Tuesday, March 22nd, 2011 « Untold Arsenal: Arsenal News. Supporting the Lord Wenger; coach of the decade
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By Walter Broeckx
Will Uefa/Fifa save Arsenal this season?
This might be a bit of a weird question to ask because in the past we have only suffered from all kind of international games. Most of the time half of our team left fit and came back in pieces. We had Van Persie on several occasions amongst the main victims but also Theo Walcott came back with his ankles messed up more than a few times. And there have been others, isn’t it Thomas Vermaelen?
So why on earth would this time be different? Well for a big part we could be in big trouble if let us say one of the players like Van Persie, Nasri or Wilshere get injured in the next 14 days. That would be a big blow. So if you are religious you can start praying to whatever god you worship. And if you are not religious… well just pray anyhow they come back injury free.
So why do I have a feeling that this time could be different? First of all I think it is clear to see that the lost Carling cup final did some damage to the team. The way we lost it was hard to take. We didn’t deserve to lose that game but we ended up losing it after giving it away in a very stupid way.
And then going out in the CL and the FA cup in a few days wasn’t easy to deal with. So I think it is fair to say that the team had to deal with a few mental blows. So you could see in the Sunderland game and the WBA game that we found it difficult to come in to our normal game. And as a result we dropped points. This wasn’t the only reason we dropped points. Let us say that some vital decisions didn’t went our way against Sunderland and we made another big blunder in the WBA game.
But after the game this doesn’t change anything from the fact that since losing the Carling cup final we lost 4 points in the league.
But together with losing the CC final we in the same time lost a few players. Not just “players” but for Arsenal important players.
We lost Fabregas against Stoke. Not much to be said about that. Losing the best midfielder in the world is a big blow for any team. If you lose a player like him a team will suffer. I don’t know a player who can change a game like he can for the moment. The vision, the awareness, the ability to change the speed and the flow of a game in split second. He has it all. And he can score a few goals on occasion.
We lost Walcott in the same game. And Theo is having a great season when he is fit. Because of his speed he is always dangerous for the opposition. And his goal scoring record is getting better and better. So I do think we miss him badly.
And maybe our most under estimated player that we are missing since the CC final is Song. I don’t know if the people who have been shouting ‘Song is not fit to wear the shirt’ are still out there but they have been proven wrong by Wenger and Song. They have been proven wrong by Wenger because Wenger didn’t listen to those who knew better than Wenger. Wenger kept his believe in Song and he is my mister invisible in the team. And also Song just kept on working and working and became better all the time.
Song is the player that breaks up the other team as much as possible. The little foul in midfield to stop a counter, the bit of shoving and pushing in midfield. The harder tackle at times. The covering a lot of ground to provide support to the attack and to the defence. And he has been important also when it comes to goal scoring this season. It isn’t his main task but he scored a few very important goals. West Ham winner, Chelsea first and all important goal.
So with those 3 players out our form suddenly dropped. So it can be said that those 3 players are real vital for Arsenal for the moment. And I think the most vital partnership is the Song-Cesc one.
With now the international games coming up they are still injured for the moment but as Wenger said they are getting nearer to fitness. But as they are not fit yet I think it is fair to think that Arsenal can hold them in London and not let them go out for these international games. And this could mean that when the 2nd of April comes along they could and should be fit by then. And having those 3 back will be the key for the rest of our season.
If we can keep them fit till the end we will have a big chance of becoming champions. If we lose them it will be much more difficult. Not impossible but very difficult.
So here is for once my hope that because of the extra rest of those 3 players we can have them back for the final run in the league. And then the only matter we have to deal with these next 14 days is the hoping that no other players get injured.
And I also am very well aware that the injuries to Vermaelen and Djourou are big blows to the team. But as we don’t expect them back this season we can leave them out of our current plans. Unless… who knows. Djourou is having a scan today which will be decisive to see how his injury will heal… Can we be lucky for once with an injury….. (News just came up: Djourou will be able to return to train in 4 weeks time!)
And talking about frustrations I just would like to let you know my biggest frustration when it comes to Arsenal. I think that Arsenal.com could do the fans a big favour and give us some more information about how the injured players are doing. Now we know as much as Manuel the Spanish waiter in Fawlty Towers: Nothing. Are they back doing some light training, or not training at all? Is there recovery going according to plan or not? Is there a date of return known or not? Giving an answer to those questions can be difficult at times but surely not impossible most of the time.