Some random thoughts on a rare slow day in April

It’s been a busy month. I’ve never really struggled for a blog topic this month and I’m sure I could manufacture something current for today, but I think I’ll just provide some bits and pieces before the ‘Boro preview.

Tomas Rosicky will not play again this year. We knew that already, but Arsene Wenger has expanded on Rosicky’s setback. It appears that the problems for the now 28-year old are largely mental. During his 14 month layoff, some doubt has crept into his mind about his ability to make the comeback. It’s really hard to hear this news because it certainly raises the prospect that he might not make a comeback at all. Wenger said that when Rosicky is confident, then he looks good in practice. When the doubt comes into his thoughts, then he suffers another setback. Wenger further says that Rosicky will return next season and it’s the coaching staff’s job to convince him that he can be ready. Hopefully Eduardo’s return can provide some inspiration but it sounds like a bigger uphill battle for Tomas than we already understood.

In non-Arsenal news, it appears that United have met with Kaka’s representatives. If that is true, then it’s more than likely that he’s a potential replacement for Ronaldo in the summer. More than anything this is a reminder of Arsenal’s status among the big clubs in the transfer market. It’s also a reminder how lucky we are to have Arsene Wenger. For the foreseeable future, Arsenal will be a second tier team in the global transfer marketplace. In order to compete with the more financially endowed clubs, we must be smarter, find players younger, and give them a reason to want to come to the Emirates. There is no one more suited for doing just that than Arsene Wenger. He spots young talent better than any manager in the world, and his style of play attracts skillful players and encourages them to stay with Arsenal. Without Wenger, you wonder why caliber of player might be lured to the club.

Tomorrow’s games have very little impact on the Gunners, but if you want something to root for, you can always cheer for the teams that play Aston Villa, and Hull City. I’d suggest that you root against Sp*rs, but that would be mean rooting for United and it’s hard to do that under any circumstance. It’s made even more difficult by the fact that a United loss would be a good omen heading into our semi-final first leg in midweek.

That’s really all there is for today. Full ‘Boro preview tomorow. Enjoy the next day or two, it’s our first relatively low-stress weekend for a while.