Written by Mean Lean on Tuesday, 25 October 2011 15:55

One of my favourite competitions is back on the agenda tonight. The Carling cup usually offers the chance for some relaxed viewing, a chance to see some players that have not had much in the way of first team chances.

I am interested to see if Thomas Vermaelen will be in the starting side. He is obviously short of minutes but the fear would be to put him back in competitive action too soon. I suspect that he will be on the bench with the chance of gaining a valuable 15-20 minutes towards the end of the game.

I am excited to see Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain start again on the right, we can see if he has progressed anymore since we saw him score in the Champions League. Arsene has pulled him out of the spotlight, just as he did with Jack Wilshere after his previous top quality Emirates cup displays. While I would have like to have seen him on the bench more often this season, I cannot argue with a manager who has better experience in developing players than most managers around the world.

I also hope that Ryo Miyaichi gets a start on the left. It would give our front line a better offensive balance than it would playing either Park or Benayoun. I do not know how far behind or ahead Ryo is on Wenger's development scale but he is very talented and quick, he looked bright when he came on against Shrewsbury. Andrey Arshavin is in the squad so given the fact that he did not start on the weekend, he could well start on the left.

With so many of our defenders out injured, mainly the full backs it looks as if Arsene may call upon the services of two untested youth talents. Jernade Meade and Nico Yennaris. I know nothing whatsoever about their strengths and weaknesses but I guess we will all know a little more after the 90 minutes.

Quite why Chu Young Park is being written off so soon is a mystery to me. Some players take longer to adjust to the Premier League and to our way of playing. Even a player like Arteta who knows the league well has had to adjust to a new set up. Eduardo was a sub for a long while before he got his chance to show what he can do and I am guessing that the same will happen with Park.

We all hope that he can get up to speed quickly because we cannot rely on our captain for the whole season and that is not just down to injury but because his form will go at some point at least for a few games. He looks like a different player to Chamakh, more of a touch player who has the ability to link up the play. Playing for Monaco at the bottom of Ligue 1 is a completely different level to the pass and move game at Arsenal in the English Premier League.

I hope for an entertaining game of football and hopefully some top Arsenal performances that force the manager to think about his first team selections in future.

COYG.

Mean Lean's Predicted Line Up

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Comments (16)

• 25-Oct-2011 17:02 | | gooner
  

  I cannot argue with a manager who has better experience in developing players than most managers around the world ...that's awesome

• 25-Oct-2011 17:14 | | Saintboy  - Arsenal
  

  I luv arsenal more than every other club

• 25-Oct-2011 17:15 | | Saintboy  - Arsenal
  

  I luv arsenal more than every other club

• 25-Oct-2011 17:23 | | Youngz
  

  We ar movin 4ward.i luv arsenal

• 25-Oct-2011 17:24 | | Youngz
  

  We ar movin 4ward.i luv arsenal

• 25-Oct-2011 17:29 | | mr h
  

  hey ML
  
  Have you got any idea on what team Bolton are going to field. I haven't really been able to catch any info on that. I must admit, I don't see them coming with their first team considering the difficulties they are having in the league.

• 25-Oct-2011 17:32 | | MeanLean
  

  No idea to be honest. I did hear that he was going to make changes but I doubt it will be a youthful side. A strong Bolton side may cause us a few problems but we'll see

• 25-Oct-2011 17:50 | | mr h
  

  Bolton (from): Jaaskelainen, Wheater, Steinsson, Cahill, Knight, Eagles, Robinson, Muamba, Reo-Coker, Petrov, K Davies, Klasnic, Tuncay, Bogdan, Gardner, M Davies, Pratley, Ngog, Blake, Kakuta, Riley.
  
  
  talk about not holding back... mebbe they want to be the next Birmingham

• 25-Oct-2011 17:52 | | Chinedu
  

  I will like 2 see d flow of AOC & ryo on the wings & arshavin &park-attack-a 4-4-2 will work

• 25-Oct-2011 17:53 | | Chinedu
  

  I will like 2 see d flow of AOC & ryo on the wings & arshavin &park-attack-a 4-4-2 will work

• 25-Oct-2011 17:55 | | MeanLean
  

  Oh great. We might just be in for a tough night

• 25-Oct-2011 20:05 | | merkin
  

  If Wenger is holding Park back he must be showing some incompatibility in practice with our style of play. I can't think of any other reason.

• 25-Oct-2011 21:02 | | mr h
  

  well that properly sucked... stuck in my office plumbing the depths of the net for a stream... nuffink.. only two shitely little gifs of the goals

• 25-Oct-2011 23:23 | | richie  - Progress of sorts and another lift I hope.
  

  I wouldn't describe that as a comfortable win, although on ballance we were easily the better side. I say that despite consistantly wearing Arsenal tinted spec's. These nights for Gooners have a habit of throwing up something special, and so it proved. Certainly many Gooners wouldn't have seen the former Monaco striker JY Park before apart from maybe a youtube clip, so this would've been a very pleasent surprise. JYP was a constant threat and he finally got the goal his perseverence deserved. For once given the freedom to roam Arshavin sparkled, he scored the equalizer and his was the assist for JYP's winner. One other player should be mentioned in dispatches our 2nd pole Fabianski was in very good form and we needed him to be on more than one accasion.

• 25-Oct-2011 23:45 | | MeanLean
  

  Did you go to the game Richie?
  
  56,000 a fantastic turn out for a Carling Cup game. Some people would want you to believe that nobody is interested in going to the Arsenal anymore. Well, that certainly tells me otherwise.
  
  I saw Park's goal, wonderful finish and I hope he is now ready to show the PL what he can do. I loved the way the whole team went to him after the goal. Looks like we got a tight bunch of players now. Especially as some characters have now left the club.
  
  7 wins out of 8, through to the quarter finals of the CC, first team well and truly rested, Vermaelen is back, Park has banged in his first Arsenal goal, Robin is on fire. Crisis?
  
  Stamford Bridge, here we come.

• 26-Oct-2011 10:51 | | richie
  

  Yes ML I was lucky enough to be on board and the atmosphere was great far more in the Highbury mode. For CC matches the local pubs are often full of tickets, which for very obvious reasons doesn't happen for league games (pay for a season ticket and you'll get up out of your sick bed to use it) These CC games attract plenty of what I call the old guard, Gooners with family responsibilities who can't afford to stump up for a season ticket, but can easily find the money on the odd CC type occasion.
  
  JYP could've had a hat trick and as we left the "Magnificent Stadium of Kings" (An Emir is a king after all) crossing the bridge into Drayton Park heading up Aubert Park towards our ancestral home, there was no talk of "Wenger out" but plenty of questions like "Has Wenger done it again?" "Where does he find them?" "What about a Park RvP Gervinho front line for the Bridge?" None of those comments came from me or any of the 3 Gooners I walked to the Arsenal Tavern with. All in all a very good night!

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