I know there are probably quite a few Arsenal fans who will be relieved to hear that Aaron Ramsey has picked up a groin strain, and will therefore miss the trip to Germany to face Schalke in the Champions League tomorrow.
One person who will not be happy, however, is Arsene Wenger. With Oxlade-Chamberlain and Diaby still keeping Rosicky company in the treatment room, Arsenal do not need to lose any more midfielders. This means that Wenger’s options are even more limited.
If Wenger did intend to give Theo Walcott a start down the middle, who will he play on the right hand side? Gervinho is out, so he would be experimenting again. Cazorla can play on either wing, but has not done so for Arsenal. If Wenger did not trust Arshavin to replace Wilshere on Saturday, he is not going to play him in Santi’s position tomorrow.
I was really hoping that Arsenal would try to use the pace of Walcott as a central striker tomorrow, and try to hit Schalke on the break. It will probably be the same 4-3-3 formation that we have been struggling with recently.
Hopefully, Jack Wilshere will have recovered from his exertions and will give us some much needed drive in midfield. He misses the visit of Fulham in the Premier league this weekend, so he might as well run himself ragged tomorrow.
Szczesny is not fit yet, and Damian Martinez cannot play in the Champions League, so James Shea is in the squad. Djourou and Chamakh will also travel, but the squad is looking thin. Surely, Wenger will not play Santos at left back tomorrow. You could almost, but not quite, forgive some bad defending if he was getting forward and creating chances, but he cannot even cross a ball.
Vermaelen had a shocker on Saturday but I think he is too worried about Santos. I think the whole team is affected, actually, and the massive gaps he is leaving are eroding the team’s confidence. I am surprised that Santos is even in the squad after the shirt debacle.
Arsenal could do with a shake up, but they just haven’t got the players available, or Wenger does not want to change things. We desperately need a good performance, but I am worried that we will not get it.
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