Arsenal v FC Twente preview
by Tom Adams, 27 August 2008
Steve McClaren’s dodgy Dutch has not been the only poor imitation in recent weeks. Arsenal looked a shadow of their usual selves against Fulham at the weekend and Arsene Wenger has demanded a ‘top-class’ response as The Gunners seek to hold onto a 2-0 advantage over FC Twente and reach the group stages of the Champions League.
Arsenal 2/9 Draw 5/1 FC Twente 12/1
William Gallas to open the scoring 20/1
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Since his first full season in 1997-1998, Wenger has never failed to steer the club to the lucrative competition and thanks to goals from William Gallas and Emmanuel Adebayor in Holland, there is no reason to believe they will do so again, despite the encouraging nature of McClaren’s side’s performance in the first leg.
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That display, coupled with England’s shocking performance against Czech Republic, has forced a slight revision of McClaren’s reign in the national consciousness and Wenger is another manager whose prevailing reputation has been reassessed in recent days.
‘Arsene Knows’ is the refrain at Emirates Stadium but questions are being asked of a squad-building philosophy that resulted in an inexperienced midfield of Theo Walcott, Emmanuel Eboue, Denilson and Samir Nasri being comprehensively overrun by Fulham in Saturday’s 1-0 defeat.
The manager promised a new signing before the second leg against Twente but few Arsenal fans would have expected Mikael Silvestre to be that man. Indeed, with Philippe Senderos joining Milan and the Frenchman injured at present, the last week’s events actually deplete Wenger’s options.
Midfield is clearly the problem area though and good news comes in the form of Cesc Fabregas, who will be included in the squad but may not start after shaking off a hamstring injury sustained in pre-season. Tomas Rosicky and Abou Diaby remain sidelined.
Twente are not without their own fitness problems as striker Marko Arnautovic has joined last season’s top scorer Blaise Nkufo on the injury list. Former Middlesbrough and Bristol City midfielder Luke Wilkshire has also been sold to Dinamo Moscow after appearing in the first leg.
Make no mistake about it, elimination for Arsenal would be a bigger surprise than Senderos dislodging Paolo Maldini from the Milan side, but it remains to be seen whether the performance Wenger has demanded will also materialise.
PIVOTAL PLAYER: William Gallas. His leadership credentials have been questioned in recent months and the Frenchman was also at fault for Fulham's goal on Saturday. Expect a reaction.
PREDICTION: 2-0
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