• Pete

  Woohoo! The Gunners are back

• Pete

  < ![CDATA[Very pleased that the internationals are over. It's not the first time we've lost RvP to injury because of them, but at least he shouldn't be out for too long. We might miss him in the Villareal game though, whatwith Arshavin ineligible for Champions League, and news that Cesc might not start.

  Am hoping that Eduardo gets his first prem league start on Saturday. Its good to hear he's completed 90 mins for Croatia without having any niggles afterwards, so hopefully this is an end to those setbacks.

  Does anyone else find that Diaby breaking a little amusing lol :P

  Was very sad news about what happend at the Ivory Coast game on the weekend where Kolo and Eboue played. I think it was 22 people who died at the stadium.

  But yes, hopefully we'll manage to dish out a thrashing on City, and pick up the rythm we had before these international games.]]>

• Pete

  *Diaby breaking a nail*

• zohaib

  < ![CDATA[From what I read Wenger say :

  "He is ready to play again, but he needs three games to be back [at his best]," Wenger told French TV channel TF1.

  "We are due to play eight games in 25 days, which are all decisive."

  It doesn't seem like he's said Cesc won't start. Because as he points out, all the remaining games are decisive. Therefore you have to have all your best players on the pitch. And Cesc is miles ahead of Song and Denilson, even when not match-fit. You could argue that since most of what he brings is vision, he doesn't really need to be perfectly match-fit to see where to pass it. Yes he might not be 100%, but I'm sure Wenger and the fans will still want Cesc on the pitch. We simply need him in the center.

  I do hope that all the emphasis isn't put on Cesc as it was before he got injured. In previous years it was Henry who had to shoulder that burden, and after him it became Cesc who had to do the same. Ever since Cesc has been injured, the team has had to play without a single pivot. They've had to play as a team. Hopefully there's a better sense of togetherness and hopefully they've learnt that they all need to contribute instead of relying on just one player.

  I'm expecting Cesc to start and maybe get substituted around the hour mark if he's struggling or if we want to save him for the next match - which happens to be the Champions League game, away at Villareal - wowiee. Why am I feeling nervous ?!]]>

• CON-MAN

  < ![CDATA[hmmm just an update jus been on arsenal.com,
  nasri is out with the flu,
  vela wont be back til friday 10.30am so hes fatigued, eduardo has a groin injury so hes out

  cesc, theo and ade are all back...ther all gna be in the squad for man city

  and isit just me or should arsene rele have a word with slaven...wats eduardo doing on the pitch at 80 mins wen they are 2-0 up?...i mean come on, arsenal are the priority, NOT croatia,

  as far as sagna going to juve err why? are they better than arsenal...? i wouldnt think so]]>

• AJ

  < ![CDATA[I'm disappointed to hear RVP is out injured, thats a major loss and to be honest, I would rather see Bendtner start that Ade, never thought I would say that, but both haven't had amazing seasons, but atleast Bendtner is a team player and comes back and defends instead of Ade who sits up the top of the field with his hand on his hips.

  Also regarding what zohaib had to say about Cesc being that vital pivot which the team depended on and how they have had to play alot more as a team and share the burden he would normally carry, I think it will have done the team some good, not that I want Cesc out, but hopefully it will have shown them they have to work alot harder than they have been.

  As for Sagna going to juve? lol, juve need to get their heads out of their arse and into the real world.]]>

• Pete

  I think with Arshavin in the side and his added quality and creativity, Cesc wont be bogged down with single-handedly carrying the midfield. I think these two will really play some great football together once they build an understanding with each other, and could potentially be another great partnership in the making. But Man City wont be an easy team to beat, neither will Villareal on Tuesday.

• zohaib

  < ![CDATA[It'll be interesting to see what kind of a formation he plays. We're at the Emirates. We need to win all our games since Aston Villa have much easier games and we're still not guaranteed a top 4 finish. And we also need to keep the midweek Champions League game in mind.

  Yet again we've got injuries and we'll need to rest certain players to have them fully functional for the away fixture against Villareal.

  Another point worth noticing is that ManCity usually play a 4 - 3 - 3 formation. If we deploy a 4 - 4 - 2 with Cesc and Denilson/Song in the center and Arshavin and Eboue on the wings with possibly Adebayor and Bendtner/Walcott/Vela as strikers, is that too attacking ?

  Do we then go with 3 central midfielders and essentially play a 4 - 3 - 3 / 4 - 5 - 1 ourselves ? With Cesc, Denilson and Song in the center and Eboue/Walcott and Arshavin out wide and Adebayor/Bendtner up front ? With Cesc being the attacking midfielder ? Arshavin would work better in that role. But who plays at LM if he is to play support striker ?

  Wenger said Vela would be available if he needed but it doesn't look like he'll start because he'll arrive in London on Friday morning (?). If Nasri is out with flu then only Arshavin and Vela could play LM. Unless we're willing to play Eboue or Walcott there. Or who knows, maybe the gaffer will deploy Bendtner there !

  It's quite baffling how team selection seems to confuse me every single time before a game.]]>

• CON-MAN

  well theo needs games regardless so thers no reason why he cant start, maybe take him off if need be for ramsey or w/e jus depends on how the game goes, no reason eboue cant start either

• Debs

  Lol Zohaib. I don’t know who gets more sleepless nights about team selections between you and Wenger! Just messing!

• http://kierandelaney.net kierandelaney.net

  WTF? Nasri has flu and couldn’t train? I play all the time with a cold. Training is no issue with a runny nose. Our squad isn’t helped by things like that.

• Debs

  But if he trains/plays with flu, he’ll not be 100% at his best, and it’d take even longer for him to recover fully. Might as well get it sorted in as little time as possible.

• Debs

  And come on Kieran, the flu is not just having a runny nose.

• http://kierandelaney.net kierandelaney.net

  I don’t buy that. If he’s got flu, he should be able to at least train – maybe not at 100% and i wouldn’t expect him to play 90 minutes, but he should be there unless he can’t walk.

• Debs

  < ![CDATA[But you don't want him spreading his germs to everyone else though! :P
  But I guess it depends on how serious it is really, and whether it was his or Wenger's decision for him not to practice.]]>

• Pete

  < ![CDATA[I think by flu he means he's vomiting from both ends!!! :S lol He should be alright in a few days time (maybe even for the Vilareal game).

  As for Saturday, the first 11 I'd like to play are

  Almunia

  Sagna Toure Gallas Clichy

  Theo Cesc Song Nasri

  Arshavin Bendtner

  But I've a feeling the first 11 will look something like this:

  Almunia

  Sagna Toure Gallas Clichy

  Eboue Cesc Song Arshavin

  Bendtner Ade

  If Nasri is well enough then maybe we'll see him on the left win and Arshavin on the right wing. Either way, hopefully it'll be a good performance.

  Apparently Robinho limped off mid week while playing for Brazil, and Bellamy didn't play on Wednesday night, so hopefully we'll be ok with those two absent.]]>

• Fo

  News is that Robinho is fine. Apparently Nasri is very ill and also Walcott won’t be risked as w emay not have Nasri back on Tuesday either!

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