Morning everyone.
Today Norwich comes to the Emirates and I think it's a game we should, in our current condition, take three points from.
It remains to be seen, whether we are as good as were before the break, however. These Interlulls work both ways. Last year's, for example, came at a crucial time. We had a bad start (seven points in seven games, I think) and it was absolutely necessary to break this vicious circle. The players cane back refreshed (at least, mentally) and we set out to do what needed to be done.
This time around, international matches interrupted a fine run of games. We clearly were (hopefully, still are) at our best back then. There may still be something to cheer about, though. The last game before the break (against West Bromwich) showed our energy reserves were running low. To me it almost looked like the players were forcing themselves to play, let alone play good. They seemed physically drained, and I, for one, was glad we got a point. Our resilience, the strength of our character, our pride or whatever else kicked into full gear in the second half, almost to the extent, when we could have won the game. Almost. So, on second thought, a break from club football may not have been that useless after all.
As there are no new injures (bar the one I'll cover later) and even some players making their respective comebacks, we have a packed squad. The flank problem remains (Walcott, the first one back, is expected to join the action in two weeks), but Rosicky and Cazorla are back, meaning we still have options out wide. And let's not forget about Gnabry. He is young, true, but after the promise he showed, it's not unreasonable to view him as a genuine option. We shall see.
Apart from Rosicky and Cazorla, we also have Sagna back. He's still not quite ready for today, but he should be for our Tuesday's clash. Jenks can fill in, meanwhile, and in him we have a quite brilliant deputy. His last game wasn't that good, but it looked like a one-off event. See Spurs game, if you're not convinced.
Ozil should also be alright, despite earlier rumours to the contrary. A knock he received to his knee in a game against Sweden turned out to be just that, a knock. So I expect him to start today.
I don't think we'll see a much changed squad from our last outing. Cazorla isn't yet ready for a start, so maybe a second half cameo for him today. We may, however, see Rosicky or Gnabry (or both) start out wide, and that leaves Arsene with a decision, concerning our midfield duo, to make. In this case, an Arteta-Ramsey pair looks the best one to me. Flaming is more defense-oriented, which might just disrupt the fluidity of our performance. He is the fresher one, however, while Ramsey played two full games for Wales. The way I see it, the manager will probably play Rosicky instead of Whilshere, and both After a and Flamini in the middle of the park.
Whatever Arsene thoughts are on the squad, it's nice to have options. Some real competition won't hurt anyone, let alone the team as a whole, so we finally have some pleasant choices to make, as to who starts, and not just pick the ones, that are available. Here's for the three points today. Come on Arsenal.
And a few words about Diaby. He was expected to be back in December, but has recently suffered a setback. Another surgery took place and now he'll be out till March. It's hard not to feel sorry for the guy on a purely human level. About is a decent chap, hardworking and honest. He really wants to play football at Arsenal, but his injures will most likely prevent him from doing so. Maybe we are looking at a premature end to his professional career not only at Arsenal. Which is very sad. The manager took steps over the years to ensure Diaby`s absence won't be missed, but it's still hard not to empathise with the Frenchman. All the luck to him.
I'll leave it at that. Back later with a review.