Carling Cup preview: Newcastle United v Arsenal
Is it such a surprise that Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger is fielding a strong side in this year’s Carling Cup?
The FA Cup victory over Manchester United in 2005 was the last time Arsenal got their hands on a trophy, and the need to win silverware is greater than ever for Arsenal fans.
Wenger certainly sprung a surprise on Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp in the last round, as the latter believed the Frenchman was going to stick to his policy of blooding youth in the competition. When the teams were announced before the kick off, Redknapp got the shock of his life.
Wenger fielded a strong side for the first time in many years in the 4-1 win over their north London rivals, and he has promised to stick to his words and field a similar side in tonight’s game.
“It will be similar to Spurs,” said Wenger. “We have players coming back like Walcott, Bendtner and Vela. Koscielny is fit to start. They will play. From the Man City game, we have no-one out [with injury]. One or two will be rested. Vela is back.”
The likes of the in-form Samir Nasri, Tomáš Rosický, Denilson and Abou Diaby will all feature, and all are experienced first-team players along with Walcott and Bendtner.
Having shown their title credentials in the 3-0 win over Manchester City last Sunday and moving up to second in the Premier League, Wenger will carry the momentum and finally take the Carling Cup seriously.
Even by his own admissions Wenger considers the Premier League and the Champions League the priority, but the fans want to see an effort made in both the Carling Cup and the FA Cup. It may have dawned on Wenger that going such a long period without a trophy is frustrating for a club who announce record profits, fill out 60,000 for every game at the Emirates and possess some of the best players in the world.
This competition is the only one missing from Wenger’s CV on a domestic level, and while he would want to conquer the league or Europe, winning the Carling Cup could be the stepping stone he needs to win them.
The trip to St James’ Park is next up for Arsenal tonight against a confident Newcastle United side, and if someone had said one of tonight’s managers would play a fringe side, you would have put money on it being Wenger.
But no. It is Newcastle’s Chris Hughton. He fielded a fringe side in their 4-3 win over Chelsea in the previous round at Stamford Bridge, and he is expected to do the same thing again tonight. Premier League survival is the focus for the Magpies, and this will be reflected in Hughton’s team selection with the derby game against Sunderland their next league fixture.
“I am appreciative that it is a very big game for us,” said Hughton. “It's a game we want to give the respect it deserves, and it's a competition we very much want to stay in. But I have a responsibility to look after the best interests of the squad and the club, and I will be making some changes.”
It has been quite a week for the club, with their striker Andy Carroll fined £1,000 pounds after pleading guilty to assault, having his car torched while living with skipper Kevin Nolan (a condition of his bail arrangement for another, unrelated, charge of assaulting an ex-girlfriend), and seeing his team come from behind to grab a well-deserved 2-1 win at the weekend against West Ham.
No doubt Carroll will be getting support from Nolan over the dinner table, but one man who qualifies to offer advice is Joey Barton, who knows what the big No.9 is going through at the moment.
“This is a football team that thrives with our backs to the wall,” he said. “We came back, dug in and found a performance after being under a little bit of pressure created this week by people who shall remain anonymous. I am guilty of it as much as anyone down the years.”
“Andy knows where we are, and I’ve been in his shoes. My reputation hindered me for a long time, and I will try to stop him from going down that path," Barton added.
With the strength of Arsenal’s team tonight, it will be hard for Newcastle to salvage anything from the game, especially with one eye on their next game.
Prediction: Newcastle United 1 Arsenal 3
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