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Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Selection dilemmas for Wenger

By 1970’s Gooner

Arsene Wenger has a decision to make for the Champions League Group H encounter against Sevilla. Does he continue with Gilberto in central defence or does he opt for the returning Senderos.

This is a much more difficult decision than it first appears because either selection will have repercussions elsewhere in the formation of the team but also in Wenger’s future planning.

Let’s be more specific.

On the footballing side if he sticks with Gilberto then he has another dilemma. Who plays in the central midfield position next to fabulous Fabregas?

I know what he will decide because when faced with the same selection question before it was Flamini rather than the unlucky Diaby.

I say unlucky because Diaby to my mind is a far more forceful and powerful player best suited for this position than Flamini.

Especially when you consider that Sevilla’s midfield includes Keita who is a strong battler and powerful player who provides the engine in this attractive Sevilla side.

However if Wenger sticks with Gilberto in defence this leaves Senderos out of the starting eleven. Not a problem you might say; and I would agree.

His positioning has been suspect which is, however, important for a defender whose pace is not his best attribute.

Having watched Sevilla demolish Recreativo Huelva 4-1 the other night I am worried about their forward line which includes the very wily and pacy pairing of Kanoute and the Russian Kerzakov.

Gilberto and Senderos are not blessed with a lot of pace but Gilberto may just get the nod due to his experience and better positional sense.

Leaving Senderos out will be a big psychological blow for the young player.

He will inevitably interpret this decision to mean that the manager has lost faith in him and start questioning his future at the club.

Another dilemma?

The other selection decision for Wenger is whether to stick with Robin Van Persie in attack. You might be raising your eyebrows at this moment, but I like to call them as I see them.

Van Persie has gone off the boil in recent games. He was largely absent at the Lane and also during the game against Portsmouth.

We should not let the exciting win at Tottenham distract us from judging a player’s performance.

As I said in my analysis of the game we are going to face tougher opponents than Spurs in the future who are not going to miss chances and who are not going to hand us goals on a plate.

Eduardo was not even on the bench against Spurs so he has been rested and is ready to go having scored three goals in his last two international games for Croatia. He has also scored for Arsenal in the Champion’s League qualifier at the Emirates against Sparta Prague.

If the selection decision is simply based on form then Van Persie should be on the bench.

I would hope and expect that Wenger will reinstall Rosicky on the left flank. He was probably rested for the game against Spurs for this purpose.

My starting 11 would include Gilberto in defence, Diaby in central midfield, Rosicky on the left of midfield and Eduardo in attack. The rest pick themselves.

But Wenger knows best right?

Prediction

We managed to come out on top with our predictions so far this season but after all when the team is doing well and winning it’s more difficult to get it wrong than right!

However the predictions for a 1-1 draw at Blackburn and that of a 1-3 away win at Tottenham are the ones that we are proud of.

For tonight’s game both teams play open attractive football in a 4 4 2 formation. This means that there will be goals and I expect Arsenal to come out on top; 3-1


Tottenham’s weaknesses more serious than Arsenal’s

Fabregas is a more effective player than Scholes. The statistical analysis backs it up

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think he has to give Senderos a chance. He has afetr all played well in the past so why discard him now?

Anonymous said...

Silva is a far safer bet than error prone Senderos

Anonymous said...

I think it will be a tight game. 1-0

Anonymous said...

If Senderos plays then we will concede. 2-1

Anonymous said...

No question, Senderos is going to play.

Anonymous said...

WEnger has a history of sticking by his players. In this way he shows them that he believes in them. They then respond by pushing themselves as hard as they can.
I also believe that senderos will start.

Anonymous said...

I think that the reason Wenger picks Flamini over Diaby is because Diaby is a more 'Going forward' player. Cesc loves going forward and has a new confidence in scoring goals, by playing Diaby along side him, it will restrict Cesc from going forward as much. Flamini will graft and battle from start to finish and cover for Cesc when Cesc gets forward.I totally agree that Eduardo should start tonight, he is showing great form and confidence.It should be a fantastic game of football and i think Arsenal will win 3-1 as well. Wrighty 7

Anonymous said...

I hope we are both right!
Surely Diaby could be instructed to stay a little bit back when required.
He will do a better job at it than Flamini. This is without wishing to diminish the latter's ability and contribution so far.

Anonymous said...

I agree that maybe Diaby could be asked to stay back. I think though Diaby's instinct is to venture forward so thats why Wenger picks him on the left to give him experiance on the pitch and to learn positional sense. Diaby is a year behind in those terms due to injury. I also feel his natural position is more central. Arsenal are lucky that we have so much talent! Wrighty 7.

Anonymous said...

Yes we've said it before. There is a lot of strength in depth in this squad a lot more than people think.