Aston Villa (H)

Many journalists went with stories along the lines of: "it goes from bad to worse" following our humbling by German Champions-elect Bayern Munich on Tuesday night. The home leg was our only hope and we now go to Munich needing to score at least 3. Near on impossible. However I don't think its quite as critical as its being made out to be. It was simply a case of us being outclassed by the best team in Europe. I mentioned before they had four stars above their badge, after this season it could well be five.

With any glimmer of hope we had of getting through to the quarter-finals gone, we now have to make sure we get back there next season and that starts with Aston Villa at home this weekend. It's a big game for both teams, with them 1 point above the relegation zone and us 4 points behind the yids. A team fighting relegation are always dangerous and it could well be another potential banana skin. However we need to respond to the disappointment of Tuesday and in the league we really can't afford anymore slip ups.

The news out of Arsenal this morning is no good defensively as it seem Bacary Sagna has a knee injury and will definitely miss this game, so it seems Jenkinson will be stepping in. On the plus side Monreal will return to the left after Vermaelen acted as a make shift left back on Tuesday. The Spaniard seems to be holding his own in the league at the moment, he's a proper no nonsense defender which is what we need. So I imagine the team will be something like: SZCZ, Jenkinson, Mertesacker, Vermaelen, Monreal, Wilshere, Arteta, Cazorla, Walcott, Podolski, Giroud.

Aston VIlla haven't played some bad football this season they just don't get the job done and this season that's cost them dearly. Obviously their danger men are top scorer Christian Benteke who given half a chance will find the back of the net. Along with him Wiemann can also find the net. Apart from that there is the out of sorts N'Zogbia and then Agbonlahor who I expect will be benched. Villa's problem is clearly defensive though as they have the worst goal difference in the league, much of that could be down to the raft of injured defenders they have at the moment but that makes it better for us. It's a game where we really need to win and could easily unload on them.

Ahead of the huge 6 pointer at Shite Hart Lane next weekend and then another tricky game against Everton, 3 points this weekend is vital. COYG!

Prediction: Arsenal 2-1 Villa

Bayern Munich (H)

Well that's our season over for another year. It was a poor performance all round from a team that should have comfortably beat Blackburn. The manager made a number of changes to rest players for tomorrows match and it backfired. Blackburn got a goal and sat back an absorbed what we threw at them. The team turned up and expected to win and in football that's never how it happens. The most frustrating part about all of it, is that we've been here so many times before and the squad just don't seem to learn their lessons. 

Tomorrow we take on arguably the second best team in the world. Bayern Munich are a powerhouse of European football and the four stars above their crest is largely the reason why. The players should look forward to this chance, the big European nights are what every player in every team wants. It's what we earned the right to play in when we finished 3rd last season. We go into the match as huge underdogs, but special nights in Europe sometimes favour the underdog. We'll need to be on top form if we are to even keep this match alive for the second leg. A win is really imperative.

According to Wenger we have one injury concern ahead of the game tomorrow and that is whether Koscielny will be fit, but considering he didn't train today I think that's unlikely. This leaves our already shaky looking back four, looking even worse. It leaves us with a problem at either left back or centre back, depending on where Vermaelen is deployed. I have a feeling he'll be in the middle and we may put Coquelin on the left to try and deal with the pace and power of one Arjen Robben. So my guess is that the team will be something along the lines of: SZCZ, Sagna, Mertesacker, Vermaelen, Coquelin, Arteta, Wilshere, Cazorla, Walcott, Podolski, Giroud.

In terms of quality in the Munich line the list is virtually endless. Robben, Ribery, Schweinsteiger, Gomez but to name a few. However the main man at the moment for them is one Mandžukić who has been in bang in form. Their back line has conceded a whopping 7 (seven) league goals all season. Unbeaten in 13 league games. The stats don't bode well for us but we've overcome the odds before.

Tomorrow's match is a huge game for us as a club. In some ways a win would perhaps give the team some belief for the rest of the season. However the wrong result might just show us how bigger a gap there is between us and the top teams of Europe. That said I'm feeling optimistic.

Prediction: Arsenal 2-2 Bayern Munich

Blackburn (H)

So after two tough, well earned wins in the league, we return to FA cup action. Now there is no doubt that this cup represents our best chance of any silverware this season but Wenger has made it clear that it is not his priority. So with that in mind I think we might see a fair bit of rotation from the team that took on Sunderland.

It looks as if Koscielny will still be out of action this weekend. Wilshere has more of a chance but that kick he took to his thigh may see him miss out yet again. I can't really see Wilshere participating against Blackburn bearing in mind we have Bayern Munich mid week. It's more positive on the Vermaelen front he seems to be more likely to take part and should be in the squad. I expect we'll start with something like: SZCZ, Sagna, Mertesacker, Vermaelen, Monreal, Ramsey, Diaby, Rosicky, Alex OC, Gervinho, Giroud.

I'm not going to lie I don't know much about the Blackburn squad. The obvious threats are Jordan Rhodes and David Goodwillie but I'm sure the side contain others. Kazim-Richards I'm sure can still give defences problems and there's no doubt this team will no roll over. That said they're a division below us and I fully expect us to beat them, but the team will have to earn the victory. Should Rosicky start I think we'll have plenty of strength going forward. He drives the team forward and takes players with him. He's a player I really like and when he gets firing, he scores and gets assists.

If Wenger does name a team similar to the one I named up there then it will present some players with chances to impress. Gervinho has just returned from the ACoN and he will have to go out and try to prove that he has got what it takes to compete for a place in this team.

This is a game that I think we should win. But as always with Arsenal we like to make things hard for ourselves and of course these gambles with the team in the past have failed. A win would give us some real momentum going into the Munich game midweek. COYG!

Prediction: Arsenal 3-1 Blackburn

Sunderland (A)

As the game drew on I had that feeling that we would be staring down the barrel of another disappointing result. But then in the 78th minute Lukas Podolski's deflected shot found the bottom right hand corner. After a bizarre ruled out and ruled back in incident and rather amusing moment between us and the Stoke fans we had our goal and held on until the end. In all honesty Stoke turned up happy to try and absorb all the pressure and nick a point, but we always looked like scoring. Let's hope we can have a repeat performance against Sunderland this weekend.

Sunderland have been in a real hit and miss side this season. Beating City one week then losing to Reading the next. Let's hope we catch them on the off day when we travel up north on Saturday. Now we know Sunderland are a physical side much like Stoke and we know it'll be a tough game. Fletcher is their main target man having scored nearly double the amount of goals as their next highest scorer. We also have Danny Graham to contend with having signed for them in the window.

Vermaelen is still a doubt after failing to shake off an injury picked up before last weekends game. If he's still out Koscielny will step in again. Wenger will have a choice to make between keeping Diaby and Oxlade-Chamberlain in or returning to Podolski and Cazorla. I thought we looked more dangerous with the German and Spaniard in the team, however both, Cazorla especially needed a rest. I think Wenger will throw them back in this weekend. So: SZCZ(who might actually have a save to make this week), Sagna, Mertesacker, Koscileny, Monreal, Arteta, Wilshere, Cazorla, Walcott, Podolski, Giroud would be my guess at the team.

I thought Monreal overall was fairly solid against Stoke, he can certainly pick out a ball and he can certainly hold his own physically. He has a few wobbles but I'll put that down to nerves more than anything. It was great to see another Spaniard in the team in the form of Mikel Arteta, whose experience is desperately needed in the team. We're no doubt better off with him in the team so I'm glad to see him back.  

It'll be a tough trip to Sunderland but let's hope we can grab another 3 points in the fight for the top 4. COYG!

Prediction: Sunderland 1-2 Arsenal

Stoke City (H)

So a point against the scousers, an injury to Gibbs and a left back from Malaga. That pretty much sums up our week. Our defensive frailties once again cost us 3 points with both of Liverpools goals resulting from shambolic defending. That said we again showed fight to pull 2 back and Giroud had a golden chance to secure the points with minutes to go. Now don't get me wrong, he definitely should have scored, like he definitely should have scored against Chelsea, but he's netted 14 times for us this season and you really can't sniff at that.

For a long, long time it looked as if we weren't going to make a signing and then when it finally came, it was somewhat underwhelming. Despite Gibbs' injury I wouldn't have had a left back at the top of the list of urgent signings, but at least it shows intent to bolster the defence. Nacho Monreal is a Spanish international and now former Malaga player, I must admit I know very little about him but he comes highly rated by those in Spain and I hear he's fast, technical but also aggressive. Time will tell how good a signing he will turn out to be.

So ahead of our highly anticipated Rugby League match against Stoke tomorrow, news from the Emirates seems to be that Vermaelen is a doubt although we see the return of Arteta. Obviously we're without Gibbs so I think the team will look something like: SZCZ, Sagna, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Monreal, Wilshere, Arteta, Cazorla, Walcott, Podolski, Giroud. 

Now Stoke only have one away win all season, so lets hope this stat continues. They also have an away goal difference of -8. Defensively they haven't been all at it this season. So obviously the main dangers are Crouch, Walters and Jones should he play. In the middle of the park they also have N'Zonzi who is unpredictable if anything.

This fixture now has a history of being a bit fiery so I expect a good atmosphere tomorrow and hopefully 3 points. COYG!

Prediction: Arsenal 2-0 Stoke City