ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE: ARSENE WENGER is acutely aware of how the majority of the country is previewing Arsenal's visit to Manchester United today. For all that the club have dazzled thus far this season, the suspicion is they have yet to be properly examined.
Everton, destabilised by the Joleon Lescott affair, were a shambles on opening day and Portsmouth, in the grip of boardroom turmoil, were similarly easy prey. As for Celtic, in the two-leg Champions League play-off, the less said the better.
United, it is assumed, in spite of their unconvincing start against Birmingham City and their blip at Burnley, will provide the acid test.
“Yes, of course, I accept this view,” said Wenger, with a smile. “That is why it is an interesting game for us.” By then the Frenchman had got his rant about the Uefa charge against his striker Eduardo da Silva out of the way and was able to assess the challenge presented by a United team now lacking the goal threat of Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez with humour and icy cool.
Arsenal’s task has not been made easier by the absence of their captain and tempo-setter Cesc Fabregas. The midfielder did not travel to Manchester after he failed a fitness test on an injured hamstring yesterday morning and it should mean Wenger will press the injury-prone Abou Diaby into the rarity of a third match in the space of a week.
“Cesc gives us stability,” Wenger said. “He masters well the timing of the game; when you need to slow down and speed up. He also gives you [the chance of] one or two goals in every single game so we have to compensate for that. The form of Diaby, Denilson and [Alex] Song can physically compensate.”
Beyond the charge against Eduardo, the timing of Uefa’s decision to throw a spotlight on the striker has irked Wenger. “They are all in Monaco on holiday,” he said, with reference to Thursday’s Champions League group-phase draw at the Grimaldi Forum, “and maybe they got inspired by the blue skies, the beach and they suddenly made erratic decisions.” He admitted that he would think twice about starting the game with Eduardo. “I just imagine him walking out at Old Trafford and the first tackle, him going down,” he said.
But if Eduardo’s horrific leg break cast long shadows over the club’s tilt for the 2008 Premier League title, Wenger is convinced this latest episode involving the Croatian will not have a destabilising effect. He feels his team have grown strong enough to withstand the slings of psychological adversity while they travel to Old Trafford with players in form, notably the central-defensive pair of William Gallas and Thomas Vermaelen, and confidence very high.
“No matter what happens, we won’t use that [the Eduardo situation] as an excuse,” Wenger said. “In a big club, before every single game, you must deal with such problems. We go to Old Trafford with belief and we want to show we can win away in big games. The quality and talent of my players, the desire and attitude of the team, make me believe that we can win the title again.”
Wenger believes United are in something of a transition, with Ronaldo departed, and he drew the parallel with his Arsenal team in the aftermath of Thierry Henry’s sale to Barcelona in 2007. “When a player becomes too strong in a team, sometimes the way of a game goes too much through him,” he said.
“Henry was, in the end, a player who had a big weight in our team. Nobody could refuse to give Thierry Henry the ball. When that player suddenly disappears other players turn up. It takes time but in our case, we had [Emmanuel] Adebayor who scored 24 [Premier League] goals and we had other players who gained charisma, like Alex Hleb. I believe United will miss Ronaldo but will they find a new balance in the team, and [Wayne] Rooney or [Dimitar] Berbatov pop up with 20 goals? That can happen but nobody knows.”
Wenger revealed his admiration for Berbatov and, also, Alex Ferguson’s summer signing Michael Owen. “For me, Owen is Eduardo,” he said. “He makes good runs, he scores goals, he’s shrewd in the box.” Shrewd in the box? “He can get penalties,” Wenger said, roaring with laughter.
He was in a playful mood by now. “This game with United was planned for Monday night and nobody knows why we do not play Monday night,” he said. “Apparently, at Old Trafford, there is a cricket game but really, what happened is the FA intervened because [England] play a highly important friendly against Slovenia [on Saturday] and they were scared the English players, who we don’t have, would be tired.”
Wenger will be deadly serious by the time the first whistle blows.
Guardian Service
