At last we will see Andrej Arshavin play for Arsenal.
He might start, he might come on. But we will see him play against Sunderland.
The Russian has been training as a right winger. Eboue is now available after suspension but it’s inconceivable that Wenger will start Eboue ahead of Arshavin, even though the latter is not match fit.
Eduardo’s two goals in the 4-0 walkover against Cardiff made the crowd feel good again.
That was very important. It was as important for the fans as it was for Eduardo. People were delighted to see him again, so the stadium was filled with goodwill, as it should be. But a hamstring has now sidelined Eduardo for two weeks.
So we look to Arshavin to give us something to talk about and write about.
He’s a cocky character, so he will enjoy the challenge. You can’t know how rough and fast English football is till you play in it but I have already staked my reputation on the guy. He is an amazing footballer and I can’t wait to see him. He’s not match fit, so he will be passing and shooting rather than dribbling. By April he might be able to make his own goals : get the ball, beat two defenders and smash a shot in. But for the time being he will have to play with his head up and provide smart passes. If Wenger handles his introduction to the team as cleverly as he handled Eduardo’s re-introduction, all will be well.
Arshavin speaks enough English to read a league table and knows that Arsenal are fifth. He knows what he has to do and he knows Clichy, Sagna and Nasri will make runs for his passes.He will be a team player at first, then a matchwinner.
Sunderland are 11th and not mugs.
They have lost five away games, drawn four, won three. Kenwyne Jones can be awesome at certain moments. Two of their last six games have been N.E. derbies and that has not helped them lately. They drew 1-1 at Newcastle and 1-1 at Middlesbrough. In their last league game they beat Stoke 2-0 but they were stuffed 2-1 at home by Aston Villa on January 17.
Villa play Chelsea tomorrow and Martin O’Neill knows his team need to do it now.
If Villa finish fifth they could lose Gareth Barry and Ashley Young.
There are 13 league games left.
Aston Villa are third with 51 points.
Chelsea are fourth with 49
Arsenal are fifth with 44.
If Villa beat Chelsea in the 12.45 kick-off, Arsenal can put pressure on Chelsea by beating Sunderland and moving to within two points of Chelsea.
What is Feb-March-April all about? Well, the FA Cup is six games. The Champions League is 13 more games. Getting into the Champions League depends on the next 13 games. If Arsenal don’t qualify it will cost them £40 million.
What about this year’s Champions League, you ask. Well, the Arsenal franchise needs a couple of glory nights. If the Roma game was a second leg, it could be a glory night. But it’s only a first half.
A betting piece in today’s Guardian says Arsenal are 16-1 win to the Champions League and Dan Roebuck says it’s worth a flutter.
Dan, it’s 16-1 because the second leg is in Rome and Wenger has played 4 European finals in his career and lost all 4.
Realistically, what Arsenal need this season is some glory.
If they played Barcelona in the quarter-final that would be glorious. If they lost 4-3 on aggregate after two exciting games, that would be glorious. A win in the Nou Camp would be super-glorious.
I don’t want to hear any more waffle about “custodians” and “sustainable business-models”. I’m absolutely sick of all that. Football is about ambition and winning and glory. It’s about having great footballers in your team, not great athletes who can’t pass the ball ten yards.
Arshavin is a great footballer and he’s playing tomorrow. That’s all I care about right now.
There is loads of stuff I’d like to write, three other pieces, but they’ll have to wait till next week. There’s A LOT that needs to be said. But right now I’m gonna take the phone off the hook and do 4 hours work on my book and then dive up to the gym.