I feel like Chelsea will take the lead and then shut up shop and try and defend the game away. But Arsenal will fight to the death and snatch a point late on. I believe that Arsenal would have no problems beating Chelsea with Toure, Gallas, Rosicky and Henry on the pitch but being pragmatic I think a draw would be a reasonable result given the depleted squad.
What Arsenal Need: Keep battling, fight for every 50-50 ball and run your socks off for ninety minutes and we'll get the result we deserve. That's what Wenger should be saying to the boys in the dressing room. Money means nothing once there's 22 men on the pitch. It's not about how big your house is, how much money you get paid or how many supercars you have, it's about guts, determination and talent... all of which Arsenal have in abundance.
Things To Watch Out For: The defence today is young, very young with Eboue the oldest at 23. I hope that they work hard together and communicate well, especially at set pieces.
I hope the referee controls the game efficiently and that as Wenger said, "It's a feast of football", because if it is Arsenal will do well. If it turns into a long-ball hacking match with loads of yellow cards waved around it's going to be an ugly match to watch and someone will end up getting sent off.
I hope the Arsenal fans direct their passion in the right direction and get behind the team rather than spending the whole match abusing the old number 3. They should remember that Arsenal got Campbell in an even more cruel swoop from their local rivals who got nothing in return, whereas in the recent swap they got Gallas and £5 million on top. Chelsea weren't greatly improved by the swap but Arsenal benefited significantly from adding Gallas to the team. Equally, I believe it has given Clichy the chance to make the left back spot his own.
Hopes For The Match: I hope Senderos shuts his critics up with a solid performance against Drogba and I hope Djourou makes it through the match without a recurrence of his hamstring injury. If either of the two Swiss centre backs needs to be substituted then Wenger has a problem as there is no cover at this position with Gallas injured and Toure banned. His choice would be to play Gilberto out of position or return Hoyte to centre back. Neither would be a substitution I'd be happy to make.
Team: Wenger will almost certainly go for a 4-5-1 today, so he can pack the midfield and try to stand up to Chelsea in that area of the park. His 4-5-1 will play Adebayor up front on his own, where he works tirelessly for the team, but the formation has a weakness in that van Persie doesn't make the starting eleven. I believe he is Arsenal's most improved player this season and given game time I think he could reach 20 goals this season. Sadly, he doesn't fit into the formation and Wenger will probably play Flamini instead.
I just feel that Arsenal played so well in the 4-4-2 in the North London Derby as it enables the two strikers to put the opposition's defenders under pressure and it enables Arsenal to play higher up the pitch, which fits nicely with the counter-attacking style of play. So many Arsenal counter-attack goals come from tackles made in midfield and players being quickly released on the wings.
| My team selection for this game: Adebayor Ljungberg, Gilberto, Flamini, Fabregas, Hleb Clichy, Djourou, Senderos, Eboue Lehmann Subs: Almunia, Walcott, Hoyte, Baptista, van Persie |
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Henry - Out until after Christmas with a sciatic nerve injury.
Gallas - Injured his quadriceps taking free kicks in training and is still out.
Rosicky - Two weeks on the sideline with a hamstring/groin injury.
Diaby - On course to return in January after suffering a fracture-dislocated ankle last season.
Lauren - Still rehabilitating from a knee injury that has kept him out since January 21st.
Long-term issues: I'm beginning to wonder if Bendtner should be bought into the first team to put pressure on the three more senior strikers. He looks a wonderful player and has even got me watching ITV's coverage of the Championship just to see how he is doing. To be fair Muamba and Lupoli also look good but the young Dane is the one I'm keeping my eye on.
Prediction: Chelsea 1 Arsenal 1
