Someone is going to get the chance to stake a claim for the first team tomorrow. The captain will not be risked, rightly so, despite the "reassuring" results of his hamstring scan. Happily there is no strain to the muscle and there is a chance that Cesc will be fit for Saturday evening's game. Though on a personal level, I feel disappointed that Celtic's roughing up of the captain has been rewarded with his withdrawal from the second leg, I would also say that if a midfield three of Denilson, Alex Song and Abou Diaby / Aaron Ramsey aren't strong enough to see Arsenal home when they are two goals up, then we're in real trouble. But I have no doubts that whoever replaces Cesc will do so admirably.
Having not been able to get tickets for either the Portsmouth or Celtic games, due to personal circumstances - "personal"? surely you mean financial? - yes, quite right. Anyway, the thought of paying £43+ to see Wigan doesn't really appeal either. On the other hand, I love Blackburn Rovers. Yes, a strange admission to make, I know. But hear me out, before you start shouting at me to start a blog entitled "Tales From Paul Robinson Road" or some such thing. I love Blackburn Rovers because they never seem to take a full allocation of tickets. I guess the fact that the game is a 1.30 PM kick-off, and on a Sunday too, might have had something to do with it, but I've been able to get hold of two £32.50 tickets for the bottom corner of the soon to be named something else "Green" quadrant. I just need to remember not to intimate that Blackburn fans are jumping around like monkeys - long story - and I'm sure my first visit of the new season will be an enjoyable one.
Perhaps the renaming of the quadrants will not happen any time in the immediate future, but it is a relatively small thing that Ivan Gazidis on his radar. I don't think an Arsenal fan alive understood at the time why the board were happy to have fans join in the process of naming bars they'll likely never even drink in, whilst the areas of the ground that you can't avoid were given, if you'll pardon the expression, such colourless titles. It's good to know, though, that this will be rectified and also that the Clock will be returning to a position inside the stadium. It doesn't sound like much, but I think whilst the board, Fiszman, Friar et al did a great job of delivering this huge project on time and on budget, it's the small things that the supporter picks up on.
It's nice to see that Mr Gazidis recognises that the stadium is "our fans' house". It seems to me that this is is something that has escaped the club, even the manager, from time to time. After all, if you didn't like what someone was doing in your house, you wouldn't be slow to tell him so, would you?
Just a small piece of transfer goss to pass on today, or repeat if you've already seen it. My favourite paper as a kid, the Ealing Gazette, reckons that QPR are about to sign Jay Simpson on a season long loan. I've been waiting to see whether Everton selling Lescott will see Senderos much mooted move to Goodison happen, but is it me or has that one died a death?
More tomorrow.