Wenger not happy with the Milan pitch but promises to attack
AC Milan have relaid the San Siro pitch this week and Arsene Wenger is not very impressed with their work, in fact he believes they have made it worse not better!
He said: “They relaid it on Monday, we’re playing Wednesday. So it’s terrible. Out of respect for the supporters it should be a better pitch. I think they wanted to make the pitch better but they’ve made it worse. They told me it will be much better tonight. It has been relaid down the flanks very recently and you know what it is like when you have just laid a pitch like that. It takes time to settle and become flat. At the moment, it isn’t.”
Surely it can’t be as bad as Sunderland’s pitch last week? But however it turns out tonight, Wenger revealed that he had watched a recording of Tottenham’s win at the San Siro last season and had no intention of trying to park the bus for the full 90 minutes and hope for a breakaway goal, even if it worked for Spurs.
He said: “Milan had a lot of the ball and Tottenham caught them on the break at the end of the game. You never decide when you break, you break when you can. It was a game which was vastly dominated, especially in the second half, by Milan.
“We will not decide at the start of the game that we will sit in our half, if we have to, like Tottenham did, and then try to catch them on the break. At the start we will try to get out of our own half and try to get up there and play. Spurs won the game when they were dominated, but that is football today.”
But it certainly isn’t Arsenal’s way of playing football. I’m looking forward to watcingh Arsenal come out with all guns blazing and pummell Milan into ashes!!!
I think today we will be able to control the midfield, which will certainly help us get out of our own end. All depends on which squad shows up, but i think we can bring the advantage home.
It heavily depends on 2 individual battles. Vermaelen must contain Ibra, and RVP must get the better of Thiago Silva. Silva, apart from Puyol and Pique, is the most likely defender in the world to be able to contain RVP. The Brazilian is quick, tenacious and technically adept.
For a good first-leg result for Arsenal, Gibbs and Koscielny must not have an off-day. They will likely be coming up against Pato, Ibra and Robinho, and any slip-up will make the home leg very difficult. The midfielders and forwards must assist RVP in any way; getting an away goal is crucial.
Don’t like the sound of the pitch, coming so soon after the Mertesecker injury. Knowing our luck with self-sustained injuries, I fear for our list after San Siro.