What Arsenal Need: Three points, Full stop.
Oh and no injuries, they cannot afford to put any more men on the treatment table. There is very little depth in some areas such as up front and we need every man we can get over the Christmas period.
Things To Watch Out For: I rarely question Wenger's management of the team but I do wish he'd use the full complement of substitutes in a match. My argument is that after 70 minutes the wingers and strikers are often exhausted and fresh legs on the field are far more efficient that tired ones. Quite often he only brings on one or two substitutes leaving players like Baptista on the bench and I can't undertsand why.
A classic example of this was at the Bridge where he only made one substitution. He swapped van Persie for Ljungberg after 84 minutes but left a tired Flamini and an oft-substituted Hleb on the pitch. Why not replace them with Walcott and Baptista and give them 20 minutes or so to impose themselves on the game?
I'm sure Arsene knows why.... but I haven't a clue!
Hopes For The Match: I hope Baptista gets the nod ahead of Flamini. I concede that the battling Parlour-esque midfielder was needed against the Russians but a different kind of presence is required tonight. Wigan will be looking for the win and there will be space for the Brazilian to run with the ball. If he doesn't get a run in the team during this period with Henry and Rosicky out then he never will.
I would play Djourou ahead of Senderos but Wenger does seem to favour the latter. I find it difficult to accept the argument that Senderos can play better than Djourou against the more physical striker. Djourou is a big man and a huge physical presence and has played almost faultlessly so far this season.
| My team selection for this game: Adebayor van Persie, Gilberto, Baptista, Fabregas, Ljungberg Clichy, Djourou, Senderos, Eboue Lehmann Subs: Almunia, Walcott, Hoyte, Hleb, Flamini |
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Unavailable:
Henry - Out with sciatic nerve pain and hamstring trouble.
Gallas - Injured his quadriceps taking free kicks in training and will be out for a few weeks.
Rosicky - Still out 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: This is episode one of a six part mini-series called "18 points are up for grabs" and its must-see-tv. These games will define the season and Wenger needs to rotate his squad approriately to ensure maximum points from this run. After tonights match Arsenal will have played the same number of games as everyone else and they need to be securing third spot, whilst keeping an eye on the top two.
Prediction: Wigan 1 Arsenal 2
