The rest may have helped but I felt the mental approach to the game was the most positive aspect of the performance. When they went one down they all raced to the halfway line and started geeing eachother up. Adebayor waved his arms to ask for the crowd to respond and they did. It was a good atmosphere and within minutes Gilberto put them level.
What Arsenal Need: They need to practice corners, both defending and attacking as they are crucial to the team's success.
At last! We scored from a corner in the Premiership! It was like seeing a miracle. Van Persie stroked a tempting cross into the area and the Brazilian rose like a salmon to nod it into the corner. Fortunately, Blackburn didn't have anyone on the far post.
Wenger needs to play a traditional 4-4-2 and allow van Persie and Adebayor to harass the vistitor's back four. In the 4-4-2 the wingers need to use the full width of the pitch and the full backs need to get forward in attack.
He did play the 4-4-2 and I was so pleased. It worked well and at times it looked like the Invincibles playing out there.
Things To Watch Out For: I'll be keeping an eye on Rosicky to see how match fit he is after his lay off and to see how well he works with Clichy. He will probably only get 70 minutes but that'll be a good days work for him after his time on the sidelines.
Rosicky played well and deserved his applause when he was finally replaced by Flamini. He worked hard and showed glimpses of his vision but still needs a match or two to get fully fit.
It'll be interesting to see if Wenger uses Baptista at all today and I'd like to see Walcott given 20 minutes at the end. Theo has electrifying pace and at the end of this game, which will no doubt be played at a high intensity, he could make a difference especially playing against tiring defenders.
Wenger bought on Walcott and Baptista with 90 seconds to go. I just don't understand making substitutions like that. Why not make the changes when we went 4-2 ahead? At least give the boys a chance to run up a sweat! By the end of the match Hleb was tiring and should have been replaced 10 minutes earlier.
It was nail biting when we went one-nil down but Arsenal responded very well to equalise within seven minutes. They should have put the game away but allowed Blackburn to get back to 3-2 and the nail-biting started again. I admit that I didn't expect the response we saw, but after we went 4-2 ahead the visitors' heads dropped and it could have been even more in the end. It was a pleasing match to watch because of the way Arsenal used the space allowed them and we saw some beautiful, intricate football. My highlight of the match was the nutmeg from Fabregas on Savage. Oh how good it was to see him made to look so silly by the mercurial Spaniard.
Hopes For The Match: I hope Arsenal respond well to the physical tactics we are so familiar with in matches against Blackburn. If the Gunners control the ball and take their chances they should win this game, but if they give away an early goal and Blackburn shut up shop, it could be another nail biter.
The rough tactics didn't show themselves yesterday. Blackburn received three yellow cards as did Arsenal but to be fair a few were harsh as it wasn't a nasty match.
Team Selection: With the current list of injuries within the team the selection this week is actually straight forward. Wenger seems to rank Djourou ahead of Senderos at the moment, which I agree with, so the back four are all obvious choices, with Hoyte covering for Eboue.
In midfield it will be good to see Rosicky back on the field taking his place on the left wing. With Ljungberg injured Hleb will play on the right, the two central midfielders pick themselves as do the two strikers.
| My team selection for this game: van Persie, Adebayor Rosicky, Gilberto, Fabregas, Hleb Clichy, Djourou, Toure, Hoyte Lehmann Subs: Almunia, Senderos, Walcott, Flamini, Baptista |
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Unavailable:
Ljungberg - Injured his hamstring against Portsmouth and will be out for another two weks at least.
Eboue - Injured his ankle against Portsmouth and played on for a good few minutes before being substituted. He should be back by within a week.
Henry - He has a low back injury which causes him pain down his sciatic nerve. We've been given no indication as to when he'll be back.
Gallas - Injured his quadriceps muscle (front of his thigh) taking free kicks in training and has been out for few weeks. He's not expected to be fit for another 10 days at least.
Diaby - On course to return to first team training in January. He suffered a fracture-dislocated ankle last season.
Lauren - He was supposed to feature in the midweek game at Anfield that was postponed due to fog. He's getting match fit slowly but surely and I expect to see him playing in the new year. He played for 70 minutes against a Vietnamese side last week and came through unscathed.
Long-term issues: Recent reports have linked Lehmann with a move to Sevilla and Wenger did little to end the speculation when asked about it. So Arsenal are going to need a world-class goalkeeper as Almunia is not the solution. The problem is that there isn't many potential targets on the world scene. Most of the world class keepers are settled at big clubs, well except one.
Igor Akinfeev is the CSKA Moscow goalkeeper and has been since 2003, eventhough he is only 20 years old. He has been Russia's first choice since the age of 19 and reports suggest he would welcome a move to Arsenal. I cannot see any other player in world football who is comparable to Igor. He would be an excellent addition, so come on Arsene splash some cash.
Prediction: Arsenal 2 Blackburn 1
Score: Arsenal 6 Blackburn 2
