War Zone
I wrote about a certain soldier that represented his platoon in different campaigns for 2 years in the prologue of yesterday’s post. That soldier is just moments away from fighting in that same war zone again. There are speculations that the man who threw the eye removing grenade might miss the battle. If you are in this certain soldier’s shoes, will you front in the forefront of the battle and start shooting everyone in your presence or will you stick to your tactical setup and follow your team to fight as a unit?
That’s left for Aaron Ramsey to decide.
I also wrote in yesterday’s post how the MLS handled the leg break of some bloke but yesterday’s match between Tottenham and Blackpool made us witness another horror moment in football. The awkward thing about Charlie Adam’s tackle is that the player is not renowned for such exploits so I can’t really say what was going through his mind at that point in time. Even if I hate everything Tottenham as a club stands for, I’m sending my best wishes to their pet Chimp Gareth Bale and I hope that he recovers quickly and get back to the pitch next season because with only 2 games left to play for Tottenham, it’s fair to say that Bale’s footballing season is over.
The Britannia Stadium hasn’t been a happy hunting ground for Arsenal football club. Since their promotion in the 2008/09 season, Arsenal has visited them 3 times and has lost twice. The annoying thing about Arsenal’s losses in that stadium is that almost all the goals Stoke scored came in familiar fashion. Annoying pelts from that elf-like eared chap that has springs attached to his elbow, Rory Delap. His stats are quite useless in football but he has an attribute that stands out, Long throws.
Stoke City have players that are in the mold of Sam Allardyce’s Bolton but there’s some dynamism in their play. The wingers are excellent crossers of the ball and they are strikers and defenders that are as large as big ass sacks of potatoes. That their ex-Arsenal winger that looks like John Legend presently holds the record as the best crosser in the League because his crosses completed percentage is higher than the entire league average so we have to be wary of the threat he’ll pose. On the other flank, they have a short one-dimensional winger that is quickly tricky and he could be a thorn in Arsenal’s flesh today. Etherington’s goal against Tottenham will probably be among the contenders for the goals of the season.
The fans are going to be hostile to Ramsey and the rest of the AW boys but Arsenal has to show what they are made of. We mathematically stand a slight chance of being League champions but I feel that the objective has changed from being league winners to finishing the season strongly. I wrote few days back that our aim must be to end the season with 76 points. Whether we come 1st, 2nd or retain our position as the 3rd best team in England, we have to raise our heads high because of the bright sparks we had this season. We witnessed the rise of Szczesny, Wilshere, Nasri and Djourou. We found out how evil rVp can be when he stays fit. We also found out that we don’t always have to lay our eggs on Fabregas’ basket even though we know that he’s still a vital part of our jigsaw puzzle. We were also unlucky with calamitous refereeing in certain games. If we maintain such a pace with the addition of 2 or more summer signings, I’m very confident that we will break that trophy duck.
To team news, we already know that Fabregas, Diaby and Nasri have been ruled out and there are doubts over the fitness of Djourou and Clichy. With the Verminator raring to go for first team action, AW might be forced to use him because of his aerial ability, cool head, defensive coordination and leadership influence. Leaving the French combo of Koscielny and Squillaci in the hands of goons like Jones and the rest of the big lot might be disastrous to us.
Szczesny will continue in goal while Sagna and Clichy (if fit enough) will be the full backs. Fabregas’ injury will make room for the introduction of Ramsey in the ground that his leg was snapped in 2 places by that thug that his manager said couldn’t hurt a fly. Ramsey would be supported by Wilshere and Song.
Nasri’s injury would also mean that a replacement has to be drafted in his place. People would expect Arshavin to get the nod but I’ll prefer Bendtner because of his height and aerial prowess. Let’s also remember that he has being whining in recent times so putting him in the starting lineup with work wonders to his confidence. rVp and Walcott will complete the front three.
Szczesny
Sagna-Koscielny-Vermaelen-Clichy
Song-Ramsey-Wilshere
B52-rVp-Walcott
Enjoy the game wherever you are
Arsenal, please keep your heads cool and bring the 3 points back to the Emirates.
Sayonara
