agreed, worst comes to worst, we'll sub him, but he's crazy good

maxi has recently scored and has UCL experience as well so he could be starting

Probable line-up according to Sportmediaset:



Zambrotta??? Ambrosini??? Robinho??? This is a joke, right? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/realmad.gif)

Ambrosini is what pisses me off most!Zambrotta is ok,I mean he isn't tried or anything,so he can give all he got.Robinho might not be the best choice,but we have people on the bench to switch it up too,but playing 3 dms is just too wrong.

Did you forget Zambrotta's horror show against Inter? Walcott will eat him alive.

ENOUGH WITH ALL THE OLDIES!!!

I agree, but like I said, I think Allegri will opt for experiance in this one. And like you said, he can always sub him in


I seriously hope that we won't be starting with that god aweful midfield. Because that will be our downfall no doubt about it!!

How can we score with those 3?? Especially Ambro bumbling around on the ball and getting in VBs way!!

Ambro off for Seedorf and I'd be ok with it.

As for Zambro and Robs, I'm ok with them starting. Walcott is a fairly 1 dimensional player, thus Zambro won't have any trouble reading his moves. The problem will only become apparent if they get into a race with each other, but if that's the case, none of our LBs can really catch up to him if he's really through running in space.


Agreed

Can I go as far as saying that of all our over 35-y-o's, Zambrotta is by far the most finished player? Yes, even Ambrosini, Gattuso, Seedorf and Inzaghi have still more to offer than #19. I can't believe you say it's OK playing him. It is not OK. Play Mesbah or Emanuelson for crying out loud!!!

Well, I wouldn't panic just yet, Sportmediaset predictions are not always reliable.

I wouldn't start Zambro. He hasn't played since the derby and looked way past his prime this season.

Zambrotta has played in all our important matches and imo was never the worse of the bunch. He was one of our more decent players in both Barca matches. I think that as long as he's asked to stay back and handle Walcott it won't be too much trouble for him.

Mesbah I'd also be more than ok with. But Antonini and Urby would be huge liabilities as they fo forward too much, and what we do not need is wide open spaces for Walcott or Oxlade-Chaimberlin(sp?) to run into.

I think the fact that Rino has not played any competitive football since the first couple of games of the season says it all. Ambro can be decent at times coming off the bench when we're closing down a game, but other than that I wouldn't trust him as far as I could throw him. 2 of his mistakes in the last 2 games resulted in goals conceeded for us.

Besides, I feel that the most crucial area of the pitch is the midfield in this game, whoever wins that battle will win the game. The most important thing will be to not allow them to dictate the game, and that has to be done through quickly re-gaining possession when it's lost and keeping possession for as long as possible when we do have it. The worst thing to do to Arsenal is to make them play without the ball. They'll mess up in defence at one point or another on their own if you pressure them

I hope the mentioned lineup is just there to mess with us and Wenger.

But boy, you seem to have a problem with Zambrotta. Granted, he was bad against Inter, but so what? Some other players were also bad; not to mention Ambrosini and Seedorf this and last season. And don't get me even started on Gattuso...good god, saying that Zambro is more finished then Gattuso and that Emanuelson is better on the left...is too much. I think you're somehow overreacting with about Zambrotta.

My problem is the 3 muscle midfield. I think Seedorf needs to be in as AM and Boateng for Ambrosini. I mean, Ambro played last Wednesday, then this Saturday,...I don't think he's up to it any more.

A big problem, actually. Because unlike Seedorf, for example, which should be played at all cost due to lack of alternatives, it would be utter suicide to prefer Zambrotta over Mesbah, Emanuelson or Antonini. Han says he handled well the Barça games, but I thought he was horrible in the second tie. The guy just doesn't cut it anymore.

How was he horrible? He wasn't even responsible for any of the goals. In the first leg he was great imo. When you have Dani Alves and Pedro/Messi coming at you, you could easily be made to look like a fool imo. Just ask Vidic, Evra and Ferdinand. Supposedly 3 of the best in their respective positions.

Like I said, my only major problem in that line-up is Ambro. And I trust that it will not be that line-up. If so we might as well give Arsenal the away goal and call it a day.

With all due respect to you and the others who have voiced opinions, I was there at the Emirates for the first leg in 2008. What we lacked on that night was a ridged midfield - doesn't mean I am right or my assessment is noteworthy, as Carlo is a master tactician and I am a mere spectator. With that in mind, I have my reservations given our injury situation ..

For instence, KPB is a HUGE boost to our midfield, but he will be lacking in match fitness and rhythm of play, hence he could be a bigger liability than what you preceive Ambro to be. Moreover, we have a core that has played nonstop for over a month now without reasonable rotation/rest. What we need here is a clean sheet, arming our midfield with anchor-men will disrupt Arsenal's possession football. We have the envy of Europe in our attacking options, so playing a counter-attack game based on a solid midfield might be our ticket in making tomorrow night a positive one.

Then again, I could be wrong and Allegri pulls up with all guns blazing in a Robi-Ibra-SES trident and we could win 3-0. Its just that I don't want to give Arsenal 1cm of space in our midfield.

Your thoughts are all correct,but the problem Ambrosini is a liablity in this midfield.If,we had another good destroyer there(good old gattuso),then it may have been a good gameplan.But,Ambrosini is quite a reckless player.What I mean is that he might do something well (and i'm the first one cheer for it (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif) ),but he does 100 other stuff bad on the other end.He loses the ball too much,can't pass the ball well,defends badly...so I really don't see the difference with having him there or having Seedorf really.If anything,Seedorf will be the playmaker and run the game for us,while our other two destroyers gather the ball,Seedorf will make sure it will stay with us for a period long than 1 second.