Match Preview: Arsenal v Bolton; Carling Cup 4th Round
“It will hurt me for ever because we never forget disappointments,” and so Arsene Wenger acknowledged that he and likely members of last years squad are still haunted by the disappointment from last year’s Carling Cup failure. The last minute cockup between Koscielny and Szczesny at Wembley was one of the two main catalysts for the run of failure that leaked over into the start of this season. The Gunners fresh off a convincing win against Stoke in the league, are set once again to continue the long road back to redemption.
If there is one word the Gunners should have tacked up in their dressing room it is redemption. Both for themselves and for their fans. The way they let the club’s first bit of silverware slip out of their hands and the subsequent fall from grace, the fans would like nothing more for this club to redeem themselves by making a significant run in this competition again.
They face off against a Bolton squad that as the BBC put is probably very tired of seeing a top flight club. It was only a month ago that they came to the Emirates and lost 3-0. They followed that up with losses to Chelsea and Manchester United. It has not been an easy ride for Owen Coyle’s lads.
With the premier league the focus for Coyle, he has confirmed he will likely start a squad made up of reserves and youngsters. Look for the liks of Bogdan, Knight, Steinsson, Muamba, Kakuta, Klasnic and Sanli to get some pitch time as well as promising youngster Joe Riley. For Wenger it is likely that he will go back to the a heavy use of youngsters to fill out his Carling Cup dance card with Nico Yennaris, Emmanuel Frimpong, Francis Coquelin, Ignasi Miquel, Alex Oxlade Chamberlain to start. They should be supported by first teamers Fabianski, Park, Benayoun, and Arshavin. Also, vice-captain Thomas Vermaelen is set to come back and feature in this fixture. On the bench Chuks Aneke, Sanchez Watt, and Oğuzhan Özyakup could sit along side Vito Mannone. According to Jamie Sanderson at Young Guns Blog – Jerome Boateng, Ryo Miyachi, and Jernade Meade could also make an appearance on the Arsenal bench.
All in all its a pretty good mix of youth and experience that should be on display from both Arsenal and Bolton. Looking at it, I like the players that we have coming in to this match especially getting a chance to see Chu-Young Park get some playing time. For me a good performance may go a long way to bumping a certain ineffective morrocan forward. Park has been a star on the international scene of late, scoring 6 goals for his national team and frankly, the make up of the Bolton team isn’t too far from some of the competition he’s faced. So I am hopeful we’ll see him with a good turnout.
Obviously the likes of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain need no introduction as he was the star of not only, his recent spell in the U21 matches (A hat trick), but he was the star of the 3rd round Carling Cup fixture against Shrewsbury and in the Champion’s League tie versus Olympiakos. It is very clear that he is star in the making. However, I have been cautioning everyone about expecting too much. Hopefully Wenger has been reading the blog recently and will know that none of us think he should be rushed along like Theo was. Still he makes for exciting football lately and he will be a joy to watch him go at it again.
The Carling Cup has been friendly to the Gunners. Arsenal have not lost in the fourth round since 1999. Their last loss in this round was to Middlesborough on penalties. In all the Carling Cup matches at the Emirates they have yet to lose in fact in their last 7 matches at the Emirates for this competition they have scored 21 goals and conceded 2. If stats should be believed, then Arsenal could be set for their 9th consecutive appearance in the field of 8.
Overall, the make up the squads seems to favor Arsenal. There seems to be the right mix of experience and promising youth to see of the challenge from a side that is struggling significantly to have any consistent form. But they shouldn’t be taken litely. The players who take the pitch for Bolton are going to be looking to make the case that they should be playing as starters, especially given the form of many of the first teamers. So they could very easily play out of their skins and give us a run for the money.
Still, me as Gooner, I am going 2-0 to the Arsenal. You gotta go with a clean sheet with the Verminator coming back.
Possible Line Up:
Fabianski, Vermaelen (c), Squillaci, Yennaris, Miquel, Frimpong, Coquelin, Benayoun, Arshavin, Park, Chamberlain
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