Wenger did his press conference today so before the Bolton preview lets start with some injury news. Over the course of the international break, two of our players collected injuries while it was announced that Van Persie would be out for six weeks with the ankle injury he picked up against Blackburn. Walcott got a similar injury to the Dutchman and consequently will be out for a similar period of time while Vermaelen picked up a small achilles injury that should see him return for Wednesday's Champions League fixture against Braga.
I have to mention Van Persie. He's injured again and a lot of people are becoming frustrated with the time he has spent on the sidelines. Some have even said he should be sold and another, more reliable striker brought in. I think that's knee-jerk reaction but I also think it has come to the stage, with Robin, where we can't build the team around him. In my opinion, he is, on a technical level, the best striker in the world. His touch is second to none and there isn't a more graceful player in world football. But you can't rely on his fitness holding up and the stats back that up. Robin has yet to start 30 Premier League games in one season and the most starts he's ever had in all competitions for a full season is 38. That's all he's mustered since he signed with the gunners back in 2004 and it makes for sad reading. I do, however, have a theory on how he could increase the amount of games he plays for us.
When you look past his latest injury and study the others, you have to say a lot of them have come while he's on international duty. I don't know why that happens but you only need to look to last season to find the one that left out for half a year. It makes me think that he should retire from international football but I doubt it will happen anytime soon.
Anyway, on to the Bolton game. With Bendtner also out injured, Chamakh will continue up front.
Wenger has also confirmed that Squillaci will make his full debut at the back in place of TV5. And with Kevin Davies in close attendance, I'm sure he'll learn a lot about the Premier League this weekend. Walcott's injury presents a good opportunity for Rosicky to stake his claim as a place on the bench seems more likely for the fit again Samir Nasri. Denilson and Djourou are also in contention for the squad.
Looking at Bolton, they have more than enough to cause a few headaches for us. Davies will certainly test out our brand new, if temporary, central defensive partnership. Martin Petrov down the wings could cause a few nightmares as well. Sagna should hold his own against him but its been a while since Clichy has put a good winger in his back pocket so he'll probably operate there. Saying that, Bolton will come to defend and will look to the two aforementioned players to relieve pressure on the backline and to counter-attack.
Last season, Owen Coyle's teams certainly made us work for our points and he's no stranger to getting results against us in his Burnley days. But I fully expect a home win. Obviously we'll have the usual jitters at the back from set-pieces but we normally dominate possession at home so those Bolton threats should be rare and far between. I'm thinking 2, maybe even 3-0, with Fabregas to get off the mark for the season.
