Some people might not be taking the Carling Cup that serious and personally I am not bothered if we lose however if we win great. A win against Chelsea is always good and the team Wenger will put out will lead to some excuses.
With the news that John Terry is out and Chelsea have no real CB to replace him I was thinking how we could expose this. It is widely accepted that Essien will drop back to CB to cover. Essien is about 5 foot 8, with his boots on. Adebayor is a good 6 foot 3 some 7 inches difference. AW has kept to his footballing principals for years and does not change his line up for anyone. Except perhaps in cup finals.
Will AW be brave enough to examine the Chelsea team and look to take advantage of their weakness? I hope so because playing our normal game may suit the new look Chelsea a bit more.
Having Adebayor and Baptista up front will give the Arsenal front line a real presence in and around the box. We may well have an advantage at set pieces as well with Diaby, Djourou and Toure coming up for them.
I remember the Liverpool v Chelsea game a few weeks back and they played with Kuyt and Crouch against a very small back four, scored two goals, from knock downs and Chelsea looked we beaten.
We can learn from this but will AW be brave enough to implement this?
24 Responses to “Adebayor for Carling Cup”
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February 22nd, 2007 at 10:02 am
Why not play Aliadiere and Baptista … and REST Adebayor for the more important matches.
Ali and the Beast lit up Liverpool… would make sense to me to play them together again.
If we are starting Adebayor v. Chelsea, are we starting Aliadiere v. Blackburn?
SQUAD ROTATION.
February 22nd, 2007 at 10:26 am
I would start Ali and Bap upfront. They have proved that they can play together very well so AW should stick to that. Here is my line-up for Sunday:
————-Almunia————
Djourou–Toure–Senderos–Traore
Walcott–Denilson–Cesc–Rosicky
——Aliadiere—Baptista——
Subs: Poom, Clichy, Gilberto, Diaby, Adebayor
Without Terry on the pitch, I believe we have a strong chance to win this Cup, and I hope that will lift our squad for the next season to another level, just like Man Utd. did. They win the CC last year and thay are unstoppable this year. Hope it’s the same story with us.
February 22nd, 2007 at 10:28 am
squad rotation does not mean a player cant play 2 games in a row.
If you are saying what is more important between Blackburn and the Chelsea game, I would say they are even. Yes I did just say the Carling Cup is as important as the FA Cup, mainly because the Carling Cup is a final and there will be no more pull from this. Drop out of the FA Cup and we can concerntrate on other games. However we have a good chance of progressing in the FA Cup.
The CL is the most important to AFC without doubt, and AW proved that with his team selection.
Adebayor is young and strong and full of running, he does not need to be rested as much as say henry.
I think Adebayor could play against Chelsea, and Blackburn, rest for the league game against Reading and then be back for the CL.
February 22nd, 2007 at 10:31 am
Diaby will start, he was not taken to PSV so he can play in this game. I am guessing Fabregas wont play.
February 22nd, 2007 at 10:49 am
Personally, I think that, with the absence of John Terry, we should start Adebayor. He’ll cause Essien problems in the air all day long.
If Hoyte/Eboue are both injured, I’d go with something like
Almunia
Flamini Toure Djourou Clichy
Walcott Diaby Denilson Rosicky
Baptista
Adebayor
Subs from:
Poom
Traore
Senderos
One of Hleb/Ljungberg/Fabregas
Aliadiere
But I’m not really too bothered who the boss puts out.
February 22nd, 2007 at 10:56 am
Sounds like a good team.
Traore could start at LB.
Freddie as a sub is a must.
February 22nd, 2007 at 11:48 am
If Traore starts on the left, he will be toasted by Robben and/or SWP. I’ll put Gallas there with Traore as the sub.
February 22nd, 2007 at 11:54 am
Aliadiere deserves to play… and this is supposed to be the tournament where the kids keep playing… based on the fact that they GOT THEM THERE.
Aliadiere has played well recently, and should start.
February 22nd, 2007 at 11:58 am
who is older Aliadere or Adebayor?
Without checking I would say it is tight, perhaps Adebayor is younger…
February 22nd, 2007 at 1:31 pm
On Arsenal.com.. Clichy n Hoyte both face fitness tests , tomorrow I guess. Clichy has an inflamed foot and AW will not risk his first choice LB with so many damn games to play. Traore will do okay..yes it will be tough but you got to trust the kid. Hoyte out is a bigger worry for me..Djourou is not a natural RB..and doesnt offer too much going forward. I belive Hleb n Mozart will both start this with Cesc on the bench because you’re not going to sub him if you start him.
Denilson will play CM in Cesc’s place n Abou shd play though AW may put the Flamster in. Then again if CLichy’s not even on the bench then Flamini may be on the bench as well to come on instead of Traore later on.
Yeah go with Ali n Baps..keep Ade as an impact player later and keep Theo on the bench as well. So here’s what I think AW will put out…
Almunia
Traore Kolo Sendy Djourou
Mozart Flamini Denilson Hleb
Ade Baps
This is probably not the best team…it is possibly the team which will play though. Put Abou for Flam n its probably the best team.
February 22nd, 2007 at 1:37 pm
Nope…Traore’s starting..mark my words..rather trust AW ..thats what he says on arsenal.com
February 22nd, 2007 at 2:46 pm
Chelsea this year play without wingers, and Robben injured himself against Porto, so Traore won’t be toasted like he was against Aaron Lennon. And I do think he will start because AW has said that Clichy has a minor injury and will have a scan tomorrow I think.
February 22nd, 2007 at 10:15 pm
Wenger has a fixation with Walcott. Walcott will start.
February 23rd, 2007 at 12:53 am
Mark Hughes prided in the 0-0 draw at the Emirates. Last night, Bayer Leverkusen held Blackburn to a 0-0 draw at Ewood Park and knocked them out of the UEFA Cup. Now Hughes is ranting about the opposition tactics. Boo Hoo.
February 23rd, 2007 at 4:45 am
and did you read his comments
“time-wasting is part and parcel of the European game. It’s used by many clubs. The referee needed to be stronger in that respect. I was more disappointed in the referee that he allowed it go on for so long…”
Part of the ‘European game’ is it Sparky? Welcome to our world you time-wasting thug!
February 23rd, 2007 at 6:06 am
Arsenal will probably lose, but I would still play Diaby, Denilson, Walcott, Aliadiere, Baptista, Traore etc. - just tell them to go out and enjoy themselves. If Arsenal win it will embarrass Chelsea.
February 23rd, 2007 at 7:50 am
all the kids you mentioned deserve to play … apart from traore. he will embarass us.
its one thing for the kids to lose gracefully (because they are kids) and it is another thing losing because they have a non-existent leftback.
i hope clichy is fit…and if not clichy i want flamini in there.
February 23rd, 2007 at 8:34 am
Traore didn’t play well against Tottenham in either leg, but he was good in the other games. It’s part of his learning process and while I would feel more comfortable with Clichy there, I’d be really interested to see how Traore got on, he is quick and skilful going forward and will improve defensively.
I think as long as Adebayor is part of the front 2 we will cause them problems, if it’s Baptista/Aliadiere I see the ball not sticking up front and more pressure on the midfield then becomes more pressure on the defence. Aliadiere has very good movement, but Essien is just the player to match that along with Chelsea’s defensive fullbacks so there’s less room, the pass has to be perfect. I’d bring him on late when people are more tired and the game is more stretched.
February 23rd, 2007 at 10:20 am
Arsenal should just stick with the kids. Its the freaken carling cup. Who would have cared about it 2 or 3 years ago when we were up for the real double or triple.
The kids made it here, let them learn from the experience. Let them face the shoulders of Ballack, Sheva, Essien, …. If we lose with small margin, all I will do is clap. If we win, then this is great. If we lose big, I am sure, we should be proud of where we are.
Start the kids, and only use Gallas or Toure in the Middle. Fredy should play since he needs some games. Play, Ali and the Beast. Ade can come in if needed.
I am more excited to watch the kids than the seniors.
February 23rd, 2007 at 11:53 am
Adebayor played against Blackburn and against Eindhoven so what you’re talking is playing four games in a row. That is not really squad rotation.
February 23rd, 2007 at 11:56 am
To not have Aleksander Hleb on the bench is very foolish.
The problem many are having with Walcott is with van Persie injured, we don’t have cover for Hleb except Walcott and maybe Ljunberg. Those two prospects don’t really give Arsenal fans a warm and fuzzy.
February 23rd, 2007 at 12:21 pm
The way to beat Chelsea is to attack them, especially with that defense. Personally, I love Essien as a player and always have but we’ve got to make him and the other stand-ins prove they can cope with an attacking Arsenal at full flow. They’ve only got Carvalho and maybe Bridge back there.
Adebayor has got to be on the bench as he’s played the past two games for Arsenal. Also, you’ve got to have someone you can bring off the bench and lift the game.
Expect Chelsea to play Robben or Wright Phillips anticipating Traore playing. Personally, I’d like to see poor Toure rested. He’s had to have played more minutes than anyone in the league this season. I liked Pascal Cygan a lot but I never thought we’d miss him. He’s still better than Senderos and would have afforded Toure a break every now and then.
February 23rd, 2007 at 11:49 pm
I would stick with the kids and keep Ade on the bench.
I feel that this is going be a very tough test for us. All previous games were away from home, with the opposition being favourites and playing football like so. But Chelsea play differently, whether it is home, away or neutral. They know to graft and that’s one tactic AW has not been able to master this season.
Go Gunners!!
February 24th, 2007 at 12:07 am
I think the key player for us is Gilberto. He will be needed to shield the defence which is missing Gallas, Eboue and possibly Hoyte and Clichy too. Will he start ahead of Diaby? I would start with
Almunia
Djourou Toure Senderos Clichy/Traore
Denilson Gilberto Diaby Rosicky
Baptista Aliadiere
Poom Hoyte/Flamini Fabregas Walcott Adebayor