Hello everyone.
We face Galatasaray tonight and, while the chances of us topping the group are slim, we will look quite foolish if Anderlecht gets a result against Borussia and we don't win against the Turks. And, as Borussia is not exactly on top of their game right now, I do not exclude the possibility of them losing. We've seen how Anderlecht can be a thorn in the side, let's hope they become one for Borussia.
Team news update
Despite Arsene stating we want to win the game, a lot of key players were left behind. I can understand that: Gibbs and Koscielny need time to recover, Cazorla, Alexis and Welbeck played a lot, Giroud is ineligible and let's not forget about the injured.
However, as Arsene announced the squad a full day before the game (the first time he's done so in my memory), we now know that some of our players won't get a chance to rest. Chambers, Mertesacker, Flamini, Ramsey, and Oxlade will all start. Chambers will have some R&R because of his suspension, thus his next game will be almost two weeks from now. As for the others, well...let's hope Arteta and Walcott make it for our Saturday fixture, thus providing the manager with the opportunity to rest the Ox and Flamini respectively. Mert and Ramsey will have to hold on for dear life. That's the downside of having only three centre-backs and no Wilshere.
However, there is some positive news as well. Ospina, Szczesny and Debuchy have all been deemed fully fit and the latter two will start tonight. Debuchy's return is very welcome indeed, we've missed his experience in some games, while Szczesny and Ospina recovering simultaneously gives Arsene something to think about. I've been (rightly) pointed out recently, that Szczesny's attitude is not always appropriate for a goalkeeper. He has these moments of madness, when he suddenly rushes out of his goal or tries a clever pass instead of just hoofing the ball in the stands or elsewhere. In this sense even Martinez is calmer, though I don't think the Argentine will continue after his display against Stoke. Ospina, meanwhile, is as good a shot-stopper as Szczesny, while the Colombian also has none of the Pole's attitude problems, so I do wonder if he should be given a run. To show just what he can bring to the team. I won't bet on that in the league, we all know Wojciech is Wenger's №1 by default, but Ospina getting a string if games in the FA Cup is not that unlikely. The first cup game will take place on January 3rd and then we'll know where we are with the Colombian. By the way, we've drawn Hull City in the third round, so steel yourselves for all kinds of "Time for the Tigers to right the wrongs of the final" headlines. Good thing is, we play them at home, so this shouldn't be overwhelmingly hard. We'll cross that bridge when we get there, however.
The verdict
This game was christened a "dead rubber game" and it's hard to look at it in any other way. This feeling only intensifies when you look at our bench: Martinez, Zelalem and Akpom are the most prominent memebers there. We have a strong starting XI however, the one that is also more or less fresh and ready to play the entire game. While I hope the likes of Ramsey and Oxlade won't have to do that, there's just no guarantee things will work out as we want them to.
And what do we want really? The qualification is assured, the first spot is unlikely (though not entirely out of queston) and very few of these players will start against Newcastle come Saturday. I guess tonight's game boils down to a good performance, a clean sheet maybe and maximizing our fat chance of topping the group. Like Borussia's fans, we should be by the Germans when they fall, though the reason for that is entirely different.
So come on you Gunners
Wenger in or Wenger out?
I also wanted to address the matter of Arsene Wenger and where we stand with him. Right now the fan base is split down the middle and both sides (#WengerIn and #WengerOut) have thier share of sense to their arguments. We are not taking into account the WOBs and the AKBs, cause extremes rarely tell the full story and give you a clear picture of what's going on.
However, there are all sorts of (mostly logical) opinions flying around. The pundits, the journalists, the bloggers and whatnot have made their positions known during the last couple of days (a week, maybe) while using the variety of platforms to get their message across and I think it's time I've voiced mine. I hope you'll find it sensible. So here goes.
I'll start with the obvious: whether or not you want the manager gone, I think you should respect him. Arsene has done a lot for the Club, no one will deny it. He has won three titles, five FA cups and five Community Shields. He has introduced a whole new system of training players (new fitness regimes, diets and so on). He has built a new stadium when it became clear we were losing a sizeable chunk of profit because the iconic Highbury only held around 35 thousand. He didn't do it with the limitless resources of Chelsea and City, that's why a lot of penny-pinching and operating on a tight budget was involved. We had to pay off the stadium debt till last summer and I suspect us performing the transition from Nike to Puma has a lot do with it: I've heard how Nike was strict to us when it came to returning the loan we took from them to build the Emirates. Finally, Arsene has invented a whole new brand of free-flowing football, football which, when when we pull it off is both aesthetically-pleasing and extremely effective against pretty much anyone. There are only four sides in the whole Europe Arsene hasn't beaten during his 18 years at the helm and these four doesn't include Barcelona, Real, Bayern, Juventus, Milan or any of the English grands. Thie style of football saw us go a whole season unbeaten, took us into the final of the CL (ffor the first time in Club's history) and gifted us players like Henry, Bergkamp, Fabregas, van Persie and on and on. The list of players who blossomed under Arsene is really endless.
Then, there is the question of whether Arsene deserves the stick he's currently getting and it's a wholly different one. Mindless and vile abuses aside, does Arsene deserves to be criticized? It's really hard to answer that, because we don't have access to what's going on inside the Club. For example, many labelled Arsene tactically inept at defending after a 3-3 against Anderlecht, only to then discover it's Bould who trains the defense and organises it at set-pieces. I think the manager is still partly to blame for the team's weak performances this season, but he's definitely not the only responsible guy for that. It's just easy to level critique at him, because we know him well, while fitness coaches and the like are less prominent and, as such, harder to criticize. Arsene's just become the lightning rod, in my opinion and, while he's not flawless, he's also not the pantomime villain many try to present him as.
We can be quite sure he does his best and that he really has the Club's best interests at heart. I think the dissatisfaction stems more from the prolonged reign of our manager: many are tired of the journey, as Tim Stillman nicely put it and want a change. That's why they jump at every opportunity to get Arsene under pressure. Bottom line is this: everyone's entitled to his opinion and, as I've mentioned above, both sides have logic to their arguments. I'm fine with that (the sifference of opinion), but I'm definitely not fine at the amount of abuse Arsene is getting. He's, apart from being a manager, a human being (surprise, surprise), who has his ups and downs, bad and good days, who may not be in the mood. Never forget that.
Should he stay or should he go and, if the answer to the last part of the question is positive, when should he go? I think end of the season is the best time to judge him. We are halfway through December, a lot can change between now and May and Arsene deserves the chance to set the record straight and put things right. If he's unable to do that come May, we'll have that discussion again. For now, I think it'll be best for all parties concerned to not breed negativity and heap even more pressure on Arsene. This will enable him to do his job much better, trust me.
That's it for today. Back soon with a customary review.
Until then
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