Today we host Napoli in what will no doubt be a thrilling encounter.
The Italian side is yet to lose a game under Benitez, and that's saying something about their current shape. They provide a stern challenge, probably our first real test since Spurs came to town. The players they have are top quality guys, something we had a chance to see for ourselves, when the two teams met in the Emirates cup.
Even Arsene Wenger expressed his surprise at how quickly they made the transit from defense to attack. He pointed to Insigne, Gamshik and Higuain as their most dangerous players, whose abilities make it possible to pull off such counter-attacks. Arsene therefore warned our players against any complacency and defensive mistakes.
Both managers have also paid tribute to one another, recognizing their achievements. Rafa named Arsene the best coach in the league and said he isn't at all surprised Arsenal are currently occupying the top spot. He also wished Wenger all the luck to win the Champions League, though later, rather than sooner.
Arsene, in his turn, spoke highly of Benitez abilities, saying it's no wonder Napoli has beaten Borussia and adopt such an attractive (and tactically brilliant) style of play. He hailed Benitez further still, when he said the Italian side now stand a real chance of winning Scudetto.
It'll be interesting to see, how the game unfolds from a strategic point of view, seeing as both managers have an extensive knowledge of one another's play style. Don't think it'll be the case of canceling each other out, so we're most likely in for a thrilling contest, end-to-end stuff.
In terms of availability, everyone who played against Swansea should be ready, while we also have good news, regarding Rosicky, who's back in contention for the game. I say, if he's fully fit, he should start. We have Gnabry (and maybe Whilshere), who could use a breather. Both have been brilliant recently, but the former played a lot of minutes (especially for his age) and the latter may have sustained a knock and in this case, it's better to take no risks. We'll need him in the long run, so taking a gamble on him for the sake of just one game won't do us any good.
I'm also slightly concerned for Mertesacker`s and Flamini`s states. Both have put in quite a shift recently, so it may be a better option to use them only as subs, while Arteta and Vermaelen get some playing time under their belts. Besides, the more technical Spaniard might prove more useful in this particular game.
Whatever the manager`s thoughts are on the starting eleven, I think Gnabry will be our only youngster in the whole squad. It's good to finally have some options for a change.
In other news, the manager has also spoken of his desire to fill in the gap in his CV and win the Champions League. He named bad luck as a reason for out recent failures in Europe and, looking at who we faced in the knockout stages recently, it's hard to disagree. Double trouble from Barcelona, tough games against Bayern Munich and Milan is hardly a dream of any team at this stage.
Arsene also cited the lack of quality in our squad as one of the reasons we were unable to go through in these encounters. The quality which we now possess, so fingers crossed we can really achieve something this year.
That's it for today. Back tomorrow with a review. Until then