Morning.
This feels like such a strange week because at the forefront of my mind is Sunday’s trip to face Man City, but tonight we have the chance to make the semi-finals of the Champions League when Sporting visit. I suspect this might be much more a supporter mindset than anything else, and the players and manager will be laser-focused on tonight’s game, but it does create an odd dynamic in my head at least.
I really have no idea how tonight’s team line-up is going to look. There’s a doubt over Declan Rice, who wasn’t in training, while Martin Odegaard, Jurrien Timber, Riccardo Calafiori and Bukayo Saka also sat out yesterday’s session. On the latter, Mikel Arteta confirmed he’s dealing with an Achilles problem, which on a basic level would explain why we’ve been so cautious, but it’s a big worry all the same. The manager said he hoped it would be a matter of days before he’s available again, but the rumour mill is a little less positive than that. All we can do is wait and see, I guess.
If Rice doesn’t make it, midfield options are thin on the ground. Does it mean a start for Christian Norgaard? Is certainly means that any chance of taking Martin Zubimendi out of the firing line are gone. In his press conference, the manager backed the summer signing to be able to play through this rut in form he’s in, and the reality is, with the players have missing, we absolutely need him to.
A fit again Eberechi Eze could be key to tonight’s midfield, and he backed the team to respond to what has been a difficult few weeks, saying:
These are the moments that you want to play in as a footballer. You want to play in the high-stakes games, you want to play in all the competitions, you want to win as much as you can. It’s a beautiful time, and for me, I’m so excited. I know my team is excited, I know the boys are. We’re going to give everything for sure.
I don’t quite know what we do with the front three. Gabriel Martinelli was awful against Bournemouth, but his record in Europe is very good and it was his endeavour that unlocked the game last week in Lisbon. On the other side, Noni Madueke was also awful at the weekend, and partly culpable for their opening goal, but it’s a lot to ask of a 16 year old to come in and do a job both offensively and defensively, the way our wingers are asked to. Personally, I’d be inclined to take that chance, but we’ll have to wait and see.
And up top, Viktor Gyokeres was, at least, involved against Bournemouth despite being quite wasteful in the final stages, but there was nothing about Kai Havertz’s performance that demanded he get that spot instead. There’s also Gabriel Jesus, of course, but he’s less of an option than those two simply because he has looked so far short of the level required after his return. Technically, you can make a case for him, but physically he’s clearly been badly impacted by those injuries, and that last ACL in particular. So, if tonight’s line-up looks a little strange or imbalanced, I wouldn’t be at all surprised.
There was a moment in his press conference yesterday when Arteta was asked what he wanted from his team and from the fans tonight. He took a long pause, I think to consider what kind of response to give after the ‘bring your dinner’ thing didn’t work last weekend. Eventually he said:
No fear. Pure fire. That’s it. Me, the first one – pure fire. That’s what I want to see on the players, on the people, on myself – that’s it. Go for it because the opportunity is unbelievable. We are in April, we have an incredible opportunity ahead of us. Let’s confront it, let’s go for it by really putting absolutely everything into it.
I think he’s absolutely right about the opportunity. We’ve never made the semi-finals in consecutive years, and I also think tonight – if it goes well – could be just the boost we need ahead of Sunday. But we have to walk the walk tonight. The talking has been done, and we have to perform. The ‘reward’, such as it is, is Atletico Madrid in the semis, and I watched their game against Barcelona last night. It was breathtaking stuff, and I’m sure I wasn’t alone in thinking it felt so far removed from what we’ve seen from Arsenal of late.
Whoever went through in that one was going to present an incredibly difficult challenge, and I will say that by a very small margin I’d rather face Atleti than Barca, but make no mistake, it will be tough if we can get through tonight. And yet, it was just a year ago when these players and this team tore past Real Madrid, beating them home and away, and then ripped into PSG who had their goalkeeper to thank for keeping Arsenal at bay at times. Ultimately their attacking quality and depth won out, but given the absences we had and a bench which was 60% kids from Hale End who have mostly all gone elsewhere at this point, and the ghost of Raheem Sterling, we gave a decent account of ourselves.
However he does it, that’s something Mikel Arteta has to elicit from this group. Not just for tonight, but for what remains of this season. We are in a something of a funk, no doubt about it, but we need to turn it into the good kind of funk. Find some rhythm, rediscover a bit of swagger, get moving again, because whatever you think of the last few games, that frustration is rooted in the knowledge that we’re better than that. And tonight is the time to demonstrate it.
Right, I’ll leave it there for now. We have a preview podcast over on Patreon if you need something to listen to today, and you can follow the game later on the live blog with all the post-match stuff on Arseblog News.
Come on Arsenal!
