What Arsenal Need: They need to withstand the initial pressure and enthusiasm from Reading in the first 20 minutes, but after that they should control the ball and dominate possession.
Arsenal also need Ljungberg and Baptista back in shape to compete for playing time. Competition in the squad can only be a good thing.
Things To Watch Out For: I presume that Wenger will start with the same defenders as he did in Moscow.
Gallas, Djourou, Toure, Hoyte
But I expect to see Clichy get another twenty minutes at the end in place of Djourou, with Gallas moving across into the centre.Keep an eye out for the way Henry captains the side. Some of his body language is less than desirable for a captain. He has had incidents in the last two Arsenal games that portrayed a poor relationship between him and van Persie. I expect a more mature display from him on Sunday.
I'm also watching out for how Hoyte plays at right back. He is an adequate defender, who works hard, but his forays into attacking positions leave him out of position if possession changes. He is not the player Eboue is, but Arsenal need him to do a job in the meantime... oh and he's English, which is nice.
Hopes For The Match: Looking at this season's statistics on the Arsenal Stats Centre, you can see that Arsenal concede away goals after an average of 31 minutes. Equaly, they score their first away goal after an average of 65 minutes. I'm hoping the Gunners can turn these stats around. I'm looking for Arsenal to score in the first 30 minutes and to keep a clean sheet.
I'm hoping Toure avoids a yellow card today as already has three this season, which is harsh for such a fair playing centre back. He's not far off a ban if he picks up any more.
I'd like to see Senderos get in the squad for the game but I can't see him having enough match fitness yet. I watched him play against Chelsea for the reserves on Monday night, but I think he'll need a few more matches before he's ready for Premiership action. I expect to see him play in the Carling Cup against West Brom.
Long-term issues: It looks like Lauren's experienced a set back in his rehabilitation, which is such a shame for him. I miss his tough no-nonsense tackling and vocal contribution on the pitch.
Conversely, it looks as though Diaby is ahead of schedule in his rehabilitation. I'm looking forward to his return as I see him as a long-term replacement for Gilberto.
Prediction: Reading 0 Arsenal 2
