Arsenal make the trip to Everton today knowing that a win will put them second in the league. It's not an easy game by any stretch of the imagination, but it would seem there are no easy games in the Premier League this season. Everton had a very poor start to their season, but they have managed to turn things around, and find themselves in a position to make a challenge to the top four.
They don't score too many goals, but they don't concede too many either.
The Arsenal squad is more or less the same one that was available on Wednesday night when they beat Wolves 2-0 away from home. The only player returning from injury is Kieran Gibbs, but I don't think that he will be in the starting 11. I can't see the boss making too many changes from the team that started in that victory over Wolves. The goalkeeper and the defence should stay the same, and I expect to see the same midfield trio despite the fact that Jack Wilshere didn't play too well in that game. With Alex Song pushing further forward than we saw last season it means that Wilshere is doing a lot of the defensive work that needs to be done.
The attacking players are possibly the ones that might be changed around, with Samir Nasri, Theo Walcott, Robin Van Persie and Nicklas Bendtner all looking to get into the team. I would surprised if Marouane Chamakh didn't start after scoring both goals against Wolves, and both Andrei Arshavin and Tomas Rosicky will fell they did enough in that game to keep their places. It's a headache for the boss, but I'm sure he would prefer to have that problem rather than be faced with the injury crisis that has haunted Arsenal so much in recent seasons.
I hope we can start as well as we did on Wednesday night, and create as many chances as we did in that game. If we do create those chances I think that we will take a few of them which will give Everton a very difficult task. Arsenal now have the best away record in the Premier League with 11 points from six games, with their only defeat coming away to champions Chelsea. I'm predicting a 2-1 win for Arsenal, and I think Cesc Fabregas might just get his name on the scoresheet at some stage. His performance against Newcastle was well below par for him, but he was a bit better against Wolves. He's had a stop, start season so far, but I think he just needs a couple of games to get back to his very best. Hopefully that form will have returned by next week when we play at home to The Spuds.
I'll get to watch the first half of the match in the pub before I have to get a train home, and I'll be keeping up with the second half on Twitter via my phone. It's not an ideal scenario, but I can't hang around waiting for a train for another three or four hours unfortunately. Normal service will be resumed tomorrow when I review what will hopefully be a win that puts us up to second in the league.
I watched "Manure" draw with Aston Villa yesterday, and after the game the commentators were questioning whether they are the new "Invincibles" as they are unbeaten after 13 games. That "Manure" team isn't fit to lace the boots of Arsenal's "Invincible" team, and Arsenal will have to give them a lesson in football when we play them on December 13th to prove that.
That's the lot for today.
See You Tomorrow
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