Good evening to you.
Tomorrow we play Everton in a "six-pointer" and it's hard not to regret our current position. Less than a month ago we were fighting for the title and now we tread an all-too-familiar territory of staying in the top four.
Everton has done extremely well this season and their Europa League place is all but secured. It's hard to envisage a hit-and-miss Tottenham or a faltering United side beating the Toffees to fifth place.
What is more, Everton are on a good run, having won five league games in a row and losing just one home fixture in an entire campaign. The acquisitions of Lukaku and Deulofeu, coupled with emergence of Barkley as a potent force make Everton a hard opponent for anyone. We've had a chance to see that for ourselves back in December. We've scraped a draw and, mind you, Wilshere, Ozil and Walcott were available back then.
A win tomorrow throws the race for the fourth spot wide open and it's something the players should be well aware of. Luckily, there's been some positive news regarding our injured.
Ramsey and Monreal will be named on the team sheet and both are extremely welcome. Monreal can (if needed) fill the void left by Gibbs, while Ramsey will give us the end product our current midfield lacks.
I know I've mentioned it already, but the amount of players we have out each year is infuriating. Monreal picked up a knock against Sunderland and haven't played since. Just think of it. A knock that was supposed to keep the Spaniard for a week, maybe two, resulted in a month on the sidelines.
Ramsey injured himself on Boxing Day and should have played against Southampton. Remember that 2-2 draw back in late January? We are into April and the Welshman only just recovered.
That is not the end of the story, though. Gibbs and Gnabry are unlikely to feature tomorrow, the former with a troublesome ankle, the latter with a knackered knee. While Gibbs has played quite a lot this month, it's hard to see, where Gnabry's injury came from. He had hardly made even substitute appearances, so how on Earth did he get himself injured?
Luckily, these knocks have come at a more a less good time. Ramsey will fill in for Gnabry, Monreal will slot in for Gibbs and we carry on. Maybe a few more players will make a comeback against Wigan (I have Koscielny and the aforementioned duo in mind), but we'll manage for now.
Back to our all-important game tomorrow and I expect Arsene to field basically the same squad. It's either Gibbs or Monreal on the left (depending on whether the Englishman is fit), we may see Kallstrom alongside Arteta (don't think Ramsey is ready or should be risked now) and I'd play Rosicky centrally and move Cazorla to the left. Though the Spaniard did good against City, Podolski looked a weak link. Sure, he got an assist to his name and could have nicked a win for us, but he was still largely ineffective.
The main problem with Podolski is that he's neither a striker, nor a winger. He doesn't impress in both positions, preferring to play in a narrow corridor between a winger and a striker, waiting for a perfect pass to explode into life, but spends the rest of the game in shadows. He's not a willing runner forward, doesn't drift infield to create an overload or to help out teammates and shies away from his defensive duties. Moreover, the German's persistence on using only his left foot effectively limits the number of options available to him.
So, I say drop Poldi, play the Ox on the right, Rosicky in the centre and Cazorla on the left and we should be all right. Such a setup ensures our back four receives proper protection, while also not taking anything from our attacking play away.
The manager will also have a decent bench at his disposal, with players on it being able to contribute at both ends of the pitch.
We are still masters of our destiny when it comes to securing the fourth place and this game is vital. Win, and we are seven points clear with five games remaining. Lose, and Everton may leapfrog us in the very near future.
I think we have enough to get the three points, though. City game saw us "turn a corner", if I may quote Arsene here, Ramsey and Monreal are back to help out, so we should be ready both psychologically and physically (after a week off). All that remains is to get a win tomorrow, so we can start worrying about the looming semi-final FA Cup against Wigan.
Come on you reds.
Tomorrow we play Everton in a "six-pointer" and it's hard not to regret our current position. Less than a month ago we were fighting for the title and now we tread an all-too-familiar territory of staying in the top four.
Everton has done extremely well this season and their Europa League place is all but secured. It's hard to envisage a hit-and-miss Tottenham or a faltering United side beating the Toffees to fifth place.
What is more, Everton are on a good run, having won five league games in a row and losing just one home fixture in an entire campaign. The acquisitions of Lukaku and Deulofeu, coupled with emergence of Barkley as a potent force make Everton a hard opponent for anyone. We've had a chance to see that for ourselves back in December. We've scraped a draw and, mind you, Wilshere, Ozil and Walcott were available back then.
A win tomorrow throws the race for the fourth spot wide open and it's something the players should be well aware of. Luckily, there's been some positive news regarding our injured.
Ramsey and Monreal will be named on the team sheet and both are extremely welcome. Monreal can (if needed) fill the void left by Gibbs, while Ramsey will give us the end product our current midfield lacks.
I know I've mentioned it already, but the amount of players we have out each year is infuriating. Monreal picked up a knock against Sunderland and haven't played since. Just think of it. A knock that was supposed to keep the Spaniard for a week, maybe two, resulted in a month on the sidelines.
Ramsey injured himself on Boxing Day and should have played against Southampton. Remember that 2-2 draw back in late January? We are into April and the Welshman only just recovered.
That is not the end of the story, though. Gibbs and Gnabry are unlikely to feature tomorrow, the former with a troublesome ankle, the latter with a knackered knee. While Gibbs has played quite a lot this month, it's hard to see, where Gnabry's injury came from. He had hardly made even substitute appearances, so how on Earth did he get himself injured?
Luckily, these knocks have come at a more a less good time. Ramsey will fill in for Gnabry, Monreal will slot in for Gibbs and we carry on. Maybe a few more players will make a comeback against Wigan (I have Koscielny and the aforementioned duo in mind), but we'll manage for now.
Back to our all-important game tomorrow and I expect Arsene to field basically the same squad. It's either Gibbs or Monreal on the left (depending on whether the Englishman is fit), we may see Kallstrom alongside Arteta (don't think Ramsey is ready or should be risked now) and I'd play Rosicky centrally and move Cazorla to the left. Though the Spaniard did good against City, Podolski looked a weak link. Sure, he got an assist to his name and could have nicked a win for us, but he was still largely ineffective.
The main problem with Podolski is that he's neither a striker, nor a winger. He doesn't impress in both positions, preferring to play in a narrow corridor between a winger and a striker, waiting for a perfect pass to explode into life, but spends the rest of the game in shadows. He's not a willing runner forward, doesn't drift infield to create an overload or to help out teammates and shies away from his defensive duties. Moreover, the German's persistence on using only his left foot effectively limits the number of options available to him.
So, I say drop Poldi, play the Ox on the right, Rosicky in the centre and Cazorla on the left and we should be all right. Such a setup ensures our back four receives proper protection, while also not taking anything from our attacking play away.
The manager will also have a decent bench at his disposal, with players on it being able to contribute at both ends of the pitch.
We are still masters of our destiny when it comes to securing the fourth place and this game is vital. Win, and we are seven points clear with five games remaining. Lose, and Everton may leapfrog us in the very near future.
I think we have enough to get the three points, though. City game saw us "turn a corner", if I may quote Arsene here, Ramsey and Monreal are back to help out, so we should be ready both psychologically and physically (after a week off). All that remains is to get a win tomorrow, so we can start worrying about the looming semi-final FA Cup against Wigan.
Come on you reds.