, 2008
February 20th, 2008
According to Cesc, in tonight’s game “the key will be in midfield”. With that in mind, I’ve had a go at comparing the men in the middle for Arsenal and Milan, and just how their performances could impact upon tonight’s moutwatering tie…
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Kaka vs. Hleb
The comparison between these two is perhaps surprising. But both are two-footed playmakers who perform best playing just off a traditional centre-forward. Both are have excellent dribbling and passing skills, combined with a surprising degree of physical prowess.
But there is a gulf between the two. Kaka is lauded as one of the world’s great players, whilst the elder Hleb is more of a connoisseur’s favourite. It is the very same qualities that make Hleb such a purist’s choice that have prevented him from reaching the greatest heights: he is so obsessed with achieving the most beautiful goal, the most preposterous pass, or the most improbable dribble that he can prove frustrating. Kaka, meanwhile, marries Brazilian flair with European efficiency. Oh, and unlike our Belarussian friend, the thought of having a shot on goal doesn’t make him come over all queasy.
If we’re to succeed tonight, we’ll need Hleb to be at his imperious best, and Kaka to be at his marginally less breathtaking worst.
Fabregas vs. Pirlo
Many pundits will lazily compare Fabregas with Kaka, rather than the Italian. It’s easy to see why – they’re both young, handsome, and the stars of their respective sides. But Cesc’s playing style is actually far closer to that master exponent of deep-lying playmaking: Andrea Pirlo.
Whilst Kaka takes the headlines, Pirlo pulls the string from his holding position. Not only does he dictate the tempo of the Milanese orchestra, but he is also a set piece specialist, able to find the top corner from almost anywhere in the opponent’s half.
Whether it is he or Cesc who is able to control the flow of this match could be dependent on the victor of the final battle in this tantalising trio…
Gattuso vs. Flamini
You know in those old Batman TV shows, when there was a fight you’d get those sound effects like “Kapow!!!”, “Boff!!!”, and “Whamm!!!”? Well, I imagine that similar sounds will be reverberating around the centre-circle tonight, as two of the games more fiery characters finally come head-to-head.
Everything about this screams ‘Coming of Age’ for Mathieu Flamini. His tough tackling and high-energy style saw him nicknamed “Gattuso” by his team-mates this Summer – now he has a chance to outshine the original and more senior of the pair. With the nature of Flamini’s equally combative and competent performances this season, I wouldn’t be surprised if he did just that.
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Of course, Milan have a host of other threatening players – Seedorf and Alexandre Pato arguably the pick amongst them. There will be equally enthralling clashes all over the pitch: how will Milan’s ageing backline cope with a rampant Emmanuel Adebayor? And which of the two veteran goalkeepers likely to be on display will prove the biggest liability? Only joking, Jens…
Victory tonight would be a huge boost and a tremendous honour. Furthermore, it would give us a great chance of progression in what is a massive competition. But somehow I can’t help but shake the feeling that the story of 2007/08 is destined to be our Premier League campaign. The Champions League certainly takes priority over the domestic cups, but my instinct tells me that both the players and Arsene are so focused on our league challenge that European success would remain the most glamorous of bonuses.
Which is why I feel fairly relaxed this morning. We are yet again the underdog, especially after taking such a hiding at the weekend. If we lose, we can turn our full attentions to the fascinating title race. But if we win, not only can we continue to challenge on two major fronts, but the lift we might get from such a significant victory could fuel our domestic challenge to boot.
We are more than capable. Our young bucks outran Juventus around two years ago. Now it’s Milan’s turn to get rumbled.
Come on Arsenal.
February 19th, 2008
Somehow, William Gallas has escaped a ban for kicking the showboating Nani. Apparently, the referee “was not satisfied that it showed evidence of violent conduct”. Watching it again, I’m amazed that kicking someone no longer qualifies as “violent conduct”. Thankfully all my prayers to the dark footballing gods seem to have paid off, and we won’t be without Gallas in our vital league run-in.
Ahead of tomorrow’s game with Milan, we’ve had the good news that Sagna, Clichy, Flamini and Adebayor will all be available again. Manuel Almunia, however, has other things to worry about, so Jens Lehmann will continue in goal.
Fabio Capello has been speaking about the game, and seems positive about our chances:
“When the draw was made, I felt AC Milan could not have got a worse proposition than Arsenal. I believe that Arsenal are one of the very top teams in Europe. They combine great quality with great speed and will be very different from the team beaten at Old Trafford. Manchester United prevented Cesc Fà bregas from having any effect, which was a key factor in their dominance, but Emmanuel Adebayor, Mathieu Flamini and Gaël Clichy will be back against AC Milan. Adebayor is on extraordinary form, but the whole team play great football.”
I’m really starting to look forward to the game now. If you’ve been wondering why the blog was so late today, it’s because I’ve been attending to some business in central London – where, funnily enough, I shared a coffee table with Nicklas Bendtner.
Small world, eh.
February 18th, 2008
A couple of days on, and it still doesn’t feel great that we won’t be in the FA Cup Quarter-Final draw this afternoon. But as Arsene Wenger sagely points out, the presence of Milan on our horizon means that we have no time to lament our loss:
“I have difficulty being crazy today because I am more worried about the consequences it could have on the team. The targets are so big for us that you don’t feel sorry for yourself. We have a massive game in front of us on Wednesday night and I feel the immensity of the game makes you forget your disappointment. What we have learnt today is that this sort of performance will not be good enough against Milan.”
It’s clear that the potential ‘consequences’ could be far more worrying than the defeat itself. Hopefully Gilberto is right and the team will show the mental strength neccessary to fight back and defeat Milan.
One consequence of the United game that could prove especially costly is a possible suspension for William Gallas. Seeing as how he’s clearly guilty of the offence, and how the FA has already declared an interest in reviewing the incident, I think we can take it as guaranteed that, like Eboue, he’ll now miss three league games. Anything less would be a bonus.
And so focus shifts to Milan. Due to injuries to usual custodians Dida and Kalac, the Italians could be forced to field 38-year old Valerio Fiori, who has not played for the Rossoneri since 2003. Should that be the case, it’s important we use the first leg to attack and test the veteran as much as possible.
It’s unclear if any of our injured players will be available again. As much as we need Bacary Sagna, I hope he takes as long as is neccessary to recover from the tragic and sudden death of his brother. I’m sure all of our thoughts are with Bacary and his family.
This could be a big week. Win against Milan and Birmingham, and we’ll forget the United game ever happened. Which would be nice.
February 17th, 2008
I may not be the first to say this, but: it’s a funny old game, football. About a month ago we were beaten 5-1 in the Carling Cup by Spurs, and Arsene came out defending our performance, saying we didn’t deserve such a humiliating scoreline. And, I have to admit, I agreed. We played some super football and were immensely unlucky on the counter-attack. Last night, however, we got beat 4-0 by Man U, and were probably lucky to escape with just the four goal deficit. We were absolutely dreadful.
There is no excuse for the performance we turned out yesterday. We had quality players like Hleb, Cesc, Gallas and Toure on the field, and to a man they reached levels of ineptitude that I wasn’t convinced were possible. I was willing to accept defeat going into the game, but I will never willingly accept the standard of performance we witnessed from the team last night. Not only were their minds already on Milan, their bodies may aswell have been in Milan – they were second to every ball and cowardly in the challenge.
You can tell from Arsene’s reaction he felt let down. Nobody, however, was more let down than the 9,000 travelling Arsenal fans. Like myself, they won’t be despondent about the defeat – most went knowing we’d field a weakened side and that the competition was not a priority. But they would have expected more heart and courage from a side that was facing one of its major rivals.
I’m not going to pick out individuals for criticism, because we were woeful to a man. Poor kicking aside, Jens Lehmann probably deserves a repreive for keeping the score in single figures. The rest had a day to forget.
However: beat Milan and Birmingham in the next seven days, and it will soon be forgotten. Last night was not a disaster, but it’s ramifications could be disastrous if we allow it to upset our season. After the Tottenham game we responded with an excellent run of form – we urgently need to do so again. The next few games will determine whether yesterday represents a discerning sacrifice or a sickening waste.
Perhaps the most significant piece of fall-out from the game will be that after the dropped points against Spurs and City, United’s confidence is soaring once again. Furthermore, they’ve been handed a significant psychological advantage for the league fixture in mid-April – a game that is far higher in Arsene’s list of priorities.
In order to counter that, we need to make sure we’re in a sound position come that time – starting on Wednesday, against Milan. Yesterday is history, but Wednesday could be legend.
February 16th, 2008
If you can find a way to contact Arsene Wenger within the next few hours, you’ll probably at least be on the bench for today’s match at Old Trafford.
At his pre-match press conference yesterday, Arsene came up with a couple more additions to our hilariously long injury list.  One can’t help but feel that a couple of those “muscular” knocks have been rolled out by Arsene at this late stage as an excuse for resting players for Wednesday’s game with Milan.  Still, maybe this fella will be available.
I would very much love to win today. I would very much love to get to Wembley, and be absolutely over-the-moon to win the FA Cup. But I back Arsene’s judgement here: the league and Champions League take priority over this competition. Indeed, if I could guarantee a win in one of the games against Man U, Milan, or Birmingham, I might plump for the latter of those three.
At the risk of pessimism, I’m half-expecting to lose today. It feels a bit like a Carling Cup tie away to a big side. But we’ve won those before. I’m sure today will be very interesting.
Arsene has denied a £15m bid for a 36-year-old goalkeeper. I don’t know about you, but my jaw hit the floor.
Finally, Red & White are standing in a corner somewhere jumping up and down and shouting “We’re still here!!!”
Nobody cares.
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