West ‘Am Preview 28 September, 2007
Posted by lasagnechef in Premiership.trackback
Tomorrow we make the short trip to Upton Park to try and better last years result. We’re on form at the moment and even though West Ham aren’t doing too badly themselves I’m sure they won’t be looking forward to the visit of the Gunners. You’d think the team would be fully fit after the rotation mid-week, but no. Eduardo and Song are out, I’m not sure how bad those injuries are but we have back up in those areas so we should cope. Other than that it’s what you’d expect, no one else has recovered since the last game, however remember Eboue is back and played on Tuesday.
Manuel Almunia is set to start and he’s been talking about his run as 1st team goalie. Here’s what he had to say:
“It has been a really good season for us so far and personally for me. I am enjoying so much my position in the team and I am trying to help the team as best I can. At the moment things are going well and I keep my fingers crossed that it stays the same. I am a better keeper now. If you are a hard worker and don’t get down then you always improve. If it’s not this year then it’s next year but in the end you will play if you keep going and going. If you try to improve every day you get the results and that’s what is happening with me.”
Lehmann’s cock-ups at the start of the season cost him his place in the team despite how ‘injured’ people say he is. Jens is going to have to work hard to prove he is the best here but Almunia is making it hard for him.
So here’s my guess at the team:
Sagna - Toure (c) - Senderos - Clichy
Eboue - Fabregas - Flamini - Hleb
Adebayor - Van Persie
I’d like to see either Diaby or Gilberto replace Flamini in the middle but I think Arsene will stick with what works and keep Mathieu in the team. I’ve said before I do not like Diaby out on the wing but obviously Arsene doesn’t listen to a single word I say and I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s out there tomorrow. Without Gallas that’s pretty much the strongest team we could pick. Rosicky could possibly come into the side but apart from that it’s as good as it gets.
We could come up against our own Freddie Ljungberg tomorrow which would be very weird. I have no idea whether he’s injured or not but I cannot be arsed to find out. I should be watching the game in some pub in Watford, however you follow the action, enjoy it. Hopefully I’ll have a match report up soon. See ya.
Wenger has said that Rosicky won’t be ready until the Sunderland game and I can personally see Hleb starting on the left with Diaby on the right.
As for Flamini, I think he’s done an outstanding job this season and fully deserves to keep his place. I don’t think Gilberto or Diaby are capable of playing with the same energy and whilst we’d like to think of Diaby as the new Vieira, he clearly isn’t. Flamini and Diarra should be the first choice defensive midfielders with Cesc and Denilson as first choice creative midfielders. Gilberto and Diaby are further behind but are obviously extremely important members of a squad designed to last a full season in 4 competitions.
I think you can see from our appaling injury record that we are going to need every player we have throughout the season and what Arsene has shown with the situations of Eboue, Gilberto and Lehmann amongts others is that if you come in and do a great job you will keep your place in the side. Sagna, Flamini and Almunia have taken their chances and now it’s up to them to put in the performances that will keep them in the side.
I can see a 1-2 to Arsenal at the Boleyn on Saturday.
Sorry, I mean Diaby on the left and Hleb on the right!
i belive in what Arsene will do tomorow will be the best for the young gooners. gunners for live. i love arsenal, God bless Arsenal
Senderos is REALLY low on confidence these days and an accident waiting to happen. We don’t need that away even if it’s “only” against W. Ham. I’d rather see Gilberto partner Toure at the back. Other than that I agree with you on your starting line-up and I’d go for Fabianski-Diarra-Denilson-Bendtner-Senderos on the bench. Should be an exciting game but I count on Wenger and Arsenal to bring 3 points home across London. Van Persie, Hleb and Flamini/Eboue to score in a 3-1 victory.
I’d love Senderos to score (not in his own net, obviously) a towering header from a set-piece to boost his confidence. Likewise, another cheeky goal from someone like Hleb, Flamini or Diaby would help keep confidence high among those who aren’t being lauded to high heaven in the way that Sagna, Cesc, Ade-cool are.
I really don´t know why but I think that this game is going to be a test for us, it is going to be tough. Hopefully we are gonna bring home the three points. Arsenal is highly motivated and to keep up the good run will only benefit our spirit and the players commitment.
Flamini should play and the main concern is wether Hleb will play from the beggining and what to do with Diaby. Defense and Up front with RVP and Ade is almost sure.
I wont be able to watch the game tomorrow but will be following it in the net.
Rick
Hope Arsenal will slip playing away, so liverpool can catch up. West ham have a bunch of players may prevent the gunners to shoot their fire. A draw should be good enough
No offence.
I’d rather see Hleb on the left and Eboue on the right with Diaby on the bench, than see him start on the wing. Don’t get me wrong, Diaby is very talented, but Eboue is likely to be far more dangerous powering down the flanks and getting crosses in at speed and it would be nice to see Eboue and Sagna linking up. Diaby can do the job, I just don’t think he’s as comfortable, so I don’t think it’s really worth playing him.
west ham. aston villa. everton. these are the sort of games that will define our season. eboue’s performance against n’castle was very encouraging. suddenly, it seems like we have depth to handle the season.
let’s hope that big phil can keep from crapping his pants against ashton. I can see us keepign a clean sheet, though. much as I love freddie, I think his loss of pace is going to kill west ham tomorrow. C”mon you gunners!
P.S. Fuck David Dein! None of this is usmanov’s fault. He’s a scum-bag businessman, but this is what scumbag businessmen do. They buy their way into lucrative businesses where they aren’t wanted. I lay this whole thing at Dein’s feet for pimping our club around to the highest bidder.
I hear Ljungberg’s playing and I wonder how well he’ll perform. He’s usually up for the big games though I’ll be hoping he doesn’t have a blinder. He may not have the same pace, he may go down easily but he’s still prone to moments of classiness.
I’m wary of Ashton mostly though and the threat he will pose to us.
I think Almunia and Senderos are the weakest links in the team now. I’ve not been impressed with Almunia since the White Hart Lane game. The goal by Bale was the type any of the other top four keepers could’ve saved. His performance in the second half was also not impressive. His positioning in the game with Serville were scary, Kanoute was really unlucky. As for Senderos, he’s panicky all games he’s featured even in the Carling Cup game. We’ve just been lucky with him on the field. As a result, I’m still rooting for Jens despite those mistakes and will like Gilberto to replace Senderos more so when we’ll be confronting Dean Ashton and Belamy who have a lot of pace to burn.
West Ham Match Review
I have to say that comment 12. 433. Is the biggest pile of manure that I have seen for a long time. RvP was rightly considered by most to be man of the match and the comment about annoyig Wenger is just not true. Ulterior motive here, monsieur?? I think so..
Full Highlights Up !!
Arsenal vs. West Ham Utd : Full Highlights @
http://desigooner.blogspot.com/2007/09/full-highlights-arsenal-1-0-west-ham.html