Arsenal takes on Villarreal at home tomorrow (the winner playing either Porto or ManU in the Champions League Semi-Final). With virtually no chance of winning the Premiership, Arsene and Arsenal must see this as a chance to grab a piece of silverware that has eluded them in the past.
On paper, Arsenal has the upper hand, thanks to Ade’s fantastic goal which gave Arsenal the all-important “away” goal in the 1-1 result. A 0-0 result Wednesday at home, takes the Gunners one step closer to this elusive trophy, but is somewhat unlikely, in part due to the rash of injuries at the back. A 1-1 draw at the end of the match would lead to extra time, and perhaps penalties.
Having lost Clichy and Djourou last weekend and Gallas for the season, Arsene has some difficult selection choices to make at the back. Logically would dictate that Silvestre would step in at CB and Gibbs at LB, but their lackluster performances against Wigan have most Arsenal fans wondering whether this is going to be good enough against a slick and speedy passing Villarreal “Arsenal Type” team. Also, this leaves a threadbare bench defensively, with only Song as CB backup, or perhaps Sagna with Eboue moving to RB. Another alternative would be to put Silvestre at LB and Song at CB in order to field a more seasoned back four.
Villarrreal has one change to the team from the first leg, as their MOTM, goal scorer and electrifying DM, Senna, is out with a hamstring injury.
This leads me to believe that whosoever controls the midfield will emerge as winners and it will be interesting to see if Arsene sticks with his 4-5-1 formation or moves to a more aggressive 4-4-2. With Arshavin cup tied (aaarrrggghhh) and Diaby returning from injury it will also be interesting to see his starting MF line up.
Bearing in mind Villarreal’s lack of height up front, the absence of Senna and our need to score goals, I would probably go with my most experienced lineup and a 4-4-2 which looks as follows:
Fabianski
Eboue, Toure, Sagna, Silvestre
Walcott, Cesc, Song, Nasri
Ade, RVP
Bench: Gibbs, Diaby, Eduardo, Ramsey, Denilson
Let’s just pray we don’t have any more injuries at the back and that Cesc, RVP, Ade and Song do not pick up another yellow card which would exclude them from the 1st game of the semi-final tie if we are able to overcome the Yellow Submarines.