Can an Unfit Henry get us the Goals We Need Today?

by Joel Martin

This could be the only meaningful game remaining in the season. If we lose, and with 3^rd or 4^th essentially wrapped up already, the season will be over for all intensive purposes.

Our fate rests in the hands of our captain, Thierry Henry. We could need multiple goals, hopefully just one or two, but we need to be prepared to score 3 if PSV pulls a goal out of nowhere. Henry has been sitting out recently with a foot injury, but has rapidly regained fitness for this match-which is the biggest match in the young history of Emirates Stadium. Last time Henry returned from a spell on the sideline, he came out on fire, scoring two goals in a 4-0 victory over Charlton. Today we’ll need him to pull that magic out of his bag one last time. Henry is yet to have a big game in a big game this season—he’s tended to disappear in the games in which he’s been healthy. This is his chance. He needs to get the Gooners behind him again; he’s no longer worshiped like an idol (and many are whispering about him leaving the club soon). I personally think he has plenty left in the tank, and that tonight could be his stage to win back his place in the hearts of Arsenal fans worldwide.

Adebayor, who should have fresh legs from sitting out the last ten days for a bogus red card, will probably partner our captain up top. I expect him to run, run some more, and run some more after that. When he is active, it causes major problems for defenses—when he isn’t, it’s like were playing with 10 men.

Hleb and Ljungberg will most likely start on the wings. Oh wouldn’t a clinical goal (like the Bolton one) from Ljungberg be sweet tonight! If he could pull another one of those out I wouldn’t care how many times he falls down. We will win if we get a goal from the midfield tonight, and Ljunberg could be just the guy to get it now that Rosicky is sitting out.

Fabregas and Gilberto need to dictate the game, which will be tough. Cocu is a crafty vet, and Simons and Mendez are both strong, strong players. Cesc will need to put that sitter against Reading behind him, too. The longer he remembers that the worse he’s going to play. Gilberto will need to play good passes and be a threat on set pieces. We cannot afford to take 20 corners and not make them pay once, like we’ve done all season. Either Gilberto, Gallas, Adebayor, Toure, or Djourou need to at least make Gomes save one header from a corner, just so they know they can’t just give us a corner when we’re pressuring their defense. We also need to stay away from corners because they’ll give PSV good opportunities to counter, which could lead to lethal away goals if converted. The less chances PSV has to counter the better, as far as I’m concerned.

Gallas and Toure will not be beaten tonight. If PSV is going to score its going to be on an Arsenal mistake. I’m confident Clichy will dominate again like he’s done all season. I’m also confident that Eboue, if he is fit, will have a great game tonight. He is amazing in big games (i.e. ManU), and the Champions League always seems to get the best out of him. Make no mistake, we are a much better team when Emanuel Eboue is tearing down that right side, making opposing defenses panic with his swift overlapping runs.

Both Jan Kromkamp and Manuel Da Silva are out for PSV, so their defense will be suspect. Jefferson Farfan returns, however, so they will look more likely to score than last time. Farfan’s presence alone makes it all the more important that we do not beat ourselves tonight with a dumb mistake, because Farfan, just like Kone, just like Mendez, and just like Cocu, has the ability to capitalize on any opportunity.

Their Brazilian center-half, Alex, is back. He put on a show last time, bullying our players around the entire pitch. Henry needs to burn him, just once, and put him back in his place. Right now he thinks he’s going to be the best player on the field tonight. Henry needs to prove him wrong, and I think he will.

This is the opportunity for Henry to win our hearts back. He has been amazingly underwhelming this year, and even though he has claimed to be playing with an injury for a large majority of his games this season, he still needs to produce like we know he can. Thierry Henry is still a world-class striker, and I think he’ll prove that not only to the world but most importantly to himself tonight. He needs a big game in a big game to get his confidence back up, to remind him that he is Thierry Henry, and that he scores goals at will.

He’s going to get that game.

My prediction: Arsenal 3 – PSV 0 - an Henry hat-trick.

Brazilians Prove to be Brilliant in an Important Win for the Gunners

by Joel Martin

We needed a win and we got a win, it was as simple as that.

The first half looked like more of the same. We played extremely well, dominated play and created chances but could not finish. Both Baptista and Fabregas could have scored more than once before the whistle, but we still went in to the break 0-0.

It took a moment of absolute brilliance from Gael Clichy, of all people, to get us our first goal. The left back took off and beat Andre Bikey (who had a mile of a head start on him) to a ball and tore into the box. Bikey fouled and Gilberto converted the penalty. Just after that, we broke out on a counter-attack off a corner. Denilson found his Brazilian compatriot, Julio Baptista, who beat Murty and slotted the ball in Hahneman’s near post. It was a good goal, and I hope Baptista can score more.

That being said, his touch and his tempo needs to improve. He looks like he is not on the same wavelength as the rest of the team, and he slows us down when he plays. I still do not see him staying, even though he scored a goal.

Walcott looked alright up top, it was a very encouraging game for him. Denilson was great, Fabregas could have used that goal for his own confidence’s sake, we need him to add a couple goals for us from the midfield. Hleb was good, and Ljungberg was frustrating. He just can not beat anyone anymore, its almost sad. He’ll have to change his game to have any chance at playing first team football for us in the future. Diaby subbed in and did well, Aliadiere subbed in and proved yet again that although he tries harder than anyone on the team, he’s not quite a player of Arsenal-caliber. He’ll be gone soon.

The back four played well. The Reading goal from the corner kick at the end really only happened because Senderos did not quite reach his marker before the kick was taken. He was only just subbing in and never got a chance to front his man before the corner was taken. And although the ball eventually did deflect of Senderos and then Fabregas into the goal, the only reason it took the deflection was Senderos’ original position in the first place.

Anyway, in the end the game was not the rout I would have liked to see going in to our showdown with PSV Wednesday, but a win is a win. Hopefully Henry can play, but the return of Adebayor, Toure, and Eboue will be very nice. We need all three, especially Adebayor, to create more chances, we’ll need all we can get with Rosicky, Van Persie and possibly Henry gone. Their return will also provide solidity in the back, and could be the key to our survival in the Champions League—if we can pull it off.

Reading to Visit the Emirates in a Defining Moment for the Gunners

by Joel Martin

We have not won in our last 4 games. This is the last chance to gain some confidence before Wednesday, when PSV visits for the biggest game ever at the Emirates yet. We are still missing many key players, and Reading is in great form lately. This is a dangerous, dangerous game.

If we lose to Reading, we’ll be going into the most important game of the year in our worst form since 2002—the last time we lost three in a row. We absolutely need to win, preferably big, in a rout.

Diaby, Djourou, and Cesc will return to the dismal side that played midweek, so I expect Djourou to slot in at right back now that Eboue is serving his suspension. I expect Diaby to start on the bench, because he is not yet fully fit. Cesc should pair up with either Denilson or Gilberto, I almost expect Wenger to give Denilson another chance to get his confidence back up after his performance on Wednesday. He was terrible in the replay, and needs to get that game out of his game.

Other than that I expect Walcott to start, whether it is as a striker or a winger is beyond me. Baptista and Aliadiere, our Carling Cup duo, sure haven’t looked lethal at all in their most recent outings. I hope Walcott gets a chance up front if only to shake things up a bit. If only we had Bendtner to do that too…

The Reading team we thrashed 4-0 early in the year is very different team than the one we’ll play tomorrow. These guys have played well against ManU and damn near beaten them. They’ve played well against Chelsea and damn near beaten them too. These guys are confident and scrappy. They give 110% every game and it has shown this year. Sidwell, Doyle, Lita, and their right back Nicky Shorey have all been great, great players for them. We will need some luck to get the result we need.

In all, we might need the home fans at the Emirates to get as pumped for today’s game as Wednesday’s game. The boys need a little bit of momentum, a little confidence to propel us into the second leg against PSV, or else the season could be over, for all intensive purposes, on March 7.

Lackluster Arsenal Leaves Something to be Desired as Blackburn Knocks them Out of the FA Cup

by Joel Martin

Today Blackburn did exactly what we couldn’t do two weeks ago; they took advantage of their home-field advantage and their opponent’s lack of fitness and won the game. We had a chance two weeks ago against a far-from full-strength Blackburn side, with the goal-scorer McCarthy shifty winger Morten Gamst Pedersen both missing when the Rovers visited Emirates in the first place.

The game was lost when Wenger decided to play Senderos at right back instead of Gallas or Clichy. Senderos is so big he cannot stop himself quick enough, and his momentum allowed him to get turned by McCarthy for the winner. It was tough to watch, because Senderos had been playing brilliantly until he switched positions.

This was one of Baptista’s best games, even though he did miss some gift-wrapped chances early. Ljungberg and Aliadiere both had atrocious touches that prevented them from scoring.

Blackburn did not play well enough to win the game, but we did not either. That was easily Denilson’s worst game with the club, and Gilberto could not pass the ball at all. Hleb is still not even close to how he was before he got injured. We need him to play like he did at the beginning of the season.

The bottom line is that we didn’t take advantage of the home field and our opponent’s lack of fitness in the first game, and we paid for it. There should not have even been a replay.