Reading v Arsenal Preview 21 October, 2006

I was speaking yesterday about our injury situation and how we’re starting to get players back. I think I may have jinxed it because now Freddie Ljungberg is our for another three weeks with his calf problem he picked up with Sweden. We can cope without him, it’s just a nuisance to have him out. He might be getting old and some Gooners have been saying he might be sold in the summer but he can still do a job for us at the moment. So Freddie will be out for tomorrow’s game so we might see Walcott starting again or maybe even RVP will take his place, but please, please don’t put him on the wing again.

Also, whilst we’re on the subject of injuries, Lauren won’t be back until at least the new year. He last played for us on 21st January and it looks like it’ll be a whole year from then until his next game. Arsene had this to say yesterday:

Arsene Wenger:

“I don’t think you will see Lauren in the team before January. He played up to the limit of his pain and then maybe he played a little too long. That created some damage in his knee which had to be repaired. But he is a tough, tough boy. He works hard and he will come back. He is making good progress but he still has four or five weeks before he comes back to normal training and then it will take a month’s full training to come back into the team.”

“There is no first-choice right back. The first-choice right back is the one who plays in the next game. This team now is not dependant on one player in any position on the pitch. Everybody has tough competition to stay in the side.”

The other news from yesterday was Cesc signing his eight year deal with Arsenal. Thierry Henry has had some words to say on the new deal:

Thierry Henry:

“I don’t want to put pressure on Cesc, but he is now ready to become one of the best midfielders in English football. He is growing as a footballer and, while he is a different type of player, is filling the void left by Patrick Vieira. Cesc deciding to stay here is as important as me staying. I don’t think I will be here when he is 29. But he is the future of the club, so you have to keep him. When I see him on the pitch, he does not look like a kid anymore. The first time I saw him was at the Under-17 World Cup and he was the tournament’s best player. I heard we had signed him and as soon as he arrived at training, I saw the kid was different to the other players. He has no fear.”

Henry’s right, this is an exiting time for the club. Can’t wait to see what the future holds for Cesc Fabregas. About time for us to give him a proper song? I think so. I remember “…he’s only 17, he’s better than Roy Keane”, but that hasn’t been done for ages.

Ok, so on to tomorrow’s game. It won’t be an easy match for sure but I think we should take all three points back to North London. I expect it to be a defence of Hoyte, Toure, Djourou and Gallas however Clichy might be fit to start pushing Gallas into the middle and Djourou onto the bench. Hopefully we’ll play a 4 man midfield of Rosicky, Gilberto, Cesc and Walcott/Hleb. I think Adebayor will be chosen up top with Henry because it’s an away fixture and he’s run into a bit of form at the moment. So I think Van Persie will start on the bench but I’d be surprised if he doesn’t play some part in this game. I reckon Lehmann will start in goal but don’t be sshocked if he gets knocked out cold and Almunia comes on.

It’s Chelsea v Portsmouth at 3 today and Man Utd v Liverpool. This should be a weekend where we can gain points on our rivals and climb even further up the league. Have a good day people and enjoy the game tomorrow.