Wenger’s young guns are so fired up - 10 Nov 2007
STEVE COPPELL reckons Arsenal have a point to prove this season, but insists they will only be successful if they pick up some silverware.
Many pundits had written the Gunners off as a spent force following the summer departures of Thierry Henry and Freddie Ljungberg.
However, Arsene Wenger’s young guns, who visit Madejski Stadium on Monday night (live on Setanta, 8pm kick-off), are unbeaten and currently top of the Premier League.
And Coppell said: “To a certain extent they are a team with something to prove.
“Those suggestions that they are not the side they were give them more of an edge than they would have had other wise.
“They have young players. It wasn’t long ago they won the Premiership, but not many have got Premiership medals.”
Despite Arsenal’s stunning start to the campaign, Coppell said: “They can play wonderful football but they will be judged on what’s on the shelf at the end of the season.
“Anything less than a trophy this year I think they will look on as a failure, given the start they have had and the foundation they have made.
“You can sense a real confidence coming out of their camp – from the manager downwards you feel there is more of a belief than last year. But they need silverware and anything less is relative failure.”
Arsenal destroyed Reading 4-0 at Madejski Stadium last season. Coppell’s men faced an uphill battle after falling behind to an Henry goal inside the first minute.
And Royals’ boss admits he has yet to decide how best to stop the Gunners this time around, although he hinted he will opt for a 4-5-1 formation on Monday night. That could mean Kalifa Cisse or Emerse Fae replacing Leroy Lita.
“We have to try to have a go,” insisted Coppell. “I don’t mind getting beat.
“In your mind you think if you do push men forward then you leave yourself open at the back and our defensive record at the moment doesn’t really demand that kind of a policy.
“We have to try to attack them when it’s possible, but also give ourselves a little bit of a strong base to make sure we’re not vulnerable to the counter-attack all the time.
“We made plans last year and they made a goal inside a minute. What do you do? I look at it and sometimes I see them play and I think we’ll just go at them and sod the consequences and then other times I think you have to be so conservative and try and keep the game as close as possible and hope for a set-piece.
“It’s not what I really want to do, but needs is as needs must. At the moment I have three different ways of playing against them.”
Coppell admitted Wenger surprised him last season with a change in formation. He added: “Arsene Wenger had talked about a 4-5-1 being a destructive way of playing and I was anticipating him playing a 4-4-2, so we set up a 4-4-2 and he played a 4-5-1 with Henry down the middle by himself.
“They score in the first minute and I’d only just recognised they were playing that way. You are 1-0 down playing against 4-5-1. Had they not scored we would have matched them up, but at 1-0 down I thought the best chance was to stay 4-4-2.
“But it was also our best chance of conceding more goals, so it’s a little bit of guesswork. I am juggling the permutations. In terms of formation I would anticipate them playing 4-5-1 so we’d probably have to play that way.
“But I am mindful sometimes of thinking myself into a corner.”
Ivar Ingimarsson is set to replace Michael Duberry in the heart of the defence as the former Chelsea man has a rib injury. |
發表於 2007-11-9 11:31 PM
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