Friday, January 25, 2008

A tricky tie but we should prevail

Was this the most trying week of the season for an Arsenal fan? Quite possibly. Not only we were comprehensively defeated at the hands of our North London arch-rivals, but news of the bust-up between Adebayor and Bendtner gave everyone reason to doubt the team's resolve, maturity and cohesion. The last one seems odd, since it is rather obvious (to anyone who bothers to read the body language of our players during the game) that our guys clearly enjoy playing with and for each other.

So it's the newly reborn Newcastle today, in a game that matters much more than it should under normal circumstances. Our players will be under very serious scrutiny from everyone: the fans, the press and, most importantly, the rest of the chasing pack. Is this the day when the team truly implodes under the weight of absences, injuries, and newly found expectation? Or is the team going to put the Spurs loss behind them with a fluid and efficient performance that will easily see them through the 5th round of the FA Cup? We'll have the answer in less than 24 hours - and what an interesting answer this should be. Without question, no other team has given their fans the type of rollercoaster ride that we have enjoyed as Arsenal fans - something to truly cherish.

Arsene Wenger suggested yesterday that we could see the best lineup he has available:
"Now we want to bounce back from the disappointment on Tuesday night and we want to do well on Saturday. When I am in the situation when I have to choose between the FA Cup and the Premier League or the Champions League, I will prioritise the two other competitions aswell. But at the moment the FA Cup is the next game and we want to win it"
The probable lineup, therefore, could look like this:

1 Lehmann

3 Sagna 10 Gallas 6 Senderos 22 Clichy

13 Hleb 4 Fabregas 16 Flamini 7 Rosicky

25 Adebayor 9 Eduardo

At the end of the day, we should be once again victorious. 3 -1 with a brace from Eduardo.

Spurs will knock out Man United and halfway through the second half, things will get really messy between Ferdinand and Tevez... You read it here first!

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