Afternoon Guys,
It’s Friday and it’s a scary, scary Friday… it’s Friday the thirteenth… Wo ha ha [scary ghost noise] ha ha…. Okay so, it’s just like any normal day… but a day where Arsene announced that Vermaelen is back and will most likely start against Villa this weekend!
Here’s a snippet from Arsene Wenger’s press conference today:
“We have lost Laurent Koscielny with a thigh strain from Sunday against Stoke. It opens the door for Vermaelen. I have not completely decided yet but there is a probability he will start. We have question marks against Fabregas and Nasri. They will be late decisions. During the week we lost Tomas Rosicky with a thigh strain. Diaby will be out but I believe that Clichy will be back.”
Exciting times… as Arsene likes to say, the return of Nasri, Cesc and Vermaelen will be like three new signings… Personally, I think both Nasri and Cesc will return to first team action. Ramsey will drop to the bench and Vermaelen will start… this is my line-up for Sunday:
Szcznesy
Sagna – Djourou – Vermaelen – Clichy
Song – Wilshere
Walcott – Cesc – Nasri
Van Persie
With a bench of Lehmann, Squillaci, Eboue, Ramsey, Arshavin, Bendtner and Chamakh
It’s the final home game of the season and with Man City only two points behind us, it’s essential that we win this and the next game. It’s been such a dire end to our season that we need to win our last two games to avoid finishing fourth – something we simply couldn’t conceive a possibility 2 months ago. With Vermaelen and the rest of the team back, we’re actually fielding our best team. No one who would make it in is injured or suspended, it’s a real test of this squad.
The eleven I’ve mentioned are the best we’ve got – and we’re at home, playing against a Villa team managed by Houillier… surely we must win!?! I won’t go into detail on who I think we should replace on the bench or replace in the first XI, we’ll have plenty of time for that in the summer! Chamakh has been linked with a move to Lazio, but I think there is more to come from the Moroccan – I don’t think he’ll ever be a top class centre forward. He’s a cheap man’s Adebayor, who in himself is a cheap man’s Drogba! But he has said there is a lot more to come from him too…
“It’s huge here. In the way you make a run, the way you position yourself and your defending. I’ve always been good in the air, but I can still do better. As for the physical impact of the Premier League, I was expecting it and I had prepared for it. I worked very hard in pre-season and with all the French players it was very easy to settle in. I have naturally more affinity with the French and with the Francophones in the squad, like Song or Eboue. It’s my first transfer and I was a bit worried. When I was with Bordeaux, I used to do everything I could to put the new players at ease. This time it’s they who helped me a lot. But you can’t hide from it, with the injuries to Van Persie and Bendtner, I found myself at the forefront of things from the outset. When they came back, people said I had lost my place. Well, actually it’s more that Van Persie logically got his place back! He’s an excellent player, a phenomenon. I still have a way to go yet and I’m here to learn. That said, if I can bring that little bit extra to the team, all the better!”
You’ve got to feel a little bit for Chamakh, as he did well earlier in the season when he was getting games and consistently the first choice. It’s been unfortunate for him that he’s not played much at all and of course, without games, it will make you a little unfit. If we do look at changing things around this summer, I’m pretty sure Chamakh will not leave – I’d expect more from him next season. Personally, I don’t think he is actually the perfect fit for us – I think our game is built more on pace than anything else, but he does give us an option. Our formation only allows us to play 1 striker, and for that reason, it’s not an ideal solution for him.
On the transfer mill, Scott Parker has been heavily linked with a move to us this summer. He looks very tired and quite shattered, will he be able to give as much as he gave to West Ham this season to us next season? And he’ll be a year older. Apparently, we had a table at the awards dinner – specifically for Scott Parker… yes, I know, it’s all rumours and I know it probably won’t happen – but Parker has proved that he is a leader and a work horse. No-one can deny he wouldn’t be a good player to have!
It’s a big day at the Emirates, and there is a march pre-game – many say it’s a protest, but I say it’s a march! The focus is for change at the top – for fans to be taken more seriously, appreciated more and for certain things to change! I think it’s a good idea… The “She Wore” site explains more on the march:
It is a peaceful walk, not a protest,not a demonstration. Scaremongering by certain newspapers and blogs saying the club and/or police worried about it getting heated is at best a misquote at worst its a lame attempt at undermining all the BSM’s good work over the last year, it will be peaceful. This is not Anti-Wenger or Wenger out and on the day of the march no chants of that nature will be allowed. This in not even an Anti-board march, they just need to change and not lose touch with the support.
Let’s see what comes of it…
Until tomorrow Gooners, until tomorrow…
