Good morning to you.
I suspect it'll be a short one today as I'm not feeling well. By which I mean that I'm ready to collapse any second. So no small talk, just the preview.
Injury update
The most depressing piece of news is Wilshere's injury. The Englishman has undergone a surgery on his left ankle after Pat McNair tore the ligaments of that ankle. As you can see here, the tackle was horrendous and I don't know why it went unpunished. As you might recall, Mike Dean didn't even whistle for a foul.
The surgery means Wilshere won't play for us till late February/early March and this really is a blow both for us and for him. Jack was starting to really deliver and now he's out. And the problem is not Wilshere's "brittle" ankles, as some might have you believe, but rather an atrocious tackle, which wasn't duly punished. 7amkickoff has written a good article on the subject, so check it out.
In other news, Szczesny and Walcott remain out, while Welbeck faces a late fitness test. However, I've seen both Danny and Theo practice, so we'll see, what part they play today.
Arteta and Sanogo have also joined the injured department, the former with a calf problem, the latter with a cramp. The Frenchman is not that big of a blow, Arteta definitely is, but the Spaniard is out for 2-3 weeks. Hope it's the normal 2-3 weeks, not our usual abyss where players may disappear for up to 3 months. With all that sorted out, let's try guessing the squad once more.
The back five
Emi Martinez should start and I have no problem with that. The Argentine was very solid against Anderlecht and Borussia, so him continuing in goal isn't a worry anymore.
The defense will be tampered with, I suspect. I assume that mostly because of Arsene saying the following:
"Laureant Koscielny is well. If I want him to start, he will start."
Good news. Though Arsene was also full of praise for Monreal...:
"I believe that the players who have played in different positions are doing remarkably well in that position - Monreal has had outstanding games at centre back"
...the sooner Kos is reinstated alongside Mertesacker, the better. Everyone else in the backline should remain the same.
The midfield
If players continue to drop like flies there, soon we'll be having problems. No Ozil, no Arteta and now no Wilshere is damaging enough, especially considering all three are probably starters when fit.
So we'll have to adapt. The manager has shown he trusts Flamini enough to even field the Frenchman ahead of Arteta on a couple of occasions, so I'm pretty certain we'll see Mathieu start today. I'm not over the moon with it, but it's the best option we have.
Ramsey, meanwhile, should also continue, with Cazorla completing the trio of our midfielders. I actually wouldn't object to seeing a Ramsey-Cazorla base with Rosicky under the striker, but Arsene will probably disagree.
The attack
Oxlade and Sanchez are sure to play from the first minutes, though the Chilean will definitely need a rest at some point. We play every three days for the next three weeks and AW will have to rotate and rest Alexis at some point, so as not to risk an injury to our star performer.
Up front it'll be Giroud, I think. Welbeck, just like Sanchez, needs a rest and Sanogo is out. Giroud, meanwhile, is fresh, not having featured in midweek and the Frenchman also has a very good record against mid- and low- table teams. For me, it's a no-brainer to start Olivier.
The verdict
We have (as always) quite a few injures, but we still possess a lot of quality players who can get the right result today. While Flamini for Arteta is a step backwards, Koscielny for Monreal and Giroud for Sanogo is two steps forward.
If we replicate our midweek performance, we should be fine. Let's hope we'll do exactly that, which will automatically enable all the fans to have a good weekend.
Come on you Gunners.
And I'll be back with a review tomorrow or on Monday.
Until then
Follow me on Twitter (@AlexBaguzin)
I suspect it'll be a short one today as I'm not feeling well. By which I mean that I'm ready to collapse any second. So no small talk, just the preview.
Injury update
The most depressing piece of news is Wilshere's injury. The Englishman has undergone a surgery on his left ankle after Pat McNair tore the ligaments of that ankle. As you can see here, the tackle was horrendous and I don't know why it went unpunished. As you might recall, Mike Dean didn't even whistle for a foul.
The surgery means Wilshere won't play for us till late February/early March and this really is a blow both for us and for him. Jack was starting to really deliver and now he's out. And the problem is not Wilshere's "brittle" ankles, as some might have you believe, but rather an atrocious tackle, which wasn't duly punished. 7amkickoff has written a good article on the subject, so check it out.
In other news, Szczesny and Walcott remain out, while Welbeck faces a late fitness test. However, I've seen both Danny and Theo practice, so we'll see, what part they play today.
Arteta and Sanogo have also joined the injured department, the former with a calf problem, the latter with a cramp. The Frenchman is not that big of a blow, Arteta definitely is, but the Spaniard is out for 2-3 weeks. Hope it's the normal 2-3 weeks, not our usual abyss where players may disappear for up to 3 months. With all that sorted out, let's try guessing the squad once more.
The back five
Emi Martinez should start and I have no problem with that. The Argentine was very solid against Anderlecht and Borussia, so him continuing in goal isn't a worry anymore.
The defense will be tampered with, I suspect. I assume that mostly because of Arsene saying the following:
"Laureant Koscielny is well. If I want him to start, he will start."
Good news. Though Arsene was also full of praise for Monreal...:
"I believe that the players who have played in different positions are doing remarkably well in that position - Monreal has had outstanding games at centre back"
...the sooner Kos is reinstated alongside Mertesacker, the better. Everyone else in the backline should remain the same.
The midfield
If players continue to drop like flies there, soon we'll be having problems. No Ozil, no Arteta and now no Wilshere is damaging enough, especially considering all three are probably starters when fit.
So we'll have to adapt. The manager has shown he trusts Flamini enough to even field the Frenchman ahead of Arteta on a couple of occasions, so I'm pretty certain we'll see Mathieu start today. I'm not over the moon with it, but it's the best option we have.
Ramsey, meanwhile, should also continue, with Cazorla completing the trio of our midfielders. I actually wouldn't object to seeing a Ramsey-Cazorla base with Rosicky under the striker, but Arsene will probably disagree.
The attack
Oxlade and Sanchez are sure to play from the first minutes, though the Chilean will definitely need a rest at some point. We play every three days for the next three weeks and AW will have to rotate and rest Alexis at some point, so as not to risk an injury to our star performer.
Up front it'll be Giroud, I think. Welbeck, just like Sanchez, needs a rest and Sanogo is out. Giroud, meanwhile, is fresh, not having featured in midweek and the Frenchman also has a very good record against mid- and low- table teams. For me, it's a no-brainer to start Olivier.
The verdict
We have (as always) quite a few injures, but we still possess a lot of quality players who can get the right result today. While Flamini for Arteta is a step backwards, Koscielny for Monreal and Giroud for Sanogo is two steps forward.
If we replicate our midweek performance, we should be fine. Let's hope we'll do exactly that, which will automatically enable all the fans to have a good weekend.
Come on you Gunners.
And I'll be back with a review tomorrow or on Monday.
Until then
Follow me on Twitter (@AlexBaguzin)