Firstly apologies for missing the Norwich game at the weekend, these things happen from time to time and after being pestered I'm back tonight (mentioning no names). But we scrapped and scraped, got lucky and took our chances in the second half and came away with a big 3 points to lift us up to 3rd. That puts us a point ahead of Chelsea who have a game in hand and a point ahead of Tottenham who have played the same number of games which puts our position in our hands.
Tonight however we face the in form team in the league in an Everton side still with a slight chance of making the top 4 and if they beat us tonight they'll be right back in it. Arguably this match is more important than the United match in a couple of weeks. If we win it puts us in a great position going into the final run in.
The manager has decisions to make tonight. Fabianski took a kick to the ribs at the weekend and may miss out which would see SZCZ return between the sticks. Mertesacker has served his ban and should return to partner Koscielny at the back. Monreal is also back in contention after colliding with the post against Reading. Further up the field Rosicky is back but Wilshere could be in the starting line up. Walcott impressed at the weekend and I think he'll get the nod ahead of Gervinho. Podolski who scored at the weekend I think will be benched sadly. I think the team will be something like: SZCZ, Sagna, Koscielny, Mertesacker, Gibbs, Arteta, Ramsey, Wilshere, Walcott, Cazorla, Giroud.
Everton I think will continue with the line up that beat QPR at the weekend. This means that the big guns will be in Moyes team so we'll have to watch out for the likes of Fellaini, Anichebe, Mirallas, Pienaar etc. The defence will have to be on form as Everton have both pace and power.
We picked up a valuable point against them at Goodison we really need to go one better tonight to put ourselves in the best position to finish in the top 4. A win tonight would put us 4 points clear of the Chavs and the Spuds and both have tricky games coming up including a vital match against each other.
A huge game tonight however you look at it, but big games bring big rewards. COYG!
Prediction: Arsenal 2-1 Everton
It wasn't pretty, it wasn't easy and it certainly wasn't what we expected but we got there in the end. It was by no means a classic Arsenal performance but overall we deserved the victory. QPR can whine and moan all they like but Julio Cesar kept them in it and they had chances to score but didn't take them. It was getting to the point where I just didn't think it was going to our day with Cesar denying Giroud, Wilshere and others, then the best chance of the game fell to the one man we all wanted it too with acres of space, only to see Cazorla blaze it over on the half volley. Then in the 84th minute Arshavin (who played really well for the time he was on) clipped a lovely ball over the top for Giroud who on another day would have scored only to be stopped yet again by Cesar, the ball broke loose and after some scrambling and a header off the bar Arteta poked the ball home and we finally had our goal. I must say Wilshere and Sagna both played very well and looked like they've been playing all year.
Tomorrow we have a league cup game at Reading and frankly I'm not expecting much in terms of a first team fielded. But this is to be expected bearing in mind we have a daunting trip to Old Trafford at the weekend and Wenger will want us sharp and fully fit for that. As nice as it would be to win the League Cup to be honest I'm with Wenger, I'd take Champions League qualification over the Capital One Cup every season. I would however expect Reading to field a strong team so it will by no means be easy for us.
I would expect to see the likes of Miquel, Gnabry, Martinez, Afobe and co. to play which is good for them and for us. They get experience and the chance to show us what they're made of and we get a glimpse of the future of Arsenal. We may mix it up with a few fringe players like Arshavin and others in there just to try and balance the team out. There seems no point in me naming a team as I have no idea who we'll play. However make no mistake the team that Wenger fields will be more than capable of winning the match so expect us to compete none the less. Similarly with Reading I have no idea who they will play so there's no point in me guessing. In other news SZCZ has re-joined the first team for training which is encouraging for the weekend.
We have a big match this weekend and nobody will be surprised to see Wenger field a young side and rest many of our key players before we travel up north. It would be nice for us to have a good run in this competition but if we were to go out its not the end of the world. COYG!!
Prediction: Reading 1-2 Arsenal
Now that is much more like the Arsenal that we know and love, a convincing 6-1 win over a team that frankly we should be beating 6-1. Yes 2 of the goals were own goals but they were both made by strong attacks down the left and that hard low cross into the box that is always prone to get touched in. A gorgeous free kick from Poldi who was brilliant all game, the keeper probably should have done better but the was very well struck. A goal from Walcott which was nice to see and 2 from Gervinho who I have been very critical of recently.
Attention now turns to our first Champions League match of the season which kicks off this evening with our trip to Montpellier. Much has been made about whether or not Olivier Giroud will start after being left on the bench on Saturday which did surprise me in all honesty. I thought it would have been the perfect game for him to play but maybe Wenger had half an eye on this game. With it being his old club as well where, from what I can gather, he was idolised I think it seems almost written that he would score his first Arsenal goal today, should he start. However as Wenger has stated there is a lot of pressure on him and he might rest him to try and take some of that off of him.
As for the rest of the team I think we will see some level of rotation tonight as we have Man City on Sunday and we may have some players that aren't quite rested fully from Saturday. I have a feeling we might see Walcott start tonight possibly along with Ramsey who didn't feature at the weekend. Gervinho could start sitting in the CAM role behind our main striker whoever that may be, with Cazorla shifting out to the wing, or he could start in place of Giroud. He played well at the weekend and there are suggestions that we may have found a role that suits the Ivorian. For me that remains to be seen realistically, we shall see how he performs as to be honest I find him frustrating. Diaby is expected to be fit to play so we'll either see him start or I think he'll come of from the bench after his fantastic performance against Liverpool. Koscielny is another player who could start but I think we may see Mertesacker retain his position for this match and then maybe drop out at the weekend.
The big talking point amongst Arsenal fans has been goalkeepers. Now Szczesny, I'm not gonna sugar coat it, had a day to forget on Saturday and not just because of the mistake that led to the goal. He overall wasn't great. Now Arsenal have come out and said he has an ankle knock, whether that played a part in his performance is difficult to tell, but one thing that is for sure is that we are taking Mannone tonight with young keeper James Shea on the bench.
I'm not gonna predict players to watch for on their team because I know so little about them. I just know they've got off to a poor start in league currently sitting 16th. A player said the other day, if they play like they did at the weekend against Arsenal, they'll concede 8. Confidence for sure then. My line up would be: Mannone, Gibbs, Mertesacker, Vermaelen, Jenks, Diaby, Arteta, Poldi, Cazorla, Walcott, Giroud. We'll see what Mr. Wenger goes for. COYG!
Prediction: Montpellier 0-2 Arsenal
