ENGLISH LEAGUE CUP FOURTH ROUND Arsenal v Liverpool: ALBERTO AQUILANI could make his Liverpool first-team debut at Arsenal tonight after being included in the squad to travel to north London.
The €22 million Italian midfielder has been fully involved in Liverpool’s training this week and looks set to feature at the Emirates Stadium.
Aquilani played for 15 minutes of a reserve match last week, having been recovering from a knee operation since his arrival at the club in the summer. Liverpool manager Rafael Benítez stated his intention to use the former Roma man against Arsenal, although he will not start.
“He will be with us,” said Benítez. “He is improving his fitness, so he’s in the squad. He cannot start at this moment but he will be there and maybe we can give him some minutes. If it’s possible, we will try to use him.”
Benitez’s counterpart at Arsenal Arsene Wenger is also expected to get the chance to name one of his players who has been sidelined with an injury
Admittedly, this is not the stage Samir Nasri envisaged when he completed his transfer from Marseille last year for a then club record fee of around €14 million. The English League Cup is the competition in which Wenger tends to blood academy hopefuls and fringe first-team players.
Yet, when Liverpool visit the Emirates Stadium it will offer Nasri the platform on which to relaunch his career. The France winger had never broken a bone in his body but his luck ran out on the first morning of pre-season training when he emerged from a challenge with Abou Diaby with a fractured fibula.
The date was July 21st, and Wenger’s forecast of a three-month lay-off has proved accurate.
Nasri admits the frustration has been difficult to bear and it might, conceivably, have been deepened by the general feeling that, while out of sight, he has largely been out of mind.
The form of Andrey Arshavin has seen to that. The Russia forward, who eclipsed Nasri as Arsenal’s most expensive buy when he joined for €17 million from Zenit St Petersburg during last winter’s transfer window, has excelled in the attacking role on the left-hand side of Wenger’s 4-3-3 formation. Nasri, when fit, had mainly been used on the left.
Wenger has the further option there of Eduardo da Silva or Carlos Vela while, on the right, he has Tomas Rosicky, Theo Walcott, Nicklas Bendtner or Jack Wilshere. Many of the players can play on both sides. Competition for places burns fiercely.
“It has been difficult,” Nasri said, “and now I need to play because nothing can replace the games. It was the first serious injury that I have had but I am really happy that I had a quick recovery.”
Nasri, who was an unused substitute in the 2-2 Premier League draw at West Ham United on Sunday, made his comeback for the reserve-team last Tuesday. Also in action then was goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski, who had not played since a knee operation in August.
Wenger has said he will start with Fabianski tonight, which is a blow to Manuel Almunia, who, having recovered from illness, has been kept on the bench for the past three matches by Vito Mannone, the club’s third-choice goalkeeper at the start of the season.
For Nasri, the timing of his return has implications at international level. How Nasri would love to prove his fitness before the France squad meets up for the first leg of their World Cup play-off with the Republic of Ireland in Dublin on November 14th.
Venue: Emirates Stadium Kick-off: Tonight, 7.45pm On TV: Sky Sports 1
Guardian Service
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