Hello.
Today I'd like to start with one thing, that seemed to go unnoticed, amidst all the analysis, following our clash with Everton: the FA Cup draw. Arsenal will host Spurs and it will happen on January 4th. A cursory glance at history books tells us the Gunners last faced Tottenham in 2001. I have not even supported Arsenal back then, so I can tell you next to nothing about that game.
What I can tell, however, is that this draw is a hard one, as it rounds off the busy New Year schedule. We play on January 1st in the league and three days later comes this cup game. Not pretty. But we can forget all about it for now and focus on something much more important.
Which is our return fixture in Naples one day from now. I suspect the team is already there, but no news have come in yet. Arsene said post-Everton there were no injures, so let's hope it stayed that way.
Something I also hope for, is a possible return of Sagna or Podolski (or both). They weren't ready to play three days ago, but they may be now. Which leaves only the Ox and Diaby sidelined, with the former having a chance to face City.
We've been building towards the clean bill of health for almost four months, so it's nice to know, we can have everyone up and running ahead of the tough schedule. The returns of Podolski and Oxlade are particularly welcome, cause the former provides us with an alternative to Giroud, while the latter offers some more direct play on the flanks. Tippy-tappy is great, but no alternative to it is not. Our passing game doesn't always come off, you know.
I suspect the manager will introduce some changes tomorrow, cause he must also keep one eye on our weekend game. City play today, having already qualified, so they will be in a better physical shape. They will also play in front of their fans. All in all, it may well prove a sterner test, than the one the Toffees provided us with.
The decision to rotate is now nowhere near as complicated, as it was even a year ago. All the stand-ins will give no less than a hundred percent, knowing the guys waiting in the wings will grab their chance with both hands, should someone perform even slightly below par. Competition can be exciting, isn't it?
I think that, whoever plays, we need to try and replicate our first performance against Napoli, one of the most (if not the most) accomplished our game this far. We overwhelmed them with chances, scored two goals, and then kept the Italians at arm's length for the remainder of the match. Should we pull it off, the first spot is ours.
But if we don't reach this kind of level, we know we can grind out results. Bottom line, I don't envisage us losing the game by a three-goal margin. It just doesn't fit the description of this group of players.
There will surely be more news later today and tomorrow, so I may write again. However, in case I don't, I'll be back with a review come Thursday.
Come on you Gunners and until later the rest of you