By Boris Mellor
September 26 2005

European football seems to have badly affected the psyche of the Arsenal Team. It may not have driven them clean round the bend, as the advertisement for toilet cleaners used to claim, but they do seem slightly schizophrenic about what tactics to use.

 Those at the front yell back, whilst Ashley Cole at the back is now yelling forward. In other words some reports claim that the players feel that we are not defensive enough in Europe, and others that we don’t attack enough. Ashley says play our normal game and get on with it. I wish, and no doubt so does Wenger, that they would become of one mind on the issue.

 

Fans love to go on about Plan B and how we need it in Europe, but last season the discerning amongst us spotted experimental formations. They certainly were not always playing  4-4-2. In fact nobody seemed sure what formation they were playing.

 

I rarely look forward to the Champions League, it usually feels me with dread. I remember the defeat 3-0 by Inter Milan, I was there. It was another of those miserable late night journeys home. At least when the game was at Inter I could sit down and watch us being thrashed in the comfort of my own home. Except the thrashing never came, we thrashed them. One of the most comprehensive defeats of an Italian team in Italy by an English league team. Henry was toasted as the King by the Italian Press.

 

How can you explain it? Vieira wasn’t playing – no wonder Wenger thinks, rightly or wrongly, that he can manage without him. It doesn’t make sense, unless you take into account nobody thought the Gunners could do it, and that Milan players were rubbing our noses in it. I bet they regret that now. We went to Milan with players missing through injuries and nobody rated us, a bit like our next match. Only one striker available, and according to the press we are now in our death throes having suffered a 0-0 draw at the Hammers. Our ten men were not considered effective against FC Thun.

 

Now we have no Gilberto as well as no Vieira, with Lehmann and Van Persie suspended. Bergkamp is unlikely to be there, Pires may return, but he is a slow starter after injuries. So if the team can convince itself it’s the underdog they may get a result. I will be quite happy with a draw, more so with a win. Just depends on which side turns up, the one that yells forward, or the one that yells back. I’m with Ashley on this one.