Arsenal Squad To Face Sunderland

Giant slayers Sunderland are in town and going by manager Gus Poyet presser, they smell blood. Sitting in the red zone at the wrong end of the table, the Black Cats will give it all to take advantage of the likely negative effect of the much talked about handicap of our thin squad and a punishing fixture list.

How will we line-up against Sunderland?

This, when coupled with the manner of our loss some 72hrs ago against the reigning European champions: a game that had swara written all over it, meaning the stars simply didn't align for us.  I am reminded of the reaction of my new pub pal that eventful Wednesday night when Alaba’s penalty hit the post on its way out.

 It was something along the lines that Arsenal’s football gods were finally awoken from their deep slumber. As it turns out, that fair bit of luck was merely a startle from their deep REM sleep as we were soon immersed into the nightmare that in the first place had startled them from the slumber.

It must have been a particularly harrowing experience for Mesut Ozil. The past few days for the German star upped the ante as he has lived through the nightmare of partisan, sell-the-papers, get-the-page views media talk. When he signed for Arsenal, part of the talk was how his move finally afforded him the stage to shine.

To shine away from the blinding luminescence of the Ronaldo’s of this world. Moreover, for that to happen, the consensus was that he had to improve his game. Then from his stats, the only blotch appeared to the pitiful goal return for an attacking midfield genius. There were whispers about his all round game and fitness levels, but his blinding start premier league life ensured that they were drowned in the uuhs and aaahs of his performances.

Today, presents a test to Wenger’s much vouched for nothing-to-something, something-to-star credentials. Does Mesut warrant a rest? Will leaving him out of the starting lineup negatively impact on the inevitable psychological imbalance occasioned by Wednesday night’s penalty miss?  Or maybe Ozil needs this game to get that out of the system?

The other selection problem has to be that left side that has been exposed time and again. When Gibbs is fit, he steadies the ship somewhat. With the England international out of the side with a buttock injury, Monreal starts. The Spanish international is not a downgrade in many regards, the question is on who starts ahead of him in midfield to provide the cover. An obvious concern thanks to the threat of an inform Adam Johnson.

In our line-up above, Podolski stays out of the squad. We love the German and the Prince Poldi loves Arsenal, but Wenger…..well.  Save for the penalty conceded against Liverpool in the FA cup, he tracks better than Cazorla, we think. Besides, # Podolski  #aha offers a potent goal threat. If it were our wish, Podolski would start on the left with (a)Santi Cazorla shunted to the center in the number 10 role.

On the right, we go for Gnabry as we are sold to the young German’s abilities; besides, playing The Ox in consecutive games after a long injury lay off is a sure recipe for a Diaby-like lay off. For Giroud, well he needs to get back to playing football. 

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