Wednesday, 8 December 2010

Arsenal/PartizanBelgrade

It would seem an open and shut case tonight. Partizan Belgrade have zero points, -9 goal difference and nothing to play for. Arsenal need to win to be sure of qualifying and have won their last two home games in the Champions League 5-1 and 6-0. So surely it's best to pick 5 Arsenal players for the Big Game?

Well, yes. No clever turn of analysis here to subtly convince you of anything else!My recommendation is pick 5 Arsenal players.

In the 5-1 win over Shakhtar Donetsk four of the usual subjects from midfield (Song, Nasri, Wilshire, Fabregas) made the top 5 plus Clichy. Although a seemingly obvious five, only one player nailed the 100% Big Game score - old favourite Ivar the Engine. Contrast that with the 6 - 0 against Braga, only three predictable players were in the top 5 (Fabregas, Clichy, Wilshire) at the end of that. Arshavin (only three times over 50) and Chamakh (only twice) made up the other two points. There was no Big Game that night but I would bet that no one (save for a maverick or lucky newbie) would've got the 100%

So, who to pick? First off, Nasri will probably be in almost everyone's five. He's only twice ever scored less than 50 and his average is second only to the mighty Fabregas (66.3 to 68.8). Wilshire (60), Clichy (59.6), Denilson (52.2), Song (50), Sagna (49.9) have the next highest averages and are all in the squad. Eboue is the main name missing from that list and his average has suffered due to being frequently used as a sub (or subbed). If he starts and can play most of the game he could repeat previous scores of 76, 81 and 92.

The main problem with a game like this though is that several people could select the same side. The options to get an edge mainly revolve around Arshavin, whoever plays upfront, the centre backs or the Partizan goalkeeper. I'll be going for Nasri, Wilshire, Clichy and then one of Denilson, Song, Sagna or Eboue depending on the starting lineup. And then I'll be adding a random 5th player to try and find me that edge.

Good luck!


by BensBulls
(Ben Wraith)

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