Arsenal America

HUGE game. This is our European season right here. Catch it live on the Telly (ESPN or ESPN2, can’t remember which). Here’s Inter supporter John Thompson with a preview:

Inter vs Arsenal-A Game That Shouldn?t Matter But Does

When the Group B Champions League schedule was first announced, the return match at the San Siro was a game that most of the pundits thought would be a formality as we all believed that Inter and Arsenal would take care of business against Dynamo and Lokomotiv. Obviously that has not happened and now everything is on the line in the city known for its fashion as well as its football on Tuesday night. I?ll let my chums at Arsenal America talk about their squad as I?ll concentrate on the Nerazzurri.

Hard as it may be to believe but the only game that Inter has played a strong 90 minutes so far this year was the battle at Highbury in September in which the blue and black won 3-0. In that match , Francesco Toldo stood on his head, the defense was water tight and the counter attack was deadly especially the pace of Martins. Since then the soap opera has continued but there are signs that Inter is starting to come back to life.

Injuries: Like Arsenal, Inter has been hit hard by the injury bug over the last few years and that trend is starting to creep into the current edition. There are no long term problems but Inter are certainly sweating over the inclusion of two key defenders: Marco Materazzi and Francesco Coco. Materazzi has emerged as the emotional leader of the team even with Javier Zanetti appointed as the captain. He has a nasty streak and also is deadly in the air on set pieces. The former Everton defender was also recalled to Italy?s national team last week where he picked up a knock. He has been superior to Cannavaro and Cordoba so far in 2003 and the training staff will hold him out of Saturday?s match against Reggina just to make sure he can go on Tuesday. As far as Coco is concerned, he?s become the Darren Anderton of Serie A in terms of the amount of time he spends on the training table. Right now it?s a back that?s bugging him but his pace on the left flank is impressive and with Lauren out for Arsenal, his participation is crucial. The young Turk, Emre, has a knee problem and is iffy while the versatile Thomas Helveg is also doubtful after getting hurt in Denmark?s win over England a week ago. Alvaro Recoba played in the final minutes of Uruguay?s tie against Brazil on Wednesday but 90 minutes out of ?El Chino? might be asking too much.

Meet the New Boss: Arsene Wenger will be matching up against a new foe in Alberto Zaccheroni who took over from the much maligned Hector Cuper last month. Zac, who won a Serie A title with AC Milan a few years back, employs a much more attacked minded style which Inter seems better geared for but needs time to adjust to. Hopefully players such as Van der Meyde, Vieri, Gonzalez, Luciano, and most importantly Recoba will be able to thrive in this new environment.

Team Psyche: As disappointing as this year has been so far for Inter, the scary thing is that the team still leads Group A and is only 7 points behind Juventus in the Serie A. Some members of the Italian press feel that Inter may try to pull an AC Milan from last year and concentrate just on the Champions League which might be the case if Inter loses to Juventus next weekend. Just when things started to simmer down with the arrival of Zac, along comes another distraction with the doping situation involving Kallon whose A and B sample both tested positive for a steroid. With Cruz and Martins backing up Vieri and Recoba up front, this should not hurt the squad too much but the distraction is unnecessary. The most gloomy figure lately for Inter has been Mr. Vieri. His goal celebrations have looked more like funeral marches and with the potential arrival of Adriano next summer, some feel this year is it for Bobo. Vieri was quoted in the Italian press last week stating that he actually wishes he could be a professional cricket player!!!

Keys and Outcome: If Cuper was still here, I?d pick a 0-0 scoreline but Zac has brought back some spice to the San Siro. This might be the breakout game for Andy Van der Meyde who looked fantastic against Scotland during the Euro 2004 play-offs. He and Mr. Cricket Man have not clicked yet but it should be a matter of time. There will probably be some yellow cards flying with Cristiano Zanetti, Ivan Cordoba and Materazzi (if healthy) up to their old tricks. If Arsenal had their same depth as last year, I?d probably predict a draw but take Inter 2-0 and tell Dennis B. to forget the cab fare to Italy.