One win from Wembley – Three wins from glory
Add comment March 17th, 2009
We’re three wins from our first trophy in four years. Victory over Hull City tonight would take us to an FA-Cup semi-final at Wembley against rivals Chelsea, the winner of which would face Man United or Everton in a showpiece final. The penalty-shootout victory over Roma was a timely boost, but it is the domestic cup that still represents our best chance of ending the season clutching a shiny prize (unless, as seems sensible, Emmanuel Eboue’s new contract is paid entirely in foil-wrapped chocolate money).
Just as on Saturday, there will be rotation in the side. Lukasz Fabianski will play in goal, Kieran Gibbs will come in at left-back, William Gallas is likely to return in place of Kolo Toure, whilst Eboue, Diaby, Vela, and Robin van Persie are all candidates to start. Eduardo is still out injured and Aaron Ramsey is being given a little rest to cope with a few growing pains. After slashing his foot open at the weekend, Andrey Arshavin is apparently “desperate” to play, though the player himself seems to have abandoned hope of that happening. Perhaps the Russian will be picked for the bench (in case of emergency).
Speaking of the Russian doll, this picture of him alongside the Togolese totem-pole Emmanuel Adebayor really underlines just how diddy he is (and, at second glance, is that an owl on his jumper…?). Clearly, his stature has never stopped him hitting sporting heights: his low centre of gravity and eye for a pass occasionally remind me of another footballing gnome who lit up London, and who now manages West Ham.
Whoever does line-up in red and white tonight cannot afford to take Hull lightly – we know well enough what happened back in September. I think that result still counts as our worst ever recorded in the new stadium, though I’d suggest it’s far from our worse performance. On the day we simply failed to take our chances, and Hull scored two absolute wonder goals. It seems unlikely that they’ll be able to manage that again, especially with their momentum having reversed as the season has progressed, but you can’t be too careful.
Things are looking up for this Arsenal side, with ten goals in our last three domestic games sandwiching progression in Rome. An FA Cup Semi-Final and a first appearance at the new Wembley would be a natural but nonetheless welcome progression. If nothing unnatural and/or freakish occurs tonight, we ought to go through. Frankly, we owe Hull, big time. Come On You Reds.
ps. Don’t panic about this. I hear it’s the slightest of set-backs.
