Things seem to look a tad brighter on the injury front in our squad. Kolo Toure does not have a tear to his groin which means his injury is not very serious

Good morning,

Tuesday seems to have come around so quickly and I am hoping and praying that we can get ourselves back to the top of the league with another win over Newcastle. Almunia, Sagna, Hleb and Eduardo should all return to the starting line up. The one decision Arsene will have to make is whether to start Diaby or Walcott in place of the crocked Rosicky. Walcott improved as the game went on against Newcastle and was a handful for the Newcastle left back. Diaby has more of a presence to his game than Theo has but he is not a wide player and never will be a wide player. As I think Hleb is a more effective player on the left handside, I would go with Theo Walcott.

Things seem to look a tad brighter on the injury front in our squad. Kolo Toure does not have a tear to his groin which means his injury is not very serious, but he will start on with Ivory Coast for the rest of the tournament.
Van Persie is back in training, but is still 2-3 weeks short of first team fitness, I swear I have heard that since he first got injured. Arsene should really make sure that he is ready before starting him this time, if he breaks down again then it will probably be the end of his season. He will be needed as we have to deal with fixture congestion as we continue to challenge on three fronts.

Arsene Wenger was talking on Arsenal.com about the danger of Michael Owen.

“You still feel that if you make a mistake, he will be there to take advantage of it as his runs are very intelligent.

A player like Michael Owen is alot more dangerous without Kolo Toure in the back four who can match quick strikers stride for stride over short spaces. It is not as easy for Gallas and Senderos. The best way to defend against Michael Owen is one of two ways.

1) Cut is supply, we know he cannot win games on his own without service
2) Cough on him and he will be out for another 4 weeks

A quick note on Eduardo who hasn’t scored for a few matches now, you are starting to see that there is alot more to his game apart from being an out and out finisher. He has a terrific first touch and his awareness of players around him seems very high. His creative game really showed against Fulham and his ‘block’ against Newcastle was very crafty and intelligent. I also like when he pulls out to the right hand side and drives in on his left foot, it gives our attack a little more balance. Who would have thought that Robin Van Persie may have a struggle getting into our best team when he comes back.

It is crazy how quickly a rumour can fly around, at lunchtime yesterday we were very close to signing Woodgate from Middlesborough even though Arsene says that he has never contacted Boro about signing him.
I did think it would be a crazy signing though when we have two established players in that position. He is a very good defender though and he and King should make the Tottenham back four alot stronger.

We have picked up alot of quality youth players and all of them are improving behind the scenes, I am just surprised that we haven’t really seen a real quality winger coming through the ranks. People will mention the likes of Gibbs and others but I am talking about a flying winger who can set fear into the opposition. A young Marc Overmars, Ronaldo type player. I am hoping that Arsene will look for this type player during the summer because it is those type of players who can win you games.

So Manchester United in the FA Cup 5th round, it couldn’t get any harder than that really, the difference is that both clubs will have one eye firmly planted on the Champions League matches that will be played a few days after the clash. Both teams will have mixed teams and you can understand their thinking,.It is not undervaluing the FA Cup it is just now as important as the Champions League or the Premier League which is fairly obvious. Arsene Wenger would rather have their first teams going at full pelt against Milan than have a whole team of tired legs. It is a long season and players cannot be expected to play every game at their highest level. You can expect for the likes of Justin Hoyte, Abou Diaby and perhaps Bendtner to get a chance against O’Shea, Fletcher and Anderson at Old Trafford.

Right, that is about it for today. Have a good one. Good luck Gunners.