Twelve months ago, Arsenal left Wearside with three points thanks to Thierry Henry’s final Premier League goal for the club. No such heroics from the club’s record scorer this time around but injuries at the back mean that the team will need to ensure that they have their shooting boots packed. Thomas Vermaelen was apparently well enough to train this week with his national squad, well enough to knacker his ankle that is. International football has a bad press when it comes to friendlies and incidents such as this do it no favours with the club. Solving the problem is quite simple for Fifa; tweak the rule on injuries to allow clubs the final say on player fitness when it comes to the mid-season non-competitive matches. Presuming of course, that they won’t do away with them altogether. Which they won’t.
As it is, Arsène was relieved to find that Laurent Koscielny’s injury was not as bad as first feared, leaving the French international in contention for a starting line-up spot. With the alternative being Sebastien Squillaci, it would come as no surprise to learn that the manager had been invoking all manner of pagan rituals and black magic in order to make sure the younger of his compatriots passed his fitness tests. Squillaci might not make the XI at kick-off, indeed I wonder if he will make the bench with Ignasi Miquel surely a better investment?That Wenger did not mention the more experienced player as an option for today tells you all that you need to know.
Surprisingly (and yet not so), the manager is considering sending Andre Santos to Gremio on loan, willing to take the chance on the fitness of Kieran Gibbs as back up to Nacho Monreal. Well, I presume that to be the pecking order which reflects positively on the Spaniard’s debut against Stoke City. With Johan Djourou having already departed for the Bundesliga, it would leave a shortage in numbers in the back four but for the player’s sanity, it is a good move. Such activity suggests a firm commitment on the part of Wenger to resolving the defensive problems which have beset the team this season. They are not the fault purely of the Brazilian with some of the worst mishaps coming when he was injured; it does reflect on his diminishing confidence.
That said, football is about now, with barely half an eye cocked ahead. And a win now, will take Arsenal in the top five especially with Everton’s trip to Old Trafford tomorrow. Arsenal arrive at the Stadium of Light with one defeat from the last six Premier League trips whilst their hosts have lost five of their last ten home games in all competitions; Arsenal are not the only team who can find matters difficult in front of their own supporters. Goals have been hard to come by with Sunderland ‘enjoying’ the lowest number of goals in home Premier League matches. Typically of Martin O’Neill’s teams, they are hard-working and, well, that’s it really. They huff, puff and whilst struggling to blow others houses in, ensuring that other teams struggle to pierce their defence. To put it into context, Arsenal have scored more goals on their travels whilst conceding fewer than Sunderland. I would not expect a festival of goals this afternoon.
And that is not really important either; Arsenal scoring one more than their hosts is all that matters, taking the three points into a mini-break from domestic league fixtures. Ahead lie the differing tests offered by Blackburn and Bayern Munich. The three Premier League matches in February are ones that the team ought to be winning, must be winning if they have genuine pretensions for participating in the Champions League. Defeat would not end those aspirations, it would put more pressure on winning at White Hart Lane than exists currently; that would then become a must-win game. I’m getting ahead of myself there though, that encounter is a few weeks away.
For today, I would not expect many changes from last week’s win over Rugby Union, beyond the return of Santi Cazorla and Lukas Podolski. Previously we might have seen Giroud drop out of the side for this trip but the value of a strong central striker is shown with possession retained more readily with the Frenchman’s aerial ability, as opposed to Theo Walcott’s reliance on pace. Make no mistake, that will be useful with Sunderland playing more expansively than the defensive ploy adapted at The Emirates earlier in the season. Mind you, this is Martin O’Neill we are talking about so the Black Cats sitting back, stifling the life out of the game with no ambitions toward winning cannot be ruled out entirely.
The line-up I expect is:
Szczesny; Sagna, Mertesacker, Koscielny (Miquel), Monreal; Cazorla, Wilshere, Arteta; Walcott, Giroud, Podolski
As much as Wenger might want to nurse Jack Wilshere through the season, he is in top form right now and with a clear week before next Saturday’s FA Cup tie, the England youngster can rest. Indeed he might miss that match, having a clear ten days before the visit of Bayern Munich to The Emirates. As it is, I think he will play with Abou Diaby making way although his inclusion ahead of Podolski, shifting the team into more of a 4-5-1 formation cannot be ruled out.
Enjoy the match wherever you are watching it.
’til Tomorrow.
@moe good for santos and good for the club. He will do great in his new club i do not doubt it.
Not everyone is an arsenal player.
I like to think Santos gave his all though, and that he really tried.
This move of his is a win, win for both parties imo…
miami,
maybe i am being critical..thats because i dont see many defenders get beat like that so many times.
and i agree if walcott beats an opposition player, i’d have showered walcott with praise, maybe thats because i am only concerned about ARSENAL players.
Marvellous
. One nil to the Arse again. Just like old times (with better football!). We were wonderful in the 1st, balls of steel in the 2nd. Sagna was immense. Proud of Ramsey too.
Hopefully Jack going off was just a precaution, have seen AW’s post match and he seemed to infer as much. Fingers (and everything else) crossed.
irish,
thats not bad goal keeping, thats just down to the physicality of sunderland players
bad joke..never mind
poodle
I hope so too, in a way i feel sorry for him, but feelings aside he wasn’t arsenal material, and i don’t think he’s a defender anyway.
I’m hoping that the Jack thing is not to much of a concern. When he went to the bench he was not being treated and he was smiling and joking with team mates.
Arshavin – LOL mate. I don’t expect him to get every ball he comes for and he did make some excellent saves today. Sagna is a legend, I hope he stays.
Now to make some lunch before taking on The Girlfriend in a snowball fight
one nil to the arsenal..
very nice
its a pity we dont have an ian wright in this team though..
if wrighty would have had 20 attempts per game titi could have still been playing now and never beat his record..
one nil against all the shit teams is just the ticket though..it will see us through nicely..
Southampton take the lead against Manc City
Moe,
to be fair he played some good games last season towards the end..his tackles, little pinches and pokes were very good then..his positioning was always erratic
i think most Brazilians are form players..they cannot play bit part roles..
good luck to him..
Lol, see Man City want to off load Nasri
dumb ass
Arshavin, you are forgiven, I actually think Brambles miss was worse!
Miami i think Arsene told Jack the second he feels any kind of discomfort or even a little pain in the ankle that was injured then tell us. We’ll take you off.
I think they’re being very cautious with Jack and they realise he’s importance to this team.
I have to say Giroud is a real fighter with a big heart for the club. What a player.
@Moe
As soon as it happened, I saw Jack signal to the bench that he needed to be taken off… my worse fears were it was a big issue but your view may indeed hold some water, given his reactions whilst on the bench. The important part was that he went to the bench not the treatment room.
Who wants Nasri back?
No one? ………….thought so
with the fa cup and cl coming up there should be no chances with jack..
hes our star man the best player we have in the middle of the park if we lose him for a few important games our season will be over..
Totter Spuds are now 10 games unbeaten. I watched them today and they were not good either, but Bale became the deciding factor in a game that lacked quality from both sides. It is going to be a tight race for CL places, and there is more about Totter Spuds this year.
nasri can stay where the fuck he is the only two players id have back is cesc and rvp..
Southampton 2-0 Man City
giroooooooooooo..amazing work rate
i think we will only see him get better for sometime.
Gareth bale getting hyped again,now hes as good as Ronaldo and might some day be better than Messi….
The boy is very good but come on!
nasri …he only ever gave us a handful of good games.
i remember how i used to scream PASS!!! when he decided to dawdle aimlessly
the mancs getting beat
ok im off to work lads
peace!
“Giroud was everywhere…”
As were his shots — 10th row, 18th row, etc.
If he and Santi could get even a third of their shots on goal, we’d never have a worry.
The good thing with players like Monreal, Cazorla, Podolski, Giroud is that they are all around their prime years. These players combined with Jack, Rambo, Ox, Jenks and Theo build a solid basis for now and in the future. If we are to look in to a crystal ball there are high hopes with Gnabry (17 years), Yennaris, Eisfeld, Akpom, Aneke and Afobe. I don’t know whether you guys follow the youth sides as much as I do but Lipman and Mugabo are looking well tasty.
There are a number of players at the end of the season that well have seen their final days in our famed shirt. AA and Squillaci are both free’s and won’t be hanging around. Bendtner, Chamakh, Denilson, Santos and Djourou will be encouraged to find new homes as well. I assume that if we acquired Jovetic and Capoue, we would still need to see a number of youth development players setting up in to the breach. The performances of Eisfeld have probably been the most encouraging from my perspective.
@Moe
You have to give Bale credit, he is a very good player and easily one of the best in the EPL. It doesn’t mean that he is not a diving big girls blouse but credit him for being very very good.
Holding on like that will do wonders for our confidence.
Didn`t see the game but 1-0 away in Scumberland , down to ten men & with an almost completely new back line demanded some balls.
What exactly is the JW injury folks ?
@PW
I haven’t seen any update on Jacks injury, it may be there is nothing to report.
Not sure yet Paulie, but he didn’t go to the treatment room and was joking with the other subs after he came off. Also walked onto the pitch at full tim so hopefully precautionary.
Seriously, I don’t think Bale is that good. His stats are very average.
@Paulie
http://www.skysports.com/video/inline/0,,16429_8487486,00.html
1.35 mins in, doesn’t seem to be any issues with Jack, seem it was more precautionary
@Bob
I would have Bale on our left wing in a heart beat, there would be some rotation of course but he is a quality player. The unlikable side to him is however his odious diving behaviour.
cbob
I agree, but he is doing the job for Spuds at the moment when the rest of the team look decidedly average. His goals in the last two games are the reason they are still ahead of us and he is on a roll. If he got a slight hammy injury now they would be lost and he might not return on form in the way he is at the moment.
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xxeden_sunderland-vs-arsenal-0-1-match-highlights_sport?search_algo=2#.URaU_Eqlt28
It is pretty bad when the coach/manager comes out and says that his future is tied to Totter Spuds getting CL football. The lad is wanted/coverted by many teams and there is a reason for that. I would have said a year ago I would have taken him over Theo, but this year Theo has matured more than I would have thought capable based upon prior years.
Awesome, Gareth Barry own goal under no pressure at all. 3-1
bales a good player but hes not a great player..
hes a roided up speed monkey….a top athelete but not really a footballer..they can still be good players though it depends how you use them..
like with bale when hes asked to play lb hes a bag of shit so they tend to keep him forward to take the piss out of slow defences..
hes better than gervinho though so yes id probably take him..
By the way guys and gals, it is Arsenal Month on SWOL. A few very nice articles on The Arenal, worth a look.
utd to wrap up the title in feb then?
JJ
he’s also good at holding on to the ball whilst going forward at speed. Walcott struggles a bit doing that. For his second goal today he kept going across the outside of the box until he had found the space for a shot. No-one could get close enough to try to get the ball off him.
He still looks like a chimp and is a diving girlie though.
Think I’ll crack open a bottle of Thatcher’s Gold.
City look like they could concede another.
Great save from Boruc when Aguero got a good shot on target. Nasri the mercenary is off.
Terrible set piece from Yaya Toure
Gareth Barry with the OG of the season!! Exactly how much did they pay for this clown?
Bottle or two of Shepard Neame while I make the pizzas and prep. The garlic and lemon rabbit dish for next week.
Nice bottle of Rioja to go with the pizza.
Mmmmm.
Bob – I just had a glass of milk, so lay off mate! Some friends crashed over the other night and drank me dry,and with the storm we had last night there was no opportunity to restock. Now that won’t be happening until Monday, so it is off to the bar we go later on for some well deserved inebriation.
And to be honest I would even settle for Strongbow right now!!
Come on Southhampton!! I ahve come to the realization that Old Red nose is the one I want to see win the league more than Mancini. The former is a legend, albeit one that is also a detestable bastard, but the latter is just such a whiney little fucker. And it will also piss off all the Liverpool fans I know, so that is also a good reason in my book.
Wavey
hes incredibley decpetive..
its not that hes got great ball control as such, he hasnt, he is very much a kick and chaser..
the thing he has though, and i touched on this before, he has strength and balance..hes physically perfect for a footballer
unless he falls over or you snap his legs off he doesnt go over hes hard to knock off the ball so once its out of his feet hes off…
theos a different player really its difficult to compare..theos balance isnt that great if anything hes too fast but thats not a bad thing at all..hes a better finisher so once hes in space hes like bale hes gone but hes more productive i would have thought..
JJ
Theo is a better finished when through on goal, but I think Bale is a crisper striker of the ball from distance.
I feel for you, Irish. Crappy friends, though!