Written by Squid Boy
on
Friday, 05 August 2011 14:39
Okay before we crack on with the important news, allow myself to re-introduce myself. My name is Squid Boy and I am addicted to all things Arsenal. I used to write frequently on here until real life dictated that I couldn’t. But now I’m back. I’m on Twitter, so if you like my upcoming brand of breeze then follow me here – http://twitter.com/#!/TheSquidBoyLike
For the next few weeks/months/undisclosed time period (hey, that’s how Arsenal roll) I shall be assuming blogging duties from the legend that is Mean Lean. He tells me he is busy with “other projects” – and reading between the lines I’m going to assume Le Boss is training him up to be our fourth centre-back. He fits the bill perfectly – English; domestic experience; great physical presence and good feet for a big man.
So onto the important news of the day: the draw for the Champions League qualifier. We all wanted to avoid Rubin Kazan and we did. But we got lumped with the second-worst option in Udinese. First-leg is at home (sans the suspended RvP and Nasri) and as is always the case with home ties, it is imperative we keep a clean sheet.
I’m no Italian football aficionado – hell, I can’t remember the last non-Arsenal game I watched – so I’m not best placed to tell you how much of a threat Udinese are. But any team that finishes above Lazio, Roma and Juventus can’t be bad. Plus Italian teams are always well-drilled.
That said, this isn’t the same Udinese side as last season, having sold off former-almost-Arsenal midfielder Gokhan Inler; linked-with-Arsenal central defender Cristian Zapata; and the real jewel in the crown, attacker Alexis Sanchez, now at our old friends Barcelona. Plus we DO have an excellent record against Italian sides. Under Arsene Wenger’s reign we have overcome the likes of AC Milan, Internazionale, Juventus and Roma – often quite handsomely.
There will be plenty of time to pontificate on this tie as it draws nearer, but what I will say now is what I always say: if this Arsenal side is on point, we will win. Apart from Barcelona, I don’t think any team in the world can live with us when all the facets of our game are functioning to full capacity.
So while Udinese is not quite as hellish a prospect as Kazan, it does set in stone the hellacious month that awaits us:
Newcastle(a)
Udinese(h)
Liverpool(h)
Udinese(a)
Man Utd(a)
And that’s not to mention the round of internationals which takes place beforehand, nor the transfer shenanigans that will ensue as the month draws to a close. The most important month for the Club in recent times? I’d say so.
Ahead of the big kick-off next weekend we have our final pre-season friendly tomorrow as we face Benfica away in the esteemed Eusebio Cup. So esteemed that the last winners of said trophy were, in fact, Spurs.
While I’d like nothing more than to field our strongest side and dust off the Emirates trophy cabinet while simultaneously ensuring Spurs are no longer reigning “champions” of anything, I do wonder what side Arsene will field, especially with internationals in midweek. Will he play his best possible XI to get them in-tune for Newcastle away? Or will he omit RvP and Nasri for Chamakh and Rosicky on the basis that the latter pair may be called upon versus Udinese? And what of Cesc? I guess we’ll find out in 24 hours.
On the subject of Cesc, yesterday the annual Members’ Day took place. Having been to the previous three Members’ Days, I was somewhat disappointed to miss out this time, although I was comforted by scenes of the now customary torrential rain hitting N5 while I followed it from the sanctity of my own laptop via Arsenal Player.
The two most notable things were that the traditional squad photoshoot was abandoned due to the adverse weather conditions, and the players were not introduced individually but they came out as a group. The connotations of this are obvious re: Cesc and, to a lesser extent, Samir Nasri.
Once again, only time will tell over the future of those two players. The quicker it gets sorted, the more time we will have to re-invest and re-focus on the goals in hand. Here’s hoping for quick solution on both fronts rather than one which drags out to the end of the month.
Henri Lansbury impressed at Members’ Day with a screamer of a goal, following on from a couple he has grabbed for the Reserves this pre-season. Confusion surrounds whether or not he is now part of the first-team squad with Jamie Sanderson over at Young Guns Blog stating that he has been promoted (alongside Benik Afobe, Emanuel Frimpong and Ryo Miyaichi), although the player himself denied it on Twitter.
For a relatively low-profile player, Lansbury has been quite hot topic amongst Arsenal fans these past few weeks as rumours surfaced of him being potentially sold despite an impressive loan spell at Norwich last season. For what it’s worth, I think he deserves a shot with us. A few games off the bench in the league when we are cruising with 15 minutes left (don’t laugh, it may happen) and a run in the Carling Cup side would be my choice. There are some who say that he isn’t good enough for us, that he isn’t world-class, but since when was our squad brimful with only outstanding players? I’m hoping Lansbury’s passion for the Club and work-rate can see him grow into our very own Darren Fletcher-type – solid if sometimes unspectacular; an Indian to Jack Wilshere’s Chief.
Fellow young Gunner Kyle Bartley signed a new contract with the Club a couple of days ago and was promptly loaned back to Rangers yesterday, where he impressed last season. Despite his own-goal-tastic appearance in the Emirates Cup last weekend, I have high hopes for him and hope he can continue his progression in the Scottish Premier League before returning a more-rounded and experienced player next summer that is able to do a job for us.
I’ll finish with an anecdote. Barcelona bought Alexis Sanchez for £23 million this summer. This has not only weakened our CL opponents Udinese, but also weakened Barca’s own bank balance, meaning they are less willing/able to meet our £40 million valuation for Cesc. So if we play hardball and Barca continue to flounce around offering nowhere near that amount, he may stay with us. Despite all the protracted nature of his transfer saga, Cesc then stays with us, gets his mind and body right, helps us overcome a Sanchez-less Udinese and guides us through the Hell that is August and into the Heaven that is the rest of the season, free from idle transfer speculation and packed only with football. Outlandish? Yes. But a man can dream.
Enjoy your weekend folks, especially the game tomorrow. I think Mean Lean will be back with his post-match thoughts on Sunday, while I’ll see you early next week.
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