Celtic Park will be a tough test for our young side
Add comment August 7th, 2009
So the Champions League Qualifying draw has been made and it’s the tie I instinctively wanted: Glasgow Celtic.
I’ve had the pleasure of visiting Celtic Park on several occasions and I have to say the atmosphere there is quite extraordinary. I don’t think that any of England’s top sides can compete on that front. Travelling there for the first leg will be quite the test for our young players, but I think that over two legs our quality ought to shine through. Without intending any disrespect, I can’t help but feel that facing a Tony Mowbray-led Celtic will prove less problematic than a Gordon Strachan side.
The away leg would be just the sort of night on which the presence of Patrick Vieira might make all the difference, but the latest quotes from Arsene suggest that deal is dead in the water. The same can’t be said for Marouane Chamakh, who is obviously still very much on the radar. Despite initially setting a deadline of this week for deals to be done, Arsene now seems resigned to hanging on until the last seconds of the window to capture his remaining targets:
“We can still make do with one or two players more. One could be in the defensive areas, and one in the attacking areas.”
He confessed to having scouted Brede Hangeland, but I am certain we won’t buy him. Gallas and Vermaelen are both starters, and Arsene won’t spend the £10m it would require to get the Fulham defender on a reserve. If we do sign a centre-back it’ll be someone less established – personally, I’m hoping by “the defensive areas” he’s referring to the problematic defensive midfield role.
In other news, Tomas Rosicky could indeed miss up to six weeks with injury, and the absence of both he and Samir Nasri does leave us a little light – making Fran Merida’s impending departure on loan all the stranger. Armand Traore and Jay Simpson are others linked with temporary moves away, though a decision on the former won’t be made until the window is almost closed.
As far as Rosicky goes, I’m disappointed, but not surprised. Seeing him actually play as the season kicked off would have almost felt like novelty. I’m a huge admirer of the man and his ability but relying on him as an integral part of the side would be, frankly, lunacy.
The season kicks off a week tomorrow. Nice.
