Saturday, October 23, 2010

Light-Blue Chelsea

Tomorrow at Eastlands, we play the second-biggest game of our season so far and I don't think anyone is disillusioned by the size of the task.

City have a very impressive team, with a lot of very good players. I'm not sure if they have anyone in the same bracket as Fabregas or a bothered Arshavin (the rest of our 'worldies' won't be playing) but nevertheless they're a solid outfit.

Andy Johnson and James Milner, provided they're playing, could terrorise our fullbacks, Clichy in particular. If Squillaci or Djourou play on the ball too long, they'll be robbed by a seriously in-form Tevez and that can't happen if we're going to win.

I think that their front three will be De Silva, Tevez and Adebayor though. De Silva was very impressive when he came on against Blackpool and Adebayor is flying high after his hat-trick on Thursday with Tevez an automatic starter.

Their midfield nearly plays like a back-three. Toure, De Jong and Barry will do little more than sit and defend. Their back-four is anyone's guess really.

So there is a lot to deal with in that team. It's the exact same situation that we had to deal with at Stamford Bridge: a big physical team that can score goals. The main differences between that match and this one is that we're down Wilshere and Koscielny but we have Fabregas, Walcott and Bendtner back.

Our captain and Theo will be instrumental. We didn't have Cesc's... pure awesomeness, to be frank, against Chelsea nor did we have Walcott's pace on the wing. Those two things could very easily win us the match tomorrow. But other things will also have to be in place for that to happen.

A solid foundation in midfield is crucial. Alex Song and Nasri will have to be disciplined. And I'm more than confident that they will perform. I don't think Diaby will start because Arsene did say last week that he isn't 100% right since his recent knocks to the ankle.

Last year, we had a nightmare getting back in numbers and if we fail at that again, we'll lose. Walcott and Arshavin will have to support their fullbacks when we don't have the ball and Fabregas will have to work back consistently too.

I think that over-defensive tactics on City's part will see us control the game and win. If Mancini decides to let his side come out and play then we'll still score on the break.

I'm feeling really confident about this game and I can see us winning by two goals. I know our record in these fixtures is awful but I feel a change coming. So I'll say 0-2 with Walcott to open the scoring.

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Back In The Saddle.

Arsenal 2 Birmingham City 1

It may not have been an evisceration of the Birmingham defence but it wasn't a grind either. Arsenal were comfortable. The only worry was that it wasn't reflected in the scoreline.

Birmingham's goal came from a situation similar to the one I highlighted yesterday. Zigic pulled off Djourou and onto Clichy. Fahey's ball was precise and Zigic made no mistake with the header, placing it inside the far bottom-corner.

I have to say I was disappointed with Djourou in the concession of that goal. He let Zigic get away from him and when the ball was played in, he didn't have a clue where the giant striker got to. I'll put it down to rustiness this time.

You might have started to worry after that but the Arsenal response was rapid. A one-two between Chamakh and Wilshere saw the ball spill in the box. The Morrocan got to it before Dann, contact was made and the penalty given. Up stepped Nasri and he made no mistake, sending Foster the wrong way.

The winner came right after half-time. A lovely combination between Wilshere and Song allowed the former to pop the ball into Chamakh's path. Carr pulled out of the challenge and the striker kept his composure as he skipped past a defender's challenge and the keeper's dive, to slide the ball home. There wasn't much else in the form of chances afterwards but there was, of course, the big talking point.

Wilshere deserved his red. It was a miss-timed and nasty challenge. It's not his first bad one of this season and it will unlikely be his last. Other than that, he was fantastic. I have no problem with him showing a bit of bite in challenges but it was unnecessary this time. And when you consider all the injuries we have, it's a suspension we could do without.

There's a few more players that I'd like to mention too. Chamakh was excellent and made a big impact on the game. It was nice to see Bendtner back too. And while Fabianski had very little to do in the line of shots, he commanded his box with confidence and authority.

Midweek, we'll see the emotional return of Eduardo to the Emirates. Shakhtar are a decent outfit so we should be in for a good game. A win would all but guarantee qualification so hopefully we'll get that and a few good goals too.