Wigan Athletic vs Arsenal Last Minute Preview

So, after that inspiring 3-1 victory over Chelsea just two days ago, we're at it again, this time away from home at Wigan. Every Gooner remembers what happened the last time we visited them. We were coasting 2-0 when we conceded 3 goals and thus ended our diminishing title hopes. That performance really hurt and we have to put in another good shift to banish those ghosts once and for all. It won't be easy as we're without El Capitan Cesc Fabregas and rvp, but the rest of the squad should be able to do the job.

Team news:

Wigan Athletic(4-1-4-1): Al Habsi, Stam, Gary Caldwell, Alcaraz, Gohouri, Thomas, Diame, Cleverley, Watson, N’Zogbia, Rodallega

Substitutes: Pollitt, Boselli, Steven Caldwell, Gomez, McArthur, Figueroa, McManaman

Manager: Roberto Martinez

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Formation view:

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                                                Al Habsi

Stam                   Caldwell                              Alcaraz                  Gohouri

                                               Thomas


Cleverley                   Diame                      Watson                       N'Zogbia

                                              Rodallega

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Arsenal (4-2-3-1) Fabianski, Sagna, Squillaci, Koscielny, Eboue, Rosicky, Denilson, Arshavin, Diaby, Chamakh, Bendtner

Substitutes: Szczesny, Nasri, Vela, Walcott, Wilshere, Djourou, Clichy

Manager: Arsene Wenger

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Formation view:

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                                                       Fabianski

Sagna                       Squillaci                                      Koscielny                  Eboue

                                         Diaby                     Denilson

Bendtner                                         Rosicky                                        Arshavin

                                                      Chamakh

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Tactics:

Goalkeeping/Defence: Again, sad to see Johan being rested after his tremendous game against Chelsea in which he really kept Drogba in his pocket. Hope our centre backs can maintain effective communication and Eboue adapts to an unfamiliar left back role.

Midfield: Host of changes in midfield from the one that faced against Chelsea. Rosicky, Diaby and Denilson come in for Cesc, Jack and Song and really the onus is on them to perform well despite being thrown together for probably the first time in the season. Understanding and positioning will be key today. Hope Rosicky has a super game tonight.

Attack: Changes have been made in attack too as Bendtner, Chamakh and Arshavin come in for Nasri, Walcott and van Persie. It remains to be seen how Bendtner and Chamakh operate at the same time. Hope they can create good clear cut chances and take them clinically when opportunity arises.

Subs: I'd bring on Nasri/Walcott, Wilshere and Vela.

Final Prediction:

A scrappy 1-2 win.

Arsenal vs Chelsea Last Minute Preview

Can't afford to drop more points. As simple as that!

And as we face Chelsea today(in an ungodly time of the day), that should be our mantra. Although Chelsea's form has been wobbly recently, they certainly aren't  to be under estimated. And to top this all, i'm running out of time for this preview. So let's get down to business.

Team news:

Arsenal (4-2-3-1): Fabianski, Sagna, Koscielny, Djourou, Clichy, Wilshere, Song, Fabregas, Nasri, Walcott, Van Persie

Substitutes: Szczesny, Diaby, Rosicky, Squillaci, Arshavin, Chamakh, Bendtner

Manager: Arsene Wenger

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Formation view:

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                                                      Fabianski

Sagna                      Koscielny                                       Djourou                   Clichy

                                          Song                  Wilshere
     Nasri                                         Fabregas                                      Walcott

                                                      van Persie

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Chelsea(4-3-3): Cech, Ferreira, Ivanovic, Terry, Cole, Essien, Mikel, Lampard, Kalou, Drogba, Malouda

Substitutes: Turnbull, Ramires, Bosingwa, Van Aanholt, Bruma, Kakuta, McEachran

Manager: Carlo Ancelotti

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Formation view:

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                                                       Cech

Ferreira                       Ivanovic                                Terry                   Cole

       Essien                                      Mikel                               Lampard
                                       
Kalou                                             Drogba                                     Malouda
                                                       
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Tactics:

Goalkeeping/Defence: Containing Drogba will be key again today. So also will be cutting off the supply from the left provided by Malouda and especially Cole. Hope Theo and Song put in a good shift on the right side of the defence. Limiting their chances will be crucial to getting any result today.

Midfield: Hope Cesc can play without any mental barrier affecting him. Song and Wilshere will need to be very disciplined today. The midfield trio needs to be as busy as bees to counter Chelsea's physical strength. Hope we can create ehough clear cut chances and take them too.

Attack: Have to say I really agree with Arsene Wenger's starting line up, especially the front trio as Arshavin and to a lesser extent, Chamakh have been firing blanks for the past few matches. Not to mention the lack of defensive effort from Arshavin(though Chamakh really runs his socks off for us). Hope rvp and Theo can turn it for us tonight. And hope all the extra rest has given him a huge appetite for a big match tonight.

Subs: I'd bring on Chamakh, Diaby and Arshavin/Rosicky.

Final Prediction:

A tight and close 2-1 win for Arsenal.

Manchester United vs Arsenal Last Minute Preview

THIS IS IT!!! THE BIG ONE!!!THE BIGGEST GAME OF THE SEASON(well for me, anyway)!!!

This is one chance to put years of hurt behind us. I absolutely despise Manchester United. I hate their fans, those glory hunters. It would give me the greatest happiness and satisfaction to put them in their place and take away that smirk off their faces. Those scums! Those a***oles!(pardon my language, but I this is the most decent I can behave towards them). It's simple, if you love football and you love Arsenal, you've got to HATE Manchester United. It's just like if you love your mom, you've gotta hate the c**t who just insulted her.

Then again, this is a game we need not go all out to win. We are leading the table, and I know they have played one game less, but the onus is on them to attack. Which doesn't mean we should just sit back and defend - it would be a nightmare if it happened - but rather, we need not throw caution away to the winds in pursuit of a goal. Playing sensibly will do us a load of good today.

The historical aspect of this game can never be signified enough. Too many times recently, we have come close only to be left disappointed at the end. I hope we can avoid this today.

And now for some SHOCKING team news. Szczesny starts in goal for us today! So, those rumours about Fabianski being injured and not completely fit were true after all. Wow, big day for the young lad. Hope he does well tonight.

Also, Djourou doesn't make it tonight, which, to be very frank, is a little disappointing because he was superb when he came on as a sub against Fulham in the last league game. Rest of the team is as usual, and I hope Cesc can make an appearance.

Team news:

Manchester United(4-3-3): Van Der Sar, Rafael, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, Carrick, Fletcher, Anderson, Nani, Park, Rooney

Substitutes: Kuszczak, Brown, Berbatov, Giggs, Smalling, Hernandez, Obertan

Manager: Alex Ferguson

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Formation view:

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                                                van der Saar

Rafael                   Ferdinand                              Vidic                  Evra

    Fletcher                                  Carrick                               Anderson

Nani                                           Rooney                                   Park

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Arsenal (4-2-3-1) Szczesny, Sagna, Squillaci, Koscielny, Clichy, Rosicky, Nasri, Song, Wilshere, Arshavin, Chamakh

Substitutes: Fabianski, Fabregas, Van Persie, Walcott, Denilson, Djourou, Bendtner

Manager: Arsene Wenger

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Formation view:

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                                                       Szczesny

Sagna                       Squillaci                                      Koscielny                   Clichy

                                          Song                     Wilshere

     Nasri                                         Rosicky                                        Arshavin

                                                      Chamakh

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Tactics:

Goalkeeping/Defence: Once again, big night for the young Pole Szczesny. He will have to be alert in all set pieces. Containing Nani will be key today, and Clichy has that responsibility. Hope the centre backs can communicate more effectively today. The important thing is to cut our basic mistakes and not giving them easy chances.

Midfield: As usual, Man United have packed their midfield with hard tacklers for playing against us. But I feel we have been stronger this season than in the previous ones in matching the physicality of other teams. Song should stay back as much as possible today. Hope Wilshere can also play to his strengths. Rosicky should put in a hard shift tonight.

Attack: Hope Nasri continues his scintillating form and shuts up Evra for good. Arshavin is due a big performance after the disappointment in midweek. Chamakh needs to fire today.

Subs: I'd bring on Walcott, van Persie and Fabregas.(maybe Denilson if we need to hold on to a lead)

Final Prediction:

A very tense tight 1-1.

Arsenal vs Fulham Last Minute Preview

It's another dreaded home game today! I wonder which other team in the world would say that!

After losing three of our home games, which were supposed to be in the bag, our confidence in playing at home hasn't been at the highest. Even then, we managed to eke out a good away win against Aston Villa last week. Also, we reached the semi finals of the Carling Cup by beating Wigan(at home!!) 2-0 in midweek. With Manchester United also getting knocked out on the same day, it looks like we might finally end our 5 year trophy drought. But that's a discussion for another day.

And so, we welcome Fulham today. Their sick manager Mark Hughes refused to let Mark Schwarzer join us in the summer and I'm sure the goalie's gonna have the game of his life today against us. I just hope we can somehow find the back of the net though. And if our midfield can fire the way it did against Aston Villa last week, we can create a hatful of good chances and we need to take them as and when they come. Fulham will look to play on the counter and we need to be intelligent(in picking up runs from Dempsey) and track back when we lose the ball.

Arsene Wenger has said it's time for us to take off as the title race has begun. So we can't afford any more dropped points. A good win and depending on Chelsea's result(and I hope they lose!) we might even top the table again.



Team news:

Arsenal (4-2-3-1): Fabianski, Sagna, Koscielny, Squillaci, Clichy, Song, Rosicky, Nasri, Wilshere, Arshavin, Chamakh
Substitutes: Szczesny, Gibbs, Djourou, Denilson, Walcott, Bendtner, van Persie

Manager: Arsene Wenger

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Formation view:

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                                                      Fabianski

Sagna                      Koscielny                                       Squillaci                   Clichy

                                          Song                  Wilshere
     Nasri                                         Rosicky                                       Arshavin

                                                      Chamakh

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Fulham(4-4-2): Schwarzer, Pantsil, Hangeland, Hughes, Briggs, Davies, Murphy, Etuhu, Dempsey, Gera, Kamara

Substitutes: Stockdale, Kelly, Baird, Andrew Johnson, Duff, Eddie Johnson, Greening

Manager: Mark Hughes

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Formation view:

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                                                      Schwarzer

Pantsil                        Hangeland                                Hughes                    Briggs

Davies                        Murphy                                     Etuhu                   Dempsey
                                         
                                        Gera                            Kamara
                                                       
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Tactics:

Goalkeeping/Defence: We conceded two soft goals to Aston Villa last week and our defending needs to improve. We lacked a sense of calmness when defending against Villa. Fulham will look to bombard long balls into the box and Fabianski and the defence will be tested today. It will be crucial to mark Hangeland from set pieces. Also, the dynamic Dempsey has been in good form lately and we need to mark him tightly. Hope the defence makes no mistakes and comes out on top.

Midfield: With Cesc still sidelined, it will be up to Rosicky to put in a performance like he did last week. Jack and Song should track back immediately when we lose possession. Apart from that, I think we will dominate the midfield again.

Attack: Hope the front trio of Arshavin, Nasri and Chamakh keep on performing well. Fulham will try not to provide us any leeway and so we need to be efficient and score goals whenever we can.

Subs: I'd bring on Walcott, van Persie and Denilson.

Final Prediction:

A nervy 2-1 win for Arsenal.

P.S. It hasn't been so "Last Minute Preview" today. The reason is that I've got my exam coming up tomorrow and I'm on a tight schedule. Hoping for the best!!!

Aston Villa vs Arsenal Last Minute Preview

After depressing losses against Spurs and Braga in the past week, it's time for Arsenal to set things right. We lost Cesc and Eboue in the midweek game against Braga but the rest of the squad is okay, though we're missing Vermaelen a bit.

We also might come up against Robert Pires who has recently joined the Villains on a free signing. Though Aston Villa have even bigger injury problems than us right now, the Arsenal players MUST ensure we do not take them lightly, not even if we take a 2 goal lead at halftime. Determination and creativity must work hand in hand. If we can do that, we can even top the table despite all the gloom and doom, even if for a short while.

Team news:

Aston Villa(4-4-1-1): Friedel, Young, Dunne, Collins, Warnock, Pires, Bannan, Clark, Downing, Young, Carew

Substitutes: Ireland, Delfouneso, Guzan, Beye, Hogg, Lichaj, Herd

Manager: Gerard Houllier

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Formation view:

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                                                  Friedel

L. Young                   Dunne                              Collins                  Warnock

Downing                Clark                              Bannan                  Pires
                                                  A. Young

                                                   Carew

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Arsenal (4-2-3-1) Fabianski, Sagna, Squillaci, Koscielny, Clichy, Rosicky, Nasri, Song, Wilshere, Arshavin, Chamakh

Substitutes: Szezesny, Djourou, Gibbs, Van Persie, Walcott, Denilson, Bendtner

Manager: Arsene Wenger

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Formation view:

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                                                       Fabianski

Sagna                       Koscielny                                       Squillaci                   Clichy

                                          Song                     Wilshere

     Nasri                                         Rosicky                                        Arshavin

                                                      Chamakh

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Tactics:

Goalkeeping/Defence: Aston Villa will look to reach their target man Carew from long balls and set pieces. The centre backs should mark him tightly. Stewart Downing has been scoring important goals and his runs should be checked properly.

Midfield: Our midfield should dominate today. Its the intelligence we have lacked in the recent defeats. When to attack, when to defend, when to increase the tempo. We have lacked that spark in all the games we lost. Hope Nasri and Arshavin can fire today.

Attack: Hope my "wish" is granted again today and Chamakh does not dither from taking his chances.

Subs: I'd bring on Walcott, van Persie and Denilson

Final Prediction:

Looks like we might grind out a 1-2 win today.

Arsenal vs Tottenham Last Minute Preview

It's the big one today, well for most fans. But the fact is, after Chelsea dropped points unexpectedly last week, we really need to capitalize on it and win today. Anything less than that should be a disappointment.

Though Spurs beat us in the last League match(after a decade), it was a much weak Arsenal side on show. But Spurs have since qualified for the Champions League for the first time and have good players in Bale and van der Vaart. Gallas makes his return to the Emirates after joining them in the summer for free and he will not receive the warmest of welcomes from the fans and some of the players.

Team news:

Arsenal (4-2-3-1): Fabianski, Sagna, Koscielny, Squillaci, Clichy, Nasri, Fabregas, Song, Denilson, Arshavin, Chamakh
Substitutes:  Szczesny, Djourou, Eboue, Walcott, Wilshere, Rosicky, van Persie

Manager: Arsene Wenger

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Formation view:

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                                                       Fabiansky

Sagna                      Koscielny                                       Squillaci                   Clichy

                                          Song                   Denilson
     Nasri                                         Fabregas                                       Arshavin

                                                      Chamakh

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Tottenham(4-4-1-1): Gomes, Hutton, Gallas, Kaboul, Assou-Ekotto, Bale, van der Vaart, Modric, Jenas, Lennon, Pavlyuchenko

Substitutes: Cudicini, Bassong, Corluka, Bentley, Palacios, Crouch, Defoe

Manager: Harry Redknapp

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Formation view:

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                                                         Gomes

Hutton                         Gallas                                  Kaboul                   Assou-Ekotto

Lennon                         Jenas                                   Modric                          Bale
                                           
                                                        van der Vaart
                                                        Pavlyuchenko
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Tactics:

Goalkeeping/Defence: We need to be aware of van der Vaart's presence in the box as he has shown he can feed off the scraps of the strikers pretty well. One of the centre backs should keep an eye on him whenever he comes in the box. We also should deal with the crosses(filled with quality and quantity) from Gareth Bale. Bakary Sagna, who has been one of the most reliable of our defenders, has a game on his hands. Other than that, we should be okay if we perform properly from set pieces.

Midfield: Denilson is in for Wilshere and I think he has been included to mark out van der Vaart in midfield. Hope Cesc is back to his best and Song keeps up his good form.

Attack: Arshavin really needs a goal and though he has been giving the assists, a goal or two would be great today. Nasri has been exceptional and he will be needed to put in another tireless shift today and stop Bale by doubling up on him. Hope Chamakh finds the back of the net today.

Subs: Ideally, I'd bring on Walcott, van Persie and Rosicky.

Final Prediction:

A 2-1 win for Arsenal.

Everton vs Arsenal Last Minute Preview

After a grinding win against Wolves in the midweek, Arsenal are again away from home. This time, we face a determined and hard working Everton side who have as usual, started the season slowly. Last time out we whipped them 6-1 but I don't see that happening again. 

Everton will on the whole, provide us a more all round attacking threat: from open play and from set pieces, from clever passing to long crosses and we really need to be sharp and decisive in defending today.

Everton(4-4-1-1): Howard, Neville, Jagielka, Distin, Baines, Coleman, Arteta, Heitinga, Pienaar, Cahill, Saha

Substitutes: Mucha, Hibbert, Bilyaletdinov, Beckford, Gueye, Yakubu, Rodwell

Manager: David Moyes

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Formation view:

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                                                  Howard

Neville                   Jagielka                              Distin                  Baines

Coleman                Arteta                              Heitinga                 Pienaar
                                                  Cahill

                                                   Saha

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Arsenal (4-2-3-1) Fabianski, Sagna, Squillaci, Djourou, Clichy, Arshavin, Fabregas, Nasri, Wilshere, Song, Chamakh

Substitutes: Szczesny, Rosicky, van Persie, Walcott, Denilson, Eboue, Gibbs

Manager: Arsene Wenger

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Formation view:

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                                                             Fabiansky

Sagna                       Djourou                                       Squillaci                   Clichy

                                          Song                     Wilshere

     Nasri                                       Fabregas                                        Arshavin

                                                         Chamakh

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Tactics:

Goalkeeping/Defence: Again, we need to tackle set pieces properly. Tim Cahill is almost as dangerous as Chamakh in the air and we'd do well to keep him in check. We also need to track the midfield runs from Pienaar and chaeck the creativity and free kicks of Arteta. Hope our defence performs solidly again.

Midfield: Nasri is back in the starting line up in place of Rosicky. Our midfield needs to really tick for this game as Everton can punish our mistakes. Hope Cesc is back to his best form.

Attack: Hope Chamakh gets good service today for his headers. Hope Arshavin fires again today, with some end product. Nasri should look to build on his sparkling form.

Subs: Ideally, I'd bring on Walcott, van Persie and Denilson

Final Prediction:

A tight 1-1 draw.(Might also sneak away with a 1-2 win)

Wish Granted...Signs of a comeback

Finally, I had my wish granted yesterday when Alex Song crossed into the Wolves penalty area and Marouane Chamakh was there to "use his head" and head home. My only grudge was that the goal came so early (after just 40 seconds) that I couldn't load my crappy stream fast enough to see it live. Anyway, a headed goal is a headed goal IS A HEADED GOAL and so I am really happy that at last we were able to use one of Chamakh's best attributes.

Coming to the match, it was indeed great to take the lead so early for once. Too many times we struggle to find the opening goal and that gives the opposing players hope as they wait for us to attack, sit back and defend and hit us on the break from probably the only chance they'll muster in the match. If we can get the opening goal early, it will force all those teams like West Ham and Newcastle United, who just "park the train", to attack and we can get valuable space to exploit.

Fabregas was not in an aesthetic mood yesterday and he showed his physical side of the game. I have no complaints in a match like yesterday but I think he needs to calm down a bit sometimes; he's El Capitan after all.

The other Fab, Lukasz Fabiansky was just fabulous and I hope he continues his good form. He made some outstanding saves last night and he truly deserved the gratitude his teammates showed to him after the match.

Tougher times are coming up with a trip to Everton and welcoming Tottenham at home a week after but I don't think they'll sit back as much as West Ham and Newcastle did. As Arsene Wenger has said, the opening goal will be crucial in these games. Hope our rivals drop points here and there and we can catch up with Chelsea.

That's it for now. Have a great day!

Wolves vs Arsenal Last Minute Preview

After a poor showing at home to Newcastle, Arsenal are looking to bounce back. We lacked fluidity and didn't really trouble the Magpies' goalkeeper at all. This really has to change if we are to get good value from games.

It's damage limitation time and although Chelsea also lost on Sunday, it would have been nice to get 3 points and put pressure on them. Hope we can turn up better against Wolves today.


Wolves(4-5-5): Hahnemann, Foley, Stearman, Berra, Ward, Mancienne, Jarvis, Milijas, Henry, Edwards, Doyle

Substitutes:  Hennessey, Van Damme, Mouyokolo, Elokobi, Hunt, Ebanks-Blake, Fletcher


Manager: Mick McCarthy

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Formation view:

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                                                  Hahnemann

Foley                   Stearman                              Berra                  Ward

Edwards              Mancienne             Henry                 Milijas           Jarvis

                                                  Doyle  
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Arsenal (4-2-3-1) Fabianski, Sagna, Squillaci, Djourou, Clichy, Arshavin, Fabregas, Rosicky, Wilshere, Song, Chamakh

Substitutes: Szczesny, Eboue, Walcott, Denilson, Nasri, Bendtner, van Persie

Manager: Arsene Wenger

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Formation view:

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                                                             Fabiansky

Sagna                       Djourou                                       Squillaci                   Clichy

                                          Song                     Wilshere

     Rosicky                                       Fabregas                                        Arshavin

                                                         Chamakh

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Tactics:

Goalkeeping/Defence: We need to tackle set pieces properly. Fabiansky made a mistake and we ended up conceding the only goal in the match against the Barcodes from a free kick. Sagna should look to bomb forward as much as possible. Hope Clichy does not produce any "Clichy" moment.

Midfield: Hope Cesc is fit properly and fires on all cylinders. We all saw the effects of an unfit Fabregas in the last game. Also, discipline will be the key between Song and Wilshere's midfield partnership.

Attack: Chamakh hasn't had much service in the last couple of games. Shame we keep wasting his heading ability. Hope Arshavin brings his A game today. Rosicky gets a well deserved start in a league match after a long time.

Subs: Ideally, I'd bring on Walcott, van Persie and Nasri/Denilson

Final Prediction:

A tight 1-2 win.

Arsenal vs Newcastle United Preview

Well, Dammit! I've missed the first half. And we're down 0-1. Here's the team news:


Arsenal (4-2-3-1) Fabianski, Sagna, Squillaci, Koscielny, Clichy, Song, Wilshere, Nasri, Walcott, Fabregas, Chamakh
Substitutes:  Szczesny, Djourou, Eboue, Rosicky, Arshavin, van Persie, Bendtner

Manager: Arsene Wenger

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Formation view:

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                                                       Fabiansky

Sagna                      Koscielny                                       Squillaci                   Clichy

                                          Song                    Wilshere
     Nasri                                         Fabregas                                       Arshavin

                                                      Chamakh

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Newcastle United(4-5-1): Krul, Simpson, Williamson, Coloccini, Enrique, Barton, Nolan, Tiote, Gutierrez, Ameobi, Carroll

Substitutes: Soderberg, Campbell, Taylor, Routledge, Smith, Lovenkrands, Ranger

Manager: Chris Hughton

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Formation view:

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                                                         Krul

Simpson                    Collocini                                   Williamson                    Sanchez

Barton                        Tiote                                     Nolan                            Gutierrez

                                    Carroll                                Ameobi
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Tactics:

Subs: My choice is Rosicky, Bendtner and van Persie

Final Prediction:

A 2-1 win for Arsenal.

Arsenal vs West Ham United Last Minute Preview

After a good performance by a second string team in the midweek, thrashing Newcastle 4-0 in the Carling Cup thus advancing to the quarter finals, you can bet confidence is on a sky high. West Ham are bottom of the table and haven't been particularly impressive defensively. But we need to focus and not take it easily - we certainly don't want to see a West Brom Part 2.

And that's why the first goal is important for us. If we can knock one in early, and if we don't sleep after that, I've a feeling we can really open the floodgates and give them a hammering(no pun intended). The longer we don't score. the more pressure we'll face and so we need, as always, to be clinical.

Wilshere is serving his last of the 3 match ban today and Diaby is absent while Gibbs has picked up another injury which will sideline him for some 2-4 weeks. Rest of the squad is more or less the same.


Team line ups:

Arsenal (4-2-3-1) Fabiansky, Sagna, Squillaci, Koscielny, Clichy, Song, Denilson, Fabregas, Nasri, Arshavin, Chamakh

Substitutes:  Szczesny, Eboue, Djourou, Walcott, Rosicky, Vela, Bendtner

Manager: Arsene Wenger

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Formation view:

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                                                       Fabiansky

Sagna                      Koscielny                                       Squillaci                   Clichy

                                          Song                    Denilson

     Nasri                                         Fabregas                                       Arshavin

                                                      Chamakh

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West Ham United(4-5-1): Green, Jacobsen, da Costa, Gabbidon, Ilunga, Parker, Behrami, Noble, Boa Morte, Obinna, Piquionne

Substitutes: Stech, Reid, Tomkins, Cole, Barrera, Kovac, Faubert

Manager: Avram Grant

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Formation view:

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                                                         Green

Jacobsen                     da Costa                                   Gabbidon                    Ilunga

Behrami                Noble                  Parker              Boa Morte                  Obinna

                                                         Piquionne
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Tactics:

Goalkeeping: With a great performance by Szczesny in the Carling Cup, Fabiansky will do good to avoid any mistakes. Saying that, Fabiansky was in excellent form against Man City and hope he can perform as confidently again.

Defence: With two clean sheets in a row, there's no reason we shouldn't look for a hattrick. Koscielny is back and after his solid display in the Cup win, our defence looks good. Stopping Piquionne should contain most of the Hammer's threat.

Midfield:After excellent performances against Man City and against Newcastle, our midfield will look to keep ticking and tear the West Ham defence apart.

Attack: Chamakh's home form(in terms of goals scored) is great, hope he can maintain it. Nasri is also in the form of his life and Arshavin should be wary of him and Theo - another in form player, who's in the bench. Hope he can produce some magic today.

Subs: My choice is Rosicky, Bendtner/Vela and Walcott.

Final Prediction:

A 4-0 win for Arsenal.