Arsenal must see off Hulk & Pele to win tonight…
4 comments September 30th, 2008
With it being absolutely vital that we get back on track with a win tonight, you can imagine my terror when I found out our fragile defence could be up against Pele and someone called Hulk. However, it seems they are not quite who their names would suggest. Which is a relief. Though if we defend anything like we did on Saturday, we’re liable to make anyone look like the greatest footballer that ever lived, or even a huge green superhero.
Porto are a decent side, and having beaten Fenerbahce in their first game will happily take a draw tonight. That should force us to set the tempo and take the game to the Portugese champions.
Fortunately, Samir Nasri is fit again, and he and Cesc will be back in tandem and dictating proceedings. The rest of the team is hard to predict, with Arsene admitting that changes will be made. Le Boss says:
“If a player or two do not play tomorrow it is not a punishment, it is just because of a rotation in the side. You cannot play every single game with the same 11 players.”
Nice try Arsene, but I’m not buying it. This is the Champions League, against the top seeds in our group. We’re not in the habit of rotating players in a position like that. If players are left out tonight, there is a greater significance to it than just freshening up the side.
The most likely to come in is Nicklas Bendtner, for either Adebayor or Van Persie. With Arsene amitting to our aerial troubles (yet strangely unwilling to buy a dominating centre-half), Silvestre and Djourou might have a chance of coming in at the back.
Whoever starts, the team have a responsibility to the fans to show that their heart is in it and that they want it, not just now but for the rest of the season.
Finally, our Carling Cup tie with Wigan will be shown live on Sky Sports 1, which is good news for fans who missed the 6-0 demolition of Sheff Utd.
