Nine Jimmy Rimmers – Arsenal and Football

Beating Leyton Orient five-nil is just as it should be, so there was no feeling of euphoria last night.  But it was important to win after the nightmare of Sunday.  Falling out of two cup competitions in two consecutive games would have destroyed the squad completely.  Winning well was back to business as normal.

Also back to normal sadly is the Van Persie injury status.  Arsene Wenger confirmed that he is out until after the next international break – four weeks.

That news adds interest to how Chamakh and Bendtner played last night.  Both did well, though obviously Bentner grabbed most of the action with two well taken goals and the penalty.

Whilst two goals against a League One side are not career highlights they both demonstrated good skill.  The first showed the power and accuracy of his heading ability.  The second showed an expert touch to go across the keeper, out of his reach but still just inside the post to score.

Chamakh’s goal was more about reading the play, checking his run to lose his marker and slotting home the finish.  A better defender would have checked his run too and stayed tight, but credit where it is due.

I expect that Bendtner did enough to get the central slot at the weekend, but both may play to keep them in match form as one of them must lead the line for the next four games at least.

So, now for Sunderland, Barcelona and Manchester United – game on!

***** Man of the Match poll for last night – add your vote here. *****

Arsenal have the chance to bounce straight back from the Birmingham defeat with an emphatic performance against Orient tomorrow.

In fact, despite Orient’s lower league status, any win will do as the players need to get their heads straight after losing at Wembley.

It will be interesting to see how many changes Wenger makes.  Will he judge that the best psychological move is to send the same team out to purge the memories of Sunday from their minds?  Or will he tell them it’s already behind them and it’s business as usual?  With Sunderland and Barcelona up next he would certainly be looking to rest players.  But now it could be a case of physical verses psychological needs.

Van Persie is clearly out, but in normal circumstances would probably not if played in a game like this. Bendtner or Chamakh?  This could be just the occasion for Bendtner’s bullet-proof confidence.

What about Szczesny and Koscielny?  I think most of the team were poor on Sunday, but obviously the media focus has been on them.  If Almunia plays, as was probably likely ahead of Sunday’s result, it will be headlined as ‘blunder keeper dropped’.  I think there’s a strong case for sending him straight back on the pitch.

There is some speculation around today that Ramsay’s return may be delayed, but this doesn’t seem to be based on anything more than the Cardiff manager hopefully saying “perhaps Arsene Wenger will change his mind”.  I hope that he is back and that he plays.   The player who should make way for him is Rosicky.

I think that Nasri has to play when Fabregas doesn’t.  And he has to be the direct replacement for Cesc in the middle of the pitch.

I think that the needs of Sunderland and Barcelona will force some changes, but not as many as were probably planned.  So here’s my guess:

__________ Szczesny ___________
Eboue _ Djourou _ Koscielny _ Clichy
_______ Diaby ___ Ramsay ______
___________ Nasri _____________
Arshavin ___ Bendtner ___ Chamakh

What do you think?

We can’t get enough of this FA Cup can we guys?  I mean, why finish off in 90 minutes what you could spend 180 over?

It was a pretty joyless occasion for Arsenal last night with few positives as the team struggled to find space or acceleration.  Orient had circled the wagons effectively and Arsenal passed and passed around them without finding the way in.  Arshavin and Song looked the most diligent and Rosicky scored his first Arsenal goal since forever.  But that’s about it.

Miquel looked to be having an OK debut until he and Gibbs combined to allow the fresh-legged Orient sub through for the equaliser.

It was hard not to smile at the joy of the home fans and the Hearn clan.  They have been shafted by the decision to allow a Premier club into the Olympic stadium after worked hard to build a viable ‘small’ club.  Now they will get another lucrative payday out of an Emirates replay.

Arsenal get another game in the run-up to the Barcelona second leg.  I feel pretty confident that in the wide open spaces of the Emirates we will stretch and overwhelm Orient in a way that we failed to do at Brisbane Road.  But we could have done without the bother.

***** Man of the Match Poll running here. *****

With an eye on the midweek game against Stoke and the Carling Cup Final, Arsene Wenger is bound to rotate players for this one.

Shouldn’t be a problem as long as those who do run out have the right attitude and don’t get complacent. This is the sort of game that Arsenal can only lose in their heads.

Orient are not complete no-hopers. They are well organised and have pushed themselves up League One since Christmas with a lengthy unbeaten run. But an Arsenal team that starts with the right attitude should get the job done.

Wenger says that Koscielny’s superb performance on Wednesday left him exhausted, and he has played a lot of games this season. Jack Wilshere has played plenty too.

I expect we will see a team a bit like this:

____________ Almunia _________
Eboue _ Squillaci _ Djourou _ Gibbs
_______ Denilson _ Song ________
____________ Rosicky __________
Bendtner ___ Chamakh ___ Arshavin