Return of the hero

By Boris Mellor
April 15 2009

Theoretically a nil-nil draw would take Arsenal through to the semi-final, and Arsenal have been very good at drawing zero-zero this season. However that was not the aim, and the day you deliberately set out to draw is the day that you do not achieve it.

It is also the case that Arsenal have no longer got a defence that can keep a clean sheet. I don't know how the present back four affect Wenger but they give me nightmares. We are also missing Almunia; I would feel more assured if he was between the sticks.

Those who say he is not good enough might like to explain why Cech or Reina are better? They were fumbledum and fumbledee in the 2^nd leg of the CL Quarter, and I am not just going by one match. When has Cech outshone Almunia in the Chelsea v Arsenal games over the last couple of seasons?

Fans always cite van der Saar, Cech and Reina as being world class, but they forget they all have better defences in front of them. I wonder how they would get on with some of the chuckle brother activity that Almunia has to put up with in front of him. Also the Gunners defence's habit of giving players like Senna a free shot at goal.

I digress - back to the point

What was the point? Oh yes I remember, no chance of going for a draw. Forget it, this team will leak, its back to its old habit of conceding an early goal. They have to play for a win, a definite one at that.

The alternative? Bore us all to death with plan B, back to crab play. No Wenger is right they have to attack. The only safe strategy is to beat Villarreal 3 or 4-1, and then any away goal will be meaningless. Easier said than done, indeed, but there isn't an alternative. If by accident they end up with a 0-0 draw fantastic, but any other kind of draw will be a disaster.

Players ignore manager

Players always, well nearly always, think they know best, and once the whistle goes they can ignore the coach, and they often do. Wenger is right the subconscious takes over. That is exactly what happened against Villarreal a few seasons back. We have to hope that it doesn't, the crowd will need to remind them of the need to attack. I would not like to depend on a penalty save again.

Injuries

It would appear Wenger will use the same defence he used at Wigan, unless he utilizes Eboue and shifts things around a bit. However the signals are he will persist with Gibbs. In fairness he doesn't have a lot of choice the defence will pick itself.

Eduardo is back, RvP is doubtful (groin), and Diaby may or may not be back according to late fitness tests. Clichy, Gallas, Djourou all remain out.

 Four Days

Now the whole season rests on four days, the league isn't sudden death.  However, Arsenal could be in two, one, or none cup competitions by the end of Saturday. If it is none then the season will be over, no one will be excited by the battle for fourth place, as important as that may be. The stakes are high it's time to get behind the team.