REAL KIDD UPDATE::: Gunners lack right ammunition

 The danger that their heart had been torn out of the midfield with the departure of the irreplaceable Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri

For England and Arsenal alike, there's no Jack Wilshere. After Arsenal's sudden and spirited revival against Udinese, the problem now looks as bad for Fabio Capello as it does to Arsene Wenger, still reeling under that 8-2 defeat at Manchester United.

Without the precious constructive talents of the still injured Wilshere, who will make the bullets for England to fire in Bulgaria, and then at home at Wembley, against Wales?

Neither opponent is especially menacing, but the poverty of English resources is all too plain. There will also be no Steven Gerrard in midfield and effective though the energetic Scott Parker can be in central midfield, he is a wing half, rather than an inside forward.

Arsenal rose impressively from the ashes in Udinese, thereby saving the club some £25 million (Dh150.76 million), but they plummeted back down to earth with that hammering at United.

The danger that their heart had been torn out of the midfield with the departure of the irreplaceable Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri, seems to have cost Arsenal dear after the 2-0 defeat to Liverpool and then the now infamous 8-2 thrashing after starting the season with a nil all draw at Newcastle.

But there's hope that the return of Gervinho on the flanks, Alexandre Song to midfield and of Robin van Perse, suspended from the first leg, will greatly strengthen the strugglers; although the visitors were helped by a freak own goal and by the expulsion of the tough, greatly promising but over impetuous Emmanuel Frimpong in Udinese.

Glorious save

In Udinese, Wenger, had the great fortune of seeing his 21-year-old six-foot- five-inch Polish keeper, Wojciech Szczesny, surpass himself with a glorious one-handed save from Antonio Di Natale's spot kick. So there are still positives.

Last season, Wenger was strongly and not unjustly criticised for failing to find a reliable keeper, neither of his two young Polish goalkeepers being constantly sound. But now, Szczesny has suddenly and splendidly matured, there are no more worries in that department.

There's still cause for concern over the centre back position. Thomas Vermaelen, the Belgian international who missed almost the whole of last season, has finally returned from injury in impressive form, but there's no sign of a reliable partner, Djourou surely and not untypically being at fault, when Di Natale cleverly headed Udinese into the lead.

But the splendidly elusive form of Gervinho, the Ivory Coast winger, bought expensively from Lille, was scintillating. Alas, neither he nor Bong could play in a weakened team at Manchester United who, unlike the Gunners, had no European exertion midweek. The Gunners should be capable of gaining a second place and thus qualifying in their ensuing Group including Germany's formidable Bundesliga champions, Borussia Dortmund, whom the Gunners in their opening game must meet in Germany.

Of the other opponents, Marseille, under Didier Deschamps, are a modest side but always formidable at home, in front of their impassioned crowd. Winning at Udinese, the Gunners at long last did something to surmount a dismal European away record with five per cent defeats.



The author is an expert on football based in England.

SOURCE: www.gulfnews.com

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