Tonight sees us take on Leeds, a team which not so long ago graced the high echelons of the Premier League but has since fallen spectacularly like a stone from a great height.
The focus for tonight's game must be getting the 3 points and facing Aston Villa at home in the next round. Manchester City were knocked out by Manchester United yesterday. Although there are still a lot of strong teams left in the competition, I quite fancy us to win this year's FA cup if we approach it with the right attitude.
Our squad depth is looking as shallow as a bath tub at the moment and this is something that only the manager can address. Injuries, suspensions, exhaustion and the Africa Cup of Nations dictate that we use squad players for this game.
We are pretty light in defence and attack at the moment. We could see Miquel and Coquelin in the fullback positions tonight. In goal, Szczesny could be rested for Manuel Almunia to get a game. Now, although some people are not too comfy with Almunia, I don't think he is too bad. He is not very reliable when you need him to be, but he is a good shot stopper when under the cosh. And if he cannot do a decent job tonight against (with all due respect) Leeds, then I would opine that he shouldn't still be on the books of Arsenal.
I think we have enough in midfield to control and win this game. Rosicky, Arshavin, Benayoun and Song are all seasoned internationals who should really not be too troubled by Leeds.
In attack, Chamakh will probably start in place of the rested Van Persie. I expect the likes of Walcott and Arshavin to play in the second-striker position. I would like to see us revert to a 4-4-2 for this game so that we can play two strikers up front. This may just help us win the match over 90 minutes. Thierry will most likely come off the bench in the second half. I hope by that time we are winning so that there isn't too much pressure on him to produce magic. That said, he has won everything in football and coping with pressure is part of that process.
We must take hold of the game from the first whistle and pen Leeds back. I think their strategy will be to try for an early goal then sit back and play on the counter. We must not allow them to score first. And if we score first, we should not faff around but must kill the game off. We certainly do not need a replay of this fixture as that will be detrimental to our tired and broken legs already.
Other than that, not much doing except Arsene doing his usual talking down the significance of not winning a trophy in six years. You can have a read.
Enjoy the game wherever you are.
The focus for tonight's game must be getting the 3 points and facing Aston Villa at home in the next round. Manchester City were knocked out by Manchester United yesterday. Although there are still a lot of strong teams left in the competition, I quite fancy us to win this year's FA cup if we approach it with the right attitude.
Our squad depth is looking as shallow as a bath tub at the moment and this is something that only the manager can address. Injuries, suspensions, exhaustion and the Africa Cup of Nations dictate that we use squad players for this game.
We are pretty light in defence and attack at the moment. We could see Miquel and Coquelin in the fullback positions tonight. In goal, Szczesny could be rested for Manuel Almunia to get a game. Now, although some people are not too comfy with Almunia, I don't think he is too bad. He is not very reliable when you need him to be, but he is a good shot stopper when under the cosh. And if he cannot do a decent job tonight against (with all due respect) Leeds, then I would opine that he shouldn't still be on the books of Arsenal.
I think we have enough in midfield to control and win this game. Rosicky, Arshavin, Benayoun and Song are all seasoned internationals who should really not be too troubled by Leeds.
In attack, Chamakh will probably start in place of the rested Van Persie. I expect the likes of Walcott and Arshavin to play in the second-striker position. I would like to see us revert to a 4-4-2 for this game so that we can play two strikers up front. This may just help us win the match over 90 minutes. Thierry will most likely come off the bench in the second half. I hope by that time we are winning so that there isn't too much pressure on him to produce magic. That said, he has won everything in football and coping with pressure is part of that process.
We must take hold of the game from the first whistle and pen Leeds back. I think their strategy will be to try for an early goal then sit back and play on the counter. We must not allow them to score first. And if we score first, we should not faff around but must kill the game off. We certainly do not need a replay of this fixture as that will be detrimental to our tired and broken legs already.
Other than that, not much doing except Arsene doing his usual talking down the significance of not winning a trophy in six years. You can have a read.
Enjoy the game wherever you are.
