After the 3-1 thrashing at home from the hands of Manchester United, Arsenal must set right if they are to regain their momentum & with it, their aspirations to become ‘Champions’ come May..
1. Almunia Can’t Judge For His Life
The involvement of a modern-day goalkeeper has been largely left to the miser task of picking the ball from the back of the net. Exceptions like Buffon, Casillas, Van der Sar et al, are few and far in between. At Arsenal, the No. 1 is more of a former. Not since David ‘Safe Hands’ Seaman, has Arsenal seen a custodian who infuses confidence in his ranks. Almunia, for starters, infuses fright amongst his back-four. The last time he actually turned up and played, was against United in the CL Semis 1’st leg. Injury kept him out of the first half of the current season, and ever since winning back his place from Fabianski & Manonne, he has been gravely inconsistent.
He was dreadful against United last week & was at fault for their first goal. If Arsenal are to have even a sleight of a chance against the robust attack of Chelsea, then he better prove his detractors wrong come Sunday. Let’s hope he does.
PS: Personally I’m not yet convinced of his goal-keeping credentials in the first place. To see through the might of Drogba & Co., especially the corners & set-pieces will require more than Godly-intervention.
2. Is He Clichy Or Silvestre In Disguise!?
With likes of Anelka & Malouda marauding down the flanks for the Blues, the pair of Clichy & Sagna will have to be at their livid best. While Sagna has been his regular self all season (one tends to take him for granted at times), Clichy has been a misnomer vis-à-vis his former self. Injuries have denied him a longish run-in with the first team. He made Nani look pseudo-CR07 last week. Here’s hoping Malouda doesn’t turn into a ‘Ribery’ overnight!
3. They Better Stay ‘Gallic & Venomous’
Yes I’m referring to the most stellar defensive partnership the Grove has seen, since the ‘Sol-Kol’ days. Vermaelen in particular has been the ‘Signing-of-the-Season’ (not just for Arsenal, mind you!) thus far, & has refreshed Gallas’s desire to keep performing at the top level. Last time these two faced Chelsea, Drogba literally shredded them apart. The Blues will stick to their tight play down the center & will rely heavily on ‘long-balls’ to frighten the fragile Arsenal Back-four. I say fragile in reference to their ability in dealing with the long-balls & physical play, which btw largely forms the fulcrum of Chelsea’s attack. If Arsenal are to stop Chelsea from running away with the match, these two will have to STOP Didier Drogba, come what may. I wish them luck. Although, they’re gonna need hell more than plain luck in this one.
4. Diaby for Denilson. Eboue for Denilson. Hell, Anyone But Denilson!
One Gunner, not many are fond of. He topped the charts last season, when it came to accuracy (i.e. % distribution) with which a footballer passes the ball. Did anyone care to question where those passes actually went? I have the answer: sideways or backwards. Very seldom does he thread forward, even scarcer is his role in shielding the back-four, by making those last-ditch lunges. In fact, he only excels in passing the ball (sideways or backwards!). He was woeful against United, & two screamers apart, has been woeful all season long.
Diaby, on the other hand, has been a breath of fresh air this term. Not only has he found his long-lost vigour for the game, the abundance of raw talent that he possesses, makes him all the more dangerous. His decent goal tally, as well as filling-in for Song if & when required, speaks volumes about the form that he is in. Wenger must start him alongside Alex Song this Sunday. This will not only make our mid-field slightly heavy-weight but will also provide the much-needed height dealing with the set-pieces.
One probing question here is Diaby’s fitness. Not sure if he is making the squad as of now. If not him, Arsene should opt for Nasri, even Eboue. Anyone but Denilson, on current form.
5. Time For Some Russian Roulette!?
Wenger’s decision to play Arshavin all alone at the top seemed to have paid off during the holiday period, but then time caught up with the little Russian. Despite his technical brilliance, he is clearly not made for leading the line. It’s unfair on him & his talent. He is best when he runs rings around defenders with the ball at his feet & creates the space to feed-in the approaching mid-fielders. We all know his ‘big-game temperament’ after scintillating Anfield on consecutive occasions & Old Trafford once. He was in mood to light the Emirates as well, against United the other day. But his lack of decision-making cost Arsenal dear. He could have brought Nasri or Cesc into play but went for solo-glory. So unlike him but that was that. Let’s look ahead.
I personally feel, Bendtner should be started for this one & supported by Arshavin & Rosicky from the flanks. Theo can come in for Rosicky at a later point. Niklas has been very vocal off-late & wants to prove his mettle, so try him out. After all, the result can’t be worse than the 3-1 last week!
6. Self-Belief Answers Half The Problems
When the Gunners march onto the pitch this Sunday, they must carry pockets full of desire, courage & determination with them. They must remember it was them who ended Chelsea’s winning streak last season with their backs to the wall. Arsene should be prepared with another of his ‘Boys, You don’t deserve the Red n White’s of Arsenal’ tirade, just in case the fellas are found faltering at the break. A victory in this one is a must.
The likes of Nasri, Rosicky, Gallas, Vermaelen & above all Captain Cesc must rise to the occasion & make this one count. Fabregas, has in him to single-handedly destroy the ‘Blues’, like he picked out Villa not long ago. But he’ll need his team-mates to anchor along.
Full points at the ‘Bridge’ will see Arsenal go just 3 adrift of the league leaders, whereas another loss, will surely quell their chances, as the gap would then further swell to 9. With 13 games to go after this one, it would be very difficult to close-in again.
As for Chelsea, one can’t say much. The focus will mainly be on tainted captain(& ex-England captain) John Terry. After his ‘heroics’ off the field and the punishment suffered later, it’ll be interesting to see how Terry reacts to all those chants about his lose pants from the Gooners. The Chelsea loyalists will support him no doubt but unlike the last match when Terry maintained stiff silence, he won’t probably be so guarded has he doesn’t have something to lose anymore. The England captaincy, as expected, has gone.
Fortunately for him his manager and half his mates at Stamford Bridge(the ones who bedded her too!) have been extremely supportive of him.
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