Theo Walcott is expected to start at Anfield, according to today’s papers, and that is the right call.
He’s fit, he’s playing in a striking role which suits his gifts, and his manager has huge faith in him.
Arsenal also have a strong bench now. Rosicky or Eduardo could come on and score a goal, if needed.
Liverpool have been jittery in defence, so they will start the game in a conservative manner to avoid conceding an early goal.That will help Walcott to settle into the game.
It’s an exciting fixture for right back Bacary Sagna, who has been up to every challenge so far. He’s playing as if he’s been there for years.
I’m glad everybody now shares my view that Hleb is a very good footballer. He has improved, to be fair.
Arsene Wenger v Rafa Benitez is a clash of very different philosophies.
Arsene thinks : We’re the stars, let them mark us, let’s concentrate on how we want to play – and if we play as well as we can do, we will win.
Rafa is a tactician who often picks his team round the opposing team, and in a match as important as this he will try to nullify Arsenal’s strengths, notably the creative passing of Fabregas, and the menace of Hleb, a dribbling passer who helps Fabregas link it all together.
That is difficult, however, because an Arsenal attack is usually an ensemble play where the passes are made so early that it’s hard to get tackles in, even if you’re a world class marker like Mascherano. And it’s difficult to get the ball off Hleb without fouling him.
Big game for Adebayor, who might even score.That can happen. And it’s a good stage for Walcott, another big opportunity. It was vital that Walcott played well against Slavia. If he had not played well, his career might have suffered a severe set back.
I think Walcott is ready. Why do I think that? Because Arsene is playing him. A long time ago I noted that I wasn’t gonna stress about Theo Walcott, his age, his future, or any of that. I said : When he’s ready, Arsene will play him. If he’s not ready, he won’t be in the side, and I won’t see him, I won’t think about him, I won’t write about him.
It’s Stevie G’s 400th game for Liverpool but that doesn’t mean Rafa will play Gerrard in central midfield.
Rafa has revealed that Pennant has been playing with a stress fracture of the tibia and will now have surgery.
The only team to hold Arsenal to a draw is Blackburn, who play at White Hart Lane.
Juande Ramos will watch that game before he takes over. Ramos will like Keane and Berbatov, but not much else, I fancy. He will prefer the hard-working Blackburn side built by Mark Hughes, a 43-year old now regarded as the best British manager of his generation.
I heard a whisper today that Spurs have two offers on the table for the club .
The offers are £250 million but Danniel Levy apparently wants £450 million. He’s an accountant who doesn’t seem to realise that Spurs can never be worth £450 million while he is running the company.
Levy asked Abramovich for too much money when he came calling. Spurs could be where Chelsea are now.
It’s a shame there is so much denial at the Lane, a pity so many people are delusional about the brand. The club needs new owners, who would hand a P45 to Director of Football Damien Comolli on day one.
Can you name one British club where the Director of Football model has worked ?
Manchester United will go top tonight, after beating Middlesbrough, but Arsenal will regain the lead at Anfield. The Liverpool game will be close, and perhaps controversial, but the force is with this side at the moment. They have the appetite to win and, crucially, they have the momentum.
Avram Grant and Sven-Goran Eriksson will still be friends after the Chelsea -Man City game today.
City could not string more than three passes together last week, when they beat Birmingham 1-0 following the international break, but they will have been working hard on that this week.
And they will have seen how lucky Chelsea were against Schalke, when a deflected shot by Malouda went through the keeper’s legs after 4 minutes.
As we all know, football is unpredictable. Things like that can happen in any game in any country.