Morning all. So I guess by now everyone knows that we drew 0-0 home to AC Milan. We pretty much dominated the game from start to finish. We passed much better than them, we had more chances and better chances, but we could not convert any of them. Our best chance came in the 94th minute when Adebayor got his head on a cross from Theo. I would have put my house on him to score but somehow he managed to hit the bar with it and game over. He was probably kicking himself after that one.
Almost everyone on the team had an exceptional game, so it's hard to pick stand outs really. However, since that is what I do here I will say I think Hleb, Flamini, Sagna, and Clichy were all excellent even compared to the rest of the team who were great. Hleb's dribbling and passing were good. He has amazed me this season. Flamini kept Kaka completely out of the game. I think Kaka's first shot was in about the 75th minute. You really didn't hear about him at all. Sagna and Clichy...what more can you say about those two? They are just great players. I think Sagna's addition has really helped us so much this year.
So we have the return leg in the San Siro in a fortnight, and all of the players are talking about how they are ready for it. Here's a quick quote montage:
Flamini: "We have no choice now - we have to go over there and win the second leg. We have the quality to go over there and win the game to qualify."
Fabregas: "I am sure we can win. We are a positive side, we are young - but even that having seen what we have seen we can cope with their pace, their experience and we can create chances."
Adebayor: "We know it is going to be very difficult in Milan, but we are ready for it. We just have to fight for the team, and maybe then one ball will go into the net. A score draw will do, but it is important to think about winning. The belief is very high."
Alright, now the confidence is great guys, and I like to hear it, but I feel like they forget we have a match tomorrow. We've got to go to Birmingham in the league and we really NEED a win there. They already took two points off of us when they got a draw at the Emirates a month or so ago. That can't happen again. I'm sure Arsene Wenger knows all of this of course but he has to make sure the players have their mind's on this match and not just the Milan one. You'll have plenty of time to think about that in a week or so lads.
In other news, Kolo Toure, originally feared to be out for about a month, is now looking to be back in two weeks, which is great news. We're a bit short of depth at the back with Kolo and Djourou out so we'll need him back as soon as possible.
Red and White Holdings, led by Alisher Usmanov, is now the largest shareholder in the club. Is it time to have a protest yet? If you would like to tell the FA that you do not want a crook running Arsenal, you can drop them a quick line right here. Make sure you do it in a polite manner or it will accomplish nothing. If enough people right in maybe they will finally have a look at this man's history.
And last for today, Robin van Persie is nearing his return...finally. Arsene talked about it to the press today.
"No. Robin is not a very long away from being fit at all, but he lacks match-practice."
"Could he be in the squad for Milan? Maybe - but don’t forget he has not played regularly for five months now."
So that's some good news to go out on. Here's to three points tomorrow. Cheers.
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