Good evening everyone.
Football returns tomorrow and we face Hull City at the Emirates. This particular opponent not only brings back good memories, but also presents us with a chance to rack up some points, something we badly need.
In his usual injury update, Arsene informed us about the current state of the squad. The news is mixed, as you'd expect. I'll start with the not-so-pleasant bits.
Ozil is our major concern right now and, unfortunately, he'll be out for at least six weeks, having partially torn some ligaments in his left knee. There was a rumour in circulation, which went to assume Arsene has deliberately kept a knackered Ozil against Chelsea, but the boss was quick to play it down:
The other casualty of the international break is Koscielny. However, his problem seems to be chronic, something that hints at us carrying at least some blame. We new his achilles wasn't very good long before the start of the season, yet we've let Vermaelen go and bought nobody. As such we couldn't rotate, played Kos every week and now he's out. Arsene didn't put a time frame on this injury, but I somehow don't think it'll be one game only.
And now the good news. Arteta, Rosicky, Walcott and Gnabry are all fit, though our wingers won't be involved tomorrow. Both Theo and Gerge will take part in today's U-21s game and may travel to Brussels a couple of days from now. Fingers crossed. Arteta and Rosicky are fully fit and will make the squad against the Tigers, while Ramsey will join the main group on Monday and will fly with the team in midweek.
With all this covered, let's try putting a probable squad together.
The back five
I've heard some worrisome rumours that Ospina is carrying a knock, though nothing was said on the subject during the press-conference today. I assume that means the Colombian is alright and, if it was up to me, I'd start him.
I don't have a problem with Szczesny, especially since he's put in a MoM performance against Germany, but the simple truth is that Ospina will probably need some practise before we face Anderlecht. He should get, if fully fit. However, I won't be surprised to see the Pole start the game. Last year Arsene refused to rotate keepers before a cup game, and so Fabianski didn't get any warm-up. Arsene may utilise this strategy once more.
The defense is genuinely scary and I think we can all thank the Lord we weren't in such defensive mess before the Chelsea game. Now we have Kos out and Chambers suspended and this means starts for Monreal at centre-back and Bellerin at right-back. Hayden should make the bench, cause there's just no one else.
The midfield
Flamini did well in his last game and I wonder whether Arsene will be reluctant to remove the Frenchman from the line-up. He's a tad more pacy than Arteta, though there's no doubt the Spaniard sets the tone to our passing better. Tough call, I hope Arteta edges it, though. I'll be a bit more calm with our skipper at the base of the midfield.
Centrally, I'm pretty certain Wilshere and Cazorla will continue. Jack was England's stand-out performer, while he's also done very well in our shirt this season. Moreover, Arsene seems to view Jack a regular starter, so my money's on Wilsh making it.
Cazorla will now have to fill the void left by Ozil and, though I concede Rosicky will get his fair bit of football while the German is injured, Santi is our most obvious go-to solution. He doesn't quite fit Ozil's mould, but then again, no one does. We've lost a really important player in Mesut.
The attack
Welbeck up top is a res judicata for me, but the flanks present an interesting problem.
Walcott and Gnabry are out of the equation for now, but Sanchez is also unlikely to feature, having played the full game for Chile on Wednesday. He should make the bench, but I'd be surprised if we see him start.
This means a definite start for Oxlade on the right, but who'll play on the left? It can either be Podolski or Campbell and the question is, whom does the manager trust less. I'd give Campbell a chance to show himself, but, knowing my betting record, it just means Podolski will start. If he does, I really hopes Poldi puts in a shift.
The verdict
Hull, Sunderland, Burnley, Swansea. These are the teams we face before the next international break and we should be looking at 10 points at the very least. Anything else can put to bed any title claims we may have, not to mention the fans' reaction. On which, by the way, you can read another brilliant piece by Tim Stillman. It really got me thinking about how we perceive our idols and success as a whole. Give it a go, fascinating stuff.
One last thing. I know AGM has taken place yesterday and there were some really interesting things to chew on. I'll try writing about it as soon as I have a bit of time, promise. For now, you can read the essence here and follow me on Twitter for some other interesting stuff.
That's it for today. Here's for the three points tomorrow and I'll back as soon as I can with either AGM's or game's review. Or both.
Until then and come on you Gunners
Football returns tomorrow and we face Hull City at the Emirates. This particular opponent not only brings back good memories, but also presents us with a chance to rack up some points, something we badly need.
In his usual injury update, Arsene informed us about the current state of the squad. The news is mixed, as you'd expect. I'll start with the not-so-pleasant bits.
Ozil is our major concern right now and, unfortunately, he'll be out for at least six weeks, having partially torn some ligaments in his left knee. There was a rumour in circulation, which went to assume Arsene has deliberately kept a knackered Ozil against Chelsea, but the boss was quick to play it down:
"He told me (about the injury) once it was discovered on the scan. He did not tell me anything during the Chelsea game, I did not know. What happened was that at half-time, just before we went out, he had a little pain with his knee but it was not bad. He wanted to go on and I told him, ‘If you don't feel well, tell me and I will take you off straight away'. He never did that during the whole game, and after I left him on because we were in a position where we needed to score a goal and he can deliver the final ball. "Whether it was actually the case is now history, however I cannot, for the world of me, understand why we have to risk our key player like that. We had Oxlade on the bench, Santi was fresh, yet Arsene persisted and now we'll be without Ozil for quite some time. I think this "six week" talk is the bare minimum, cause initial reports suggested Ozil can spend up to three months on the sidelines. Coming from the German national team I believe the info was pretty accurate. Arsene may just fear the backlash this news can cause.
The other casualty of the international break is Koscielny. However, his problem seems to be chronic, something that hints at us carrying at least some blame. We new his achilles wasn't very good long before the start of the season, yet we've let Vermaelen go and bought nobody. As such we couldn't rotate, played Kos every week and now he's out. Arsene didn't put a time frame on this injury, but I somehow don't think it'll be one game only.
And now the good news. Arteta, Rosicky, Walcott and Gnabry are all fit, though our wingers won't be involved tomorrow. Both Theo and Gerge will take part in today's U-21s game and may travel to Brussels a couple of days from now. Fingers crossed. Arteta and Rosicky are fully fit and will make the squad against the Tigers, while Ramsey will join the main group on Monday and will fly with the team in midweek.
With all this covered, let's try putting a probable squad together.
The back five
I've heard some worrisome rumours that Ospina is carrying a knock, though nothing was said on the subject during the press-conference today. I assume that means the Colombian is alright and, if it was up to me, I'd start him.
I don't have a problem with Szczesny, especially since he's put in a MoM performance against Germany, but the simple truth is that Ospina will probably need some practise before we face Anderlecht. He should get, if fully fit. However, I won't be surprised to see the Pole start the game. Last year Arsene refused to rotate keepers before a cup game, and so Fabianski didn't get any warm-up. Arsene may utilise this strategy once more.
The defense is genuinely scary and I think we can all thank the Lord we weren't in such defensive mess before the Chelsea game. Now we have Kos out and Chambers suspended and this means starts for Monreal at centre-back and Bellerin at right-back. Hayden should make the bench, cause there's just no one else.
The midfield
Flamini did well in his last game and I wonder whether Arsene will be reluctant to remove the Frenchman from the line-up. He's a tad more pacy than Arteta, though there's no doubt the Spaniard sets the tone to our passing better. Tough call, I hope Arteta edges it, though. I'll be a bit more calm with our skipper at the base of the midfield.
Centrally, I'm pretty certain Wilshere and Cazorla will continue. Jack was England's stand-out performer, while he's also done very well in our shirt this season. Moreover, Arsene seems to view Jack a regular starter, so my money's on Wilsh making it.
Cazorla will now have to fill the void left by Ozil and, though I concede Rosicky will get his fair bit of football while the German is injured, Santi is our most obvious go-to solution. He doesn't quite fit Ozil's mould, but then again, no one does. We've lost a really important player in Mesut.
The attack
Welbeck up top is a res judicata for me, but the flanks present an interesting problem.
Walcott and Gnabry are out of the equation for now, but Sanchez is also unlikely to feature, having played the full game for Chile on Wednesday. He should make the bench, but I'd be surprised if we see him start.
This means a definite start for Oxlade on the right, but who'll play on the left? It can either be Podolski or Campbell and the question is, whom does the manager trust less. I'd give Campbell a chance to show himself, but, knowing my betting record, it just means Podolski will start. If he does, I really hopes Poldi puts in a shift.
The verdict
Hull, Sunderland, Burnley, Swansea. These are the teams we face before the next international break and we should be looking at 10 points at the very least. Anything else can put to bed any title claims we may have, not to mention the fans' reaction. On which, by the way, you can read another brilliant piece by Tim Stillman. It really got me thinking about how we perceive our idols and success as a whole. Give it a go, fascinating stuff.
One last thing. I know AGM has taken place yesterday and there were some really interesting things to chew on. I'll try writing about it as soon as I have a bit of time, promise. For now, you can read the essence here and follow me on Twitter for some other interesting stuff.
That's it for today. Here's for the three points tomorrow and I'll back as soon as I can with either AGM's or game's review. Or both.
Until then and come on you Gunners
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