Will Aquilani make a difference?

[Baracus]

He needs new boots, slipping all over the place at the game.

[el matador]

on one hand his coming into the side will make us even worse defensively.

On the other hand, because we will keep the ball better and pose much more of an attacking threat, we may not be under the cosh so much.

If he can work things out with masher and they can forge a decent partnership then I believe he will will go on to become a great player for us. He will link well with gerrard, torres and the wide men and attacking full backs.

One of xabi's failings (and there werent many) was that he liked to play too deep and as the offensive central midfielder (of the two) he should have been pushing 10 yards further up the pitch. Because he played deeper, we missed someone from the middle pushing penetrating balls into the channels or looking for torres (especially when gerrard was marked tightly).

We need more incisive passing in the final 20 yards of the pitch to create scoring chances and you cant do that when you're 20 yards further down not far from the half way line. Aquilani will benefit not just masher, it will benefit gerrad, torres and glen johnson possible even babel who might like running onto balls, and using his pace instead of having the ball passed into his feet constantly and expecting him to get past players.

He also likes to run at players with the ball from the middle of the pitch and we can have someone who can commit other defenders and then release the ball at the right time, it will open up spaces for other people.

We have added someone who can create lots of assists and provide a genuine goal threat from the middle. I just hope we can keep him fit.

[brightred]

He better be good because if he isn't we're fecked

[Shanks]

May appear against Le Arse.

http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/drill...91027-1319.htm

The 25-year-old will not start at the Emirates but Benitez may utilise him as a substitute at some point.

The boss told Liverpoolfc.tv:

"He will be with us. 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 believes the Italy international, who hasn't featured since signing from Roma in the summer due to an ankle injury, will add a new dimension to his midfield.

"We can see in every training session that he has quality, game intelligence and good movements," said the Spaniard. "He is a different kind of player for us.

"We talk about using Gerrard deeper sometimes, but maybe in Aquilani we have a player who can play there and pass the ball really well in the final third."

[Mike]

Hope he gets half an hour, want to see how he fairs in the english game.

[Shanks]

So the reason for Benitez not starting him, will be down to tactics and pace of the game from the start maybe?

[Exiled_red]

So the reason for Benitez not starting him, will be down to tactics and pace of the game from the start maybe?

Rafa tends to bring all his new signings in relatively slowly, add to this the fact Aquilani has been injured and has only played about 15mins of football it's the best way to go about things

[Elrond]

I'm ****ing excited to see this guy play.

Can't wait for the game !!

[Shaggy]

Arsène Wenger has revealed he kept tabs on Alberto Aquilani for a couple years.

The Italian midfielder, who is expected to make his long-awaited debut at Emirates Stadium this evening, signed for Liverpool in the summer.

The 25-year-old has been sidelined until now because of injury and, ironically, that was the reason the trail went cold for Wenger.

“Yes I know him well,” the Arsenal manager told the Club’s official website. “He played against us in the Champions League last year and came off the bench in Rome. He is a talented player but has been troubled a lot by injuries.

“We followed him for one or two years but he did not play a lot last year so he got a little bit out of sight for us and we lost our interest in him.”

[Joe King]

Yes

[The Erectile Banana]

Certainly an impressive cameo tonight.

Very much looking forward to seeing more of him in a red shirt.

[RedSince1964]

Yes

From the two games he's had ( 10-15 mins), he's showed glimpses of the quality that he has in his locker, personally i think Rafa and his team of experts are doing a fantastic job of easing him back into the more physical type of football he's been used to at Roma and, he will indeed benifit highly from the time he's had to recover from his injury and to prepare for life in the Prem.

He's got a lot to live up to to the departed Alonso but, i think this lad may well have just a little bit more to offer going forward and shooting in his game.

[BigChief]

Well Alonso's settled back to his 'old form' at Real Madrid, which was average. At least we got one good season out of him. Onwards and upwards. Aquilani already looks much better at 60%, can't wait for the rest. Let's hope he's eased in, will need him for years to come.

[RedSince1964]

Well Alonso's settled back to his 'old form' at Real Madrid, which was average. At least we got one good season out of him. Onwards and upwards. Aquilani already looks much better at 60%, can't wait for the rest. Let's hope he's eased in, will need him for years to come.

[Shanks]

Overhead kicks and 30 yard passes.

He seemed to play deep but would find himself in the thick of an attack.

Looking good..