Bluebirds must be bold to beat Gunners – Blake
CARDIFF CITY can record their first win on their return to the Premier League, says Bluebirds legend Nathan Blake – but they must be bold to beat Arsenal on Sunday.
Neil Warnock’s men welcome the Gunners to Cardiff City Stadium on the back of two goalless draws and a 2-0 defeat at Bournemouth.
But Blake insists Cardiff can record their first league goal and first three points back in the top flight.
In his weekly column for WalesOnline, the former Wales international said: “Arsenal’s strengths are obvious. They have a team of seasoned internationals, including French and English stars on the bench, and they do keep and pass the ball so well.
“But of the top six sides, they are the ones who can be ‘got at’ most, so to speak, and pushed out of their stride.
“Cardiff play a back-to-front game and in the Championship were happy enough to concede possession a lot of the time, but do that against Arsenal and they will simply pick us off.
“What the Bluebirds have to do is stifle that flow of possession, play higher up the park, don’t let the likes of Aaron Ramsey and Granit Xhaka have the time on the ball to dictate play.
“I don’t think Mezut Ozil will play, something tells me something is going on between him and Unai Emery. But if he does he, more than anyone, needs to be shut down as quickly as possible.
“Even if Ozil is 35 yards out on the touchline, he has this capacity for suddenly bending one over the top and the centre-forward – be it Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang or Alexandre Lacazette – is onto it in a flash.
Pressure needs to be put on Ozil straight away.
“It would be easy in this game for Cardiff to sit deep in numbers, try to soak up pressure and eventually score from a set-piece. But it would also be very risky to let Arsenal have so much possession. Be bold... step out, step up and let them have it that way, so to speak.”
Blake believes the game on Sunday could be the ideal opportunity for Gary Madine to finally open his Cardiff goal account, saying the former Bolton frontman has the attributes to trouble the Gunners’ defence.
“The lack of goals is a little bit of a concern, although no more than that for me but clearly it’s an issue that needs to be addressed,” said Blake
“I can’t quite put my finger on why Ken Zohore is not firing yet, but what I do know is that in the Premier League everybody has to play well – and particularly your number nine, who is expected to get the goals.
“I wouldn’t expect Zohore to be prolific, but you’d hope he could maybe get a one in four ratio. But if he’s not scoring, perhaps Neil Warnock will look elsewhere.
“I think Bobby Reid could do a good job up top, but he played there against Bournemouth and some were bemoaning the absence of Zohore and the extra physicality he brings. The point here is that you can’t play Reid as your number nine and continue with back to front football. He’s not built for that, prefers intricate little balls slipped through from a creative midfield which he can run on to.
“If Cardiff are to persist with back to front the majority of the time, then perhaps it’s time to give Madine a go and tell him to absolutely harass Mustafi and Sokratis for 60-70 minutes. He’s got the power and physique to do that.
“Then Zohore could come on for the last quarter, the last thing Arsenal will want. He too can play the physical game, but also has the ability to run in behind, which is something tiring defenders will dread.
“Madine hasn’t scored a goal since his £6m move, I accept that. Not good enough. But I’d counter he hasn’t really been given a run as first-choice, albeit he hasn’t taken any opportunities which have come his way, either.
“Madine to soften up Arsenal’s centre-backs and Zohore to come on and finish them off. I like that.”
“Cardiff can win this one and I’ve just got a sneaky feeling an upset is on the cards. Put it this way, I’ve said we’ll have one surprise from the upcoming games with the big guns of Arsenal, Chelsea, Man City and Spurs.
“I don’t think we’ll get a point from the next three, so this weekend has to be the one.”
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