I expect Theo to be on the bench in Manchester and I do not expect him to be able to hit the ground running this time round. He has hardly had a kick of football since the England under 21s even then he didn’t get as much football as he would have liked

Happy Tuesday!! Whoo hoo.

How are we feeling today? Good, I am glad to hear it.

The weekend is edging closer, which means a return of Premier League football which I am very excited about. As I said yesterday the squad is nearing full fitness. Arsene Wenger confirmed that Theo Walcott and Tomas Rosicky could well be back in the squad for Saturday which would be great news if there wasn’t games being played tomorrow around the world.

Tomas Rosicky who was left out for the Czech’s 2-2 draw against Slovakia will be included in the squad against San Marino tomorrow. I am hoping that they do not want him to start the game, that wouldn’t be very fun. Unless he dominates the game, scores four and becomes bionic man.

But realistically given the fact that they are playing against a side that are as shite as Tottenham it should allow the manager to put their star player on the bench and give him a run out in the last twenty minutes when the San Marino players have given up and no longer want to put in any tackles.. please!

I expect Theo to be on the bench in Manchester and I do not expect him to be able to hit the ground running this time round. He has hardly had a kick of football since the England under 21s even then he didn’t get as much football as he would have liked. So hopefully a few substitute appearances late in games will cause the opposition problems dealing with his pace and he can regain his touch as well as getting used to the formation which I believe will really suit Theo when he becomes fit and match sharp.

Defending from the front should suit someone like Theo who will be quick enough to close defenders down and not let them have time to pass the ball. He will also have licence to come off the right and start getting into goal scoring chances. I said last season that I could see the Cesc – Walcott combination working which it didn’t as much as I would have hoped but that could well develop over the season should Walcott play himself into Wenger’s first choice eleven.

Captain fantastic Cesc Fabregas has had some quote flying around these last few days and I haven’t yet commented on them, so I shall pick a few out today.

He has been speaking about the team not getting bullied by opposition players. Cesc said:

“Clubs try not to let us play our style of football and some use questionable tactics, but we will not be intimidated by anyone.”

I believe in that old saying, you have to win the right to play football. The likes of Vieira, Bergkamp, Henry, Ljungberg and Parlour did that better than most. They could scrap when they needed to and we know that they could play football and I think this should apply to every team that takes to the field. I think that is what disappointed me the most about the team last season, it was like the mentality was incorrect and did not correct itself until the second half of the season which is far too late. We know they are all capable of doing so and if had the same attitude as we have started with this season I believe we would have been involved in a title race instead of fighting Aston Villa for fourth and then Chelsea for third.

Many will disagree with me but I stick by that and I suppose we will all never know the truth. Unless someone can point me towards a time machine and some good ol motivational skills for the players.

It appears that Manchester City are going through some injury problems ahead of the weekend game. Robinho is doubtful which I don’t really care about, I expect either Sagna or Clichy to keep him in check. It is Carlos Tevez that has a knee problem that I hope misses the match. His defending from the front and work rate will disrupt our football.

Fran Merida has showed his commitment to Arsenal but rejecting a loan to move to another club to fight for a chance to play in the first team.

Merida said:

“I am 100 per cent staying. It is true that I had an option to go out on loan but me, the boss, my agent and my family decided that the best thing for me is to stay here. The boss told me he believes in me and the only thing I can do now is prove it on the pitch and repay that faith.

“My target is to help as much as possible to get trophies. I truly believe we have a fantastic chance. We have started well, we must keep that going because we haven’t done anything yet.”

I am looking forward to the development of Merida, his vision and passing range is exceptional. The trouble is he has a pretty decent queue ahead of him but we shall certainly get a glimpse of him in the Carling cup.

Right, got to go, Enjoy happy Tuesday.

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