Ooh to be a Gooner these days. The last league defeat to Manchester United two months ago seems a very long time and since then Arsenal put on some great performances as they beat Chelsea, outplayed City, scraped out a very important 2-1 victory against Everton, got to the Carling Cup final and are still very much in all the four competitions. There were some familiar arsenalesque stumbles on the way including the horror-show at the St. James' Park but in a grand scheme of things it seems like we really are in the best position since the 2007/08 season.And then there was this small matter of the Barcelona game.
I have to say I wasn't really frightened about the tie at all, knowing that Barcelona could pull out their best performances whenever they had to. I almost take took for certain that they'd go through and in the worst scenario I wouldn't even take 5-0 as so much of a humiliation. But somehow, I was still really nervous and excited.
And we beat them. And not just that, as a first team in this season we beat them in style.
It wasn't just this, though, what made yesterday's 2-1 win the best football experience for me, like, ever. It was that it came as a cream on the crop, not a one-off like that 2-1 at the Stamford Bridge a couple of years ago. We've performed so well for some time already that it really does seem like there's a turnaround from 'a side who are playing some great football at times and can beat anyone on their day' to a side that's very much turning to be one of the best out there. A mature, confident, brave side with the most technically gifted players in England. There's still a lot of work to do defensively, as well as that we are very lucky not to be struck by injuries, there's the issue of complacency and others. But we're getting there and it's nights like these that make it fantastic to be an Arsenal fan.
There's another massive game coming up as well though. Today in the Europa League, Sparta will face Liverpool in what is probably going to be the biggest game for Czech club football in the last couple of seasons. Even in the underwhelming Czech football environment there's a big sense of anticipation about the game and a lot of questions to be answered. How big a support from the fans are Sparta going to receive after the club hiked up the prices of the tickets in such a ludicrous manner? Are Sparta physically ready after the winter preparation? Are the Czech champions still able to trouble the best in Europe?
The background at Sparta suggests that the team is not really in their prime at the moment. The Prague club are about to play their first competitive game in nearly three months, the last one being a 1-1 draw against CSKA - imagine that Arsenal's last game before the home tie against Barcelona would be the 3-1 win against Partizan in the early December. As well as that, Sparta have just sold their two best players (Kucka to Genoa and Wilfried to Vitesse Arnhem) and the results of their winter preparation games were pretty bad, having won only one game in seven.
Speaking of winter preparation, Sparta are also coming into the game on the back of a recent scandal involving some of the Sparta players who were withdrawn from the national team due to injuries. All of them then featured in their mates' dresses in a game against Zenit, having been captured by the club's photographers on the official website. Hilariously stupid and embarrasing from Sparta, and it just shows what a lack of class is there from the supposedly biggest and most proffesional team in the Czech Republic.
With all this in mind, I think this tie is only Liverpool's to lose. It will also depend on whether, after the long winter break, Sparta will present themselves as a side with fresh legs or a side with a lack of proper match fitness. They'll have to put pressure on Liverpool from the very start and if they can maintain that work ratio throughout the game and take their chances when they come, then who knows.
However, Liverpool's form has improved considerably under Kenny Dalglish and with Europa League as their only chance of winning silverware this season, I expect Liverpool to be fully focused and prepared for this one. Their next game is only the home tie next Thursday and I doubt that Dalglish would not want to take advantage of resting his players before going to Upton Park on Sunday.
No comments:
Post a Comment