Keep Calm and Just Win! By any means necessary: Preview and Team News

 

A nail biting and nerve wrecking greeting to all in the Goonerverse today.

It has been a while since I last spoke to you but I must say that this season has been as tense as any before it. I have struggled to watch at times throughout the season, but I can’t help but feel the season has still been an enthralling if not completely enjoyable one.

There have been many, many ups and downs and whilst some may argue that the outcome of the season is decided by all the games that have come to this point; it is essentially down to one game to decide the fate of our Champions League hopes. A game, which on paper we should win and had one asked any Arsenal fan in the months of November or December for a scenario such as this, they would have bitten your hand off. Now though there is a sense of trepidation surrounding this game and in all honesty, anything can happen.

There have been many sound bites approaching this game from the pure imbecilic comments by Pardew regarding his care free attitude towards the game to Arsene Wenger saying that matches without pressure are boring. Boring they may be monsieur Wenger but it is certainly better for my heart and I’d imagine many of you reading around the world.

How do we approach this monumental game? For starters, we cannot worry what is happening at other stadiums around the country but instead focus on the positives that have helped us gain some sort of form building up to this decent run of results. Whilst some have said we are the in form team in the league at the moment and whilst results certainly point that way, performances haven’t perhaps matched up to that. Does it matter? Absolutely not. I couldn’t care less. A win is a win and at the end of today, when all is said and done, any win, no matter how it comes is all that matters.

The repercussions are not worth considering, it does not matter. We are The Arsenal and we will not be dictated by anything but a desire to win. We must win. A place in the Champions League is not the ultimate goal but the bare minimum that we expect. This is why today is so important. It is not complicated and nor should it be. We are in a must win game and we must win it.

Newcastle have had their share of injury problems in recent weeks:

		C Tiote	Hamstring Injury	19th May 13
		S Taylor	Illness	19th May 13
		S Ameobi	Knee Injury	no return date
		M Sissoko	Knee Injury	no return date
		M Haidara	Hamstring Injury	no return date
		T Krul	Dislocated Shoulder	no return date
		D Santon	Hamstring Injury	19th May 13
		H Vučkić	ACL Knee Injury	no return date
		R Taylor	ACL Knee Injury	no return date

*according to physioroom.co.uk

 

We have our own too. With Mikel Arteta, a fundamental cog in the Arsenal machine, a major doubt, there is certainly some cause for concern. The team I expect to start will be:

Szczesny

Sagna                                    Mertesacker                      Koscienly                                             Monreal

                                                Ramsey                                               

                                                                                                Wishere

Walcott                                                          Rosicky                                                                 Cazorla

                                                                                Giroud

 

Having Giroud back will certainly be important in our build up play but his impotence in front of goal could negate the other benefits he brings. He will however be fresh and very hungry so let’s hope he can grab himself a goal and finish the season on a high.

We need to keep our defensive discipline, keep calm and just win. At any cost!

Come on you Arsenal!

Goonerverse.