A big night for bruised Arsenal

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It’s been quite the week. With all the hoo-hah there’s been, you’d think Arsenal were the first team to request a postponement due to a squad decimated by Covid, injuries and absences. We’ve followed the rules but have still somehow done it wrong. I’ll just check my notes here, but I’m fairly sure that’s right.

Here’s a thought: you can’t change them now, but for the rest of the season let’s have some more clarity and openness on those rules, and the reasons each club’s postponement is granted. Maybe then it wouldn’t be all about Arsenal. 

Much manufactured fury later, and here we are at the semi-final second leg, which arrives later than it should have thanks to *rustles papers* a postponed game.

So after a backs-to-the-wall defensive performance in the first leg, we come into the second leg with our back to the wall again thanks to all the criticism that’s come our way. Arteta defended our actions and our probity magnificently in his press conference, and how can you not like your manager saying something like this:

“We will defend our club with teeth and nails. We are not going to get anybody damaging our name, or trying to lie about things that haven’t occurred. We will make mistakes, and we will put our hands up, but we will defend our club in a really strong way.”

Given all that’s gone on, Colonel Arteta’s recipe of 11 players and substitutes for tonight’s game is a closely-guarded secret. Imagine how finger-lickin’ good it would be if we lined up with a number of our key absentees back. No doubt there’d be some more manufactured hoo-hah about our players being the first to recover from illness and injury so quickly. Yawn.

Sadly, I won’t be there. I don’t often do the early rounds of the League Cup, but I would normally parachute in, like a failed Champions League team into the Europa League, at about the semi-final stage. I left it too late this time and I regret it now as tonight should be quite the atmosphere, and given our meek FA Cup exit it’s our final tilt at a trophy too.

It’s got all the ingredients for a zinger. Come on you reds!

Jim

Arsenal since about 1979. Thick, thin and all that.