Derby this evening and a trip to what a team that is being described as statistically the worst in Premier League history. Reminiscent of the visit to Stoke in the mid-80s when they were relegated with an equally appalling record, beating only I believe Arsenal and Manchester United at the old Victoria Ground, it was day I remember well; a sunny Spring afternoon in late March, travelling up confident of victory, coming home with a tail between my legs following on from a two goal defeat.
Just kidding. Although not about the defeat at Stoke which was no laughing matter. It seems that overly negative thoughts have overrun the Arsenal world with the reality of the situation giving way to recriminations and finger pointing. Consider where the club has been and where it is now. Last season, the princely total of sixty-eight points, twenty-one behind the champions and lagging in fourth place. The season before? Only qualifying for the Champions League on the basis of a dodgy lasagne.
This season has petered out in a disappointing fashion. Whilst the title is not yet out of reach - a win this evening means the gap is four points - to expect United and Chelsea to fail to win either of their last two games is clutching at some very long straws indeed. Yet a gap of four points to the Champions who are likely to end within a small ballpark of the total last season’s title represents a massive improvement. That is not the only margin by which this season should be judged. Eleven defeats has been turned around to three so far with none at home.
Given the background with a new stadium being built that the squad have raised a title challenge this season is something that should be celebrated to a certain extent. The downside is that they fell short yet the expectation before the season started was not even to be there or thereabouts. Arsene has been the singularly most successful manager in the clubs history but that is being used as the rope with which to hang him.
I read a comment somewhere that warned of Arsene leading the club into the same cycle that Brian Clough did with Nottingham Forest, eventually leading to their demise. Yet that spell took well over a decade from the glories of the European Cup to relegation. Anyone who suggests that Arsene is putting Arsenal on that route is completely barking.
I would have thought that there is sufficient goodwill for Wenger to be given time to pursue his policies yet it appears that this is not necessarily the case. Before the start of this season, Arsenal were doomed to fail because Tottenham had spent big and were going to rampage their way into the top four. It did not happen although they have commendably battered to eleventh, a measly thirty-one points behind having played a game more. That is not a case for complacency though yet it does highlight the need for knee-jerk reactions to be tempered.
And so to this evening’s fixture. The midfield has been weakened with Alexander Hleb starting his suspension and Abou Diaby picking up a knock in a reserve fixture last week. Set fair for a return seems to be Denilson. The right hand side of midfield might well take on a more defensive look with Eboue starting ahead of Walcott. Whilst Theo deserves to get playing time, Arsene has been reluctant to start him in away games. Despite Derby’s position in propping up the table, I doubt that he will start the youngster although I would have said that there was a strong case for him to get at The Rams straight away. Whether Walcott starts depends largely on who is leading the line. A lot of the weekend’s papers seem to think that Bendtner is going to get his chance although I cannot recall seeing anything to suggest Adebayor would not be available.
I suspect Arsene will go with
Fabianski; Toure, Gallas, Song, Clichy; Eboue, Fabregas, Gilberto, Denilson; van Persie, Adebayor
Returning to Hleb for a moment. One thing that has struck me as odd with all of this hoo-hah surrounding his contract. Arsene has berated the introduction of Article 17 and its implications. Yet neither he nor the club has emerged with any credit over the Byelorussians’ contract. If Arsene was genuinely concerned about Hleb leaving, it would have been sensible for negotiations to have started on a new one before the provisions of Article 17 could take effect. On the surface, it seems that there is more to this than meets the eye.
Enjoy tonight’s match wherever you are watching it. ‘til Tomorrow.
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. most gooners admire arsene’s faith in his squad and young recruits but we need numbers in the squad not 5-6 players but 2-3 players of real quality(not big names ).
