Good morning to you all on a cloudless, plane-free and gorgeous spring London morning. Having no aircraft humming overhead or vapour trails criss-crossing the skies has been as peculiar as it has been welcome. It would have been even nicer yesterday had someone on my road not chosen the enforced tranquillity to fire up a tree-mulching machine – all day. It sounded like a giant having an electric shave.
Yesterday, I was giving some thought to which young players Wenger could feasibly slot in between now and the end of the season, out of necessity or opportunity, given that we are no longer challenging for first.
Then along came yesterday’s string of results, and however unlikely it may still feel, a win at Wigan today would put us three points behind the leaders with three games to go. Hope, however much you try and banish it to the attic, keeps peering his head round the banisters and gurning at you.
Goodplaya – who has been something of a lone voice of optimistic lunacy on Twitter – said yesterday morning, “Am I the only one thinking that if Spurs beat Chels we can draw level before they play again? Unlikely, but wd we feel safe in their shoes?†How right he suddenly is.
How might the Spuds’ result have changed Wenger’s plans? We’ll see today. On Twitter yesterday, there was a groundswell of opinion in favour of giving Eastmond (one league start, two sub appearances) a game in the middle of the park. With Denilson a major doubt – and hardly in the form of his career anyway – I’d take that gamble. I’d also play van Persie from the start, as with a back line of Campbell and Silvestre for the remainder of the season (injuries allowing – ha), attack is going to be our best form of defence.
Some other interesting stuff slewed out of the official website late last night. Wenger in recent days – since the Spuds win in particular – has been on something of a warpath and yesterday not only was he bullish about our chances of matching Chelsea from a financial point of view:
“I think we can overcome [Chelsea]. For a while we were not investing maybe because we had built the stadium but I think our financial situation is now becoming much stronger and we will be capable to buy the players we need to buy.”
But also he talked about transfers:
“We will announce the deals after the league [finishes]. He [Chamakh] is one of the players who has a good chance to join us.”
So good news there – the Chamakh deal sounds close and tantalisingly, he talked about ‘deals’ in plural and of money being available. Now excuse me for clutching at straws, but that’s just what I wanted to hear so clutch at straws I will.
Onto today, and here we go again. I’ve asked Goodplaya for some of his mind-warping optimism-inducing pills and we can take it from there.
But he has forgotten United from the equation. I wish he had wished United to lose yesterday cos whatever he wished yesterday came true, strangely. He got everything right yesterday. He sensed a goal at the right moment. Can Spurs complete the trilogy by beating United? Can Stoke get a draw next week? And we have to win the rest…
Interesting point about the posts yesterday on the official site. I thinks its because of looming season ticket and club level renewals while the economy looks shot for another 12 months. Enjoy the Wigan game!
Dom
You’re right – the chances are truly remote. But mathematically…
Anyway, it’s better to be in there scrapping than not in there at all.
I’d not considered that Dom – we shall see come August 31st. Though I doubt the Chamakh deal is a smokescreen.
You’ve been name dropped on another blog.
http://le-grove.co.uk/2010/04/18/landmark-day-wooo-hooo/
Arsenal have no chance of the title. Repeat no chance at all.
With such an inferior goal difference no way.Furthermore you will have to expect Mu to lose two games and Chelsea one game. The gunners must win all games.
Frankly the gunners blew their chances when they drew at Birmingham city.
The inability to hold on to leads is happening all the time and not only this season . It happened when Richard Wright was the goalie.
In all big games the gunners went missing. How can you win the title with this approach?
Of course we have no real chance, I accept that. But at least it’s more exciting this morning than it was yesterday morning.