Stoke Preview + Consistency

Top of the morning to y’all

First for some team news and Yossi Benayoun and Tomas Rosciky are back in the squad. Rosciky was sick last week but has been passed fit for tomorrow’s game while Benayoun returns to the squad after being illegible for last week’s game against his parent club. Arsene has also hinted that Theo Walcott might be fit for the last game against West Brom. I hope we won’t have to play him, he has had a good season and am sure there are others in the team that can see the final three games through and secure automatic qualification for next season’s champions league. Diaby also looks to be short of fitness but might be in the squad for the game. Other than that, there are no injury worries for the boss.

We travel to Stoke this weekend for the first of our final three games of the season. The potters have always been a sort of banana peel for us especially at their Britannia stadium. We have lost three of our last four games there.  It was also at the Britannia that Aaron Ramsey suffered the horrific broken leg from Ryan Shawcross’s tackle two seasons ago and in the build-up to the game am glad not much has been said about that incident as it has the potential to put added pressure on the lad when he plays on Saturday. Stoke are the side with the that has scored the fewest goals in the league scoring just 32 goals in 34 league games but that is not a reason to rest on our oars as they are very good at home and also got the lanky Peter Crouch to do the knock downs and the pacy Jon Walters to attack them. Szczesny has dealt with 98.5% of crosses into his box and his duel with Crouch will be interesting to see.

Wojciech Szczesny says he believes Arsenal can challenge for trophies next season. He says 

“When you play for this Club you want to win trophies,” he said. “This Club deserves trophies and we didn't get any this year so it's always disappointing. “I think the quality is there. We all know it - we have the quality to fight for trophies in Europe and this country. It's just consistency that has been a bit of a problem for us this year”.

 He definitely hit the nail on the head there. For me, the Arsenal squad is capable of standing toe to toe with any squad in Europe. The games against Barcelona and Man City at the Emirates are prime examples but our inability to deal with the so called lower teams has really shot us in the foot in our quest for trophies in past seasons and not only this year. What the team needs is a winning mentality to be instilled in them.

 It goes beyond knowing how to kick a football but believing that any opponent would be defeated regardless of the venue of the game. Of course the team cannot be at their optimum every game as injuries, and compiling fixtures would make the players jaded but that's why we have a squad of 25 players for the season and every player should know whats expected at every point in the season. Consistency can lead to complacency and that's why we lost to QPR after winning seven consecutive games and expecting the eighth victory. But that's where the manager has to ensure that it doesn’t happen by keeping their feet firmly on the ground and have their eyes on the ultimate prize regardless of whatever is written by them in the media. The remarkable turnaround we have experienced this season has proven two things, first is the overall quality of the squad is good enough to challenge for a premier league title and second is that they have got a great spirit which is what will get them out of troubled times. The final ingredient lacking in this team is the ability to build a winning mentality and I have no doubt in my mind that if the boss can do that, we will definitely win trophies. 

Finally, Pep Guardiola has thrown in the towel after one bad week on the job in three years. Going by that,  i think Arsene Wenger should be knighted for being patient, loyal and having a strong mental attitude. Am not taking anything away from Pep's achievements though, he is a great manager and am sure Barcelona will miss him greatly.

Thats all for now folks, be back again with a fresh package. Drop your comments on my twitter page at http://www.twitter.com/nigeriangunners and I would be glad to read from you. 

God bless the Arsenal Iree o.