The reaction to our defeat in Greece went a little too far in some quarters I feel. It wasn't a good performance and we deserved just what we got but lets not forget that we fielded a mix and match team of players who obviously haven't had the required game time together to work as a cohesive unit. Look at the first team against Swansea at home to the team we saw at Wigan. It takes time
Yossi Benayoun was our best player on the night, he never stopped working for the team and tried to keep the ball moving for us. He needed another similar player. He needed Tomas Rosicky or Mikel Arteta so we could keep the ball. His goal was very well executed and he deserved it.
Arsene was saying that this group of players would be more likely to give a better account of themselves as they have something to prove and I guess he is right. They certainly did not look like pushovers against Manchester City last week and I expect them to give it a good go tonight. With the pressure off, hopefully the youngsters will go and express themselves without the fear of making
Francis Coquelin is another player who is surely likely to start tomorrow. He came on at Wigan with about 12 minutes to play and some of his give and go's at the end made me wonder about how he would blend in with the rest of the first team given a run of games. He and Emmanuel Frimpong won
Al Habsi denied van Persie after great work from Gervinho. Gervinho had another influential game, he is getting increasingly important to this Arsenal team. He has an upright running style almost like a Gazelle. Willing to twist and turn away from full backs time after time. He is a flair player who you almost expect to throw his arms up when he loses the ball and ignore his defensive responsibilities yet he works harder than most in the red and white. He is continuously on the move, chasing wingers, trying to close down the pass and make the interception. That mixture has instantly made him a favourite of mine in this Arsenal team and I can excuse his profligacy at times. He deserved his goal just after the hour but
After our tired effort against Fulham, Arsene rested most of the troops in the midweek Carling cup game so we can expect a full squad, well at least the available players. Abou Diaby and Tomas Rosicky miss the game through injury which is a shame as they would have made our bench much stronger, those absentees may open the door for the likes of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain who impressed once again in the Carling cup. A
Our youth policy works well when we find these players at 16 years of age and not 19/20. We are the Real Madrid of the youth market. We pay youngsters more than most and are able to prize them away from clubs especially given that we
Emmanuel Frimpong was fantastic in midfield. He was tenacious and determined and did not give his opponents a seconds rest. He dominated a midfield which contained Nigel de Jong and Owen Hargreaves. He must be an absolute nightmare to play against. Francis Coquelin was also superb, his
In our last game against Fulham, we saw a lot of tired legs and today's game is a real opportunity to rest key players. The likes of RvP, Theo, Ramsey, Arteta, Song, Santos, Mertesacker and Vermaelen would all be rested. A week's rest can do our key players a world of good so it is definitely welcomed! Wenger in his Presser said there will be a mixture of experience and youth. Experience we all know would come in the likes of Arshavin, Benayoun, Park, Chamakh, Gervinho, Koscielny and Djourou while for the youth we would see the likes of Coquelin, Frimpong, Miquel,
You want Arshavin to be in Gervinho's positions but Arshavin doesn't get into Gervinho's positions. Theo Walcott on the other side started slowly but got much better as the first half went on. When he found his stride, he was the most dangerous player on the pitch. Direct, aggressive and purposeful