Messaggio
da Gooner » 12.04.09 - 21:45
Articolo interessante sulla sfida.
Who will come out on top of Wednesday's Champions League quarterfinal second leg encounter between Arsenal and Villarreal? It is hard to say and before the weekend the betting man would have said Arsenal.
However, an injury to Johan Djourou at the weekend and a somewhat shaky performance by reserve keeper Lukas Fabianski has left even the most positive of Arsenal fans shaking at the knees.
On paper, and with the recent return of Emmanuel Adebayor, Theo Walcott and Cesc Fabregas, this should be a fairly routine home game for Arsenal. If they play anywhere near like they are capable of going forward, goals should not be too hard to come by against a Villarreal side who have struggled away from home in the Champions League this year.
Yet going forward is not the concern. With injuries to William Gallas, Gael Clichy, Johan Djourou, and Manuel Almunia in the last two games all of a sudden Arsenal have a minor crisis on their hands at the back.
Villarreal are not without their own problems, Marcos Senna, star of the first leg, hobbled off with a hamstring injury at the weekend and will miss the game on Wednesday. Santi Cazorla is already a confirmed absentee and influential attacking midfielders Cani and Mati Fernandez are doubtful.
The eventual winners will be as a direct result of how Mikael Silvestre, Keiran Gibbs and Lukasz Fabianski perform. Should they gel together and keep Villarreal's slick passing game at bay, Arsenal will progress because with returning players at the other end of the field they have enough talent to cause Villarreal no end of problems.
Arsene Wenger has played 4-5-1 in the last three Arsenal games. This has been somewhat dictated to him by the players available and the introduction of Andrei Arshavin. With Arshavin cup-tied however one would expect Samir Nasri to come in for him and take his place on the left-hand side of the midfield.
On Saturday against Wigan, Fabregas, who played in Arshavin’s position behind the front man, was far more effective when he was pulled back into the midfield as Van Persie replaced Denilson and I fully expect Wenger to realise this.
Given that it is a home tie as well one would hope that Wenger will attempt to outplay Villarreal with a 4-4-2 formation, dropping Denilson to the bench and partnering Fabregas in midfield with Alexandre Song, who has been a revelation in recent weeks.
With the potential frailties at the back for Arsenal and the knowledge that Villarreal will have to come out attacking needing to score, I expect Song to be an influential cog in the Arsenal line-up. He has shown many qualities in the last few weeks, rewarding Wenger for what was believed by many to be misguided faith.
His early years at Arsenal, and let us not forget he is still very young, were generally greeted with negative criticism and boos.
A brief loan spell at Charlton showed to many that he had promise and a long spell in the side this season, covering for the loss of Mathieu Flamini to AC Milan and the injuries to Fabregas and Abou Diaby, have enabled him to improve beyond even Wenger’s expectations. He could be the midfielder Arsenal need. The enforcer.
He pressurises and harries the ball. Constantly nagging at the heels of the opposition and whilst his forward play leaves much to be desired, this is hardly a problem given the company he finds himself in.
Scoring isn’t the problem for Arsenal, averaging more than three goals per game in their last five league games, it may well be keeping a clean sheet. They will be greatly encouraged by the loss of Senna and potential loss of Cani and Fernandez for Villarreal, but this is still a strong Villarreal side with replacements available such as Robert Pires, a player of quality Arsenal know all too much about.
Kolo Toure will be required to marshall the back four but it is Song’s task in front of them, who has a big job on his hands and a very important one too, who must play well if Arsenal are to progress.
La calma è la virtù dei morti.. al forte prima o poi girano e te mena. 
) ... se qualcuno ci spiega bene come gioca il Villarreal è gradito.
LFV-A-1^Div. Apertura 2010/11
, cmq chiedo scusa per non essermene accorto dello sbaglio 
