Its arguably the last game that we have to get something out of to give us the confidence that we’ve finally understood how to play against the physical sides.
If we win this we would’ve won against both our bogey opponents .. Blackburn and Bolton this year. We would’ve won at the Reebok had that Freddie header gone in but we were just unlucky. Its a good chance to blow the Trotters off and prove to everyone , most of all to ourselves that we’ve come a full circle.
We’ve got a huge number of injury worries. The most worrying of them all is the one to Alex Hleb. He means so much to us on the right side and if Freddie’s not fit either we have major worries. I dont believe Eboue’s playing at a 100% nor is Walcott on form ,so that leaves us wide open on the right flank.. our major attacking threat this season because our left has basically been less potent than our right..how things do change :).
Diouf will be suspended so thats one less brawler and diver to worry about but Le Sulk will be on the money and I expect him to score at least once. Kevin Davies, Nolan, Speed, Stelios and Campo will all be running around trying to bump us off slyly and call it “controlled aggression”.
It will not be easy at all and with Gilberto serving the final game of his suspension, Flamini or Baptista whoever plays will have to be right on the money so that Cesc can focus on passing the ball around. If Freddie’s not fit then I wouldn’t be surprised at all to see Ali play wide left or right with Mozart taking the vacant flank.
The front two and back four pretty much pick themselves with a back four of Hoyte,Toure,Sendy and Clichy, with a front 2 of Henry and Ade. I’m just scared of what will happen if Toure picks up a month long injury…specially with Gallas never seeming to get fit at all. When is Djourou getting back? I can’t wait for Kolo or Cesc to take a break…Song is apparently going on loan to Sochaux soon…not bad for him to gain some decent first team experience.If things go well I’d like to see Denilson get 10 minutes or so.. he was fantastic against Spurs.
All in all… since my Game Previews have so far been fairly consistent and we haven’t lost in a while 
I’m going to push my luck and say that this is the game when we prove to ourselves that Bolton are no longer our bogey team.
Arsenal 3 - Bolton 1
50 Responses to “Arsenal - Bolton (FA Cup)”
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January 27th, 2007 at 11:11 am
Anelka says something about wanting to come back to Arsenal… and then he scores against us again… in front of Arsene… to further his point!
I think he will be playing VERY hard.
He ain’t coming back to the Arsenal, but we could do worse than Nic Anelka.
Tough match, considering the injuries and Bolton’s style of play. They’d love nothing more than to draw and take it back to the Reebok for a replay.
1-0 to the Arsenal. Late.
January 27th, 2007 at 12:25 pm
Didn’t Gilberto already sit out three games (two against Liverpool, one against Tottenham), and therefore, shouldn’t he be eligible for this game?
January 27th, 2007 at 1:10 pm
The Blackburn game took place after both Pool games.
January 27th, 2007 at 2:03 pm
so song is being bombed off. WONDERFUL!
we now have a five personnel for CM …diaby and denilson look promising and flamini is hardworking. Not bad at all!
now if only ljunberg can be adequately replaced with a good leftwinger…..then we will have a pretty complete squad.
GK: lehmann, Almunia
RB: Eboue, Hoyte
LB: Clichy, Traore
CB: Toure, Gallas, Senderos, Djorou
CM: Gilberto, Fabregas, Diaby, Denilson, Flamini
RM: Hleb, Walcott
LM: Rosicky, Ljunberg
ST: Henry, RvP, Adebayor, Baptista
January 27th, 2007 at 6:12 pm
A lot of speculation linking Arsenal to Ribery and Babel as long term replacements for Ljundberg/Reyes on the left midfield/wing. Both are very quick and can shoot. Ribery would IMO be the better option as he has experience on the big stage. But Babel has the better physique to succeed in the EPL and looks a very exciting prospect. And it is no harm that he is a fan of Arsenal and a buddy of RvP. I hope Wenger buys one of them soon.
January 27th, 2007 at 7:28 pm
I would take any kind of win, but would love to shove Bolton 4-0.
January 27th, 2007 at 9:02 pm
Agreed. Any kind of win would be desirable (but no more injuries!)
January 27th, 2007 at 9:06 pm
If you are talking the IMMEDIATE squad, well… RVP is OUT.
At least 10 weeks, possibly the remainder of the season… so Aliadiere is in the squad.
If you are talking long term… well Bendtner is gonna be back, so he would likely have to be factored in.
With injuries, you never know what you will end up with.
And Lehmann could be off… Freddie… are questions marks for next year.
But a good nucleus for a good young team.
You do need experience. It helps. Thats why I didn’t like Lauren leaving.
January 27th, 2007 at 10:48 pm
I watched Lauren playing (L)B today against Man U. Shaky. Not unexpected considering his time away. He would not be challenging our incumbents in the FB position. At one point, he cleared (pass) the ball to a Man U player at the edge of the 18 yd box. We couldn’t afford to give him games at this stage to get up to speed.
January 27th, 2007 at 11:03 pm
Rooney beats Lauren for the first of his 2 goals. Campbell failed to close down Rooney on his 2nd goal (a 20yd chip). Wenger knows.
January 28th, 2007 at 9:23 am
Redknapp must be a creatin, Lauren’s been out for a year and he gives him his first full start playing as left back… against Man Utd.
Campbell has done ok for Portsmouth, but has also looked slow and ponderous - definitely the right decision to get rid.
January 28th, 2007 at 9:23 am
Redknapp must be a cretin, Lauren’s been out for a year and he gives him his first full start playing as left back… against Man Utd.
Campbell has done ok for Portsmouth, but has also looked slow and ponderous - definitely the right decision to get rid.
January 28th, 2007 at 10:42 am
Boys’s we are going to hurt without Hleb as there’s no one who can play that position that’s fit. RvP can do it as well as Eboue, but their both broke. Ljunberg used to know how to do it and Walcott still hasn’t figured it out yet. This may be Aliadiere’s chance but he’s broke at the wrong time. I just hope we don’t miss Hleb too much.
January 28th, 2007 at 1:11 pm
Bolton remains Arsenal’s bogey team. No last minute heroics this time. Considering the fixture congestion and injury list, a replay at the Reebok is the last thing we need.
Henry was a spectator for much of this game. No late heroics from him. Other than one goal bound back heel, he was poor by his normal standards. Walcott had alot of the ball. Forced a good save from their keeper. But it is clear he still needs time as his link up with others are still not there yet. Need more composure in front of goal otherwise he would have had a spectacular volley at goal. Adebayor was hardworking but this must be his worst game to date. Terrible ball control, awful first touch and giving up possession too easily. Flamini has the knack to give away silly freekicks and did not offer any offensive options. Glad that Gilberto will be back for the 2nd leg. Baptista looks more in tune with the team now than say 2 months ago. Could have won us the game if not for that misdirected header.
It is frustrating to see our players pumping the ball up towards Henry and Adebayor even early in the game when our strikers were not likely to win it. Don’t Arsenal practise winning headers?! Estimated that Bolton won like 90% of the balls in the air. And to make matters worse, Bolton will invariably retain possession of the ball after that. We just did not retain possession well today. And our players did not do enough to close them down when they had the ball.
Can still win it at the Reebok but will be a very tough one. At least the record at AG is intact…for now.
January 28th, 2007 at 1:21 pm
Good analysis, gunner4life. Only thing I would say is that I drew more positives from match than you did. For one thing, the team is deep. Consider that Gilberto, RvP, Eboue, Hleb and Gallas were out and yet team significantly outclassed decent Bolton side. Moreover, no real sense of panic when we went down 1-0. You’re right about the deep balls, however, and there’s no question a replay at the Reebok was the last thing the doctor ordered. Nontheless, there’s an air about this team that bodes well long-term.
January 28th, 2007 at 1:22 pm
at least they dont become the first team to win at the emirates….that would have been horrible.
walcott….that guy still has serious work to do. he can hardly keep possession of the ball. i dont think he should be starting.
apart from the backheel, henry did nothing again today…just like against Man U. the only difference is that there was no last minute heroics.
adebayors touch was heavy, rosicky and clichy were quite good. was impressed by both of them.
and finally i think flamini is not the answer to the DM question. he is almost always in FRONT of fabregas…doesnt he understand what being a DM mean. some how i think gilberto would have snuffed out the goal they scored.
anyhow, its not that bad a result considering they are our bogey team……..but the fixture list isnt looking pretty.
January 28th, 2007 at 1:30 pm
just rechecked the fixture list…..and it seems the replay will bump off the Man City game……that coupled with the fact that the match on Jan 31 is making way for the Spuds game means that we will be TWO matches behind the rest of the league………
i really hope our injury list clears…..fast!
January 28th, 2007 at 1:30 pm
How IRONIC that Bolton scored an “Arsenal Style” goal with 3 one-touch plays to nick the ball into the net while we scored a “Bolton Style” goal with Toure scrambling one in off a set-piece.
If we really want to prove our team is improving then we must win at the Reebok. If we lose AGAIN then I don’t care how many wins we get against the Big 4 because it’s games like this that we have to win. Lucky this was the FA Cup, otherwise another 2 precious points dropped.
January 28th, 2007 at 2:25 pm
Don’t think we outclass Bolton in the 1st half. For some reason, we did not start to play and up the pressure until after they scored. Were we too cautious? While I am happy for Arsenal’s recent ability to crawl back into games, we cannot afford to let in the first goal (especially at home) and expect to recover always.
January 28th, 2007 at 2:57 pm
Agreed on both scores (i.e., being outplayed in first half and persistently allowing first goal) but am nonetheless excited to see the tangible outline of Wenger team III clearly emerging. The only thing I don’t understand is why Wenger believes in Flamini but I’m sure that’s just a flaw on my part.
January 28th, 2007 at 3:33 pm
On the Arsenal website, Wenger states that Baptista may have suffered a groin injury during today’s game but he’ll have to wait and see whether it prevent Baptista from playing on Wednesday (”We check now, a groin problem, but we hope it’s not too bad and he can play on Wednesday.”)
Wenger also suggests that, if the injuries keep on coming, he may have to make a decision on which competitions Arsenal should really pursue, stating “at the moment for us it is important not to lose too many players, because first of all you want your good players to be with you and we have important games coming up, and we might have lost again Julio Baptista today. So if we continue to lose players I will have to choose what we go for.”
Finally, he opens the window a tiny crack on possibly getting someone in the last few days in January by calling a question regarding whether Arsenal will possibly buy in order to ease the injury problems “a good question but I cannot give you an answer - I don’t think so. We lost now Van Persie - you will see what Baptista has, you know?”
I hope Baptista can play Wednesday but I wonder if Wenger has anyone in mind in case it’s a real injury.
January 28th, 2007 at 3:39 pm
Pretty much what I expected… though I figured we might win it late.
Why would anyone think we would roll over Bolton? They have ZERO fear of us, and probably enjoy playing us.
We didn’t play that badly… can’t expect a team this young to be consistent week in and week out… and once you start throwing in the mid-week matches, we are bound to have a few matches in which we play less than stellar.
Do you think Henry is going to score in every single match he plays in? Please, he’s a striker… they all have off days… and days where they aren’t on top of their game. Didn’t see a lot of great service to Henry and Adebayor. I know some of you expect Henry to do it all himself, every match, but thats not realistic.
1-1 is not a bad result.
I don’t give a rat’s ass about fixture congestion. Bring it on. The best teams have to play a lot of matches. Thats what being GOOD is all about. All competitions going… thats why we play “THE KIDS” in the Carling Cup. If we win that Cup, its just icing on the cake.
So we have to play at Bolton. OK.
I expect another tough match, where the opponent BELIEVES they will beat us. They have OWNED us at the Reebok of late. So we have to bring the “A” game. We didn’t play poorly today, just not good enough to see Bolton off. I look forward to the replay at Bolton.
Would have been fabulous of Henry’s back heel… or Baptista’s header were magnificent winners… but someday’s its not meant to be, or going to be easy.
1-1 is a fitting score line for the day.
January 28th, 2007 at 3:44 pm
Well we know Aliadiere will be playing at least!
Ali and Ade wouldn’t be bad.
We could start Walcott up front with Aliadiere…
Its the Carling Cup… let the kids play… sprinkle in a few veterans like usual… and see what happens. 0-0 or 1-1 and we go thru.
Every team deals with injuries. Its a long season, and we are in all competitions… sometimes teams are LUCKY and don’t get too many injuries, sometimes they are un-lucky… like us in the last few seasons.
Its part of the game. Deal with it. I am sure Arsene will cope alright.
January 28th, 2007 at 3:50 pm
I was simply noting the possibility of yet another injury. I was not whining, whinging, or Mourinhoing about the injuries. I think it’s a credit to Wenger that we have the type of depth where Gallas has been out for months, RvP will now be out until March-April at least, Hleb is out for a month and yet we’re in four competitions. Note that not only those three were out but so were Gilberto and Eboue today. You think the Special One would have been sanguine given these circumstances or would he pestering the Arsenal board to purchase a front-line striker, midfielder and defenseman during the window. In other words, we are dealing with the injuries and I too am sure Wenger will cope.
January 28th, 2007 at 7:03 pm
Well, nobody wants to go to the Reebok given our record there recently, but I see this team getting stronger week by week and developing belief that they can fight in tough matches. I believe we will eek a victory at the Reebok to get this monkey (Kevin Davies) off of our back; just hope we get healthier and not lose any more to injuries.
January 28th, 2007 at 8:38 pm
Why are players getting injured when they are subbed on now? Hleb was on for 9 min-hamstring. C**e pulled a thigh muscle in his first game back from his metatarsal injury when he was subbed on. Baptista subbed on and now he has a groin injury (? degree of seriousness). Eboue was cleared to play, subbed on and he reinjures his ankle. This is getting ridiculous. Don’t players know how to warm up? I’d close up shop on RVP and bring him back next season.
I thought we had a crisis with Hleb’s injury. After today’s performance, we are definitely in trouble. I can understand where Bendtner is coming from when he sees Walcott getting starts and doing jack. For all his reputed pace, he’s not the threat that Aaron Lennon is. Hell, Beasley Reese who just got off the boat from PSV is doing more for Man C than Walcott so far. I know Reese is older and wiser but its still a new league for him. Wenger calls it a “dip in form” that 17 yo can expect from time to time. I would expect no less from Wenger.
So now we are down to 2 1/2(Aliadiere counts as 1/2) little indians and Wenger raises the specter of a panic buy with 3 days to go. That is just a little distressing to me. I don’t want to hear the word buy. I’d prefer to hear the word recall.
January 28th, 2007 at 11:43 pm
Man, this can’t be true. When we all thought the injury crisis are behind us, they continue to wreck our season. RvP, Hleb, Gallas, Baptista, Eboue, Djourou and Ljungberg are all injured and Wenger admitted that he might sign someone in this window. It looks like he is going for a striker and if he do go to sign a striker I say go for…. noone. We have enough talent through our ranks and I think that Henry, Adebayor and Aliadiere are capable of doing a great job till Baptista is back. Spending money in this window is just silly and I think we need to change our training sessions, not our players. In the last couple of years we have suffered from injuries badly and I do think that the players are not well prepared for the long season.
January 29th, 2007 at 3:56 am
Hmmm .. Maybe I expected too much…3-1
.. so we end up with another 1-1 at The Grove… what is it with the 1-1’s??? .. are we jinxed or something?? 
Anyway on a more serious note… I’m sorry but I dont like this at all… another trip to The Reebok is not what we need not now at any rate … with so many damn games coming along… The CL will be back in mid February and we’ll be in big trouble if some of our players arent fully fit by then….I’m sorry STAG…you not giving a rat’s ass about fixture congestion is all fine.. but unfortunately men are not machines….. and if KT or Cesc get injured playing a Carling Cup game or a bruiser at the Reebok you’ll be moaning about AW not buying more players..thats just a FACT..in your words BTW.
Yesterday was a funny game… the moment you see long balls for more than 15-20 minutes.. you know Arsenal are worried about the opposition….
That said I thot Ade was very very good yesterday…. yes afew poor touches but his overall workrate and willingness to drop back and help out was commendable. Rosicky showed some great touches and Fab4 was reasonable…actually had a great game…but his expectations too have risen too much like everyone else…
Clichy and Hoyte were very solid and Kolo n Sendy were immense as usual… need to check the goal out again to see who was at fault..
Titi was anonymous again…n this time there was no 93rd minute winner to redeem a quiet night…he did drop back n help out quite a bit..but going forward we looked pretty toothless for long periods…sadly…
The Beast is a fox in the box..period..he’s pretty much absent in midfield while tackling and is a better goal scorer than midfielder…so there’s no point playing him alongside Cesc or something… he’s much better upfront as a second striker…
Ali will finally get a chance to prove himself now that Baps is injured as well.. but looking at how its going.. he’ll probably get injured as well…on January 31st or something and Titi will have to play all the games…
Hope we keep fighting for each other in these tough times and keep afloat in as many competitions as possible. Finally Gallas, Freddie n Hleb cant come back soon enough…
January 29th, 2007 at 4:30 am
also worth noting that Portsmouth have more goals from corners that any other team in the EPL.
January 29th, 2007 at 4:37 am
you would have thought Diaby would be the better option, but I’m not sure it’d have been wise to risk him against Campo and the studs up challenges of Bolton (Davies on Almunia - sure Davies had a right to go for the ball, but he didn’t have to have his studs right up) so early in his comeback. Flamini is a half decent squad player, he can play a variety of positions adequately and is happy to be involved. He diesn’t **AYE CARUMBA**(censored) and moan about lack of playing time, but whether he is a long term solution for Arsenal remains to be seen as it’s difficult to see an imporvement in his game since he arrived.
January 29th, 2007 at 4:54 am
agreed he’s not the answer, but that doesn’t mean that Wenger tells him to go out and do an exact impression of Gilberto. More likely Arsene allows the 2 players to sort it out between themselves.
January 29th, 2007 at 5:00 am
you can’t argue with Baptista’s goalscoring, but I wouldn’t discount him in midfield just yet: he did more in his first 2 passes that Flamini had managed in the previous 65 minutes.
January 29th, 2007 at 8:23 am
The only good thing about Arsenal’s performance yesterday was that you KNEW they had at least one goal in them.
Concede the first goal-charity begins at home.
Slow start-been there.
Another injury-done that.
Panic January buy?-priceless.
January 29th, 2007 at 8:27 am
A Chelsea supporter’s comment re: Gallas. 5yrs at Chelsea-no injuries, first year at Arsenal-5 mo injured.
January 29th, 2007 at 8:35 am
So what did that teach us? Nothing new. Senderos is diabolical, Flamini is about as creative as a cheese sandwich, and Henry isn’t the same player anymore. He’s still a great player who can impact a game with a flash of genius, but if he doesn’t get on the score sheet his overall contribution is practically worthless. Still, I will give him the benefit of the doubt, he’s entitled to a bad season.
We’ll need quite a few players back for the replay, otherwise we’re out.
January 29th, 2007 at 8:48 am
Which is why I think Wenger shud start to spend some serious dough to bring in a very good and experienced long term replacement for Gilberto since Flamini is at best a squad player to fill in the gaps due to injuries and suspensions. Wenger might want to convert Diaby into a defensive midfielder or accelerate Denilson into that role. Doesn’t appear that Song will make it as majority of the players Wenger loaned out do not make the cut for the first team. IMHO the defensive midfield position requires experience in reading the game and good positioning - not sure if Diaby or Denilson are ready yet in those areas.
Hargreaves anyone?!
January 29th, 2007 at 8:50 am
What is the story with Henry at the moment? He’s come back and scored 4 in 5, but his contribution has been Michael Owenesque. Is he just holding himself back a little until his fitness really kicks in or had he adopted this style for good? That said, I’m sure our new route one style of play is not exactly pleasing him.
January 29th, 2007 at 8:50 am
Danny…. Flamini wasnt supposed to create anyway … and what wrong has Sendy done to say that he’s diabolical … they didnt score froma set play or a header .. and while Kevin Davies won a lot in the air… he wins more in the air than any of the opposing center backs he plays against…there werent any goofs by Sendy and he’s more than held his own when Gallas n Djourou have been out… so that is ridiculously harsh on him..
As for Henry…I wouldnt go as far as saying he’s not the same player anymore… I think he’s made a conscious attempt to change his style of play..he could possibly still make those bursting runs down the left like in Highbury but come the Emirates he is just not going to be that effective anymore because of those extra 20 yards to get to the inside left position than at Highbury…plus the fact that the entire team has changed its style a bit to a more pass-pass-keepball-pass style than just a super fast counterattacking team in the Henry-Pires-Cole era …. The team is evolving fast … and will be better next season.. its already improved so much.. surely u see that!!!
As for the replay… I agree.. we’re dead if we dont score first… who do you want back BTW?? Gallas , Freddie n Eboue may be.. but that apart I dont think we have too much choice…unless we buy.. which AW wont….
January 29th, 2007 at 9:33 am
The lastest word is that we are moving for a 17yo (our magical age) MF from Ligue 2 Strasbourg named Morgan Schneiderlin (2 app/0 goals). The kid says something may happen today. This does not represent a “panic buy”. This is just typical Arsenal stockpiling if it happens.
Remains to be seen what Baptista’s scan shows. Hasn’t he had two groin injuries (or thigh strains) already since joining Arsenal? Went all year at RM without even a hang nail. Wass up with dat.
January 29th, 2007 at 9:33 am
The lastest word is that we are moving for a 17yo (our magical age) MF from Ligue 2 Strasbourg named Morgan Schneiderlin (2 app/0 goals). The kid says something may happen today. This does not represent a “panic buy”. This is just typical Arsenal stockpiling if it happens.
Remains to be seen what Baptista’s scan shows. Hasn’t he had two groin injuries (or thigh strains) already since joining Arsenal? Went all year at RM without even a hang nail. Wass up with dat?
January 29th, 2007 at 10:01 am
Senderos had a very good game. He even took a yellow card on an Anelka counter when Hoyte/Toure were caught out.
Flamini gives ‘all’ he has and you accept that going in. Sometimes we get lucky like in the Chelsea game. Who else would we drop to RB when Aliadiere came on. That’s utility, jack of all and master of none.
A bad season at 24/25 yo and you may rebound. A bad season at 29/30 and you become like Ronaldo(30)/Larsson(35)/Inzaghi(33) where their moments obscure their inconsistency. I cannot recall one moment this season where Henry beat anyone with RAW speed and scored. We need that option even if our style of play is evolving.
January 29th, 2007 at 10:27 am
Senderos was absolutely feeble yesterday - I don’t think you could have watched the match to come up with this ludicrous opinion that he played well. Just because Arsenal didn’t lose or concede 5 doesn’t mean Senderos had a good game, he was bloody awful.
I think he won 2 headers out of about 20, his distribution from the back was laughable, his reading of the game is about as bad as it gets. He plays on his nerves, he has no composure. He plays the man, not the ball and gives away free kicks all over the place and then defends them badly, Bolton had 2 clear headers at goal while he just stood and watched like a cement statue.
I’m not denying he’s had some good games for the club, but I still think he’s a liability and by far the worse of our 4 central defenders. I finished the match thinking why can’t we have Faye instead of Senderos.
January 29th, 2007 at 12:07 pm
Hmmm… I seem to remember Henry PASSING TO HIMSELF against Liverpool and running by the defenders and scoring.
But hey, thats just me.
He’s scored in almost every game he’s played in since the injury.
Not sure what else you want from him… except what? 2 goals a game?
January 29th, 2007 at 12:49 pm
Thanks for proving my point, he’s done it once in five games - he used to do it every game. I’m just noting that he has lost some pace, he’s still fast - obviously - but not explosive. If you can’t see it, get some glasses.
January 29th, 2007 at 12:52 pm
if i remember, he only got the ball back because caragher was very foolish and naive.
that said as danny said, henry is due an off season.
stag, the day u finally accept that some players no matter how great they are/were can be critized … on that unlikely day, i will respect you.
January 29th, 2007 at 1:00 pm
IF Wenger is making a panic signing, he should sign a winger (preferably left). That way, we are actually plugging the only hole in our lineup.
January 29th, 2007 at 3:10 pm
That’s how I remember it. It was an audacious move that paid off because the England international-fall down and go boom.
January 29th, 2007 at 3:24 pm
So far Wenger is bringing in a 15yo striker named Sunu from a Ligue 2 side. The deal been in the works since last year. He’ll sign when he’s 16yo in March and join us in July. Apparently Liverpool were also interested but Benitez can’t compete with us for kids.
Baptista’s groin is not that “bad” and he’ll have a late fitness test before Wed.’s game. Fingers crossed, toes crossed, arms crossed, and legs crossed. Daddy needs a new pair of shoes! We need this for the children.
January 30th, 2007 at 1:26 am
IF
January 30th, 2007 at 5:01 am
no thanks. Hargreaves is just a hyped up version of Flamini, he’s certainly no better at reading the game. It may be that in future we won’t play with an out an out DM like Gilberto, teams evolve, player partnerships evolve. In my opinion, Scholes/Carrick is poor combination in CM but somehow the Mancs sit top of the league, so who’s to say that Diaby/Fabregas wouldn’t work…anyway Gilberto should have at least 2 years left in him.