van Persie, Fabregas and Arshavin > Henry, Pires and Bergkamp?
After Arsenal’s 4-1 Champions League cakewalk against the Eredivisie champions last night, Arsene Wenger was moved to compare his young team to the unbeaten Gunners squad of 03/04:
We’ve never had as many options on the creative side. We still have Nicklas Bendtner and Theo Walcott who are offensive players who are not available.
Denilson, Eduardo, Tomas Rosicky did not start - that is why I was amazed when people said, ‘Buy, buy, buy’. And Carlos Vela as well… I forgot him!
Fair assessment, or another one of Le Prof’s attempts to tack an extra psychological boost onto an impressive performance? Ljungberg, Henry, Pires and Bergkamp had racked up 16 goals and 10 assists in all competitions by this time in 03/04 season; while van Persie, Arshavin, Bendtner and Fabregas are already on 24 goals and 23 assists.
In terms of depth, Wenger has a point - as backups go, Eduardo, Rosicky and Nasri are a more desirable trio of reinforcements than Reyes, Wiltord and Kanu were. But does the overall attacking quality of the squad match up?
Arsenal forward will now feel more comfortable in biker bars
Theo Walcott looks like too much of a nice young man to get a huge tattoo on his bicep, but that is exactly what he has done with the help of a certain swooshy sportswear manufacturer. The same manufacturer who used to make (Fat) Ronaldo do things against his will. Just saying.
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Is “the new Wayne Rooney” ready to mix it up with the big boys?
After becoming Arsenal’s youngest ever league debutant in September 2008 (a crown that previously belonged to a Mr C Fabregas), Jack Wilshere’s career is going from strength to strength. The seventeen-year-old midfielder was the undisputed star of the recent Emirates Cup, scoring twice and earning two Man of the Match champagne bottles that he is not legally allowed to enjoy.
The young Gunner has also earned a place in England’s U21 squad to face Holland this week, and is hotly tipped to become a part of Fabio Capello’s World Cup 2010 squad - an international honour that was bestowed on his weak-shouldered colleague Theo Walcott when he was also just seventeen.
However, despite admitting Wilshere has a level of maturity well beyond his years, Professor Wenger is keen to shield the lad he refers to as “the new Wayne Rooney” from the kind of hype that Public Enemy told us we shouldn’t believe:
“As a manager you do not want a guy to be a star before he has delivered, and maybe in England that is more difficult than anywhere else.”
So, is Wilshere ready to cope with regular top flight football, or should the Professor let him run amok in Carling Cup games and the early stages of the Champions League for another season? The Spoiler is leaning towards the latter - he may appear ready for the challenge, but look what happened to Freddy Adu when he was thrown in at the deep end at a young age.
Super subs Fraizer Campbell and Theo Walcott defeat Spain
England are through to the semi-finals of the Euro Under-21 Championship with a game to spare after beating pre-tournament favourites Spain 2-0.
It looked like Stuart Pearce’s side might have blown their chance when James Milner missed a first-half penalty but the 62nd minute introduction of Theo Walcott, to a ridiculous roar from the crowd, turned the game.
Fellow substitute Fraizer Campbell opened the scoring five minutes later before Walcott set up Milner in the 73rd minute to guarantee victory and a place in the semi-finals.
The Aston Villa winger then picked up a rather convenient yellow card for a needless foul late on which means he will serve a suspension during the “nothing” clash with Germany - words you would never expect to hear uttered - rather than missing either the semi-finals or final.
Arsenal/Villarreal, Champions Lge QF L2, 7.45pm, Sky Sports 3
Arsenal’s biggest worry tonight is how their defence will cope without Manuel Almunia, Gael Clichy, William Gallas and Johan Djourou. It is with that in mind that we have decided to stick with the 4-2-3-1 formation from the first leg, ensuring that the patched-up back four are adequately supported:
Emmanuel Adebayor was isolated at times in Spain but with Villarreal needing to commit bodies forward, there should be more space for Samir Nasri, Cesc Fabregas and Theo Walcott to exploit, while Robin van Persie and Nicklas Bendtner will be ready to do damage off the bench if the visitors score.
Do you agree with our formation or do you think Arsenal should start with two strikers? Let us know who you would pick with a comment below.
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