West Bromwich Albion (A)

They say there are no easy victories in football, however Reading on Saturday was an easy victory. I was very pleased with the performance the team put in against Reading and although the look no more than a Championship team we made them look that bad with out very tidy performance. Now many people will be fully aware that I am no fan of Gervinho and when although I suspected he'd start, I could feel the universal disappointment at the Emirates when his name was read out.

However he played his socks off at the weekend and although we saw the man who can slip past 2 defenders before blazing the ball over the bar, we saw glimpses of what he really cant do, his goal was a tap in but fair play to him for seeing it. But the stand out moment for me was when Sagna (who was superb) lifted the ball over the top of the midfield and Gerv charged onto it. He was on his own against 3 defenders but held the ball well, drew them all in and then slid it across for Giroud who drilled the ball in. There were a lot of really good performances, Cazorla was unreal as were all the midfield actually. Fabianski had a good game and it was good to see Giroud getting back amongst the goals.

I'd also like to touch on the fantastic display of support on the 7th minute of the match for a man who graced our number 7 until his very premature death. David Rocastle was a fan favourite at Arsenal and with a unique blend of flair and power he was exciting to watch and a very effective player. Sadly on March 31st 2001 David lost his battle with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma aged just 31 and will always be sorely missed, but will never be forgotten. 

Anyway that game is gone and we need to keep our momentum in the run is as Chelsea slipped up against Southampton. Tomorrow is going to be an odd game. We play West Brom who are by all means a decent team and will be very hard to beat but on the flip side of that, they have nothing to play for. They're sitting comfortably in mid table and aside from a Europa League place will go nowhere. That said they will still provide a stern test for our team who are still battling for a place amongst Europe's elite next season, and although people will say the run in is with us, we have to do our job before we count on others.

Team news for us is looking positive, although we are still without Jack and Theo, they are aiming to be available for selection next weekend. After colliding with the post and going on against Reading, Monreal is available which is good because although Gibbs came on to replace him its clear he isn't quite ready just yet. So with this in mind I think the team will be identical to the one that started against Reading. Fabianksi, Sagna, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Monreal, Ramsey, Wilshere, Rosicky, Gervinho, Cazorla, Giroud.

West Brom have a strong team and with Lukaku upfront on loan from Chelsea having bagged 13 of their goals this season. After Odenwingie's antics on deadline day he hasn't been selected (surprise, surprise). Brunt will sit in the gap behind Lukaku and they will have threat from Morrison too. They are however without the powerhouse Mulumbu in the middle which may give us the edge to to run the game from the middle of the park.
 
West Brom are a tricky team to beat but if we want to keep our charge for the top four on track they are a team we have to beat. On our day when the Arsenal play in the way we all know they can we should be beating West Brom but sadly we all know Arsenal far too well to expect this to be a bump free ride, we do like to make things hard for ourselves.

Until next time. COYG!

Prediction: West Brom 1-2 Arsenal

Queens Park Rangers (A)

Last weekends game against Aston Villa was possibly one of the easiest and most comfortable wins all season, bar the 7-1 game against Blackburn.We cruised through the game with Villa not really presenting much of a threat. It was a solid Arsenal performance like the teams of old. There was a touch of fortune with the first goal and Given will feel he should have done better, the second was well finished by Walcott as Song again made an exquisite pass over the top. I said it was the sort of game where Walcott could turn it on and he did. The last goal was a belter from Mikel Arteta who struck his free kick from 35 yards out which went streaking into the corner of goal.





QPR away today and another game where we should be looking to take 3 points ahead of the Man City game at home next weekend. We need to keep the pressure on Chelsea and Tottenham and this is the perfect game to do so. QPR's inconsistency means they look likely to go down, but as Liverpool found out a few weeks ago they can be a tricky opposition. However without target man Cisse who has been sent of (again) since returning to the Premier League that leaves them with Zamora upfront who is hit and miss.


I think our team will be similar if not the same as the team that eased past Aston Villa. Ramsey will be pushing to start for this game although his poor run of form may suggest that the manager hasn't quite got enough conifdence in him to start. Alex OC will be pushing for a start but Gervinho performed will last week and I think he will retain his place. Koscielny should be fit to start after recovering from a bout of tendinitis. I think Rosicky will back up RVP who of course will be up front.


As I mentioned earlier QPR are without Cisse which means Zamora will be upfront on his with a support player slotted in behind him (probably Taarabt). Diakite can be dangerous as well so we'll need to keep our eyes on him. That thug Barton will no doubt play, hopefully Song will take a leaf out of Frimpong's book and flatten him. QPR are poorly organised at the back and I think we'll exploit that to our full effect.


March 31st is a date every Arsenal fan remembers. In 2001 we sadly lost David Rocastle to a Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. On that day we played Tottenham at Highbury, the silence was perfectly observed and we went on to win the game 2-0. I have no doubt that 11 years on the fans will chant his name at QPR as they do nearly every time we play on this date.

 

Prediction: QPR 0-2 Arsenal