Pre-match conference | Team news | Credits: Arsenal.com
It’s Paris Saint-Germain tonight on Matchday 5 in the Champions League, in a group where we’ve done reasonably well so far, which means it’s very much in our hands to finish as winners of it. However, there have been instances not too long before when we capitalized in early group fixtures yet slipped in the latter stages, leading to a second place finish. It puts us on the back foot right away, and for obvious reasons, that has led to unfavourable consequences for us.
I know and fully understand that it’s nigh-on impossible (not to mention a loserlike attitude) to hope for an easy journey all the way to the final. At one point or another, Arsenal will have to face a Barcelona or a Real Madrid, be it in the semifinals or the Round of 16. But simply put, facing easier opponents in earlier knockout phases makes life easier and helps the team feel more comfortable. In addition, we’ve not been able to crack the Round of 16 so many times that it threatens to replace the trophy-drought narrative.
Win (or draw 0-0), and our head-to-head record against PSG becomes superior, and after coupling that with our healthy goal difference, it guarantees us topping the group. Should we draw 1-1 against them, the H2H record stays level and puts all the pressure on Matchday 6 to get the top berth. Losing is an option we cannot be defeatist enough to contemplate. Winning tonight has much more importance than three points – it guarantees winning the group, increases the probability of facing relatively inferior opposition and gives us the luxury of a rare dead rubber in the middle of the season.
Given the necessity of a victory, our recent performances are made all the worrisome. It’s no big secret we haven’t been playing as well as we should, and the reasons behind that are many. We’ve been unbeaten in all competitions from the opening day of the season, but that record has been largely under threat due to the unconvincing nature of our football. I get that results outrank performances, but even performances have a funny way of catching up and influencing the final scorelines. And by funny, I mean nasty in the most Jose-Mourinho-fucking-Donald-Trump kinds of ways.
We need to win, sure, but it’s about time we make a good account of ourselves to dissipate the doubts. The team needs a bit of a boost, and defeating PSG might provide that. As of now, the French club are the perfect blend of being average enough to beat, yet they have the ‘big-name’ tag attached to them, which would make the win feel important enough to cherish.
David Ospina should start in goal, and the defence ahead of him will probably consist of Carl Jenkinson, Laurent Koscielny, Shkodran Mustafi and Nacho Monreal. It’s midfield that will provide more subjective opinions. Mesut Ozil will reclaim his role, but who will in the base of midfield? Granit Xhaka has been suspiciously out of the action, while Aaron Ramsey played out of position against Manchester United, leaving Iwobi on the bench. Are these players coming into the fray somehow, and should they? Given Alexis Sanchez’s recent injury woes and Olivier Giroud and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain waiting in the wings, it’s clear we can feasibly field 3-4 different front-sixes.
Having said that, I’d be astonished if Wenger doesn’t change much of anything in his first-choice XI. He’s known for repetitively selecting his default options, and I don’t see much reason why he’d detract from that. We’ll see a change in goalkeeping, and Giroud might be given a start, but I’d be surprised if the Coquelin-Elneny partnership is disrupted, Xhaka is handed a start or Ramsey gets dropped.
I might be wrong, but I’m guessing we’d have to rely on the same tired legs to get the win. In fairness, it’s a reasonably strong lineup, and we know we can do it. We know PSG are beatable too, so let’s go for it.
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Credits: Goal.com
In other news, Hector Bellerin confirmed a long-term deal with Arsenal, the clearest indication of his commitment to the club. It’s estimated at £100K p/week, richly deserved in my book, and it’s great to see Arsene and the club take proactive action to secure a prized talent like him.
It’s good news for various reasons. Mathieu Debuchy and Jenkinson are decent players in their own rights, but they’re not good enough to be our first-choice option week in, week out. Bellerin is the best right back at Arsenal, and could be in England. He’s young, he’s had Premier League experience under his belt and he’s quickly going places (pun intended). I’m just glad he wants to go places with us.
However, let’s not think that’s an affinity which cannot wear thin over time. Many players have broken their promises if they felt the ship was sinking, not least from Arsenal. Thierry Henry left Arsenal a year after penning a long-term contract. Cesc Fabregas went to Barcelona while he had three years left on his deal. Bellerin’s new contract will keep him away from those Catalan eyes in the next transfer window, but what happens beyond that is by no means a forgone conclusion.
The only thing we can do is keep our end of the bargain, and I don’t mean in the form of paying him his salary. Bellerin has committed to us because he wants to play for a top club, which is what we should now live up to. That goes all the same for the likes of Alexis and Ozil. Regardless of what they say in press conferences or interviews, evidence has shown that world class players do not stay in teams that cannot match their ambitions.
We’ve won a couple of FA Cups in the recent past, and that’s great, but it won’t be enough for these guys. It is beating the big teams and winning the big trophies that players eventually crave for. It’s time we get serious about getting them, starting tonight.
-Santi [Follow me on Twitter @ArsenalBlogz ]
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