Evening everyone.
First things first: the Champions League draw took place yesterday and guess what? We've drawn Borussia Dortmund. Again. For the third time in four years. The other two are Galatasaray and Anderlecht, but I'll get down to these in a minute.
Personally, I think we can consider ourselves unlucky. We all remember how tough it was to qualify last year and, while this draw is more manageable, I still don't like the sound of going to Germany again. We know we can win there, but it's also going to be tough as hell. Borussia has lost Lewandowski since the last time we met and I'm hoping we'll nick Reus from them (though I'm still not sure whether we really are after Marco), but it's not like Dortmund will become pushovers without these two in an instant. And we take them on on September 16th in an away game.
Galatasaray and Anderlecht, meanwhile, look easier on paper. We've played against the Turkish side in UEFA Cup Final in 2000 (lost on penalties), while we've never faced Anderlecht in a European competition. It's the prospect of an away game in Turkey that bothers me the most.
Still, there's a silver lining to the proceedings: Borussia and Gala away are the first and the last game respectively. We go to Dortmund, try and get at least a point there, then thrash everyone at the Emirates and Anderlecht away and that should do for us to go through from the first spot. Meaning it won't matter how we play in Turkey.
Knowing Arsenal, it won't be that easy. But hey, even Arsene admitted the draw is feasible. We've been down Borussia's road before, so the main trick for us will be to get as many fit players to that game as possible. Apart from Giroud, who will, apart from Borussia's game miss four months of football, only Gnabry can be unavailable. If nobody gets crocked during the international break. The list of Arsenal players who'll be leaving to play for their respective countries has just got bigger, with Calum Chambers receiving a call-up. His monumental effort for us was noticed and duly repaid by Hodgson. I'm happy for Calum and think he'll be an asset to this England side, but I'm gonna keep all my fingers crossed he's available again after the break and not down with some kind of injury.
Speaking of availability, Wenger's pre-Leicester press-conference took place today and the Frenchman ruled out Arteta and Gibbs participation, while conceding Ospina may make the squad. On the bright side, these three will definitely be available after the break and Ramsey is coming back on the weekend, fresh and invigorated after missing out on our Besiktas clash. Whatever that means to our line-up, I'll discuss either tomorrow or on Sunday in my usual preview of the game.
The other bits of Arsene's conference were more gripping. Quizzed on the subject of Adrien Rabiot's signing, Arsene smiled and said:
I wonder what that means for Benzema, who has just put pen to paper on a shiny new 5-year-long contract with the Los Blancos. I'm pretty sure Real will buy Falcao out next season, but I hope for a domino effect to commence right now. Remember last year we signed Ozil only after Real signed Bale? I hope for something similar here. But we'll see. With Wenger admitting he likes playing poker games during the last days of the transfer window, I won't exclude any signings.
Finally for today, Manuel Almunia has retired from professional football after he was diagnosed with some heart condition. That's what Arsene said on our former №1:
That's it for today. More here tomorrow.
Until then
First things first: the Champions League draw took place yesterday and guess what? We've drawn Borussia Dortmund. Again. For the third time in four years. The other two are Galatasaray and Anderlecht, but I'll get down to these in a minute.
Personally, I think we can consider ourselves unlucky. We all remember how tough it was to qualify last year and, while this draw is more manageable, I still don't like the sound of going to Germany again. We know we can win there, but it's also going to be tough as hell. Borussia has lost Lewandowski since the last time we met and I'm hoping we'll nick Reus from them (though I'm still not sure whether we really are after Marco), but it's not like Dortmund will become pushovers without these two in an instant. And we take them on on September 16th in an away game.
Galatasaray and Anderlecht, meanwhile, look easier on paper. We've played against the Turkish side in UEFA Cup Final in 2000 (lost on penalties), while we've never faced Anderlecht in a European competition. It's the prospect of an away game in Turkey that bothers me the most.
Still, there's a silver lining to the proceedings: Borussia and Gala away are the first and the last game respectively. We go to Dortmund, try and get at least a point there, then thrash everyone at the Emirates and Anderlecht away and that should do for us to go through from the first spot. Meaning it won't matter how we play in Turkey.
Knowing Arsenal, it won't be that easy. But hey, even Arsene admitted the draw is feasible. We've been down Borussia's road before, so the main trick for us will be to get as many fit players to that game as possible. Apart from Giroud, who will, apart from Borussia's game miss four months of football, only Gnabry can be unavailable. If nobody gets crocked during the international break. The list of Arsenal players who'll be leaving to play for their respective countries has just got bigger, with Calum Chambers receiving a call-up. His monumental effort for us was noticed and duly repaid by Hodgson. I'm happy for Calum and think he'll be an asset to this England side, but I'm gonna keep all my fingers crossed he's available again after the break and not down with some kind of injury.
Speaking of availability, Wenger's pre-Leicester press-conference took place today and the Frenchman ruled out Arteta and Gibbs participation, while conceding Ospina may make the squad. On the bright side, these three will definitely be available after the break and Ramsey is coming back on the weekend, fresh and invigorated after missing out on our Besiktas clash. Whatever that means to our line-up, I'll discuss either tomorrow or on Sunday in my usual preview of the game.
The other bits of Arsene's conference were more gripping. Quizzed on the subject of Adrien Rabiot's signing, Arsene smiled and said:
"I give you one simple answer: I'm not gonna tell you."Encouraging answer. This basically means to me Wenger is out to buy his compatriot, but it also looks like any transfers we have to make will be made on deadline day:
“I will be actively involved but on the last day of the window. I will of course be on alert until the last minute of the transfer deadline.”There are also rumours in the offing about Carvahlo and that Greek defender with a ridiculously long name, but Falcao seems out of the question, as I've seen reports on how Real Madrid has signed the Colombian international on a season-long loan with a buy-out clause.
I wonder what that means for Benzema, who has just put pen to paper on a shiny new 5-year-long contract with the Los Blancos. I'm pretty sure Real will buy Falcao out next season, but I hope for a domino effect to commence right now. Remember last year we signed Ozil only after Real signed Bale? I hope for something similar here. But we'll see. With Wenger admitting he likes playing poker games during the last days of the transfer window, I won't exclude any signings.
Finally for today, Manuel Almunia has retired from professional football after he was diagnosed with some heart condition. That's what Arsene said on our former №1:
"It's very sad that he has a heart condition. I think he is at an age where you can accept that he retires from competitive professional football but I hope there's nothing bad for his future and his health.
"I gave him [more credit than others] because I played him. I think he was a great goalkeeper.”This is really sad. I hope this condition can be cured or at least controlled in some way or another. It's not about whether he was a great goalkeeper or wasn't, it's about a human being suffering from a health problem. Get well, Manuel.
That's it for today. More here tomorrow.
Until then