ALMUNIA, Baptista and Freddie !
They were in the probable line-up that accompanied my Kellogg’s Bran Flakes on Saturday morning.
We have The Daily Telegraph on Saturdays, although sometimes we have The Guardian as well, if I think I’ve got time to read it.
The Telegraph’s probable Arsenal line up had Almunia in goal with Baptista and Freddie up front. Many “probable” line-ups are inaccurate, of course, so I didn’t choke on my cereal.
It’s Freddie’s last game, which was why the players were making a big fuss of him during the “lap of honour” after the 1-1 draw against Chelsea last week. I’d left by then, so I missed that.
Freddie will want to go out with a goal. His value to the team was his goals and his guts and the timing of his runs. In his prime he was a fantastic player for Arsenal, when had Bergkamp to play him in.He was a big game player and his FA Cup Final goals were legendary strikes, as was his first against Schmeichel, his two against Lazio, and many others.
At his best, Freddie Ljungberg was a helluva player. Like Marc Overmars, he was a great third striker who made Arsene’s attacking style come alive, made it work. Like Overmars, he scored the goals that won the trophies.
Portsmouth v Arsenal?
Who cares? It doesn’t mean anything.
Therefore I wonder if Arsenal will turn up.
They didn’t turn up at Anfield. They didn’t want to be there. They wanted the season to be over. And they lost 4-1.