Arsenal isn’t a massive game for the Spurs players, staff and fans.
It’s bigger than that.
A Spurs v Arsenal Carling Cup semi-final at White Hart Lane puts Tottenham 90 minutes from Wembley.
It’s a big one. It’s really huge for THFC and their supporters.Their season could end tonight.
Facing Chelsea or Everton in the final would be megatastic for Tottingham, as the great Ardiles used to call them.
Of course this game also puts Arsenal 90 minutes from Wembley but that’s not now Juande Ramos thinks about it.
At Sevilla, Ramos has proved to be master of two-legged ties, where a game of football last three hours. He won back-to-back Uefa Cups and also the King’s Cup in Spain, so he has proved good at sussing teams out in the first leg and stopping them winning in the second leg. Ramos has a great track record in 180-minute games
So in Saturday’s home match against Sunderland, Ramos rested four important players : Ledley King, Chimbonda, Keane and Malbranque. Leading 1-0 from Lennon’s very early goal, he brought on Keane and Chimbona for 15 and 10 minutes at the end. And Keane scored.
Monday’s news that Senderos was out after a “blow to the nose” was a surprise. I’m dubious about that, frankly.
Before that news broke, and before we knew the squad for the game, I figured Arsene would use Gallas-Senderos, and Clichy at left back. I didn’t think he would use Traore against Aron Lennon in an away game. Lennon is very zippy and scored after two minutes on Saturday, so he will be hot to trot.But when I saw the squad, which I assumed was the offical squad, it did not include Clichy.
Apparently the team & bench will be selected from :
Fabianski, Justin Hoyte, Gallas, Traore, Diaby, Denilson, Gilberto, Eduardo, Walcott, Bendtner, Mannone, Sagna, Rosicky, Randall, Gibbs, Lansbury, Gavin Hoyte.
The first leg was a 1-1 draw but Arsenal won it. They won it because Spurs played very well and dominated but couldn’t do better than a 1-1. Arsene’s kids beat the Spurs first team because they didn’t lose. That’s how most Gooners saw the first leg.
If it was me, I’d play Clichy and have Adebayor and Hleb on the bench.
But Arsene believes in his young players and that’s commendable because if he doesn’t believe in them, they won’t believe in themsleves. And nobody else will either.
However, it feels like mixed messages on Walcott. Last week he was taken out of the first team squad at Fulham because he has not improved as much as the manager expected. That made sense because the lad was getting negative headlines. But now he’s back to play Spurs at White Hot Lane? Does that make sense? Is Walcott really gonna start this second leg?
Is he playing William Gallas to make sure it’s a respectable failure? If it’s 4-1 to Spurs, would that be a humilation? Or can it only be a humiliation if the Spurs first team loses to Arsenal’s kids ?
The $64,000 question is : Can Spurs play as well in the second leg as they did in the first ?
Yes, I’d say. But even if they do, it doesn’t mean they’ll win. All the expectation is on Spurs. All the pressure is on them to score first.
If Arsenal score first, it will be interesting. And it if it goes to extra time it will be very interesting.
By now you will have forgotten my views on the first leg. I know I had. It seems more than 2 weeks ago.
So what do we think? Two weeks ago these two clubs played a 90-minute first half and nothing about that match matters now except the score of one goal each. Many chances were missed in the first leg. I might have a bet on more than 2.5 goals tonight. I’m looking forward to the game. I’m quite excited