Istanbul, A Test Of Nerve For Young Guns
Oct 20th, 2008 by 'holic
Let’s get straight to the good news ahead of Arsenal’s Tuesday night visit to face Fenerbahce. According to Arsenal.com we welcome Nicklas Bendtner and Johan Djourou back to the squad, and Samir Nasri is also there despite limping out of Saturday’s win over Everton.
Not surprisingly though, Kolo Toure misses out after damaging a shoulder at the weekend and will probably join Bacary Sagna round at William Gallas’ house to watch the game with a bowl of popcorn and a bottle of Claret.
Istanbul is an intimidating place to go, something I can personally attest to. I saw the last meeting of the sides in 1979 and if memory serves me correctly there were only about 150 of us. The city was under a strict curfew with police and army at each others throats, and we were ferried into the stadium under a heavy guard.
The reason for that guard became clear when we foolishly tried the first chants of ‘The Arsenal’. Fortunately the arrival of the army (or was it the police?) gave the locals someone else to aim missiles and abuse at. After the game we were kept in the stadium while the authorities cleared the streets before being given another guarded journey back to the hotel.
The first thing the visitors will have to do tomorrow night will be to silence that fanatical support. Give them any chances and the locals will be vociferously behind their side. Restrict the opportunities and they may well turn on their heroes and stop jeering Arsenal’s every touch.
Although it would not be my personal preference it is a fair bet we will go with a 4-5-1 formation. This is a venue where all of our experience will be needed so I would not be expecting too much in the way of rotation. Ahead of Manuel in the back four should be Emmanuel Eboue, Mikael Silvestre, Johan Djourou, and Gael Clichy, internationals all.
My five in the middle would be Theo Walcott, Alexandre Song, Cesc Fabregas, Abou Diaby, and Samir Nasri. Cesc would be freed to be the focal point of that five with both Song and Diaby riding shotgun. The option of van Persie on the left with Nasri switching inside doesn’t appeal greatly.
Much though my heart would suggest Bendtner deserves a chance in the lone striker role, I think that should wait for another night. Emmanuel Adebayor will surely realise he is now playing for his place, and Arsene Wenger could build him up by telling him his experience will be vital in hostile territory.
I’m feeling quite hopeful providing that defence can impose themselves early on. If we can avoid conceding in the opening twenty minutes I fancy we could make the pace of Walcott, the guile of Nasri, the creativity of Cesc, and the strength of Adebayor count. I’m tipping us to win 2-0, but very nervously.
Great competition coming Wednesday
Come back later this week for your chance to win not one, but four great Arsenal books. Octopus Publishing have a great range of Arsenal titles, and are offering one lucky Goonerholic reader a set of their four latest releases.
I’ll go into greater detail on Wednesday, so be sure to come back for your chance to win this fantastic prize.
23 Responses to “Istanbul, A Test Of Nerve For Young Guns”
Great stuff ‘Holic! It must have been a daunting but exciting experience being one of the 150 travelling Gooners in Istanbul at that time. I’ve enjoyed your recent series of trips down memory lane. π
Having read the above unnerving account I ask myself is it worth it?
I think things are much more stable over there now Jack. Back then it was a volatile place, politically, under martial law. Now it’s a thriving modern city and they are very proud of that, and rightly so. In all honesty there were places you could watch football in the UK in those days and feel as intimidated.
Hey Lou, pleased to see you here. Help yourself to a drink.
Another excellent write up, ‘Holic. Always love your take on these things.
So, how old lad were you when you went to this match? π
Ah, great warrior of the sea. I was a sprightly 22, and cut a fine dash in a fez!
Do you really think Arsene will just Denilson? I don’t think so, not yet!
I like that team, especially Diaby ahead of Denilson.
Van Persie on wide left is hopeless.
Good chance for Nasri and Theo to impress.
Darren, I think Denilson has probably been more effective than Cesc so far, but I’m not convinced he is capable of doing the job we need of him, and he is probably the first who needs a rest after featuring regularly thus far.
Monsieur Wenger, I suspect, could hold an entirely different view, and it is his that matters, not mine π
Great writing as always, ‘Holic; I really enjoy it!
Re: the ‘Holic pound, based on current form, Arsenal are having a tough time keeping clean sheets; so I’d say 2-1 to the Gunners but I’m also very nervous about it.
My usual, please, ‘holic
Lucky you KT, just stocked up on Kir today, as it happens π
Wenger’s assistant Pat Rice played the last time the Gunners were in Istanbul, beating Galatasaray in the European Cup-Winners Cup in 1979-80.
Clearly Matt Barlow and the pillocks who sub at the Daily Mail don’t do research. Clowns.
I think AW will also go with the 4-5-1. I would love to see Diaby stay fit and get a run in the side. I have always liked the look of him in the middle. Played out wide he is wasted. I do notthink he will go with Nasri and can see him playing RVP on the left. Shame if he does. I think Nasri is a greta addition to the team and think he works well down the left with Clichy.
I agree with you totally about Bendtner. I really think he deserves a chance. He has worked hard this season and has looked sharp. I am also hoping that Silvestre adds some more stability to the central defence. Thought it was quite nice on Saturday to see a centre half win their fair share of headers. Also nice to see a bit of old fashioned, no nonsense defending when the situation called for it.
I thought that the defence that finished on Saturday did well. Song has looked good at centre back and I won’t be surprised if we start with Eboue, Silvestre, Song, Cliche in front of Almunia.
I think it’ll be 4-4-2. We’ll persevere with Ade through the middle and Robin playing on his right.
Cesc, (the classic Cesc role) Diaby (lying deep), Denilson (pushed forward, the old “inside left role) and Nasri (wide left) will start in mid-field.
Look for Bendtner (for Ade) and Theo (for Denilson) to feature round the seventy minute mark.
You made the observation a couple of posts ago that we’re likely to find out quite soon how much depth we have in the squad, Holic. Writing this made me realise that we’re getting stretched already. Fortunately, Djouru, Ramsey and Vela allow us three more injuries in defence, mid-field, attack, respectively before Pat Rice himself will have to come on to bolster things up.
But GH, what do you make of the contention that Adebayor is playing for his place? Insofar as every player is always playing for his place, no one can argue, and read as as endorsement of Bendtner, you’ll get no argument from me, but as a critique of Adebayor, I’m not really on board; so I was heartened to later read that ‘holic fancies Adebayor to make his strength count.
I’m not so bothered about the formation as the personnel.
We have suffered — last year and this — when Sagna’s been missing and AW, for reasons of his own, has thrown Toure and Song out on the right.
Kolo was out of his depth on the right last year and it cost us. Everton’s goal came precisely from that direction over the weekend.
As soon as Kolo went off injured and there was no option, Theo came on, Song went to the centre, Eboue on the right — and suddenly we looked solid.
I could live with Song in the middle or playing DM — as long as it’s Eboue and not some stranger on the right.
I’ll always be loyal to AW, but the only he frustrates me is when he throws out a makeshift right back or plays Diaby on the wing. Both ideas have proven disastrous.
Yes, we have injuries, but there are still capable players to fill spots that are natural to them.
Please stick to that, boss.
Fingers crossed, everybody! A win here and we’re almost home in the group.
Another excellent write up, βHolic. Always love your view.
AW definitely have his own view but i agree with you, we need experience to come out of this alive.
This is my selection, Almunia, clichy, eboue,jourou,silvestre,king cesc, diaby, nasri, theo, ade & rvp.
With this there is no chance for thise turks to play on us but hey wenger knows best.
Hello and Come on Arsenal !
I hope we trash them tonight, I’m watching the match round at my girlfriend’s mother’s so won’t be able to get as vocal as I normally do….!
I reckon 2-1 or 3-1 to us.
Adebayor, despite his flaws, offers a perfect balance to Arsenal’s attacking force. We have enough finesse, pace, and flair. After the midfield tire out and dazzle the opposition with their passes, Ade is the one blunt instrument that we finish them off. Even though RvP and Bendtner are also big and strong, they play with their technique unlike our Togonator who creates contacts and can grind the defense to a pulp with his brute strength. We don’t have anyone in the squad quite like him.
Adebayor’s been in a goal-scoring drought, but I still feel really confident that he’ll get at least 15 goals in the Premier League this season. Hopefully he’ll score even more than that, and with his work bringing other players into the game, he’s one of my favorite players right now.
What I’d tell ya? The opener on 10; and a follow-up from Walcott. 12 minutes gone, and that’s a fine start.
Nervous???????????????????????
What the hell for????????????????????????????