Written by Nicholas Edwards
Tonight’s Carling Cup semi final second leg tie at the Emirates looks to be an intriguing match given Ipswich’s 1-0 victory in the first leg. With Arsenal hitting top gear in their previous two games scoring three in each against West Ham and Leeds it should be a simple task to brush aside Championship strugglers Ipswich and reach their first final since this very competition in 2007. But as the first leg showed us; the Carling Cup and Arsenal’s mental strength are anything but a sure thing.
Ipswich’s first leg victory was a much needed boost for the team. Roy Keane had just been sacked after a poor run that left The Tractor Boys near the foot of the Championship. New manager Paul Jewell sat in the stands as a spectator surely dreading what he was about to see. Instead of the mauling that many would have predicted Arsenal weren’t anywhere near their concise attacking best and Ipswich showed true determination and a late Tamas Priskin goal sealed a dream evening after their 7-0 loss to Chelsea in the previous game. They go in to tonight’s game with belief that it can be done.
Arsene Wenger spoke before the first leg about the importance of his players keeping focus. His words were evidently not heeded and the Gunner’s paid the price. He will surely use that game as the proof of what he was trying to impress on his young squad. If the message last time was keep focus; tonight it will be; keep focus, keep focus, keep focus.
When it comes down to it though, Arsenal are too strong for Ipswich. Anyone with half a brain can see that. A one goal deficit is something that the North Londoners should easily be able to overcome as long as they listen to their manager and not treat this as a practice match. This is Arsenal’s game to win or lose; it’s as simple as that. I don’t mean any disrespect to Ipswich, they are a decent team that has the fundamentals right, but they are a league behind the Gunner’s in terms of the table and in terms of class. If the right Arsenal team turn up with the right attitude and the confidence to play their attacking game then I can easily see a 4-0 score line.
The game against Leeds at the weekend should have reminded the Gunner’s what they are capable of and given them a confidence boost. It’s similar circumstances really. Both ties saw shock first leg results and Arsenal performing at a level far below their capabilities. They bounced back against Leeds so Ipswich should be the same outcome.
Wenger will be expected to rotate his squad due to the congested January fixture list so we might not see the likes of Robin Van Persie (who has scored six goals in his last three games) or captain Cesc Fabregas but Arsenal still have quality and depth in their squad. Arshavin could be looking for a start, as well as Marouane Chamakh. I’m not sure what Wenger will do with his central defence. Djourou and Koscielny are the only fit first teamers but have been playing a lot recently. Will Wenger risk using the young Ignasi Miquel to give one of his regulars a rest?
Ipswich have no injury problems and should be expected to put out their first team as they attempt to emulate the heroics of the first leg and pull off a shock result. It says a lot for their determination that they have reached the semi finals and an upset is certainly not an impossibility. If Arsenal play with fear (as they sometimes do on big occasions) or fail to convert their chances (also known to happen) then Ipswich will look to take advantage. They are in a good position to work from and one they probably didn’t expect to be in.
I feel that Arsenal will win this game in a comfortable fashion, however. They will have learnt from the mistakes of the first leg and know that this is a real chance for a piece of silverware this season. As I said earlier, I can see this ending up as a 4-0 victory for the home team and I wouldn’t be surprised if Chamakh and Arshavin are amongst the goals. This would be the perfect game for them to rediscover their form and put Arsenal on the road to a first trophy since 2005.