Kevin Whitcher
With the opening Premier League match of the season less than a week away, it was a welcome sight to see the three major new purchases take the field in Arsenal shirts before the real business begins. Koln, now a second division club, fielded a largely second string team to start the game, having played a competitive first team fixture earlier in the weekend, so the quality of the opposition should always be considered before people get too carried away with the performance.
Still, Arsenal have, on occasion, struggled to see off Barnet in pre-season, so the goals, and especially the clean sheet, were gratifying. Most interesting of all was he formation used to begin the match, with two attacking midfielders lining up ahead of one holding – specifically Cazorla and Oxlade-Chamberlain in front of Coquelin. With Giroud flanked by Walcott and Podolski, I put me in mind of Barcelona when they play Xavi and Iniesta ahead of Busquets, and behind a trio of front men. It’s very bold, and one wonders whether or not it can work against better opposition. We’ll find out if it was an experiment next weekend I guess.
However, yesterday, the players combined to set up numerous chances, and there seemed enough understanding with the new players to suggest that it will not take long to fully integrate them.
The Robin van Persie situation rumbles on. It looks likely that it is only really a matter of Manchester United meeting Arsenal’s asking price, but at the same time, the club need to be seen to be strong, and willing to hold the player to his contract. On one level, naturally, it is bad business to allow an asset worth £20 million to dwindle to nothing, but it should be remembered they only paid £1.5 million for him originally, and that they do not actually need the income his sale would generate. Van Persie, on entering the fray, took the captain’s armband, hopefully a sign of his commitment to his employers as long as they are the ones paying his wages.
The noises coming from United are that they are keen to resolve the issue, and the one thing you have to say about the Old Trafford outfit is that when they want a player, they do not often quibble about paying a little over the odds, in contrast to Arsenal. My guess is that the Gunners want £20 million and that the price will be met, before next weekend so the club captain can begin the campaign proper with Alex Ferguson as his manager.
That being the case, Giroud will begin against Sunderland as he did against Koln, with, I suspect, Walcott and Podolski wide of him. Walcott’s situation is slightly complicated in that there do not seem to be any firm offers for him. As for the midfield, it would seem to be a choice of three between Arteta, Song, the Ox and Cazorla, and who ends up on the bench will be dependent on the manager’s decision on how it will line up. My money is on the Ox being the bridesmaid next weekend.
