Arsenal had a week of highs and lows. Well, in my view, anyway. I’m sure there are a lot of optimistic fans out there after the last few weeks, but I don’t think we should get too excited about our recent performances.
Okay, it seems the Asia Tour was a success, and apart from an uninspiring draw against a half-decent Chinese side, it was faultless. But that paired with what happened in Germany on Saturday, some of the squad still have some convincing to do. I think some of you know who I mean in particular.
On the bright side, if Gervinho’s half-hour cameo on the weekend is anything to go by; he definitely looks like a shrewd bit of business. Not to mention an absolute bargain at £10m. He looks like just what Arsenal were missing. Then again, I thought Carl Jenkinson wasn’t bad on his debut. Anyone else unlucky enough to witness his ‘goal’ on Saturday? What on earth he was thinking I have no idea. Yes, it was unfortunate, but a catastrophe on that scale takes some considered ‘skill’. I mean, even Szczesny couldn’t save it - let’s be honest it was some strike that any striker would be proud of!
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| Jenkinson: How did I manage to do that? |
Oh well, there’s always Bacary Sagna. I wouldn’t have thought he would have taken over Sagna in the pecking order, even if he had scored a couple of hat-tricks and made countless goal-line clearances in pre-season. And anyway, his goal aside, Jenkinson’s defending was pretty poor. At least he wasn’t alongside Squillaci. I’m surprised Cologne didn’t take full advantage. Whatever happened to Lukas Podolski - I thought he was supposed to be one of Europe’s top strikers not long ago?
What the last few weeks have proved is that we need another defender urgently. If Jenkinson and Squillaci are going to be in our ‘Carling Cup’ team, there’s no chance of us getting to Wembley (and messing up) again. By the way, it better be a decent defender. Gary Cahill doesn’t count.
The real test will be in the Emirates Cup next week. This should prove which players are ready for this season and who deserves a place on the bench. If the pre-season friendlies are anything to go by, Gervinho’s already in my first 11, while Chamakh needs to pull his socks up. He looked like one of the great free signings until Christmas, when he decided to stop trying and stop scoring. He hasn’t scored since early March when I went to see him play against Leyton Orient, and as I’m off to the Emirates Cup myself on Sunday, maybe, just maybe, he’ll do it again. Bring on the Chamakh Attack! I wouldn’t bet on it though.
I have to say, however, I am quite excited about next weekend. Not only am I going to see the first real look at the Arsenal team this summer, but King Henry returns! It looks like he’s still got it – he’s the top scorer in his league. Then again, it’s only the MLS. I wonder what kind of performance the Red Bulls will put in, given that we’re in the middle of their season. I'm sure Boca Juniors will put on a good show, too. They probably pose the biggest threat to us next weekend. Should be a good game on Saturday, but everyone who goes knows that the Sunday is better, traditionally. Shouldn't forget about PSG, either. Actually, on second thoughts, forget PSG, they’re only there because they’re sponsored by Emirates. That said, they finished 4th in their league as well…
And after all, it’s not about the winning, this tournament is great for making sure our players are ready, and getting some decent practice on the home turf can put us ahead of the other sides in the league. I'm just crossing my fingers that no-one gets injured; if we keep our best players fit, it should be one hell of a season.
Next week I’ll be reviewing the tournament whilst previewing our League season. In the meantime, COME ON YOU GUNNERS!
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