Hello.
Tonight we face West Ham in yet another London derby and we have to win in order to put pressure on Everton.
The Toffees won their game in hand while we were having fun (just kidding) in the FA Cup, so they are two points ahead with a better goal difference. Everton still have to play both Manchester clubs, and at least City are going to give them a hell of a hard time, so fingers crossed we can take advantage of that.
However, we should be more concentrated on our own games and, what's more important, on the level of our performances, rather than wait for a slip-up from Martinez side. We got the job done at Wembley, but the game was decided by the penalties. Had the game ended in normal time, it would have finished with teams level.
We also haven't enjoyed our free-flowing style of play for awhile now, the last time that comes to mind is an encounter against Sunderland. Late February, that was.
Another thing is that we've yet to win a league match since our North London derby. Three losses and two draws since then, not a single clean sheet. Is this somehow connected to the fact, that Koscielny is out? We haven't won anything with a pair of central defenders of Mertesacker and Vermaelen.
This is why I think we have to really get back to basics and start building the team from the back. We've done it last year against Bayern and then went almost a year with the best defensive record in the league. Just one defeat by a three-goal margin (City), everything else was manageable. This February saw our defence give way and we need to rebuild it again.
For now we have to take it game by game and West Ham is the most pressing matter of all, just because it comes sooner than any other game. We had some mixed news from the manager regarding player availability, let's dissect it.
First off, there are doubts regarding a host of first team players, who faced Wigan three days ago, but that's understandable. Ramsey, fresh back from an injury, played over 100 minutes, Oxlade played the full game, the same goes for Arteta, Cazorla, Sanogo and some others. All of them are likely to start the game on the bench and I'm fine with that.
However, it's going to be hard to scrap a decent starting eleven. Szczesny will regain his place between the sticks, Gibbs and Koscielny should start in defence, and I see little choice but to play Mertesacker again, probably with Sagna on the right. Jenkinson is a possibility, but seeing how the manager is reluctant to play the young right-back even in the cup, I doubt we'll see him today.
The midfield is going to be tricky. Assuming Rosicky and Ozil are fit (both took part in the training session) they should start. Rosicky in central midfield, alongside Kallstrom (you don't play Arteta and Ramsey after such a cup game) and Ozil under the striker. Not ideal, but then again, what's the alternative?
In attack, it's probably Podolski on the left (he's relatively fresh), Giroud (same here) and maybe Gnabry on the right. Oxlade looked dead tired, so he's a bench sub at best today.
It looks a decent squad to me, physically able to cope with West Ham and tactically astute to try and implement our style of play. The problem, of course, is getting these players mentally prepared to win this. Arsene should do his utmost to motivate the players to not only win this game, but all the remaining games as well. It's quite probable, that we are gonna need to get 15 points out of 15 points to finish fourth, today will show whether Arsenal is ready for a fight.
Hope they are
Tonight we face West Ham in yet another London derby and we have to win in order to put pressure on Everton.
The Toffees won their game in hand while we were having fun (just kidding) in the FA Cup, so they are two points ahead with a better goal difference. Everton still have to play both Manchester clubs, and at least City are going to give them a hell of a hard time, so fingers crossed we can take advantage of that.
However, we should be more concentrated on our own games and, what's more important, on the level of our performances, rather than wait for a slip-up from Martinez side. We got the job done at Wembley, but the game was decided by the penalties. Had the game ended in normal time, it would have finished with teams level.
We also haven't enjoyed our free-flowing style of play for awhile now, the last time that comes to mind is an encounter against Sunderland. Late February, that was.
Another thing is that we've yet to win a league match since our North London derby. Three losses and two draws since then, not a single clean sheet. Is this somehow connected to the fact, that Koscielny is out? We haven't won anything with a pair of central defenders of Mertesacker and Vermaelen.
This is why I think we have to really get back to basics and start building the team from the back. We've done it last year against Bayern and then went almost a year with the best defensive record in the league. Just one defeat by a three-goal margin (City), everything else was manageable. This February saw our defence give way and we need to rebuild it again.
For now we have to take it game by game and West Ham is the most pressing matter of all, just because it comes sooner than any other game. We had some mixed news from the manager regarding player availability, let's dissect it.
First off, there are doubts regarding a host of first team players, who faced Wigan three days ago, but that's understandable. Ramsey, fresh back from an injury, played over 100 minutes, Oxlade played the full game, the same goes for Arteta, Cazorla, Sanogo and some others. All of them are likely to start the game on the bench and I'm fine with that.
However, it's going to be hard to scrap a decent starting eleven. Szczesny will regain his place between the sticks, Gibbs and Koscielny should start in defence, and I see little choice but to play Mertesacker again, probably with Sagna on the right. Jenkinson is a possibility, but seeing how the manager is reluctant to play the young right-back even in the cup, I doubt we'll see him today.
The midfield is going to be tricky. Assuming Rosicky and Ozil are fit (both took part in the training session) they should start. Rosicky in central midfield, alongside Kallstrom (you don't play Arteta and Ramsey after such a cup game) and Ozil under the striker. Not ideal, but then again, what's the alternative?
In attack, it's probably Podolski on the left (he's relatively fresh), Giroud (same here) and maybe Gnabry on the right. Oxlade looked dead tired, so he's a bench sub at best today.
It looks a decent squad to me, physically able to cope with West Ham and tactically astute to try and implement our style of play. The problem, of course, is getting these players mentally prepared to win this. Arsene should do his utmost to motivate the players to not only win this game, but all the remaining games as well. It's quite probable, that we are gonna need to get 15 points out of 15 points to finish fourth, today will show whether Arsenal is ready for a fight.
Hope they are