Wenger said that he will not forget about the Milan defeat until the day he dies.
On Saturday, Arsenal will want to prove that the meltdown at the San Siro was an anomaly and not the start of a trend. Furthermore, the FA Cup is certainly the only piece of silverware the Gunners have an opportunity to put their hands on this season.
First, there is some sad news. Per Mertesacker, who suffered an ankle injury against Sunderland last week, will be out for the “long term” according to Arsene Wenger. Apparently, the big German had the ligaments in his ankle reconstructed during an operation. Sounds very painful.
Another centre-back who will be missing against Sunderland is Laurent Koscielny. The French defender sustained his injury against Milan and had to be taken out of the match in the first half. Fortunately, his injury is not as serious, so he should be back in time to face Spurs next week.
Gervinho will return to the squad for the first time since he departed for African Cup of Nations duty in early January. Wenger did not make it clear whether Gervinho would start, but he did say: “He (Gervinho) was very down when I spoke with him on Monday, now he is better and hopefully he can contribute on Saturday.” (Source: Arsenal.com)
The Ivorian winger was “down” because of the penalty he missed in the final of the African Cup of Nations. The next shooter stepped up and won the trophy for Zambia.
Arsene Wenger said that he will name a strong starting eleven at the Stadium of Light, but he left enough wiggle room just in case he feels like resting anyone: “I will refresh a bit because some players have played many games recently. But we will be full-strength.” (Source: Arsenal.com)
If I were the manager, here would be my starting eleven: Szczesny in goal; Sagna and Gibbs at the full-back positions; Vermaelen and Song as the centre-backs; Rosicky and Arteta as the central midfielders; Coquelin as the holding midfielder; Gervinho and Oxlade-Chamberlain as the wingers; and of course, Robin van Persie as the lone striker.
At this moment in time, I don’t have much trust in Johan Djourou and Sebastien Squillaci. When Wenger alters his formation to be more attacking mid-match, he usually moves Alex Song to centre-back, and the Cameroonian has done a reasonable job at the position.
For the midfield, Aaron Ramsey needs to take a seat on the bench as punishment for his poor performances recently. Coquelin could easily slide into the holding role, with Tomas Rosicky and Mikel Arteta on either side of him.
Theo Walcott, in the same way as Ramsey, may help the team more if he is not on the pitch. Arsene usually winds up substituting for him anyway early in the second half when he is in such terrible form. Having not started against Milan, the Ox deserves a chance, and Gervinho’s best quality is that he is not Theo or Andrei Arsahvin.
Hopefully, when Wenger talked about resting players, he did not mean Robin van Persie. This match against Sunderland is important for so many reasons. Firstly, it provides a chance for us to advance to the quarterfinals of the FA Cup. Perhaps more importantly, this game is a great opportunity to put the 4-0 behind us and move forward as we head into a tough set of league fixtures.
The difficult Premier League ecounters begin with Spurs next week. Following the North London derby, we will play Liverpool away and Newcastle at home. In many ways, this stretch (including the Sunderland game) could decide our season.
If we let the negative momentum from the disaster at the San Siro continue at the Stadium of Light on Saturday, we could slip into another dry run of form. We’ve already had two terrible runs- one at the start of the season and the other in January. Arsene Wenger and his side cannot afford another string of bad results.
While Wenger stressed the importance of moving on from Milan, he admitted that the memory of that horrible night will never leave his mind:
“It never gets out of your system because you take it with you until the last day of your life. But when you love competition, you always strive for the next one to prove that you are ready for a new fight. That is what competition is about.” (Source: The Telegraph)
Indeed.
Match: Sunderland v Arsenal
Competition: FA CUP- Fifth Round
Location: The Stadium of Light
Kickoff: 17:15 GMT, 12:15pm EST
Television: ITV1 (UK), Fox Soccer (USA)
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