Broccoli/Arsene’s rage/haunting defeats/the injured trio

I RECKON that after 11 years of the same man managing the team I allow to matter a little more in the grand scheme of my life than they probably should, it’s little surprise I’ve started to adopt the odd trait of his.

For example, I plead guilty to returning from the odd night and whipping up the occasional plate of steamed broccoli in the hope it would somehow make me a more efficient, streamlined individual the next day. It didn’t.

And I’m also probably guilty of adopting some of his soreness at losing. I tell you, for a game that didn’t matter, I was incandescent on Tuesday night. Sure, it was a horrible cock-up by Senderos, but speaking to myself as much as you: “Get a grip! It was one game that didn’t matter anyway.”

It’s hard to know with Arsene whether his histrionics (for that’s what they are) make things worse or instead serve to take the heat off the players. If it’s the latter then it’s a stroke of luck really because all roads point to this being a man genuinely driven by an appalling acceptance of losing. It may not come across too well to some in the meantime, but the day it ceases will probably also be the day when he realises his time is up.

I do wonder, however, if underneath the bruised reaction of both boss and fans to defeat on Tuesday lies a greater insecurity. Are we haunted by seasons past, where one innocuous loss has rapidly led to another and before we know it things are slipping away from us?

If so, it shouldn’t. We are through to the knock-out stages of the Champions League and going on our performances two years ago against Real and last year against PSV, I’m not sure whether us picking a so called smaller side would in fact be any kind of advantage.

And in the league, we’re in a position where there is little chance of us running away with things (three strong challengers will ensure that) but equally we’ve got ourselves to a spot where a slip-up of a few points will not leave us off the pace. And that’s something to be cherished.

Which brings us to Villa tomorrow and it’s not ideal to be playing them on their back of their 4-0 win at Blackburn because frankly, that’s an impressive result.

The likely absences of Hleb, Cesc and RVP is not great either because despite all Adebayor’s goals, they have probably be our three most potent attackers.

I only hope Arsene plumps for 4-4-2 rather than 4-5-1, which really seems to have very little point whatsoever. It’s almost certain Adebayor will start and having largely rested him in midweek, I wonder if Theo will come in. Unless he thinks Adebayor and Bendtner can play together - which might not be as impossible as you would naturally think.

Then it should be Rosicky, Eboue, Flamini and one other. The temptation would be Denilson, given that he is probably the most creative and Cesc like of the rest of the bunch. Though that said, Diarra’s rest could also see him play.

And if Clichy is fit to return, we should be full-strength at the back and compared to the one that played in Sevilla, it should be a marked improvement. It’s no insult to Justin Hoyte and Armando Traore to say Sagna and Clichy are currently some way ahead of them. Not only do they boost us going forward, but they are defensively more assured too.

And Gallas for Senderos should be no bad thing either. So let us not panic. It’s a tough run of games but they happen and we’re in a great position. A win would be nice and Blackburn not capitulating at home to Newcastle in the way they did to Villa three days before we played them would be appreciated as well.

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