By Myles Palmer
Arsene says Sol is only 40-60 for Valencia tonight.
So it could be Stepanovs and Cygan.
And Wiltord will start, it seems, not Freddie.
Is there any good news?
Well, Valencia are not as formidable as they were in 2001.
Hector Cuper was the coach and they beat Lazio 5-2 and Barcelona 4-1 and Leeds 3-0.
They were a marvellously efficient tactical unit.
They were 70% discipline and 30% flair and a whisker away from being the best team in Europe.
VALENCIA ARE NOT THAT SOLID NOW.
Today, Valencia are having a dodgy season by their own high standards. Fourth in the table, but a poor fourth.
They were wholly average in Bilbao on Sunday, losing 1-0.
After a Valencia corner, Etxeberria made a super scissors run,picked up a nice pass, and floated a sublime left-foot shot over Canizares.
It was a really great goal and Arsenal may have to produce a great goal tonight.
Valencia remain a low-scoring side.
John Carew is no James Beattie, even though his pace terrified Cygan in the first game.
Vicente is off-form. He is the winger who said Henry plays in a dinner-jacket.
Ayala looks chunky and slow these days. Once a classy, destructive defender, widely respected and feared, he may be past it now.
Last week I suggested Emerson was past it. That was an own-goal. Emerson is still a great player.
Midfield dynamo Baraja is suspended. He is a very powerful runner, tackler and finisher, a regular for Spain.
ARSENAL CAN LOSE AND STILL QUALIFY, IF ROMA BEAT AJAX.
But I reckon those Ajax kids can draw in Rome.
I like Chivu, Trabelsi, Pienaar, Pasanen,Galasek, De Jong -and firmly believe they will contain Roma.
With Walter Samuel missing, Zlatan might score.
Aldair has blotted out far better players than Zlatan, but he is 37 now and Zlatan is an ebullient 22.
If Ajax can contain Arsenal twice, they can contain Roma.That is my gut feeling. If I’m right, it’s bad news for Arsenal.
So there you have it : A lot of ifs and buts and injuries and missing players on this last day of the mini-league.
Three weeks ago I stated the obvious by saying that mini-leagues take time to unfold, not thinking it would come down to the last kick of the last game.
The permutations make this a tough one to sum up.
But basically Arsenal must win or draw against a Valencia side who are weaker than two years ago.
And tonight the players have a golden chance to justify the faith their manager has placed in them.
The Mestalla in 2003 is what the Stadio delle Alpi was to Man United in 1999, an opportunity for heroics.A chance to do something memorable.
United went 2-0 down and had the bottle to come back and beat Juventus 3-2.
Do Arsenal have that much bottle?Can they survive without Sol?
We shall find out by watching ITV2 at 7.45 tonight.
19th March 2003.