I am sure there will be many pundits around this week with advice for Arsene Wenger on how Arsenal can beat Chelsea, and the first one to weigh in is the ex-Gunners star Charlie Nicholas, who believes that we need to flood the midfield to stifle Chelsea’s counter-attacking force.
“Arsenal should play with two holding midfielders, because that’s exactly what Chelsea will do,” Nicholas told Sky Sports. “They’ll come to the Emirates and they’ll stick Nemanja Matic in there and they might stick John Obi Mikel or Kurt Zouma in there too, and Arsenal need to counter that.
“That might mean playing Aaron Ramsey slightly out of position, slightly right of Francis Coquelin, who has been very impressive lately, and I’d just ask him to sit in there when Arsenal don’t have the ball.
“Wenger might have to consider sacrificing Santi Cazorla for that to work, but I’d just like two midfielders to sit and try and control the middle, where Cesc Fabregas will be, and Eden Hazard – the ultimate danger – will be floating about too.”
“This is the best Arsenal have been playing in five or six years, and I think the players sense that. The squad’s got its best balance and the best competitive edge for years.
“We’ve got Theo Walcott on the bench, Jack Wilshere on the bench – there’s great talent throughout the squad.
“Sure, they’re getting a little bit of luck here and there, but they made it count against Reading and they move on to another final. It’s not about how you play in the semi-final, it’s about getting the job done.”
I think that comment should be the same for this game against Chelsea. We are all desperate for Arsenal to beat Mourinho’s team (and Fabregas!) and I for one don’t care how we win it as long as we get the three points at the end of the day. Wenger can play with 10 midfielders as far as I’m concerned, just so long as he finally outwits the Portugese twat!