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| Almost Like A New signing: Diaby |
When the Chelsea squad was announced, with 8 changes from
the team that beat Barcelona, I was a bit worried for our chances to win the
game. A second string team that includes Torres, Malouda, Sturridge, Essien,
Bosingwa and Kalou is something to make you more than a little bit worried.
To make matters worse, we lost our previous game at home against
Wigan, so naturally the Arsenal wagon was bound to develop a mechanical fault
and have the handbrake on.
But once the game kicked off, it was clear that Chelsea had come to park the bus and simply not lose. Considering their league position, one would have thought they would have come out all guns blazing to try to get all three points. They seem to have made up their mind that they will win the Champions League this season. I sincerely hope that they do, because if they don’t, and they finish 5th or 6th... Anyway, enough about Chelsea.
Arsenal showed a bit more endeavour in the opening stages of
the first half, the closest we came to scoring was hitting the post and bar from
Van Persie and Koscielny efforts respectively. Chelsea had come to practice
their tactics for the Barcelona game and were happy to sit back and try to hit
us on the counter.
Van Persie had a couple of chances in the second half to
score. First he rushed a right-footed shot when he could have controlled the
ball and brought it on his left peg. Later on, he found the ball on the left of
the Chelsea box, dribbled before having his shot blocked.
The introduction of Abou Diaby with 25 minutes left in the
match gave Arsenal some much-needed drive from midfield. Diaby had a shot
blocked. His ability to dribble, pass, tackle and shoot may just come
in handy in the last 3 games of the season. I sincerely hope he stills fit for the remaining 3 games.
After the game, Arsene Wenger says he hopes Diaby can help us for the remainder of the season. A sentiment shared by Thomas Vermaelen.
Theo Walcott’s season is over after he tweaked his
hamstring. He rather strangely, tried to “run it off”. But I doubt the damage
will be too bad. He should be fit for the Euros this summer- if he is selected.
And so we emerged from the Chelsea game with a draw, a
single point. Make no mistake, a point against
Chelsea at any stage of the season is not a bad thing.
Thankfully Spurs lost against QPR, leaving them 6 point
behind us. At this stage, Newcastle are 3 points behind us with a game in hand.
Even if they win, we still have a superior goal difference so we still have 3rd place in our control- for now.
We simply need to win 2 out of our remaining 3 games to be
make sure 3rd place is well and truly ours. Hell, let’s win all 3
remaining games to be absolutely sure.
Come on your gunners!!!
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@ the_afrogunner on twitter
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