I’d be tempted to start Eboue ahead of Gibbs
Add comment April 14th, 2009
Before the weekend, Arsene Wenger implied that Kieran Gibbs’ appearance against Wigan would be a trial of sorts. Without wanting to be too hard on a teenager who only really started playing in defence last season, I’m not sure he passed it with flying colours.
Even the most biased of Arsenal fans would surely concede Gibbs ought to have been dismissed after losing possession and then hauling down Antonio Valencia, and although he recovered to improve in the second half, the Ecuadorian winger troubled him throughout the game.
That could be a foreshadowing of what is to come tomorrow night – Valencia himself is a former Villarreal player. He couldn’t make it at the Spanish club, which is an indicator of the calibre of player Gibbs will be up against.
Arseblogger talks of the possibility of bringing Emmanuel Eboue in and switching Bacary Sagna to left-back, and I have to say I’d be inclined to make that switch. Eboue, for all his flaws, played in that position when we reached the Champions League final in 2006. Sagna, meanwhile, filled in at left-back on a few occasions for Auxerre, and his sheer athleticism and defensive instincts mean he would really be capable of playing anywhere across the backline.
In other news, Robin van Persie still expects to sign a new deal in the Summer. I have to be honest, whilst I respect the boss’s decision to postpone contract talks until the end of the season, it concerns me enormously that we have allowed both Robin van Persie and Theo Walcott to get within twelve months of the expiration of their current deals – and that’s without even mentioning the defensive pairing of Toure and Gallas, who are in identical contractual situations.
Finally, the PFA Player of the Year nominations were announced today. Quite how Cristiano Ronaldo was nominated ahead of Wayne Rooney, Ashley Young, or indeed our own Robin van Persie is beyond me. There’s not an Arsenal nomination in sight, which I think is in large part due to the injuries the likes of Walcott and Fabregas have suffered.
Still, the real prizes are the ones that are decided on the pitch. This week is absolutely huge. I can barely contain my excitement.
