Jenkinson has been ruled out of the Norwich game this weekend with a stress fracture in his back and according to Wenger he is out for 2 – 3 weeks. Jenkinson has been in fine form and in our last 2 matches and has been able to form a very solid combination with Theo on the right wing. Against West Brom, going forward he was very impressive and put into the box a number of good crosses and had we had Chamakh on that day we should have won with a bigger margin. Defensively he was
Finally our Arsenal are only a couple of hours away before we get to see them live and direct strutting their stuff against Norwich away at Carrow Road. We are back to business and when I mean business, I mean the business of getting into the top 4 before the Christmas fixtures starts rolling thick and fast.
Norwich are a side who can cause us problems on their day so we have to approach this game with every respect we can gather. Against the likes of Chelsea, UTD and Liverpool I have seen them put up a good fight and should have taken more points than the poultry 1 point they took in those games.
Paul Lambert is building a very fine side, a side that aren’t scared of the big games. They have gathered experience playing against the UTDs and Liverpool’s of this world, so they go into the Arsenal game with confidence of causing a severe upset.
We on our part should be equally confident, we come into the game at the back of a good run of form which has seen us beat Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, gone away to beat Marseille at the Velodrome and won 3 straight League games at home.
Complacency is what I fear but seeing that we are a more experienced side and knowing what’s at stake then we should be good for all 3 points.
RVP has had a week rest, Arteta should be very fresh, Vermaelen is up and running while the pacy and direct duo of Gervinho and Theo should be ready to wreck havoc.
We are back to bare bones in the full back department, Gibbs and Jenkinson have both joined Sagna on the side lines. Gibbs is said to be out for between 6 weeks after having an Hernia operation on Thursday. I feel so sorry for the lad, each time he gets a little bit of rhythm to his game the dreaded injury comes in to knock him down.
Jenkinson has been ruled out of the Norwich game this weekend with a stress fracture in his back and according to Wenger he is out for 2 – 3 weeks. Jenkinson has been in fine form and in our last 2 matches and has been able to form a very solid combination with Theo on the right wing. Against West Brom, going forward he was very impressive and put into the box a number of good crosses and had we had Chamakh on that day we should have won with a bigger margin. Defensively he was equally impressive and has a large room to improve.
The big question is who deputises for Jenkinson at right back. Names mentioned are Koscielny, Djourou and Coquelin. I doubt if Wenger would want to break the partnership of Koscielny and Vermaelen after their performance against West Brom. A couple of weeks back Wenger spoke about how Koscielny can fill in at right back when needed, meaning Wenger might just be tempted to push Koscielny to right back and pair Mertesacker and Vermaelen at the heart of our defence.
Djourou has done pretty well at right back when called upon and I would be glad if Wenger goes with him tomorrow and continues with the Koscielny and Vermaelen partnership. I haven’t seen a lot of Coquelin to know if he would fit the bill at right back, so to be on the save side Djourou should be given the nod.
Anyway Wenger’s goes I’m sure it will be for the best and i won’t be losing sleep, I know we are adequately covered with players who can cover our injured right backs.
Diaby is back in full training which is a massive boost. Diaby is one player who some sections of our fans love to hate. He can be frustrating at times and on his day, he can be a menace to any team. I am a big fan of his and I’m hoping he fulfils his potential at Arsenal. The Norwich game in my opinion is too early for him, so I doubt we would be seeing him make a return tomorrow.
Chamakh is another player back to full fitness and I reckon we would see him make the bench ahead of Park tomorrow who has had a long trip back to England. Chamakh hasn’t been at his best for quite some time now, his form has dropped badly, his confidence is at rock bottom + he has a firing RVP in front of him.
I can’t help but feel sorry for him at the moment. I watched him a few times when he was in France and he did very well in a 4-4-2 formation but he comes into an Arsenal team that have seen a lot of players suffer from our loan man upfront. The likes of Vela and Bendtner have gone out on loan and Eduardo has been sold largely because they don’t fit our current set up or can’t displace our main man.
His recent quotes suggests he understands his plight and is willing to learn. As I end my post, I leave you with the quotes of Chamakh;
“Of course there are a lot of good strikers around. I haven’t played much this year with van Persie coming back from injury but for me it’s still been a settling in period.
And it’s good to play for a Club like Arsenal, it’s good that I’m getting used to the league. I am trying to learn, to enjoy it and long may continue.
Of course, it’s hard to sit on the bench. I haven’t played that much but that’s up to the manager.
At the moment it’s between myself and van Persie and of course the way he is playing, it’s got to be him.
But that’s the system and the way of playing here. I respect that and it’s working very well.
It would be better for me if we played with two strikers. I think we could play together, with two upfront and of course I want to play every game for the rest of the season.
But at the moment there is a world class striker keeping me out of the team. That’s the way it is, that’s football and if the system were to change we would need another striker.
I’m really hoping to play a bit more this season and I’m hoping I get the opportunity to show what I can do.”
Until next time….. Do enjoy your weekend!
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