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.

Manchester City vs Arsenal Last Minute Preview

It's time for revenge. It's time to show who is better. Its gonna be a clash of football principles today, in terms of financial approach and tactical approach. It's stingy Scrooge vs the spendthrift Sheikhs. It's beautiful football vs physical football. Though both sides played out a dull 0-0 draw the last time they met, an exciting game beckons tonight.

And I;m really excited and up for it. With good reason too. El Capitan is back and with him, our line up looks strong. Wilshere will be missed but I'm sure Denilson will be up to the task. Diaby is a surprise absentee, he's not even in the bench. Rest of the line up is as expected, with Sagna returning.


Manchester City(4-3-3): Hart, Richards, Boyata, Kompany, Boateng, De Jong, Toure, Barry, Milner, Silva, Tevez

Substitutes:  Given, Bridge, Adebayor, Adam Johnson, Lescott, Vieira, Balotelli


Manager: Roberto Mancini

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Formation view:

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                                                       Hart

Richards                    Kompany                               Boyata                   Boateng

              De Jong                            Yaya Toure                             Barry

    Milner                                      Tevez                                  Silva
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Arsenal (4-2-3-1) Fabianski, Sagna, Djourou, Squillaci, Clichy, Song, Denilson, Fabregas, Nasri, Arshavin, Chamakh

Substitutes: Szczesny, Koscielny, Rosicky, Gibbs,  Eboue, Walcott, Bendtner

Manager: Arsene Wenger

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Formation view:

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                                                             Fabiansky

Sagna                       Djourou                                       Squillaci                   Clichy

                                          Song                      Denilson

     Nasri                                       Fabregas                                        Arshavin

                                                         Chamakh

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Tactics:

Goalkeeping: Hope Flappy is up to the task today. City players have good height and they may pose a threat from corners and free kicks. Flappy should also be wary of long shots from Tevez and Toure.

Defence: A big task for Djourou and Squillaci to mark the ever energetic Tevez. City really rely on him for goals and if we can keep him quiet, the job will be half done. Sagna and Clichy should also check the runs of Silva and Milner.

Midfield: It will get physical out in the middle. Hope we can stay away from nasty challenges. Apart from that, passing needs to be precise(which will hopefully be, as Cesc and Denilson can do that very well).

Attack: I say this almost every time but we need to make use of Chamakh's aerial ability more. Hope Arshavin fires on all cylinders today and Nasri keeps up his good work. For this, introducing Rosicky(who has been our best crosser so far) will be key.

Subs: Ideally, I'd bring on Rosicky, Walcott and Gibbs/Eboue.

Final Prediction:

A tight 1-1 draw.(Have a feeling it can also be a 0-1 or a 1-2 win for us Gunners!)

A Hero Returns

What a night for us gunners!

An 5-1 thrashing of Ukrainian giants, who were expected to be our closest rivals was very much unexpected. I'll put this down to our clinical finishing in front of goal, as at one time the stats read Shots on goal: 6, Goals scored: 5. It was wonderful to see Song, Samir, Cesc, Jack Wilshere and Chamakh find the back of the net with aplomb. It makes me think if only we could be as clinical as last night, we'd be dispatching whoever we play against.

It was a truly emotional return for Eduardo at the Emirates. I absolutely loved the reception given to him by our fans. This was a chance to convey our heartfelt feelings and give Dudu a proper farewell. And the way we gave him a standing ovation when he scored against us was simply awesome. Never have I seen an away goal celebrated as much as last night. Dudu kept his promise and he was the only one in the stadium that did not celebrate the wonderful goal.

On the business side, we're on top of our group and we should be able to hold on to it come the end of the group stages. And with qualification virtually assured, it would be nice to rest our key players for the Premier League games and give the reserves a chance. I reckon Vela, Denilson, Bendtner, Lansbury and Gibbs could be used for the remaining matches.

This performance also augurs well for us in the light of the big clash against 'Rich Boys' Manchester City at the weekend. If we play as well as we did today, we can revenge our loss in the previous season. Hope Koscielny gets fit by then(even though he might not start) as Squillaci and Djourou might have trouble containing Tevez, who along with Adam Johnson are the danger men for us. They have a very physical midfield also, but I'll leave this for the match preview.



Till then, take care!

We will always remember you Eduardo!

Arsenal vs Birmingham Last Minute Preview

Here we go again after the most exasperating of interlulls. Cesc, van Persie and Vermaeleen are not yet fit enough and Koscielny and Sagna have joined the injury list. However Bendtner, Gibbs and Walcott make a welcome return.

Birmingham won't make it easy for us, but its important for us to start well and knock in a couple of goals as early as possible.


Team line ups:

Arsenal (4-2-3-1) Fabiansky, Eboue, Squillaci, Djourou, Clichy, Song, Diaby, Wilshere, Nasri, Arshavin, Chamakh

Substitutes:  Szczesny, Gibbs, Denilson, Walcott, Rosicky, Vela, Bendtner

Manager: Arsene Wenger

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Formation view:

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                                                       Fabiansky

Eboue                       Djourou                                       Squillaci                   Clichy

                                          Song                     Wilshere

     Nasri                                         Diaby                                       Arshavin

                                                      Chamakh

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Birmingham(4-5-1): Foster, Carr, Johnson, Dann, Ridgewell, Hleb, Fahey, Bowyer, Ferguson, Larsson, Zigic

Substitutes: Taylor, Jiranek, Murphy, Michel, O’Connor, Derbyshire, Phillips

Manager: Alex Mc Leish

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Formation view:

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                                                         Foster

Carr                     Johnson                                   Dann                    Ridgewell

Larsson              Ferguson               Bowyer                    Fahey                    Hleb

                                                         Zigic
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Tactics:

Goalkeeping: Hope Flappy does not make a mistake today.

Defence: Defence needs to tighten up a bit after conceding 5 goals in our last two league games. They need to be alert during set pieces and when facing a counter attack. Controlling Zigic will be vital today.

Midfield: If our midfield can perform as industriously against Chelsea, we can come out top. Song has to maintain his discipline and overall we must not give balls away cheaply and in dangerous positions. Nasri was in fine form for France and I hope he gets in the scoresheet today.

Attack: Chamakh should look to continue his good home form. We should to create more chances for him through good crosses, and introducing Rosicky might not be a bad idea later on.

Subs: I'd bring on Rosicky, Bendtner and Denilson.

Final Prediction:

A 2-1 win for Arsenal.

Chelsea vs Arsenal Last Minute Preview

Here we go!!! It's another derby today, and quite a BIG ONE at that. We visit Stamford Bridge to face table toppers Chelsea today. I'm cracking up with excitement.

So, here's the team news:



Chelsea(4-3-3): Cech, Ivanovic, Alex, Terry, Cole, Mikel, Essien, Ramires, Malouda, Anelka, Drogba

Substitutes:  Turnbull, Zhirkov, Ferreira, Sturridge, Van Aanholt, Kakuta, McEachran


Manager: Carlo Ancelotti

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Formation view:

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                                                    Cech

Ivanovic                    Alex                                Terry                     Cole

              Essien                             Mikel                              Ramires

    Anelka                                      Drogba                                   Malouda
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Arsenal (4-2-3-1) Fabianski, Sagna, Koscielny, Squillaci, Clichy, Song, Diaby, Wilshere, Nasri, Arshavin, Chamakh

Substitutes: Szczesny, Rosicky, Vela, Denilson, Djourou, Eboue, Emmanuel-Thomas

Manager: Arsene Wenger

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Formation view:

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                                                             Fabiansky

Sagna                        Koscielny                                       Squillaci                   Clichy

                                          Song                      Diaby

     Nasri                                       Wilshere                                        Arshavin

                                                         Chamakh

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Tactics:

Goalkeeping: Believe it or not, Fabianski actually had a good game in midweek. It would be great if he can keep that up. Fingers crossed!

Defence: This will be the toughest test so far for Squillaci and Koscielny. We need to cut out all kinds of mistakes today if we're gonna be in this with a chance. Drogba, Malouda and Anelka should be marked very very carefully today.

Midfield: In the absence of captain Fabregas, the bulk of the creativity falls upon young Jack Wilshere. Hope he comes good today. This is a test of character for him. Also, Song and Diaby need to back up the defence whenever they can, and Alex needs to stay at the back full-time at least today.

Attack: We should look for crosses in the box for Chamakh to get us chances.

Subs: Ideally, I'd bring on Rosicky, Denilson and Eboue.

Final Prediction:

I'd rather not predict today!!!