Gunnerblog

Three. It’s a magic number.

731 comments April 28th, 2012

Three games left, three wins required, with third place the prize.

As you all know by now, fourth place is a risk we cannot take, rewarding us with only the a fifty-fifty chance of having an opportunity to qualify for the Champions League.  Third place takes you straight in to the group stage, and is currently in our hands.  To lose it now, having been granted so many repreives already, would be simply ungrateful.

Today is undoubtedly the trickiest of our remaining three fixtures.  It is a sad and unsatisfying fact that we have not won at Stoke since the game in which Aaron Ramsey picked up that horror injury.  Whilst Stoke, Norwich and West Brom all ostensibly have nothing to play for, Tony Pulis’ dislike for Arsene Wenger and Arsenal is so strong that he simply won’t allow his side to roll over today in the manner they did at St. James’ Park last week.  Make no mistake, they will be up for this.

Arsenal’s defence will have to be at their very best to cope with the catapulted throw-ins of Rory Delap or Ryan Shotton.  It is just this sort of game, facing the height of Peter Crouch, that 6 ft 6″ Per Mertesacker was bought for.  In the absence of the giant German, Laurent Koscielny and Thomas Vermaelen will have to be at their springy best to keep our Crouch, Shawcross, Huth and more of Stoke’s lumbering orc army.

In midfield, we’ll miss the discipline and steel of Mikel Arteta.  It’s possible Francis Coquelin could be drafted in, but the most likely starter is Aaron Ramsey.  What better place to recover his form than ‘the scene of the crime’, as it were?

Ahead of that, Theo Walcott’s injury means that Yossi Benayoun will come straight back in to the side.  The other wing spot will most likely go to one of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain or Gervinho – although there is always an outside chance that Ramsey or Rosicky will be shunted wide to provide some more defensive stability.  We’ll once again be looking to the newly-crowned Footballer of the Year, Robin van Persie, to score the goals to fire us to victory.

It’s not an exact science of prediction, but last night I dreamt about the game in some detail.  Arsenal came from 2-1 behind to draw 2-2.  We scored a third, from a set-piece, that was wrongly disallowed.  In the end, I was fairly happy with a point, and I think I would be today too – seven points form our final nine should – SHOULD – be enough.  Crucially, it’d be enough to guarantee we finish above Spurs, regardless of what happens with Newcastle and Chelsea.

You can hear me discuss Stoke, the race for fourth, and our potential new kits in my first appearance on the Arsenal America Podcast.  Have a listen.

It’s cliché time – Eight cup finals await

28 comments March 31st, 2012

Between now and the end of the season, Arsenal have eight remaining league fixtures.  Its an old cliché now, but each one really is a cup final.  As the weeks go by, the initiative in the race for third and fourth spot will doubtless flit back and forth across London.  Spurs and Chelsea, however, have the distraction of other cup competitions.  In the battle for Premier League position, it’s a blessing and a curse.  All Arsenal have to do is take each game as it comes, and as Arsene Wenger put it in his pre-match press conference, “fight like mad” to make sure we take maximum points.

The run-in continues this afternoon at QPR.  They’re desperate for points in their fight against relegation, and for that reason alone I expect this to be a tricky tie.  Bobby Zamora always gives us trouble at the back, and so it’s good news that we’re once again able to call on one of our players of the season, Laurent Koscielny.

I expect Arsene to go with the XI that won at Goodison Park, bringing Aaron Ramsey back in the side ahead of Gervinho.  However, he may decide he can afford an extra attacker, and leave the Welshman out in favour of the Ivorian, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, or Yossi Benayoun.

It’s crunch time now.  Third place is in our hands, and failing that, fourth spot would be quite the consolation considering our early-season travails.  But it won’t be easy.  Tottenham’s poor form coincided with a very tricky run of fixtures that is now over, and anyone who saw them demolish Bolton in midweek would conclude they’re back to their best.

We can’t afford any unnecessary slip-ups, including today.  It’s a cup final, after all.

Milan Preview: Chamberlain to get central role?

14 comments March 6th, 2012

I don’t know if I speak for all Arsenal fans, but I’m rather looking forward to tonight.  A couple of big wins in the league have changed the mood in the camp, and what previously looked like a humiliating dead rubber now feels like an opportunity to face glamorous opposition with, really, nothing to lose.  No one has ever over-turned a four-goal deficit in Europe and the Champions League betting reflects the uphill task Arsenal face.  To all intents and purposes, we’re already out, but any sort of positive result would be catalytic fuel on the fire of our momentum.  And if – IF – we were to score a couple of early goals… well, you just never know.

Possible team to face Milan

A succession of injuries in midfield means we have little option but to be gung-ho about our attacking intent.  We’re without Arteta, Ramsey, Wilshere, Frimpong, Diaby, Benayoun and Coquelin, whilst doubts persist over Tomas Rosicky.  If the Czech is fit, he’s certain to partner Alex Song at the base of our midfield.

Ahead of that, I think Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain may be afforded a start in the roaming central role he briefly occupied against Liverpool, with Gervinho and Theo Walcott on the flanks.

Some have suggested the possibility of switching to 4-4-2, but we’re perhaps the only team in the world for whom introducing a second striker (Park or Chamakh) probably makes us a weaker attacking force.

Robin van Persie will, of course, play.  Some fans are already quaking with fear about the possibility of Robin picking up an injury.  I don’t think you can go through a season, or indeed a life, with that sort of attitude.  He might get a knock, but it’s no more likely to happen tonight than in any other game – or arguably even a training session.  And the idea that we have any chance of getting a decent result without him is more fantastical than our hopes of qualification.

As I said though, you never know.  Football can be a strange and miraculous sport, and the likelihood of going out is not a reason not to bother qualifying.  I admire Arsene’s guts here.  He could written it off, and said: “Yeah, we’re out, I’m going to play the Reserves”.  Instead, he is rallying the troops:

 “When you are a top-level competitor, even if statistically we have a 5% chance, what is important is that we believe that we can be in this 5%. That is what is at stake for us. Let’s make sure that we do not miss out because we did not believe in it.”

Well put.  Arsene and Arsenal were deeply hurt by the 4-0 hammering in Milan, and tonight is, in the first place, about restoring some pride.  Any kind of win would undoubtedly be a good thing.  If it’s by the margin of a few goals, and close enough to get us excited about the remote possibility of reigning the Italians in… well, then it’ll have been a very exciting night indeed.

Come On You Gunners.  You never know, this might be our last night in the Champions League for a while.  Let’s enjoy it.

United Preview: Points required; Pride essential

122 comments January 22nd, 2012

Arsene is not really the sort of manager to deliver a rousing team-talk before a big game.  Fortunately, today, he doesn’t need to.

All he need do is print out the following, and tack it to the dressing room wall.

I’m sorry to have made you look at that again.  But it’s important we do.  It’s important the players do.  And it’s important Arsene does.  On that day, Arsenal let down themselves and their supporters.  That simply cannot happen today.

I don’t necessarily expect a victory.  Arsenal come in to this game in the familiar position of being out-of-form and embattled with injuries and African absentees.  What I do expect, however, is that Arsenal play with passion and a desire to avenge the humiliation suffered in August.

In the aftermath of the Old Trafford game, I said:

“What sickened me more than anything was to watch this team perform without pride, and without belief.”

The last few months have seen a steady process of recuperation, interrupted by a recent blip.  Arsenal need to fight, to battle, and to allow the fans to banish the memory of that shameful day from their minds.

Our team is dependent on two fitness tests: one for Thomas Vermaelen, and one for Thierry Henry.  If fit, both could start.  Vermaelen is reportedly the more likely to make it, and would come in at left-back for Ignasi Miquel.  That could be vital – United’s main threat comes from their wingers in Nani and Valencia, so our makeshift full-backs will have to be at the top of their game to cope.

If he’s ready to go, Henry could start ahead of the out of sorts Andrey Arshavin.  Suggestions two hours before kick-off, however, are that Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain could be handed a first Premier League start.  Chamberlain actually made an inauspicious debut as a substitute in the 8-2, and after a relatively impressive cameo at Swansea could be thrown in to the fray today.

At least if he is, we know he’ll play with courage, and with fire.  His team-mates had better do the same.  They owe us that.

Return of the King: Welcome home Thierry

310 comments January 9th, 2012

What is va va voom?

It’s many things. It’s a style, an attitude. It’s a grace, an impudence, a gallic flair. It’s instant control, a side-footed finish, and a shrug of celebration. And what is more, it’s back. As of today, for a period of six to eight weeks, Arsenal will once more be able to call on the greatest player in their history. Thierry Henry has returned.

In his first spell at the club, Henry netted a record 226 goals in 370 games. This time, he could play a maximum of ten times, starting with tonight’s FA Cup tie at home to Leeds.

If you’re in the ground tonight, savour it. If you’ve not yet got a ticket, grab one. Take your kids; take your grandchildren. In ten, twenty, even fifty years time they will be able to say they saw Thierry Henry in an Arsenal shirt.

In his pomp, Henry was the most exciting athlete I’ve seen on the Premier League stage. He combined the electric pace of a sprinter with balletic poise, and an incredible imagination with deceptive physical power. After arriving as a peripheral and shot-shy winger, he evolved in to Europe’s most stylish goalscorer. But you already knew that. The story has become myth, and the man a living legend.

Some have bemoaned Henry’s return, disappointed that the club have elected for a short-term option, and fearing that the player could tarnish his legacy. I can’t find room for such cynicism. The signing is clearly a practical measure. The African Cup of Nations has left us with a scarcity of strikers, and most of our primary targets are unavailable in this window. As Arsene Wenger has repeatedly insisted, the opportunity to take someone with Henry’s class on loan is simply too good to turn down.

And class, let’s remember, is permanent. Henry himself admits he’s not the same player. He’s not expecting to skip through gears and defenders with the same ease or regularity he did in his first spell. But if a chance is to fall in the box, I’d still rather it was to Thierry than any other of our attacking options – with the obvious exception of Robin van Persie. And the idea that anything that happens in the next two months could damage his extraordinary achievements in the past are absurd. It will take more than a few underwhelming cameos to shift his bronze immortalization from the stadium concourse.

I don’t expect miracles. But I do expect more great memories, starting with the roar of the crowd when he takes to the field tonight.

On the pitch, Henry often seemed to be able to write his own scripts. He himself could not have penned a better fixture list for his two month renaissance. The opportunity to compete in Premier League, FA Cup and Europe, with ties at home to Manchester United and away at the San Siro. There is even an option for a glorious farewell in one of the most hotly-contested North London derbies for years.

An Arsenal career that spans three decades is entering its final phase. The long goodbye begins tonight. Turn the page, enter the final chapter, and savour every moment. This is The Return of The King.  Prepare to pay homage.