It will be interesting to see how we line up tomorrow night. Injuries to Almunia, Gallas, Song and Arshavin see Arsene's options severely limited. The real problem for me is the missing Song, as it this area where we really lack quality cover. Obviously Fabianski and Campbell will come in at the back. Now I shall digress
If I were Arsene then I would be tempted to switch to a 4-4-2. I'd play the obvious back four, then Eboue could play a slightly roaming role on the right of midfield, with a license to drift inwards a little to help out the central pair of Diaby and Cesc. I'd then slot Nasri on the left, then a front two of Eduardo and Bendtner would do nicely. I am not Arsene and many of you are very thankful for that, so I suspect he shall stick with 4-3-3, Denilson will come into the midfield, it really is make or break for him now, I would then guess that we would see a front three of Theo, Bendtner and Nasri.
This is a big game in many ways, not only does a lot of our season hinge upon this cup competition but if certain players do not step up then there will be some rather big question marks hanging over their heads in the summer. Porto will make it tough, they will be useful in possession as always, the most important thing in my opinion is that we go there to win, we must have enough men up the pitch so that we do not simply lose the ball because our lone striker is too isolated, we must attack, attack is the best form of defence especially when one isn't that great at defending.
9 comments:
im pretty sure eduardo is ruled out. 4-5-1 would be good tomorrow. almunia
eboue campbell verm clichy
denilson
fab diaby
nasry rocky
bendtner
could be good!
Attack is the first line of defence, rather than being the best form of defence.
It is on attack that our defence is its most prone - hence the goals conceded on the counter....
I think we have all seen what happens when we play Denilson, Rosicky, and Nasri together. I would like to see Eboue on the right of the front three with Rosicky on the left and Bendtner spear-heading the attack.
Please no Denilson! I'd play with 10 men before I'd put him in the starting line up.
Give Eastmond the holding role over Denilson. I hope to never see Denilson play another match for Arsenal....
Wow. What negativity towards Denilson after a dip in form Rhinogooner! He had a shocker against ManU, but he has put in some great performances this year in a thankless role. He isn't Cesc and he's not Song, so expecting him to be is stupid. Yes, I prefer Diaby to Denilson, but Denilson can still be a vital squad player at the Arsenal.
i have not seen denilson put in a single great performance this season,
his best has been decent, his worse has been awful
i would prefer to see eastmond than denilson
He's been especially poor lately, but not a great deal worse than usual.
Sorry, I've never seen an great Denilson performance. He's had 3 or 4 good matches for Arsenal. All the rest he's been average at best and useless at worst.
I think we rate our players unrealistically high because they play for us. And often there are players on other teams that we think are crap, who are actually decent players.
There are at least 20 midfielders playing for teams outside of the top 4, that are better players than Denilson in any role you want to assign him.
What are Denilson's strengths? He's terrible as a DM. And he couldn't replace Cesc as the creative force for us. He doesn't read the game well, can't make incisive passes (just sideways all day), can't tackle, can't harass, can't head, no pace, no desire, not an inspirational leader.
He has a fair shot. And Lampard's luck with deflections. That's it!
His stats last season are an illusion of talent. All the minutes he played last season were out of necessity, not ability.
I'm sure if we continue to give him games, he'll produce a couple of worthwhile moments. And Mr. Wenger and Denilson fans will use that to justify keeping him around. But in the meantime he'll have many invisible performances, with several shockers too.
Sorry for my gloomy opinion, but that's how I see it. I've said it in the past, I am sure Denilson is a fine chap. And I wish no harm on him. But he's not good enough for Arsenal. Not even as a squad player.
Heh, you finished your comment before I could finish my reply 1979...
you're spot on Rhino,
as you say, is there a single aspect of denilson's game that is outstanding?
i'd say no, if he was in top trumps he'd be a crap card
he's not that quick, his pacing is erratic, he's awful defensively
he's been given a lot of time too
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