Arsenal 2 – 0 Standard Liege, and generally my thoughts…

Well, what a crazy few days that has been for me, it looks like I may have some major sponsorship happening very soon which will see a major change in the World of Arsenal… The site will be changing again and upgrading to a brand new look and feel and much more content. We’ve also got a few more writers on board and regular spots for various sections – in addition, more fan feedback and a few new widgets that will see the site be more interactive for games and match days… anyway, I’ll give you the proper low down in the next couple of days as and when it gets all confirmed.

So, onto the Standard Liege game and it was a good performance and a good reply after the disappointing defeat against Sunderland on the weekend.  We were always in control and we took our goals well, whilst never really getting into second gear. We took the opportunity to player Carlos Vela in a full team and it was important for him to play as without Van Persie and Bendtner, we need to ensure our strikers have game time and are match practice.

I don’t think Carlos Vela had his greatest game of the season, but having had a plethora of injuries and travels, he’s not really had much game time for our reserves let alone our firs team. The game will have done him good though and gives us another option up front come the weekend and the next couple of weeks without the first choice strikers around. Whilst I don’t think the Mexican will start on Sunday, he will give us another option from the bench.

One player who will increasingly start to influence is Samir Nasri – he scored a well taken goal against Liege and is gaining match practice. With Denilson also returning to the squad and putting in a stellar performance midweek, scoring a cracker of a goal (highlights below) – we’ve now got a plethora of fit and able players – all of them seem to be in the attacking midfield role though.

So, you can see why Arsene has adopted the 4-3-3 formation with so many attacking midfielders at his disposal… who will get the nod against Chelsea? You’d expect Song and Cesc to start, so you’ll most likely have one of Nasri, Ramsey or Denilson along side him. Personally, I’d like to see both Arshavin and Walcott start on the wings as they are the two really penetrative players who can unlock defences.

One player who miss the Chelsea game and the next 3 months will be Kieran Gibbs – he is so unfortunate and so is our left back situation – reports confirming he is out with a broken metatarsal, which is a massive blow to the player as he’s finally got his chance in the team and had been performing very well…

Let’s take a listen to what Arsene had to say…

“The first half was good, in the second half we eased off. We just kept the result and we were in control. You could see we lacked a bit of urgency in the final third because we just eased a little bit off in the second half. First half was interesting with fluent moving, it was a very good first half. If you look at the last nine games we have had a very good run but Saturday was not at the requested level. It is still in the minds of the players because you never forget a disappointment. But it was important to win today to prepare well for the Chelsea game on Sunday.”

And he also commended Denilson’s effort and talked about how he managed to score it, because he has small ankles!

“I think he has a typical Brazilian shot. With this floating ball I think they have shorter ankles and it gives a different flight to the ball. It is typical Brazilian technique and I tried to analyse it many times. I could only think maybe they have a bit shorter ankle in front and they can kick the ball high up with the laces. I have never checked it!”

Now that’s what I call over analysing…!

In other Arsenal news, Kroenke snapped another 10 shares a couple of days ago to make his share total to something like 29.99 or something… interesting, so only 1 more share until he can officially take over the club – what on earth is going on? Should we be worried…

No…

The moto is never be worried about something you can’t change! Til tomorrow, adios!