Take them on, on your own

Football365's headline this afternoon is unpleasant reading for Arsenal fans. At least the ones, like me, who held out some hope of the team acheiving something this season. It goes: "Arshavin: Arsenal are too small and not very good."

He goes on to bemoan the defence, our (lack of) strength and height and the inability, in the absence of RvP, of anyone to hold onto the ball. It sounds to me, and you may have a different take on it, I don't know, but it sounds to me like he's missing Nicklas Bendtner. I don't know what to think of this outburst really, on one hand we already know Arshavin is not afraid to call it as he sees it. The evidence for this being his judgement of his own form, amongst countless other pronouncements and I respect the honesty. But at the same time, is this not what William Gallas was pilloried for just over a year ago? And, more importantly, does it reflect the attitude of the dressing room today? Is London Colney full of young footballers with self doubt coursing through their veins? If so, to borrow a phrase, we're screwed.

The lack of physicality within the Arsenal side is as much a concern for us all as it was a subject for debate between Jamie soon to singing soprano Redknapp and Alan Smith on Wednesday night. Redknapp opined that the boss has deliberately filled his squad with quick, skillful and utterly lightweight players, whilst Smith felt that the fact that the likes of Nasri, Eduardo and Rosicky (to pick three) are footballing lightweights is incidental to the quality they possess. The football that followed, and okay it was only a Carling Cup side, saw Manchester City overpower Arsenal everywhere. Aaron Ramsey's nickname is "Rambo" and by some weird coincidence, Rambo was on the tv as I went to bed on Wednesday night. How Arsenal could do with a few players that could genuinely take an army on, on their own.

If you sent young Theo Walcott over the top on his own, the chances are he'd pull a hamstring before he even gave an enemy sniper the chance to take his head off. Picture the scene; Theo's company is being bombarded by enemy fire, the captain comes to him:

"Walcott!"

"Yessir!"

"You're up!"

"Yessir!"

Theo rises to his feet and jumps out of his trench before falling back in agony.

"Walcott! Are you shot?"

"No, I've just pulled my hamstring..."

The captain is incredulous, "Again?"

As you may have guessed, Theo will be sitting the visit of Stoke out due to an injured hamstring. Which, bearing in mind what happened at Stoke last autumn, is probably not the worst thing in the world. I do wonder about him though, he seems to be the Frank Spencer of footballers, wandering from one mishap to the next. I'm sure Arsène was talking about protecting him last month. It doesn't seem to have worked out too well, does it?

We will also be without Alex Song; who was maybe lucky that Chris Foy, for once, wasn't swayed by the protests of a home crowd and decided to book him rather than send him off on Wednesday night. The team for tomorrow seems like it's almost going to pick itself. And that isn't neccessarily a positive thing.

I've worked out what it was that bothered me so much about the game on Wednesday. It wasn't that we lost, but seeing Arsène going through agonies on the touchline, it seemed as though he genuinely believed the team he sent out had enough about it to beat the City millionaires. If you were giving points for artistic impression, then yes. But a full strength City side was always going to have too much for our kids and you would hope that the manager would realise that. If it's, just as he says, a developmental competition, then fair enough. But don't be surprised when someone brings the first team and drills you out of sight. Be realistic, I guess I'm saying.

I've got more to say about this, but time has eluded me for today. Till tomorrow, y'all.

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