Video: Togo Team Attack + Everton Preview

Before today’s post, I’d just like to briefly mention how sad events at the border of Congo Brazzaville and Angola have turned out to be. In scenes that revive memories of the terrorist attack of the Sri Lankan cricket team in Pakistan, 1 life was lost and 6 people were seriously injured when the Togolese national team bus was attacked with machine gun fire.

It’s too early to say how much this event affects the entire tournament, but I’ll have some more time after the weekend to write more coherently about what transpired. Any day like today is sad for sport and sad for a game that brings together people around the world in a sport that we all love and believe in.

Here’s a brief video news report that summarizes events as known last night. Obviously more will come out as things settle down:

Back to the grind of the English Premier league….

It really is anyone’s guess as to whether today’s match will go ahead at the Emirates. The tie across town between Fulham and Pompey was cancelled early yesterday, but there was some hope that Arsenal fans won’t be starved from a regular dose of Wengerball, especially after the midweek postponement.

The form guide suggests that Arsenal should win this tie. Since Wenger joined Arsenal in 1996, his team has collected 37 out of the 39 available points at home against Everton. This season, Arsenal have won 8 of the 9 fixtures at home failing only once to score. Moreover, in 7 of the 8 home games, we’ve scored more than 2 goals and kept clean sheets in 5 of them.

Everton on the other hand haven’t travelled well at all winning only 9 of their 10 away games and only managing to keep 1 clean sheet away from home this season. I think it’s fair to say that David Moyes’s team has had an incredible amount of injuries and their table position doesn’t reflect the true potential of his team.

They will perhaps be buoyed by the loan signing of American star Landon Donovan who will more than likely make his debut against Arsenal. Obviously it’s in our interest to make his welcome to the premier league as difficult as possible. We wouldn’t want him getting the wrong impression about Arsenal now, would we? Besides, it’s hard to know whether he would have that immediate impact that Everton need to boost their form.

It was only the other day when their Russian midfielder Diniyar Bilyaletdinov was lamenting that Everton has to learn how to keep the ball better if they were ever going to improve their form. Against Arsenal’s ball retention capability, it might just be a project of sorts. I still believe Everton are a good team though and we will have to be on our guard, despite the fact that we absolutely tonked them in the reverse fixture at the beginning of the season. No one could have predicted that 1-6 score line to the Arsenal, but I think it’s fair to say that it will be extremely difficult to achieve the same feat at the Emirates.

A win will do though and zero complacency is the order of the day. It was interesting to gauge the mood of the press following Ivan Gazidis’s much published interviews, particularly on the point about Arsenal winning trophies.

In the usual fishing expedition at the pre-match press conference, Wenger was quick to point out that Arsenal won’t be guided by fear, but will approach the title race with ambition and desire. I was thoroughly bemused by his ‘veiled’ respect to the press while at the same time taking a swipe at journalists who sit down at their desk to concoct all manner of rumours and lies only to subject him to answer that stupidity the next day when it’s printed as ’fact’.

Rosicky is back and available for selection today but I suspect Wenger will go with a starting line-up of:

Almunia
Sagna, Gallas, Vermaelen, Traore
Denilson, Diaby, Ramsey
Nasri, Eduardo, Arshavin.

Rosicky and Vela will probably get some good game time as subs.

Till tomorrow.