No boss, I don't want to go to a press conference.
For all the talk of boring group stage, at least this season’s one has been slightly different. It wasn’t the walk in the park it was the previous few seasons. Praise is given where praise is merit. Olympiacos, Marseille and Borussia Dortmund provided stiff resistance but we’ve managed to come out on top. This final match would be a dead rubber to us but not to the home side.
One can also argue that by winning this match, it would represent value for money. This if of course taking in the fact that UEFA are paying teams by the results that they get. A win is definitely higher than a draw. For those (like me) looking from far away, it may not mean much but to those who goes to matches, extra income for the club will go some way to prevent any future ticket price hike.
Arsenal has announced the flight list on those who travelled to Greece. Only 4 players who played at Wigan are present. Three who started and two who came off the bench. Thomas Vermaelen and Andre Santos travelled with the team but are probably on supervisory watch more than for a playing role, the same cannot be said for Johan Djourou. For Yossi Benayoun and Francis Coquelin, this trip represents playing time for them. It is also a welcomed return to the squad for Tomas Rosicky.
Based on those assumptions, here’s my best stab at the starting line-up.
Fabianski
Yennaris—Squillaci—Djourou—Miquel
Rosicky—Frimpong—Coquelin
Oxlade-Chamberlain—Chamakh—Benayoun
It’s not easy to pick as you would thought. Craig Eastmond did start out as a right back and could also feature there ahead of the even more inexperienced Nico Yennaris. Or Rosicky might be slowly eased back into the team and not start right from kick-off. That would allow Yossi Benayoun to drop back into the midfield trio and then Andrey Arshavin would start on the left of the attacking trio. Even Park Ju Young might be afforded a rare start ahead of Marouane Chamakh.
Plenty of permutations and choices. Which in a way shows how healthy the club is at the moment. While these players might not be firing on all cylinders, there’s obvious experience and talent there when needed. Which, on the other side of the coin, does little for the younger ones. Unless injury strikes up, warm-up session will probably be the closest Oguzhan Ozyakup gets to play in this game.
For Sebastien Squillaci, this is his last chance to either show to the manager (and fans too) that last season was no more than a blip and that he deserves a second chance or to show to prospective clubs that he is still worth a punt. He was very good in the games that he has played this season. Those Carling Cup matches did
his reputation no harm. For all the criticism, Squillaci has not come out and slam the club, which is a credit to his professionalism. Another good performance and Wenger would probably get a call or two for his services.
While some are taking this match seriously as a means for an exit, others are looking for the opposite, the chance for a run in the first team. One of them is Emmanuel Frimpong. It was strange seeing him appearing in the pre-match press conference. Probably got more questions than Wenger would’ve thought, but the youngster did well. Sidestepping that “Na$ri” question with authority.
There’s no doubt that Frimpong is still learning and growing not only as a player but as a man. You can see that he’s putting a lot of effort both ways (not during his banter with Jack Wilshere on twitter though). On the field, he seemed much more calmer and rarely overcomplicate things. Wenger likes his attributes and will no doubt be looking to use those to his benefits. Frimpong is right when he said that supporters responds to a player giving his 100%.
Then there’s Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. With every appearance, he is creating headlines and pushing ever closer to being given a chance in the first team. Saturday’s substitute appearance on the bench vindication of the efforts that he has put in. With Gervinho leaving for the African Nation’s Cup in the near future, there’s a spot to be staked.
His competitors are probably Andrey Arshavin and Yossi Benayoun. AOC is far off in terms of experience and getting a chance to play in the hostile atmosphere of a Greek stadium should help him along the way. In terms of excitement and capability, AOC would probably rank himself on par, if not better than the other 2 players. He will have to improve on his defensive awareness though, if he harbours serious thoughts about covering for Gervinho’s absence.
Just to add another point to yesterday‘s post. By having all English clubs qualifying, it will not only help maintain England’s current coefficient points but it might also help us. Wenger is not wrong when he said Barcelona and Real Madrid are the clear favourites. By having the other teams qualify through to the next stage as runners-up of their respective group, there’s a big chance that they might get drawn with the favourites. While both Spanish clubs are favourites, knock-out stages can be surprising sometimes. Might just clear a little off our path. That said, we could still draw AC Milan who are 2nd in their group.
Here’s to a good match tonight.
Up The Arsenal!!!
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