Dagens Arsenal - 13 Mars 2009
Wenger
Trotts de våldsamheter omkring Rom under Arsenals Champions League match emot Roma under veckan där en Arsenal-supporter ska ha knivhuggits så tänker UEFA inte flytta finalen från Olympia stadion. Ett beslut som UEFA fått kritik ifrån flera supporterorganisationer. Även Arsène Wenger tror också att det vore fel att flytta finalen från den Italienska huvudstaden: "No, even if I am conscious that what happened was not acceptable. It has, of course, to be investigated, but I believe that is purely down to Roma's supporters. I have been to many Champions League finals, and it is always a much more neutral and corporate atmosphere in the final. You have people from all over the world who want to see the European Cup final, and I do not think that it will face the same problems."
Wenger fortsätter med att tala om de svårigheter som laget ställs inför i den kommande matchen mot Blackburn och fransmannen bekräftar bekymmer med laguttagningen: "We have a few heavy muscles but we are still less than 48 hours after the game. We will wait until tomorrow Saturday morning. We are exactly the same group but Eduardo is replaced by Andrey Arshavin. I will decide on the team tomorrow. It is not a big frustration with Eduardo because I expected that kind of adjustment after nine months out. With such big surgery your body needs to adjust again and find some different ways to recruit your muscles.”
Slutligen så talar Wenger om Liverpools stundande match mot Manchester United och om deras situation i jakten på den titel Liverpool aldrig vunnit, Premier League: "I do not know who will win. You only know that Liverpool are a bit in the situation we were when we went to Old Trafford last year. Man United can afford a draw, Liverpool cannot so they are in a situation where they have to win the game at any cost. Are they capable of doing that? Yes. But it is a very open game."
Spelarna
Theo Walcott skickar nu iväg en varning till Aston Villa att Arsenal nu börjat hitta formen och tar nu upp jakten på Birmingham-laget. Engelsmannen berättar också om hur extatiskt omklädningsrummet var efter vinsten mot Roma: "If we had lost, there would have been a lot of players down, but now everyone is buzzing. Hopefully this result will show everyone we are a great unit and we will see where it takes us. The dressing room after the game was like we had just won the World Cup final. The atmosphere is brilliant. Even though there are all sorts of nationalities in there, we all get along and we are like a family." Slutligen ser Walcott fram emot säsongsavslutningen som Arsenal ska slutföra med bravur: "We have got a lot of players coming back towards the end of the season. We seem to have had our bad spell. Now hopefully we can have a good spell and push for those Champions League spots."
Eduardo sätter ribban ännu högre. Enligt Kroaten så kan Arsenal gott och väl vara med och utmana om även tredjeplatsen och på så sätt köra om Liverpool och/eller Chelsea som förnärvarande ligger 9 poäng före The Gunners: "What is important is that we are defending well and the performances are coming, There are a lot of great players coming back now - Walcott, Fabregas, Tomas Rosicky and Adebayor - and it will be okay. I think we can be in the top three in the Premier League."
Gaël Clichy är också han väldigt optimistisk inför säsongsavslutningen. Den franske vänsterbacken tror att laget kanske t o m har ett möjlighet att nå hela vägen i Champions League denna säsong: "We are really exhausted after the match at Roma. We had a lot of difficulties, but it was essential that we progressed. Could we win the Champions League? Yes, I really think so. I am confident. We have discovered a new side to the team this season. We defeated Manchester United, won at Chelsea and drew against Liverpool. If we can keep that state of mind, we can be successful."
Även om spelarna på senare tid verkar komma bra överens på planen så berättar nu Kolo Touré att han fortfarande inte är särskillt förtjust i William Gallas. Men fransmannen och ivorianen har trotts sina personliga skillnader stått för ett stabilt mittbacksspel under våren: "My relationship with William has improved, but it's just a professional relationship. Once we are on the pitch we try to keep a professional attitude and to communicate. I am friends with Johan Djourou, with Emmanuel Eboue, with Gael Clichy, but it is not the same with William. We never got on well together. However, it is the same within every company - you cannot be friends with everybody."
Skadeläget
Eduardo da Silva har återigen fått ett litet skadeproblem efter sitt långa uppehåll från spel. Denna gång är det en ljumske som besvärar Kroaten. Wenger bekräftar att Eduardo missar matchen mot Blackburn: "Unfortunately we have lost Eduardo with a groin problem. He got it in the first half of extra-time and I wonder if that stopped him from taking his penalty that well. It is only a short-term injury but he is out for Saturday,"
Wenger berättar också att Cesc Fabregas och Emmanuel Adebayor kan vara tillbaka efter landslagsuppehållet till matchen mot Manchester City den fjärde april. Wenger om duon: “After the international break, Cesc should be back. He is very close. Adebayor too should be back after the international break.” Mikael Silvestre har nu helt återhämtat sig från den sträckningen fransmannen drog på sig i januari men saknar matchform så förmodligen får inte spela till helgen. Gällande Tomas Rosicky så finns det inga nyheter kring Tjecken. Så han räknas vara tillbaka om drygt en och en halv vecka.
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