No Balls, No Babies: Go For IT Arsenal!
ByThat’s right, you can’t go forth and multiply without the necessary cojones in the same way that you can’t go and wrestle the right to play in the Champions League semi-final without the balls to stand up and be counted.
I think it’s an attribute that someone called ’testicular fortitude’ when describing the audacity of the last minute goal against Wolves over the weekend.
It’s going to be a strange night tonight, a cup final if you will. It’s a night where form goes right out of the window and audacity and courage takes over.
In truth, Barcelona will be cursing themselves for not killing off Arsenal when they had the chance.
Years ago, I was introduced to a fairly unsavoury character who made Tony Soprano look like a pussycat. My associates and I were organizing an event in South East London, and had to shop around for ’security’ because we had a tight budget.
It wasn’t the sort of event that you’d go down the market and haggle for a £8 an hour bouncer to satisfy the minimum requirements of your entertainment licence. This was one of them events that you actually needed the security and had to stretch your budget.
So in interviewing the new prospect, he decided to share some anecdotes about some of the ’challenges’ his boys had to deal with. I suppose he wanted to impress me so as to nail down the lucrative contract.
What sticks to my mind was his assertion that in his type of business, if you have a chance to deck the opposition an finish them, the worst thing you can do is let them get up and come back at you.
For the sake of expediency, I’m sure you’ll excuse me for not going into detail.
His take on the issue resonates with the current situation Barca and Arsenal are in. It’s fine pontificating about the galactic football that Barcelona unleashed in the first 45 minutes of last Wednesday’s opening tie, but the object of the exercise was to win.
The fact of the matter is that Barca succumbed to what Arsenal has been accused of for years on end – Pretty football with no end result.
It was clear that Barca were the more worried team in the last quarter of the match, and for that reason, I believe Arsenal have a psychological advantage.
It’s not going to be an easy game by any means, but Arsenal were past their stage fright by the time Fabregas buried the equalizing penalty. Arsenal had the momentum and Barcelona knew it and it rattled them.
Everyone outside the Emirates has taken the view that there’s no chance in hell for Arsenal to come out of the Camp Nou with a victory. I tend to feel being written off especially in Europe does work to Arsenal’s advantage if you think of previous results against both Inter and AC Milan at the Sansiro, Real Madrid at the Bernabeu, and the Old Lady in Turin.
Both teams are affected by the walking wounded with Arsenal missing 5 preferred first choice players. I doubt if those on the pitch will be taking the view that they are not worthy and that has to be a good sign.
The expectation is that the boys have been forced to watch the DVD of Wednesday’s game so many times that they’ve had to live and breathe it enough to know what is tactically needed for the game.
We have the personnel to address the changes needed and my sense is that the victory has to be driven by our mental strength. Arsenal gave Barca too much respect when they rolled into town, we have to redeem ourselves and yank that confidence away from them.
The boys have nothing to lose. Go out there and play your game.
Show that you all have the balls to fit the mental fortitude and character that you’ve shown us this season.
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Enjoy the game wherever you are.
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Tue 13th September 2011; 19:45, Dortmund
EVEN A BLIND SQUIREL FINDS A NUT NOW AND AGAIN, I BELIEVE BARCA HAD THEIRS LAST WEEK, WE’LL FIND OURS TONIGHT, “GOONER TILL I DIE”
Steve.
I think Barca’s hope that we’ll be tactically naive again is the wrong peg to hang their hat on. I get the sense that even they know that not killing us off first time round may come to haunt them big time.
Guardiola’s strategy for dealing with our strenths, especially Theo Walcott is to starve us off the ball.
Firstly, they’ll have to press hard all match to do this, and they’ve already shown that this is not sustainable against an Arsenal side fitter than a butcher’s dog.
Secondly, we started the last game with 3 unfit players who weren’t able to give 100%, plus Diaby and Song who had stage fright.
Regardless of who we have out of the side, the ones who will play will be fit and they will make it hard for Barca to have the freedom of the park.
I suspect Wenger will start with:
Almunia
Sagna, Campbell, Vermaelen, Clichy
Denilson, Diaby, Nasri
Eboue, Bendtner, Rosicky
I think Theopedo will be used to scare the living shit out of their makeshift back 4 once Eboue wears them down. Wenger may take of Sagna and keep an attacking pair of Eboue and Walcott out right, but I think he’ll be tempted to also use Vela’s pace as a sub on the left to hit them from both sides with 2 of the paciest wingers in world football.
“The boys have nothing to lose. Go out there and play your game.”
Very true Darius.
I think the outcome is going to hinge on how effective we are on the counter attack. This is a priceless opportunity for Nasri to establish his credentials as an able pivot for the team. I hope too that Diaby steps up to the plate to carry his share of the load atleast. Denilson could use every bit of help he can get in that midfield.
Formidable as the odds are, the outcome is by no means a foregone conclusion. A victory here could be decisive in the development of this team.
Counting down the minutes to the bloody game here…..
Saloner.
I think Diaby and Denilson can have big games. It’s the kind of game that can make their name and they have a motivation in that their national team managers will be watching.
There’s rumours doing the rounds about Campbell having a tight hammy. I think Wenger will start with him if he can get away with it, but if all fails, I suspect it will be a back four of Eboue, Sagna, Vermaelen and Clichy.
I’m going to try and keep myself busy until half 7. Everything that has to be said in the media has been said and as expected, very few give Arsenal a chance.
Sol’s doubtful availability is news to me Darius. But, now that you list that back four, I confess to feeling, specially given Ibrahimovic’s absence, that Sagna-Vermaelen might actually be quite a good choice. The defence will primarily be dealing tonight with pace and craft, rather than muscle, I’d imagine?
Like I said, they’re rumours and until the team news comes out at about 6.45 pm, in my mind, they’ll remain rumours (considering that it’s SSN and Talk sport fighting out to come up with ‘exclusive’ news).
I wouldn’t put anything past the punks.
Andreas Iniesta has been confirmed as being in the Barca squad though, and he has been employed in the front 3 before. I think he’ll be on the bench – and saved for El Classico this weekend.
The noise from Spain is that Barca are aware of Arsenal’s threat and their strategy will be to starve Arsenal of the ball.
Guardiola was adamant that it’s impossible to try and stop Theo who can do 100m in 10.3 seconds flat (it was apparently the world record in 1930 and Theopedo clearly might have had a career alongside Lightning Bolt), so he’s just going to make sure Theo doesn’t get the ball.
They’ll certainly try that. But we have to be breathing down their necks constantly, as allowing them time on the ball can only result in ours being cut off eh?