Chelsea’s slide continues as they suffer a late defeat in Marseille, while at the Emirates a nervy 3-1 win is enough for a subdued Arsenal to progress, but only as group runners-up, paving the way for a potential meeting with Spain’s big boys.
Elsewhere, there’s news on the fitness of Steven Gerrard and Michael Dawson, while, in between ice baths, Rio Ferdinand’s been busy on Twitter again…
Although already through to the last 16 prior to the game, Carlo Ancelotti’s concern on his side’s current slide will deepen further after last night’s performance. Although denied a couple of penalty appeals, Chelsea were in the main, second best to their French opponents.
“The performance was not so bad defensively where we had a good control of the game but we could do better up front. We had a lot of opportunities to do counter attack but we didn’t do so well with the final pass or the final shot.”
Mikel will return to the lineup for the visit to Spurs this weekend and Ancelotti remains hopeful that Frank Lampard will join him in midfield. Jose Bosingwa is out of the weekend clash however – he limped off with a hamstring injury and has already been ruled out by Ancelotti. That will mean Paulo Ferreira, who started at left-back last night, will fill in on the right of the defence – a possible concern given that Gareth Bale will be in opposition. John Terry suffered an ankle knock and was also subbed last night but this is apparently not a concern for the Spurs game.
Arsene Wenger made three changes to the lineup that saw off Fulham at the weekend – Robin Van Persie’s start as skipper was the most notable change – significantly he played “in the hole” behind the striker as the in-form Marouane Chamakh kept his start. Elsewhere Denilson came into the midfield for Jack Wilshere while Kieran Gibbs replaced a sick Gael Clichy at left-back.
Van Persie’s role and the impact on his Arsenal’s team-mates is a key factor to look out for however. Last night’s decision to play him in support of Chamakh didn’t appear to work and Wenger hinted after the game that he will be rethinking his options here…
“I was not completely happy with our offensive game tonight. But I will have to watch that again. Maybe it was down to the quality of Partizan’s defending because I felt they defended in a very intelligent way and very well. I will have to analyse that a bit better.”
Wenger’s options in attack remain plentiful and it’s significant that Walcott again had to emerge from the bench to make an impact; he continues to struggle to hold down a starting role and the emergence of Nasri in a central role and Wenger’s loyalty to Andrei Arshavin, are certainly limiting his chances. If Wenger looks to pair Van Persie with Chamakh in the mid-term, Walcott looks set to remain a bench option.
“He has a twisted ankle, an ankle sprain. I don’t know how damaged his ankle is – he will have a scan tomorrow. He is unbelievably unlucky. No [it is not the same ankle he injured recently], it is the right one tonight. I spoke to him, he is quite down. He is on crutches. I cannot tell you more. We will know tomorrow but he is already out for Monday night.”
Clichy will surely make a return at left-back then, while it appears unlikely that Cesc Fabregas will make reappearance in midfield. The big decision for Wenger could well be whether to start with Van Persie having handed him 90 minutes last night. A 4-5-1 formation would seem a likely scenario for the clash with United, and that could well give an opportunity for Walcott to earn a start out wide, with a remit allowing him to drift inside to support Chamakh or Van Persie.
“Hammy feels OK, treatment over the next couple of days to try and get ready for the game on Monday. Get me out there!”
