Morning All.
We kick off the China leg of our tour against Manchester City at the Bird's Nest stadium later today. Unfortunately our new signings still won't be in action, and we won't see them live until the game against Cologne on August 11, however there will be a game played behind closed doors before then. The result today won't matter, but I expect to see a better performance this time around. Against Malaysia we were quite poor in terms of defensive and attacking shape. I hope these things have been worked on, particularly the gap we have between the midfielders and defenders. Either we need to play a higher line or we need to hold 2 midfielders back as cover. Of course these things won't be perfect at this time of the year, and the main focus will be fitness and physical conditioning. Man City have become something of an arch enemy in recent times, not because of their history or lack of it, but because they have a habit of picking off our best players every year.
To be honest, none of those players have really shined when they have left. Kolo Toure, Adebayor, Viera, Clichy, Nasri etc... haven't really set the league on fire since leaving. I believe Arsene knows exactly when to sell players, early enough to get a good price but late enough so they have already been past their prime. The obvious exceptions were Nasri, Clichy and Fabregas. And even then you cannot say Nasri or Clichy are worth all the hassle. I can only really recall Fabregas as being a vital departure. I do however believe that we should have kept some of the more experienced players such as Henry, Toure and Campbell. Not because they would have performed to a high level, but they would have been able to pass on some of their experiences and know how to the younger generation who Arsene has focused all his attention on the past 6 or 7 years. We have changed our style in the transfer market recently, acquiring players of experience and mixing that up with some youth signings as well. The fact that we are willing to break our transfer record with a 15.6mil bid for a 27 year old is testament to that change.
Back to the City preview, I would like to see the best possible team take the field in the first half.
Szczesny, Jenkinson, Djourou, Vermaelan, Gibbs, Song, Arteta, Diaby, Walcott, Afobe, Chamberlain.
I was impressed with Yennaris at right back against Malaysia but I think Jenkinson deserves his chance. I believe Djourou is one of our best centre backs when he gets a run of games. He is a confidence player. Remember 2 seasons ago, he and Koscielny were as solid a partnership as we have had in recent times. Diaby needs to get some confidence going and we need to test his ability to play a few games in a row without getting injured. He is a great player when fit. Even though Wenger will probably opt with Chamakh, I would like to see what Afobe can do. He is strong and mobile and Sagna once said that he reminded him of Drogba.
I believe Man City will have the likes of Tevez and Aguero in their line up so it will be a tough game. I wasn't far off with my Malaysia prediction, the outcome of this game will be 2-2 with Abou Diaby opening the scoring for us and Walcott getting our second.
In other news today:
The Santi Cazorla move is looking less likely after Malaga's coach Manuel Pellegrini said that they will not sell for 15.6mil. I can only see us going to about 17mil tops. It remains to be seen what their owner will do regarding their debts. I am still holding thumbs for this one.
According to a reliable source, Arsene Wenger has asked Coquelin to be our new defensive midfielder instead of funding a move for Yann M'Vila. Its risky given his lack of experience but he is only 1 year younger than M'Vila and they both have similar styles of play. It makes sense to promote him.
Other than that not much is going one today. Hopefully we'll get more as the day goes on.
Enjoy the game later.
'Till Tomorrow
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