In the AC Milan game, Arsene played 4-5-1 at home against a team of old men who came for a 0-0.
I wanted to see Bendtner come on after 54 minutes, not 74.
Bendtner and Adebayor had 20 minutes together and did not pass to each other.
At Birmingham they had 87 minutes together and did not pass to each other.
When Adebayor was clean through, and could have set up Bendtner for 3-1 to finish the game, he preferred to shoot and Maik Taylor saved. Bendtner had sprinted from the halfway line to support that counter-attack and Adebayor could have given him a tap-in.
OK, both are big centre forwards and they go for the same balls and take up the same positions. That’s something they could improve, if they are willing to work with each other and for each other.
Watching the Birmingham tape again, looking for some positives before the Aston Villa game, I was appalled at how many times Arsenal players chose NOT to pass to Bendtner. He was a leper. He was radioactive. They avoided him. Bendtner was running left and right, coming deep, looking for a pass, a chance to show what he could do. But everybody passed to somebody else.
That’s why Arsenal did not beat 10 men. They were also playing with 10 men because they refused to pass to Bendtner.
I used to enjoy Newcastle when they had two centre forwards, Alan Shearer and Les Ferdinand. Both scored tons of goals and I was a big fan of Sir Les, having watched him a lot at QPR. They proved that two No. 9s can play together. Well, they proved that two English No. 9s can play together. A friendly rivalry can be productive.
It’s a team game. Aston Villa will be a big test of Arsenal’s nerve, teamwork and team spirit.