Will Gilberto start?

Tomorrow’s game against Sevilla provides yet another insight into the depth of our squad as Arsene leaves out Clichy, Gallas and Adebayor, adding to the forced absences of Flamini and RVP. I would expect to see Armand Traore come in for his first ever start in the Champion’s League, described by Willy as the finest prospect at the club, it will be interesting to see how the Frenchman equips himself against the impressive Capel. More exciting however will be his potentially explosive bursts forward, one hopes he can replicate the penetration of our senior left back. I’m not gonna talk about Senderos, my views on this player have already been made clear, but it looks like he’ll start in place of Gallas.

Midfield looks like Cesc and straight battle between Diarra and Gilberto. Listening to a podcast of 5live’s excellent world football phone in this morning, I was intrigued to hear Tim Vickery describe Gilberto’s recent performances for Brazil as bad enough to make him feel ‘physically sick’. Vickery is not prone to hyperbole, and is one of the most analytical and intellectually substantial pundits out there, so his views on the ‘invisible shield’ were particularly interesting. Apparently Gilberto's passing was woeful and he repeatedly failed in his ‘water carrying’ duties for a lacklustre Brazilian team, whom he also captains. This suggests Arsene’s decision to leave him out of the first quarter of our Premiership campaign may not simply be due to the form of Flamini. Weekend press reports hinted at renewed Italian interest, with Juventus looking the most likely of suitors, if this is the case it would seem ridiculous to leave out Diarra after his accomplished performance on Saturday. If a fit and willing Gilberto Silva is left out, you'd be a fool to count on his Arsenal career lasting beyond January.

With Eboue and Rosicky occupying the wide berths, it is conceivable that we’ll see Theo and Eduardo start up front. This could prove to be a particularly potent partnership, with the Croazillian’s intelligent running offering an outlet for Walcott’s increasing willingness to come deep, and go wide with the ball at his feet. Alternatively we could see Bentder start the game, with Adebayor’s absence from the squad this hypothesis makes sense: remember, Wenger likes his squad players to replicate the function of his first teamers, and given Bentder’s impact on Saturday one wouldn’t be surprised to see him line up in Spain. Hopefully this won’t see Eduardo played down the left, where against Slavia he seemed uncomfortable.

As the games pile up, and the injuries come thick and fast, you can understand Wenger’s willingness to experiment. Let’s hope we see a better performance than the dirge of Prague.

David Forrest