Ready...Steady...Wait For It, Wait For It
Tomorrow’s match in Turin is the biggest test that this Arsenal side has yet faced – you will note that each leg in Europe is getting to be a bigger test than the last time I used that phrase. Note to self: Buy a Thesaurus or learn some new words from a dictionary.
With a two goal advantage, Arsenal ought to progress but then this is no ordinary Arsenal side. Domestically, we have found some rhythm and form having previously been a pushover all season away from home. There was a tangible injection of self-belief after the win in the Bernabeu. Now they face a Juve side that must attack but for the first half at least, can afford to be reasonably cautious. I have not seen much of Juve this season on the British television transmissions of Serie A matches so I leave it to more informed sources to point out their failings and strengths. Needless to say, any team that remains undefeated at home since April 2005 must be doing something right. Key to this game though will be how they integrate their personnel changes. Obviously the return of Nedved is a huge boost for them. Despite being in his mid – 30’s, he is still a player who is widely respected and it will cause the defence a considerable amount of work to contain him. The boost for Arsenal is the news that Del Piero is not going to participate at all tomorrow, having failed to recover from his injury. The loss of the hardworking Camoranesi will probably necessitate Mutu switching to the right of midfield whilst I am not sure whom they will bring in to replace Vieira although this could be Pessotto. I would guess that Chellini (?), who came on as a substitute in the first leg, would replace Zebina.
For Arsenal, there is mixed news. Campbell and Ljungberg are both in Turin with the squad and expected to be on the bench for tomorrow’s game although it is likely that both would start should Eboue and Fabregas be declared unfit. That both of the youngsters travelled to Turin, despite picking up injuries on Saturday, is a good sign. If they were seriously injured or with only a very remote chance of playing, I doubt Wenger would have risked them travelling, preferring instead that they stay at home and receive treatment ready for Sunday’s re-enactment of The Battle Of The Bulge at Old Trafford. The widely held view is that if Eboue does not make it, Toure will move to right back and Campbell will fill in at Centre Half. I am not sure that this is the best option given Sol’s loss of form and well-documented Personal Problems. I would prefer him to play his way gently back into the side over two or three games rather than risk a setback in our most important game of the season so far. That said I believe the only other options are to play Djourou or Song at right back, neither of which is ideal although equally neither has let Wenger down when they have played. Eboue is the key player tomorrow. If he can get to grips with Nedved defensively then I think he can fully occupy the Czech in the attacking third. A big responsibility will fall on Hleb or Ljungberg on the right hand side of midfield to ensure that the gaps are covered when the Ivorian charges forward to supplement the attack.
When all is said and done, I hope Arsenal can re-produce the defensive stability that they have shown in Europe so far this season. Having equalled Milan’s record of seven consecutive clean sheets in the first leg, it would be nice to increase this one to eight and be the outright holder. A suitable addition to the records piled up at THOF in recent years. However, Juventus are a more than capable side and should they score first the pressure will magnify ten-fold on these young Gunners. This will be the truest test of their character to date in their Arsenal careers. What is in Arsenal’s favour is that on the showing in all three legs of the knockout phase, Juventus have always looked like conceding goals. With Henry in the side, Arsenal always carry a potent attacking threat. Should Arsenal score, Juve will need four. That I think will be beyond them although anything is possible. For Juve to progress, Arsenal have to equal or suffer their worst ever defeat in a European tie. On four occasions, they have been beaten by three clear goals – a feat managed by Spartak Moscow (twice), Shaktar Donetsk and Internazionale. To set against that, Arsenal have never thrown away a two-goal lead from the first leg. History, however, counts for nought but re-assurance or increased nervousness before a game. Once the white line is crossed, boys must become men. Avanti! Forza Arsenal! Cry God For Harry, Arsenal And St George!
More Financial shenanigans at the Old Trafford Glazerbucks Disneydome. United have apparently been negotiating with an Online Poker company for a sponsorship deal which would have been worth around £17.5m per season for the next four years. Which is roughly 75% higher than Emirates are paying Arsenal and that includes naming rights at the new Stadium as well as shirt sponsorship. I do sincerely hope that the club have performance bonuses built into the contract that will reward them for achievements – let us not forget that should they be fortunate enough to win the Champions League, then Arsenal will be in the next Club World Championship or Intercontinental Trophy final at the very least. Otherwise, it is rapidly looking as if they have sold themselves short in the frantic bid to find a backer when the Banks were being slightly reticent to put funds forward for the the new Stadium.
At the time, I did observe that Emirates had got themselves a bit of a bargain. The flip side is that they are tied into the deal for ten years although most contracts have a break - clause or can be broken by the weasel words of a sharp-minded QC. Also, the club has reason to thank them as £100m over ten years, guaranteed income makes a business plan look so much more attractive to a banker when you are trying to borrow roughly three times that to finance the building of a new stadium.
However, I do accept that the United Brand is far more attractive to Sponsors at the moment due to the large number of Glory Boys in the Far Eastern and American markets. It remains to be seen if this is still the case in five years time if those years are trophy - less. Of course, there needs to be someone ready to fill their shoes and let us hope that it is Arsenal and not The Evil Empire that does so.
Today’s Tunes return with A Certain Ratio. Coming from the same scene that bore Joy Division, 23 Skidoo and Cabaret Voltaire amongst others, their brand of post-punk funk was probably never designed to be commercially successful. They have however remained true to their roots and continue to pump out strong tunes nearly two decades later. These two tracks are from the 1980’s Radio Sessions:
Shack Up
The Big E
With a two goal advantage, Arsenal ought to progress but then this is no ordinary Arsenal side. Domestically, we have found some rhythm and form having previously been a pushover all season away from home. There was a tangible injection of self-belief after the win in the Bernabeu. Now they face a Juve side that must attack but for the first half at least, can afford to be reasonably cautious. I have not seen much of Juve this season on the British television transmissions of Serie A matches so I leave it to more informed sources to point out their failings and strengths. Needless to say, any team that remains undefeated at home since April 2005 must be doing something right. Key to this game though will be how they integrate their personnel changes. Obviously the return of Nedved is a huge boost for them. Despite being in his mid – 30’s, he is still a player who is widely respected and it will cause the defence a considerable amount of work to contain him. The boost for Arsenal is the news that Del Piero is not going to participate at all tomorrow, having failed to recover from his injury. The loss of the hardworking Camoranesi will probably necessitate Mutu switching to the right of midfield whilst I am not sure whom they will bring in to replace Vieira although this could be Pessotto. I would guess that Chellini (?), who came on as a substitute in the first leg, would replace Zebina.
For Arsenal, there is mixed news. Campbell and Ljungberg are both in Turin with the squad and expected to be on the bench for tomorrow’s game although it is likely that both would start should Eboue and Fabregas be declared unfit. That both of the youngsters travelled to Turin, despite picking up injuries on Saturday, is a good sign. If they were seriously injured or with only a very remote chance of playing, I doubt Wenger would have risked them travelling, preferring instead that they stay at home and receive treatment ready for Sunday’s re-enactment of The Battle Of The Bulge at Old Trafford. The widely held view is that if Eboue does not make it, Toure will move to right back and Campbell will fill in at Centre Half. I am not sure that this is the best option given Sol’s loss of form and well-documented Personal Problems. I would prefer him to play his way gently back into the side over two or three games rather than risk a setback in our most important game of the season so far. That said I believe the only other options are to play Djourou or Song at right back, neither of which is ideal although equally neither has let Wenger down when they have played. Eboue is the key player tomorrow. If he can get to grips with Nedved defensively then I think he can fully occupy the Czech in the attacking third. A big responsibility will fall on Hleb or Ljungberg on the right hand side of midfield to ensure that the gaps are covered when the Ivorian charges forward to supplement the attack.
When all is said and done, I hope Arsenal can re-produce the defensive stability that they have shown in Europe so far this season. Having equalled Milan’s record of seven consecutive clean sheets in the first leg, it would be nice to increase this one to eight and be the outright holder. A suitable addition to the records piled up at THOF in recent years. However, Juventus are a more than capable side and should they score first the pressure will magnify ten-fold on these young Gunners. This will be the truest test of their character to date in their Arsenal careers. What is in Arsenal’s favour is that on the showing in all three legs of the knockout phase, Juventus have always looked like conceding goals. With Henry in the side, Arsenal always carry a potent attacking threat. Should Arsenal score, Juve will need four. That I think will be beyond them although anything is possible. For Juve to progress, Arsenal have to equal or suffer their worst ever defeat in a European tie. On four occasions, they have been beaten by three clear goals – a feat managed by Spartak Moscow (twice), Shaktar Donetsk and Internazionale. To set against that, Arsenal have never thrown away a two-goal lead from the first leg. History, however, counts for nought but re-assurance or increased nervousness before a game. Once the white line is crossed, boys must become men. Avanti! Forza Arsenal! Cry God For Harry, Arsenal And St George!
More Financial shenanigans at the Old Trafford Glazerbucks Disneydome. United have apparently been negotiating with an Online Poker company for a sponsorship deal which would have been worth around £17.5m per season for the next four years. Which is roughly 75% higher than Emirates are paying Arsenal and that includes naming rights at the new Stadium as well as shirt sponsorship. I do sincerely hope that the club have performance bonuses built into the contract that will reward them for achievements – let us not forget that should they be fortunate enough to win the Champions League, then Arsenal will be in the next Club World Championship or Intercontinental Trophy final at the very least. Otherwise, it is rapidly looking as if they have sold themselves short in the frantic bid to find a backer when the Banks were being slightly reticent to put funds forward for the the new Stadium.
At the time, I did observe that Emirates had got themselves a bit of a bargain. The flip side is that they are tied into the deal for ten years although most contracts have a break - clause or can be broken by the weasel words of a sharp-minded QC. Also, the club has reason to thank them as £100m over ten years, guaranteed income makes a business plan look so much more attractive to a banker when you are trying to borrow roughly three times that to finance the building of a new stadium.
However, I do accept that the United Brand is far more attractive to Sponsors at the moment due to the large number of Glory Boys in the Far Eastern and American markets. It remains to be seen if this is still the case in five years time if those years are trophy - less. Of course, there needs to be someone ready to fill their shoes and let us hope that it is Arsenal and not The Evil Empire that does so.
Today’s Tunes return with A Certain Ratio. Coming from the same scene that bore Joy Division, 23 Skidoo and Cabaret Voltaire amongst others, their brand of post-punk funk was probably never designed to be commercially successful. They have however remained true to their roots and continue to pump out strong tunes nearly two decades later. These two tracks are from the 1980’s Radio Sessions:
Shack Up
The Big E
posted by Yogi's Warrior at 3:37 pm
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