This lively, athletic, skilful Arsenal team looks like one which could be hard to beat.
But it also looks like a team which could draw a lot of games.In the Emirates Cup and the Amsterdam Tournament, they didn’t score a lot of goals. But those games were, of course, training games, not proper matches.
Wednesday night’s qualifier is in the bigger Arnhem stadium, near the German border.
Cesc Fabregas is fit enough, says Arsene. The 21-year old was well off the pace in his first outing in Amsterdam, so the team cannot rely on him as it usually does.
In the equivalent match on August 8, 2006, Fabregas scored two goals in a 3-0 win in Zagreb. A year later, on August 15, 2007, he scored in a 2-0 victory in Prague against Sparta. His strike was the first goal of the game in 73 minutes. Hleb then made it 2-0 after Sagna counter-attacked from a Lehmann throw.
The team and substitutes that night were as follows :
Lehmann ; Sagna, Toure, Gallas, Clichy; Eboue, Flamini, Fabregas, Rosicky; Hleb, VanPersie. Subs: Almunia, Senderos, Song, Bendtner, Traore, Justin Hoyte, Walcott.
I doubt if Twente v Arsenal will be a night of pulsating football action. Both sides could be very cagey. I’m expecting a score of Twente 1 Arsenal 1. But, not having seen Twente play an English club, their potential is impossible to measure. As usual, we shall have to wait and see.
The Arsenal players are so quick and nimble, especially the full backs, that they might swarm all over the Dutch side. And if Arsenal slot an early chance, they might win easily. But we have to assume that all of the shape work that Steve McClaren will have had his team doing is based on smothering the kind of multi-pass game that Arsenal play. He knows how Arsenal move and pass and keep the ball. And McClaren knows that if he loses the home game, the tie is over at half-time.
Having said all that, Arsenal will not be complacent. They all know that this game is far more important than the West Brom game on Saturday. Gallas isn’t complacent, Sagna isn’t, Fabregas is smart as well as skilful, so he will not take anything for granted. Obviously, Van Persie will want to do well. If he passes the ball as well as he did against Real Madrid, Arsenal should have few problems.
The managers are all waiting for cheaper deals, lower prices. Don’t be surprised if Arsene buys on August 31st .
Gerrard may be fit for Liverpool in Belgium. Their first leg is against Standard Liege and I’m excited to see what Robbie Keane can do. Rafa likes 4-2-3-1, so Robbie will be playing here, there and everywhere, which may be how he likes it. Rafa’s favoured three could be Keane-Gerrard-Kuyt.
Liverpool now have three goalscorers. Before signing the Irishman they had two. I reckon Robbie Keane is talented enough to play in any team, so I expect him to click quickly with Torres and Stevie G.