Arsenal Set To Return To Action Away To City

It’s been a long time since I’ve written anything about Arsenal, but then again it’s been a long time since we’ve actually had any football to read or write about. When the Premier League season paused for the present pandemic Arsenal had eventually found some form and had looked capable of possibly pushing for top four spot. Who knows exactly where they’re going to take up again when things get going but they couldn’t have had a much harder fixture than away to the current champions Manchester City.

When this season came to an abrupt halt Arsenal were on a fairly good run as they had been unbeaten in eight games though they only won four of them. They currently have eight points to make up on fourth placed Chelsea which is a bit of a stretch, but they do have a game in hand and that game is away to city or what looks like June 17. There is a chance that the fifth place team will qualify for the Champions League though given the current issues Manchester City are having with financial fair play and Arsenal must certainly have a chance of catching fifth placed Manchester United.

They only have 10 league games left to play in fact so when things get going on June 17 the season will finish pretty quickly I imagine as long as they continue to play. It’s been a very strange time for the last three months and I can imagine things will seem even more unusual when the players finally get to play in front of empty stadiums with the possibility of crowd noise being piped in. We had a preview of what it will be like with what has been going on in Germany since the Bundesliga returned I can’t say that I’ve been overly thrilled by what I’ve seen and/or heard.

It’s something that we’re going have to deal with though and I suppose like anything else in time we will get used to it. As well as the Premier League Arsenal still have to finish off the FA Cup this season and we’re down to the last eight with a tie against Sheffield United to play at some stage. It’s our only chance of a trophy this season so I think Mikel Arteta  will treat it fairly seriously.

During the shutdown they’re been rumours and counter rumours about what players will be coming and going at the end of the season, but to be honest I can’t see too much being sorted and it probably won’t be sorted until they at least manage to finish this season. The late finish will of course mean next season starts later and all of the transfer windows will have to be moved in every single league. There  is also the issue of players contracts that are up at the end of June and whether they will extend those contracts to stay with their current clubs to finish this season too.

Now that I’ve eventually managed to write something about Arsenal I’ll try to do so a lot more often. The news should ramp up bit by bit over the next couple of weeks as the return gets closer. It will at least give us something to do as we will be saturated with live Premier League games every Saturday and Sunday in particular.

That’s it for today.

See you tomorrow.

It's Up To Arsenal To Stop Spurs

The weekend went well for Arsenal when a last gasp Danny Welbeck goal saw them beat Leicester and move within two points of them at the top of the table. With 12 league games they're in a perfect position to strike and win their first league title in 12 years. Leicester might be the leaders, and deservedly so, but second placed Spurs look like they could be the team most likely to win the title on current form.

Of course fourth placed City can't be discounted either, but there are questions to be asked about them at the moment. They have lost their last two games at home to fellow title contenders and haven't won back to back league games since mid October. Who knows what the effect of the imminent departure of Manuel Pellagrini might be, but they lost those two games after it was announced.

Leicester probably have the easiest run in of all the teams involved and they have no other distractions while Arsenal, City and Spurs all have European football on the horizon as well as being involved in the FA Cup and City have the added distraction of the Capital One Cup Final. Leicester have been magnificent so far this season, but there is pressure on them now to continue with that form. I'm not so sure how well they might do against some of the so called lesser teams when they're expected to make the running in those games. 

The team who are looking the most likely to succeed at the moment are Spurs and I don't find it easy to say that. I've supported Arsenal for almost 46 years of the 50 years I've been on this planet and I've never seen Spurs win the league. In fact as the Arsenal fans are fond of pointing out to their Spurs counterparts "they won the league in black and white".

I've been lucky enough to see Arsenal claim the league title six times in my my life to date and I want to see the seventh one this season. Not only do Arsenal have to win the league for themselves, but they have to win it to make sure Spurs can't. The thought of them winning the league is one I would prefer not to think of, but it's becoming more real with each passing game.

If Arsenal are going to stop them they will have to start playing a lot better than they are at the moment. They showed great heart and commitment to come from behind and beat Leicester, but they're still far from firing on all cylinders. Arsenal probably have the toughest run of games between now and the end of the league campaign and they will have to improve to live up to their favourites tag.

Maybe that win against Leicester was what was needed to relight their fire and push for what I think is their most important target this season. There is a chance to make FA Cup history and the upcoming tie with Barcelona in the Champions League, but it's all about the league for me. There's still 12 games to go, but I think the only way Arsenal can insure Spurs don't win it is by going out and winning it themselves.

That's it for today.

See you tomorrow.

It's Now Or Never For Arsenal At Bournemouth

Arsenal failed to win against Southampton on Tuesdsy night for the fourth Premier League game in a row. To make matters even worse they failed to score for the third league game in a row. As if all of that wasn't bad enough the rest of the top six won their games and Spurs moved above Arsenal on goal difference into fourth place.

It's a pretty bleak picture I paint and they're now eight points off the summit in the league with the fifth place team only five points behind Arsenal. If Arsenal can catch the leaders then United can catch Arsenal and they could find themselves embroiled in their annual race for fourth place rather than chasing their first league title in 12 years. As bad as United have been this season they're only five points behind Arsenal and slag Spurs as we may they are ahead of us and playing an awful lot better at the moment.

Of course all teams go through bad patches and Arsenal are just as likely to go on a good run as they are to continue in their current vein. They're not the only team who have underperformed at some stage this season and they won't be the last. It's coming to the stage where any more of the same will put an end to their title aspirations though and they have to turn a corner now.

After Leicester won away to City yesterday they opened an eight point gap over Arsenal with Arsenal playing their game in hand today. If they beat Bournemouth today the gap will be five points again and Leicester come to Arsenal next week while City play Spurs. The opportunity for Arsenal to move into second place and close the gap is there and they just have to take it.

Part of the problem for me is the poor quality of their finishing. I know Fraser Forester was the man of the match in goal for Southampton on Tuesday night, but I didn't think he had to make outstanding saves at any point. He might have made loads of saves, but you would have expected him to have probably saved all of Arsenal's efforts. 

Sometimes it looks like Arsenal players are just content to get their effort on target and add it to the "shots on target" statistics for the game. The experts will say you have to get your shot on target or you cannot score, but you also have to do everything to insure your effort evades the goalkeeper. Arsenal have been goal shy in recent weeks and their return of goals scored so far in the league has not been good enough. 

For me they still don't have the world class finisher with pace and trickery who wins points all on his own. I don't doubt that Arsene Wenger would like to add such a player to the squad, but they're not easy to find. If he's going to utilise the best playmaker in the game in Mesut Ozil to his full potential he has to do just that. The money is there and he needs to find that striker this summer.

For the moment though we have to make do with what we have and those players are still good enough to win the league this season. There's 14 games left starting today at Bournemouth and Arsenal have to target as many wins as possible from those games. They include tough trips to United, Spurs, City and West Ham, but this team has to ability to beat any team.

That ability needs to come to the fore at once and they need to start punishing the opposition as often as possible. There have been too few games where Arsenal have finished the opposition off early enough to cruise to a comfortable victory. They need to start putting plenty of goals past the weaker teams in particular to show they have something to offer in the title fight. 

I'm not saying a trip to Bournemouth is an easy game because Bournemouth have been a breath of fresh air since their promotion. They have tried to play football against every team at home and away and I sincerely hope they stay up. They have taken some notable scalps along the way and Arsenal cannot let themselves get added to that list.

The game gives us a chance to see first hand how Benik Afobe has progressed since failing to make the grade at Arsenal. He joined Bournemouth only a few weeks ago, but he already has three Premier League goals in four appearances and those goals came in the last three games where Arsenal failed to score. There aren't too many players who have failed to make the grade at Arsenal in Wenger's reign who have come back to haunt us and gone on to make the grade, but Afobe certainly looks like he could do just that.

The players must realise that they have the opportunity to get right back in there and they quite simply have to take it. They need to be going into next week's game with Leicester with a chance of closing the gap at the top to two points and see how Leicester cope with the pressure. Despite their current rut Arsenal have not yet done enough damage to their title ambitions to be written off and now it's time to live up to the expectations.

That's it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Are Arsenal Treating All Opponents Equally

As Arsenal's title challenge continues to falter it's difficult to understand some of their results so far this season. It's been a topsy turvey season so far for almost every team and games are very hard to predict. It seems any team can beat any other team and the most consistent team are Leicester who are on top of the league.

A few weeks ago it looked like Arsenal were the team showing the consistency needed, but no wins in their last four league games and no goals in their last three have put a spanner in the works. All of those games were against teams below them in the league and that form is far from that expected of potential champions. Arsenal struggled against the mid table teams last season and it seems they're doing so again this season.

In four games against the rest of the top five Arsenal have taken 10 points with 11 goals scored and only four conceded. Three of those games may have been at home, but some of their best performances have come against the best teams in the league. Is it possible the team are more prepared for these so called tougher games and their attitude isn't quite right against some of the teams a little further down the table.

In their eight games against the next five teams in the table Arsenal have only taken 10 points with nine goals scored and 10 conceded. They have only taken three points from five games against West Ham, Liverpool and Southampton and they failed to score in four of those five games. When you look back at those games there are an awful lot of similarities in Arsenal's performances and attitude too.

Against Leicester, City and United they started strongly and deserved their victories, but they weren't at their best against Spurs. In those three wins we didn't have to wait until the second half for the team to realise they were in the game and they seemed to go out with the right tactics and attitude. Maybe it's just me but it seems like that just isn't the case far too often against the teams from a tier down in the league.

I don't think it's a conscious decision to put less into those games, but it certainly is happening in my opinion. It happened last season too and it's something which needs to be addressed quickly. It's not enough to go out there and play our game and expect the result to follow. 

There's still 14 league games to go this season and the league is still Arsenal's to be won. If they're going to do it they will have to play with more intensity from the start against every team and not just the top teams. If they're going to win the league they can't throw away any more points and they will have to do it the hard way at this stage.

They face trips to City, Spurs and United and they will probably have to get at least six points from those game. If they're still in it at that stage it could come down to the trip to City in the second last league game. I can't remember Arsenal ever winning the league at City and it would be good to add it to the list of stadiums we have already won it at such as White Hart Lane, Old Trafford and Anfield.

It would be a shame to see this season flitter away with only the FA Cup to play for. It is Arsenal's best chance to win the league since 2004 and they cannot let it slip by without a fight. There's 14 games to go with plenty of football to play and I'm certainly not giving up on them yet.

That's it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Arsenal v Spurs Preview

Arsenal have won their last five Premier Lesgue games and are only behind the leaders on goal difference. They're very much the form team in the league with 16 goals and three clean sheets in those five games too. Everything points to what could be a really good season for them and they look capable of putting in a genuine challenge for the title.

It all sounds so good until you remember what happened on Wednesday night and what this team are capable of at times. The 5-1 defeat against Bayern was most certainly a low point and it makes Arsenal's chances of qualifying from their Champions League group slim at the very best. The players have a chance to redeem themselves today though and they have the ideal opponents to do so.

No matter how badly things might be going it always feels great to get one over on Spurs. That's not to say things are going badly though with the team doing so well in the league despite the current injury crisis. A win today will leave Arsenal second behind City on goal difference only at the very worst.

There isn't too much to report in terms of team news with Laurent Koscielny possibly being the only one of the injured players set to return. If he's fit enough to play he will come straight back into the team for either Per Mertesacker or Gabriel Paulista. It also means Mathieu Debuchey will continue at right back with Hector Bellerin still out and hopefully he can improve on his recent performances.

There's also a possibility of Mikel Arteta returning to the squad, but he will only be on the bench even if he does return. With another international break after this game we could actually see things improve on the injury front for Arsenal by the time they get to play again in two weeks time. Hopefully we will see the returns of Aaron Ramsey, Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in time for what promises to be a very busy end to the calendar year.

As for today the boss has very few options open to him and the team will be almost identical to the one which fared so badly on Wednesday night. If Koscielny is fit he will be the only change I would imagine and hopefully the ineptness of that game will mean the players have plenty left to give today. I don't think that defeat on Wednesday will affect their confidence too much as the team seem more capable of bouncing back from setbacks than they have done in past seasons.

Arsenal have of course already beaten Spurs this season when a second string side put them out of the Capital One Cup thanks to two goals from Mathieu Flamini. They didn't manage to beat Spurs in the league last season though with a defeat away to them and a 1-1 draw at home. That home game was one Arsenal should have won comfortably, but they didn't take their chances and paid the price.

As Arsenal's league form has improved this season they have become a lot better at taking their chances in games. They have a knack of scoring at crucial times and very quickly scoring a second goal after the first one. If they can be ruthless with their chances today they should be too good for a Spurs team who are in good form too.

They have only lost one league game so far and that was on the opening day. Since then they have five wins and five draws to their name and have won five of their last seven in the league. It's about time they were put in their place and there's no better team to do that than Arsenal.

We all know their place is in our shadow and they cannot find their way out of it no matter how hard they try. Since the boss took the reins in 1996 Arsenal have finished above Spurs every single season and I expect this season to be no different. A win today would be the perfect way to remind them of their place and I feel pretty confident they will get that win.

Olivier Giroud is in a fine run of goal scoring form at the moment and he could be just the man to make the difference. Mesut Ozil is the man most likely to supply him with the chances as he continues to impress while Alexis Sanchez can win any game all on his own. I'm a little concerned about his form for the last few games, but there would be no better game for him to show his class than in this game.

The team will most certainly have to defend an awful lot better than they did on Wednesday. Even with the huge injury list at the moment they still have the top class players to keep Spurs at bay and hurt them when the chances arrive. I don't think there will be too much in it, but I think Arsenal will get the win by the odd goal.

When Arsene Wenger

That's it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Football Manager 2015 Review And Win The Game Too

Football Manager is a funny old game. Back in the late 90’s/early 2000’s, games like F.A. Premier League Manager 1999 and Championship Manager 2000 were widely played due to their brilliant simplicity. You could finish seasons in one afternoon, raid the Macedonian First division for fictional players good enough to win the Premier League, and sit back and enjoy the game A.I. which seemingly always relegated Manchester United in the first season and saw the mighty Bury reach the Champions League after a few years. Despite this glaring flaws, or perhaps even because of them, it was at this time that the series was most widely played. As the years have passed on, the games have become more realistic and thus much more complicated. While still much loved by its devout fans, the sheer perplexity of the recent editions has meant the game has become somewhat of a niche for a select few people who both enjoy football and extreme number crunching. Admittedly, I am one of those people and I’ve religiously played the last two versions, and in last year’s edition I managed to win numerous Champions League titles with Huddersfield Town, albeit at the expense of hundreds of sleepless nights and enough hours of gameplay to reach 2028 which, believe me, is no mean feat.

So I was understandably very excited when I got this year’s edition for review. I decided to choose a challenging club that could perhaps be a bit more rewarding earlier on than Huddersfield, so I chose Newcastle to manage because, well, how hard could it be to be better than John Carver?

Upon starting the game I noticed that the entire interface has been overhauled for the first time in a few years. Last year’s version was complex and metallic, and someone looking over your shoulder would probably assume you were doing the accounts for some online marketing company rather than playing a manager simulator. This year, however, the menu’s and options are more colourful and kind of jump out at you, and while it takes a little getting used to it is actually a lot better and gives the game a much nicer feel. As I looked through the clubs players and set up a few basic formations, I was surprised to find that they too had been simplified. The complex percentage based team instructions are replaced with a menu of commands such as “Push Higher Up” or “Exploit the Flanks” and both before and during the game you can click on any number of these to get your team playing your style. I guess you could say this feature is a little more Harry Redknapp than Arsene Wenger, but after a while I actually started to prefer it. The scouting menu is another thing that’s been significantly changed and once you get used to it’s both easier and quicker to interact with.

Now, I’d usually describe myself as a bit of a totalitarian manager. By this I mean I like to decide everything from who has to stay late in training to run laps because their stamina stats fell last month to what it is my under 18 team eat for breakfast. However, I wanted to get through an entire season relatively quick for the sake of this review so I decided I wouldn’t really have time for all of my usually follies into those areas so I used the staff sidebar to delegate a lot of the more complicated stuff to my assistant manager (some Dutch guy I hired, the first thing I did was sack Carver!) However, I was amazed to see here that you can actually get your staff to do a lot more than just the tedious training regimes. If you so please, you can have your Chairman renew player contracts, your Director of Football sign young up and coming players, your Chief Scout to set scouting assignments etc. Basically, the game caters for you to put in as little or as much as you like, and this might be something that could bring back the casual players of all those years ago.

By the end of the window I’d brought in a Virgil Van Dijk from Celtic for a bit of muscle in defence and Luciano Narsingh from P.S.V. for some flair on the wings. Come the first match of the season at home to Southampton I was raring to go and eyeing up my highly illustrious goal of mid-table mediocrity. In the pre-season friendlies I had my team playing like the 08/09 Barcelona, pressing high up the pitch trying to win the ball back at the earliest opportunity, then suffocating the opponent with constant short passing and a methodical build up once we did have it. Unfortunately, as you probably may have guessed, my naivety certainly got the better of me here. Within 10 minutes we were 1-0 down to a Sadio Mane counter attack and after 30 minutes my left back received a second yellow because he’s not as good at pressing as Jordi Alba. Not the ideal start, we went on to lose 3-0.

As I came to terms with both the game and my team, we found ourselves in 16^th place after 6 games, and things were starting to get ugly already. Club ‘legend’ Steve Harper came out in the media and said our game away to Liverpool was a ‘must win’ as we didn’t want to find ourselves in the relegation zone. Funny that, I’d say Newcastle must be the only club you can be a legend at after making 12 appearances in 10 years. Still though, I realised I needed to be a bit more pragmatic in my approach and spent the week before hand focusing on defensive positioning,  changed the team’s philosophy from ‘control’ to ‘counter,’ and had the whole defence play a little deeper. We went to win 1-0, and until you experience overcoming the odds against a much better team yourself, you really can’t appreciate the beauty of Football Manager. When Ayoze Perez broke down the wing and cut it back for a breaking Moussa Sissoko to finish, I quite literally punched the air in joy! And as Lazar Markovic hit the post after being played through in the 83^rd minute, I swore with nervousness. But we held out, and it truly did fill me with a great sense of achievement. While essentially the game is just menus and number crunching with a match engine that you run about 50 times per simulated year, it has that unique ability to draw you in. It can at times be perhaps more frustrating than any game should be, but it can also be infinitely more rewarding.

The season progressed nicely and come January, during which I signed tough tackling Paraguayan Edgar Barretto for a bit of steel in midfield, I found myself in 7^th position and going along nicely. However, I was soon to fall victim to another feature of the game. While the morale in my squad was very good (and as any Football Manager player will tell you, morale is the second currency of the game) due to our form, the performances of Moussa Sissokko attracted interest from league leaders Manchester United. Now, this is a situation I was in last year and there used to be ways to bluff your way out of it. As the player came to my office to have a chat with me through the interactive chat feature, something which has also been much improved, he asked to leave for Champions League football. I told him he was simply too important and that if he stayed here we could perhaps challenge for the Champions League the following season. That was not good enough for him however, and he left the office telling me he wasn’t happy with how I was handling the situation. In last year’s version, he would have sulked for a couple of months then went back to normal; however this year I noticed that the majority of my team became unhappy. Disaster! Results on the pitch began to become affected as we lost at home to Stoke then away to whipping boys Burnley. Eventually, my captain came to me asking for me to call a team meeting to deal with the teams concerns. Pretty much the entire team told me I was being unfair not to let Sissokko leave, so in the end, for the sake of the rest of the teams’ morale I had to back down on the issue. Now, luckily enough for me Manchester United never came back to make another offer so I got to keep my star player but I must say that new aspect of player power added to the game is both realistic and a great game mechanism to have.

After a season in which the players I inherited performed much better than expected, we eventually went on to finish fifth, ahead of a woefully underperforming Manchester City and behind Everton whose Roberto Martinez won manager of the year (hah!) I got a new contract offer off Mike Ashley, shut up the early critics of my reign like Steve Harper and Les Ferdinand, and got a nice transfer kitty of £20 million to spend for the forthcoming season, so the dream of making the Champions League is actually real! But what about the game itself? Well, despite the fact I’ve pretty much universally praised it so far as I’m such a big fan of the series, I can also say that it’s not without its fault’s. The newly added interactive tunnel interviews lose their novelty early on and are pretty much just an inconvenience. Setting up individual training routines for your team is also so complicated you might want to get an actuarial accountant to help you with it. Also, the match engine, another thing that’s significantly changed from last year, can be very frustrating at times, I mean how realistic is to see Steven Taylor be beaten by the bounce of the ball every week as the other team get in behind and score? Actually, forget that! Generally speaking though, the game itself is great and for any football fan out there that wants a game that’s both incredibly challenging and rewarding I’d highly recommend it. But, with that said, while I usually completely immerse myself in the world of the game, hiring and firing all my staff, training all my first team and reserve players and trawling through the depths of the South American youth setups in search of the next Messi, I effectively done a speed run through one season of this year’s game and I was very surprised with how much I enjoyed it. And for those who want to fire through seasons even faster than I did, there’s always the ‘Football Manager Classic’ mode, where most of the complex number crunching parts of the game are completely streamlined in favour of a more arcade like game style. While it’s not as simple as its ancestors from 1999/2000, I think that Football Manager 2015 has definitely taken a step towards trying to win back part of the larger football fan base to its games, a task that it could definitely achieve with a bit of recognition. A great game, addictive and truly enjoyable, 9/10.

Finally for today I'd like to thank the people at Cash Gen who provided the game to review and who have kindly provided a copy of the game for one lucky reader to win. You can have a look at their site if you click here and all you need to do is to answer this simple question to put your name in the draw for the game.

When Arsenal won 1-0 away to Juventus on April 23 1980 who scored Arsenal's goal on the night which put them through to the European Cup Winners Cup Final. You can post your answer in the comments or send it to me by emai at jamrockrover@gmail.com or even just send me the answer on Twitter (@JamrockRover). Goòd luck to all who enter and I'll be in contact with the winner in the next few days so they can claim their prize.

Aran Sheehy

Arsenal v Crystal Palace Preview

After what seems like an eternity Arsenal are back to competitive action today when they play their first Premier League game of the season at home to Crystal Palace. It's been a busy summer so far for Arsenal with four new arrivals and a whopping £66 million spent on those players. Of course some of that money was recouped through sales and add on deals from previous transfers.

There's still a couple of weeks to go in the current transfer window and it looks like Arsenal will be busy during that time. After the sale of Thomas Vermaelen to Barcelona this week there is a real pressing need for another central defender in the squad and there's still a possibility of a defensive midfielder being added too. That central defensive issue will not be too pressing today hopefully, as Laurent Koscielny has recovered from the minor knock he picked up in the Community Shield victory over City last Sunday.

Arsenal looked very good in that game despite missing Per Mertesacker, Mesut Ozil, Theo Walcott and Lukas Podolski. None of those players will be available today either with the German trio having just returned from their World Cup triumph and Walcott not quite ready yet after his injury last Janurary. I'm not sure if any of the three German players will be available this month and that's a little worrying with five games to play in two weeks.

There are still plenty of players available though and I expect Arsene Wenger will go with the same starting 11 as that which was so convincing against City with the possible exception of Oliver Giroud replacing Yaya Sanogo up front. Sanogo played well but I expect the boss to go with the striker he considers to be his first choice. I can't imagine he will rest players ahead of the trip to Besiktas on Tuesday night despite the importance of that game.

It's very important for Arsenal to win today to set themselves up for the challenges ahead. They lost the opening game at home to Villa last season and went on a good run after it, but they need to start off on the right foot to keep pace in what looks like being a very open title race. Every single Premier League point is very precious and the three on offer from Palace need to be grabbed with both hands.

Palace have been rocked this week with the departure of Tony Pulis after he worked wonders to save them from what looked like certain relegation last season. His departure came as a real surprise and who knows how the players are going to deal with it so close to the start of the season. If it has a negative effect on them Arsenal need to take advantage of that, but it's a game Arsenal should be winning anyway. Despite their heroics towards the end of last season Palace are still a limited team and Arsenal have more than enough quality to dispose of them.

I don't doubt that Palace will try to put pressure on a slightly makeshift Arsenal defence, but they have to get the ball first and that won't be easy for them. The chances are they will sit deep and try to defend in numbers and hope to score on the break or from a set piece. They won't find it easy to deal with the quality of players like Aaron Ramsey, Santi Cazorla and Alexis Sanchez though and it could be a long hard afternoon for Palace.

I think Arsenal will win by a couple of goals at least and I won't be surprised to see Ramsey get his name on the scoresheet. It's impossible to know how the team might have fared if both he and Walcott hadn't picked up injuries around the same time in December/Janurary and he will be a vitally important player this season once he can stay fit. Arsenal's injuries over the last few seasons have been awful, but there seems to be genuine hope that they can be handled better this season.

The players will be straight back into action after the game as they're off to Tukey for the first leg of their Champions League qualifier. Arsenal have fared really well at this stage of the competition over the years and have always gone through with at least a couple of goals to spare over the two legs. It's really important for them to qualify again this season with the revenue the competition brings in as well it's ability to attract top class players to the club.

There's a nasty international break at the start of September, but it would be great for Arsenal to head into that break with a place in the group stages of the Champions League and seven or maybe even nine Premier League points. By the time the players come back from the break the squad should be at almost full strength to face the challenges ahead of them. The future is looking very bright at the moment and the players need to cash in on that feeling over the next few weeks starting with Palace today.

Finally for today I'm running my league in Fantasy Premier League yet again this season and there will be a prize of €50 for the winner now that there's over 1,000 teams in it. To join just go to the site and use the code 13125-4843 to join my league once your team is set up.

Absolutely finally for today I'm also running my predictor league again this season. I'll be previewing every Premier League game every week throughout the season too. You can make your predictions here and then join my mini league with the code FD20D-AVD after you have set everything up. 

That's it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Predictions For Premier League Gameweek One

The new season is upon us and with it comes the return of fantasy football too. As usual I'll be running my own league with a €50 prize to the winner. I'll keep the league open to new entries for a month or so but it will be closed after that so nobody can parachute in if their team is doing very well.

I'll also be running my predictions league again just like I have for the past few seasons. The details of how to join both leagues are at the bottom of this post and I'll be posting my predictions for every single Premier League game throughout the season right here. 

Saturday August 16

Manchester United v Swansea City

12.45pm BST, Old Trafford, Manchester 

United had a very disappointing season last season and will have no European football this season as a result. The lack of European football could be a real help for them as they attempt to get back among the title challengers. Their home record last season was very poor by their standards, but they did well away from home and will be hoping for a vast improvement at home this season.

It's hard to look beyond Wayne Rooney, Robin van Persie and Juan Mata as the best fantasy choices in the United team although van Persie might have a slower start than the other two after coming back later from his World Cup duties.

Swansea weren't as impressive last season as they had been in their previous two seasons since promotion, but they still play some very attractive football and are capable of beating any team on their day. They have managed to hold on to most of their important players from last season and have even strengthened a little. I'm sure they would be happy to finish in mid table again and maybe have a good run in one of the cups.

Wilfried Bony again looks like a very good fantasy buy and Gylfi Siggurdsen could just regain the form he showed when he was with Swansea a couple of seasons ago.

United need to get off to a good start under their new manager and I think they will do just that with a two goal victory.

Prediction: 2-0

Leicester City v Everton

3pm BST, King Power Stadium, Leicester

Leicester are back in the Premier League after after five years in the Championship and they will be keen to stay up. They haven't added an awful lot to the squad which won the Championship last season and they could face a tough battle to retain their status. They had a very good home record last season with 17 wins and only two defeats in their 23 games.

It's not easy to see which Leicester players might make a big impression for fantasy managers this season, but Marc Albrighton and Casper Schmeichel are both possibilities.

Everton did very well last season but they couldn't quite break into the top four. Their away form was probably their biggest issue last season with only eight wins in 19 games despite having a good defensive record on the road. They have managed to sign Romelu Lukaku permanently from Chelsea and that could be their best piece of transfer business.

The usual suspects of Lukaku, Leighton Baines, Seamus Coleman, Kevin Mirallas and Tim Howard all look to be the Everton players most likely to succeed again with Lukaku maybe as the best bet and Ross Barkley an outside shot too if he can stay fit and get more game time.

I can see this being a very close game and ending in a draw which should make both teams a little happy at least.

Prediction: 1-1

Queens Park Rangers v Hull City

3pm BST, Loftus Road, London

QPR spent an awful lot of money when they were last in the Premier League two seasons ago and a fair few of those players are still in their squad. Despite their budget they only scraped through in the last minute of the play off final against Derby and avoiding relegation has to be their first priority. Their best piece of business could be failing to sell Loric Remy as he could score the goals they need to stay up after returning from his loan spell at Newcastle.

Remy might not be a bad fantasy purchase and Steven Caulker gets his fair share of goals as a defender which means he has to be considered too.

Hull did well after their promotion last season and ran Arsenal very close in the FA Cup final too. They have managed to make it through to the final qualifying round of the Europa League and they could find this season difficult if they have to play European football too. They had a fairly good defensive record for most of last season at home in particular and they will need to find that defensive stability again. 

Robert Snodgrass, Curtis Davies and Allan McGregor are all worth considering for fantasy managers as is Robbie Brady if he can rediscover his form from before his injury last season.

This has the makings of another draw with another newly promoted team at home to a team who over performed last season.

Prediction: 1-1

Stoke City v Aston Villa

3pm BST, Britannia Stadium, Stoke

Stoke continue to be a tough team to beat at home season after season with only the top four losing less games at home last season. They finished ninth last season which was their highest finish in the Premier League and they will hope to improve on that this season. Their problem is their lack of goals, but the purchase of Bojan Krkic might help to solve that problem.

Krkic could be worth a punt for fantasy managers and he's available at a good price with Geoff Cameron and Asmir Begovic possibly worth considering too.

Villa had a battle against relegation for all of last season and just about managed to stay up. If they're going to do any better this time they will need to find some consistency and improve their home form too. They haven't added too much to their squad yet and it looks like this season could be a struggle again.

Ron Vlaar might not be a bad fantasy purchase with Christian Benteke worth considering when he comes back from injury and Charles N'Zogbia a possibility after missing all of last season through injury.

Stoke's home record should be enough to see them take all three points in this game.

Prediction: 2-1

West Bromwich Albion v Sunderland 

3pm BST, The Hawthorns, Birmingham 

West Brom only finished one place above the relegation zone last season and they won less home games than any other team. They also lost less games than any other team in the bottom half of the table, but drew too many games for their own good. They have taken a chance in appointing Alan Irvine as their manager and they need that gamble to pay off.

It's not easy to predict any West Brom players who might do well this season, but I have a feeling Stephane Sessegnon might not do too badly.

Sunderland managed to avoid relegation last season after looking dead and buried with only a few weeks to go and they will look to build on that. They have added a few decent players to their squad and Gus Poyet will want to push them towards the top half of the table. Their 11 home defeats last season were just not good enough and they need to make the Stadium of Light a tougher venue for teams to visit.

Vito Mannone and Adam Johnson look like the most obvious candidates in the Sunderland team for fantasy managers with Conor Wickham worth considering too if he can find his form of late last season.

I can see this being a very close game which could go either way, but I think it will end in a draw.

Prediction: 2-2

West Ham United v Tottenham Hotspur

3pm BST, Upton Park, London

West Ham will be worried that Andy Carroll is injured yet again as they struggled to score goals far too often last season. They can't afford to drop out of the Premier League again with a move to London's Olympic Stadium coming in two years time. Added to that there is a desire among the fans for the team to play some good football which isn't easy with Sam Allardyce in charge.

Kevin Nolan, Mark Noble and Guy Demel are all fantasy possibilities although Winston Reid might be the best option along with whoever gets the nod in goal for West Ham.

Spurs have had very few transfer dealings in the summer and will be hoping new boss Mauricio Pochettino can work his magic on their team. They bought an awful lot of players last summer though and some of those might perform a little better in their second season. Their away record was as good as any other team in the league last season and they will hope to continue that this season.

I think Christian Eriksen could possibly have a very good season for Spurs and Erik Lamela could do an awful lot better than last season too.

West Ham are never an easy proposition at home and I think they will get off to a winning start with a narrow victory.

Prediction: 2-1

Arsenal v Crystal Palace

5.30pm BST, Emirates Stadium, London

Arsenal won their first trophy in nine years last season and they have added to the strength of their squad over the summer too. They need some defensive reinforcements though if they are going to go the distance this season. They were in the title race for much of last season and will hope to be in it again, but they will have to improve their record against the other contenders to do so.

Aaron Ramsey is a must buy for fantasy managers in my opinion with Alexis Sanchez, Olivier Giroud, Mesut Ozil and Theo Walcott (when he returns from injury) all good choices too along with Mathieu Debuchey from a defensive perspective. 

Palace haven't added too much to their squad over the summer and the lack of purchases has led to Tony Pulis departing. He saved them from what seemed like certain relegation when he took over last season and they will need to find someone who can instill the same spirit in the team. They won't be looking forward to a trip to Arsenal after such a difficult week for the club.

Jason Puncheon did very well for Palace last season and could be worth a shot along with some of the Palace defenders if they can continue on from where Pulis left off.

Arsenal look to have too much firepower for Palace even with a few players out and I think they will win by a couple of goals.

Prediction: 3-1

Sunday August 17

Liverpool v Southampton 

1.30pm BST, Anfield, Liverpool

Liverpool sold Luis Suarez to Barcelona and their chances will depend upon how they adapt to life without their star player. From where I see it they haven't brought in players to improve on the ones they have, but some of their players will have learned a lot from last season and could improve. I can't see them challenging for the title again unless they sort out their defensive issues, but they might still score a lot of goals. 

Daniel Sturridge could be the Liverpool player to score their goals post Suarez with Raheem Sterling and Steven Gerrard worth considering too along with Adam Lallana and maybe even Dejan Lovern.

Southampton did really well last season, but they have sold an awful lot of the players who helped them to finish eighth in the league. A lot of those players have joined Liverpool and this game will have a very strange look to it from a Southampton perspective. The arrival of Ronald Koeman could be a good thing for Southampton, but it could take a while for all of the new signings to find their feet.

With so many changes in the Southampton team it's hard to know which players to choose but Jose Fonte and Fraser Forster could perform and Graziano Pelle is a possibility too along with Jay Rodriguez when he returns from injury.

Liverpool are a very tough team to get a result from at Anfield and I expect them to take all three points in this game.

Prediction: 2-0

Newcastle United v Manchester City

4pm BST, St. James Park, Newcastle 

Newcastle finished safely in mid table last season without ever troubling the teams above them. They had a lot of trouble scoring goals and the loss of Loric Remy won't make that task any easier. They only won eight of their 19 home games last season and they will have to improve on that or Alan Pardew will find himself in a spot of bother.

It's not easy to predict great things from Newcastle players this season, but Tim Krul, Steven Taylor and new boy Siem de Jong all have a good chance of performing well.

City have to be among the favourites as they look to retain their title and they have added a few players to make their squad even stronger. They were the top scorers last season with over 100 league goals, but they were vulnerable away from home at times. The title race looks very open this season and City will feel they have every chance of their third title in four seasons.

The old reliables look to be good fantasy choices in the City team with Yaya Toure, David Silva and Pablo Zabaleta all good choices and Vincent Kompany, Sergio Aguero and Eden Dzeko all worth considering too.

I think City will have too much class for Newcastle and will win by the odd goal.

Prediction: 1–2

Monday August 18

8pm BST, Turf Moor, Burnley

Burnley did very well to get promoted last season and their sole aim this season has to be to stay in the Premier League. They only lost two of their 23 home games last season and only conceded 14 goals in those games. That home form could be very important for them if they are to have any chance of staying up, but they have to be favourites to finish last.

Some of Burnley's defenders might do well this season as they were very strong defensively at home in the Championship last season and Danny Ings might not do too badly either.

Chelsea have invested heavily over the summer and they're going to be a very hard team to beat this season. They had the best defensive record away from home last season and look like they have a very good balance between attacking and defending players. They look like the team to beat and Jose Mourinho will feel he has a team more than capable of winning the league.

I think Cesc Fabregas could have a very good season for Chelsea along with Diego Costa and Eden Hazard along with all of their defenders.

I can't see anything other than a Chelsea win in this game.

Prediction: 0-2

Finally for today I'm running my league in Fantasy Premier League yet again this season and there will be a prize of €50 for the winner now that there's over 1,000 teams in it. To join just go to the site and use the code 13125-4843 to join my league once your team is set up.Absolutely finally for today I'm also running my predictor league again this season. I'll be previewing every Premier League game every week throughout the season too. You can make your predictions here and then join my mini league with the code FD20D-AVD after you have set everything up. 

That's it for this week.

See you next week.

Arsenal's Three Best Fantasy Choices

With the new season rapidly approaching thoughts are turning to fantasy football yet again and what players to choose for my team. As an Arsenal I want to get the full quota of three Arsenal players in my squad, but it's not always easy to know which Arsenal players to choose. Last season's scores are always a good indicator, but average points per game can be far more useful than overall points.

When it comes to points per game Aaron Ramsey was right up there last season with the very best of them and everything leads me to believe he will be again. If he can stay fit for the whole season he is a must have for fantasy managers in my opinion and there won't be many midfielders who score more points than him this coming season. His price might have increased a fair deal from last season, but he's still a good buy at £9 million and I wouldn't be surprised to see his price rise rapidly once the season starts.

Along with Ramsey new boy Alexis Sanchez is another Arsenal player fantasy managers have to seriously consider picking. He costs a little more than Ramsey at £10.5 million, but he's more than likely going to play a very attacking role in the team and he's listed in Fantasy Premier League as a midfielder. It's players who get listed out of position who can make a real difference for fantasy managers and it always has been since day one. When I played the original game in the early 90s I won my league in 5 out of 6 seasons, but Dwight Yorke stopped me from making it a clean sweep when he was a striker listed as a midfielder for Villa. Sanchez scored 28 goals for Barcelona last season and there's no reason to believe he won't get his fair share of goals and assists this season.

The final choice isn't quite so easy with a few candidates to choose from including Mesut Ozil, Olivier Giroud, Wojciech Szczesny, Per Mertesacker, Laurent Koscielny, Mathieu Debuchey and maybe even Theo Walcott when he comes back from injury. It's not easy to know which of those players is the best choice, but once he's back it would probably be Walcott for me. He's available for £9 million at the moment which is not a bad price, but he will take a little while to settle back into the side when he returns.

The thing is for both Sanchez and Walcott to do well somebody has to pull the strings in midfield and Ozil is ready made for that role. If the other two are to succeed them Ozil is going to run up an awful lot of assists and he's available at £9 million too. Due to his World Cup final duties Ozil will probably miss the first three league games of the season though and it might be a good idea to leave him out for the first few weeks too.

Giroud did very well last season and he was a pretty consistent performer for fantasy managers. With Debuchey providing crosses for him Giroud might do even better in his third season at the club. Arsenal have the potential to score a lot of goals this season and I would imagine Giroud should be able to help himself to a fee of those goals. He's not a bad choice at £8.5 million and is well worth considering too.

Arsenal's defence had it's bad moments last season with capitulations in a few high profile games, but they managed to keep a lot of clean sheets too. There's every chance for Mertesacker, Koscielny and Debuchey to get their fair share of clean sheets as well as getting in on the scoring at the other end occasionally with goals and assists. Szczesny had his moments last season too with only Tim Howard scoring more points than him among the Premier League's goalkeepers. It has to be remembered that defensive players score less points than attacking ones usually and it's always a good idea to look for a few defensive bargains. None of Arsenal's first choice defenders or goalkeeper are cheap by fantasy standards and it's not a good idea to have more than one of them in any team at one time. It also had to be remember that Mertesacker could be late back into the team too just like Ozil after his World Cup exploits.

At a push I would say Sanchez and Ramsey are two best choices from day one with Debuchey possibly to join them. When Walcott is back he might be a better option than Debuchey but it would surely be a mistake to have three midfielders from the same team in any fantasy side. I might just be tempted to keep Debuchey in my team and hope he can add a few assists to the clean sheets to make him a good buy.

Finally for today I'm running my league in Fantasy Premier League yet again this season and there will be a prize of €50 for the winner once the league reaches 1,000 teams. It's already over half way there and I'm very confident it will surpass the magical 1,000 mark. To join just go to the site and use the code 13125-4843 to join my league once your team is set up.

Absolutely finally for today I'm also running my predictor league again this season. I'll be previewing every Premier League game every week throughout the season too. You can make your predictions here and then join my mini league with the code FD20D-AVD after you have set everything up. 

That's it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Dear Arsenal Please Sign Cesc Now

If the rumours are to be believed then Cesc Fabregas is surplus to requirements at Barcelona and has been told he is free to leave them this summer. Personally I think Barcelona would be crazy to let Cesc go and I doubt if they really will do so. He hasn't always got his game for them since he rejoined them from Arsenal three years ago, but he has become a very important part of their team.

With Xavi approaching his dotage then surely Cesc is going to be even more important to Barcelona and his assists and goal scoring stats have been very impressive since he joined them. For me it just doesn't make senses to sell a player who is just approaching his prime when Barcelona need to build for the future. Those same rumours would also have us believe Cesc is available at a price of approximately €30 million which is less than they paid Arsenal for him in 2011.

Let's just suppose Cesc is available this summer and consider what should be done. It's common knowledge that Arsenal have first option on him if Barcelona are to sell him and from what I understand they would get him for a price similar to the one they paid Arsenal in 2011. It's a price Arsenal can afford and a transfer they would be crazy to turn their noses up at in my opinion.

In his years at Arsenal Cesc was an exceptional player and almost carried the team on his own at times. He would not require any time to settle into the style of play in the Premier League and he is one of the best players in the world. With him in the squad Arsenal's midfield would be the envy of almost every team in the world and the boss could avail of some genuine rotation in the midfield. Players like Cesc, Mesut Ozil, Aaron Ramsey and Santi Cazorla would have the chance to rest when it's needed without the team suffering.

The thought of seeing Cesc in any other Premier League team is one which I would find incredibly hard to take and one which would be a blow to Arsenal's chances of winning the league. I'm not suggesting Arsenal should sign Cesc just to stop him joining a rival, but the thought of Arsenal having to play against him should give the boss the extra incentive to buy him. I can't think of any team which wouldn't be improved by signing Cesc and players of his ability are few and far between.

How often can Arsenal make an approach for a top class player and know they won't be usurped by one of the many oil rich teams. They have money to spend from new sponsorship and shirt deals as well as the extra TV money which every Premier a League team is now getting. Maybe a midfielder isn't the first item on this summer's shopping list, but the team will only be better if they sign Cesc. For me Arsenal just cannot turn down the opportunity to sign a player who will make them a better team.

Of course the club still have to sign a striker, a right back, a defensive midfielder and a centre back too and that's going to cost a fair amount of money. The club have been frugal with their money for far too long now and some real investment this summer is not only needed but could be just what's required to go the distance next season and for a few more seasons too. Arsenal came close in the league last season and won the cup and now they need to challenge right up to the end in the league. 

If they sign Cesc I think that will be the first step in the right direction and will hopefully help them to attract other players too. Any striker would surely want to sign for a team where he had both Ozil and Cesc ready and willing to create chances for him and there are few players in world football who can match their stats for making chances. It would be a striker's dream to have those two players setting him up time after time and Arsenal could become a goal scoring machine with the right striker in front of Cesc and Ozil.

I might be a little biased towards Cesc I suppose, but that's hardly surprising as my blog was originally titled "Cesc Is God" when it started almost six years ago. The title had to change when Cesc left and it won't be changing back if he returns, but I would be a very happy man to see him in an Arsenal shirt again. I can only hope Arsene Wenger feels the same way too and brings him back to the club where he truly belongs.

That's it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Predictions For Premier League Gameweek 24

It's that time of the week again when I attempt to predict the outcomes of the upcoming Premier League games. I managed one perfect result last week, three correct outcomes and six incorrect. It meant I dropped to seventh in my predictions league, but I'm still very close to a top three place. Here's a look at how the top 10 in my predictions league stands.

Pos.    Player.                        Week.    Total

1.         MickTheGooner          140        1585

2.         Wayne Hubbard           20         1565

3.         Paul Kingston             145         1480

4.         Karl-Yngve Lund         115         1450

5.         Abu K                         115          1445

6.         KildareGunner              50          1420

7.         Michael Sheehy            60         1415

8.         goonerdhanesh            10          1190

9.         Sulabh                          25          1135

10.       Gaurav Ahuja                 0           885

Saturday February 1

Newcastle United v Sunderland 

12.45pm GMT, St. James Park, Newcastle 

Newcastle sold their best player to PSG during the week and won't find life without Yohan Cabaye easy. Loric Remy got a red card at Norwich on Wednesday night and he will miss this fierce local derby as a result. Newcastle will want to gain revenge for the 2-1 defeat at Sunderland in October and have only lost three of their 11 home games.

With their two star performers missing it's hard to see any Newcastle players to recommend at the moment, but Yoan Gouffran has done well in home games.

Sunderland won at home for the first time in two months on Wednesday night and that win moved them out of the relegation zone. They have only won twice away from home in 11 games, but they are unbeaten in their last five away games. They will fancy their chances against a Newcastle team missing their star performers.

Adam Johnson is the in form Sunderland player at the moment with Vito Mannone well worth considering too.

I think this will be a very close game and could well end in a draw.

Prediction: 1-1

West Ham United v Swansea City

3pm GMT, Upton Park, London

West Ham got a very good point away to Chelsea on Wednesday night, but they're still in the bottom three. They have only won two of their 11 home games and have only won once in their last 10 games home and away. If they're going to avoid relegation they're going to have to show a lot more of the spirit they showed against Chelsea. 

It's not easy to see any West Ham players doing well for fantasy managers at the moment.

Swansea got their first win in nine games at home to Fulham on Tuesday night. They have lost six of their 11 away games, but only Chelsea have a better defensive record away from home. The win over Fulham gave them some breathing space at the wrong end of the table, but a defeat to West Ham would be a big blow to their chances of steering clear of the drop zone.

Wilfried Bony looks like the Swansea player most likely to succeed for fantasy managers at the moment.

I think this will be another very close game and it could well end in a draw too.

Prediction: 1-1

Cardiff City v Norwich City

3pm GMT, Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff

Cardiff have only taken one point in their last seven games and have failed to score in four of them. They have only won three of their 11 home games and no other team has scored less goals at home than Cardiff. They're only three points from safety with 15 games to play, but they will have to improve if they are going to have a chance of staying up.

I can't see any Cardiff players making an impression for fantasy managers right now.

Norwich have kept clean sheets in their last two games and they took four points from those games. They have lost seven of their 11 away games though with only Fulham and Stoke conceding more goals away from home. They're five points above the relegation zone and a win in this game would give them a really important buffer over the teams in trouble.

Cardiff players are hardly setting the fantasy world alight at the moment either.

If Cardiff are to avoid the drop this is the type of game they need to win and I think they might just nick it.

Prediction: 2-1

Everton v Aston Villa

3pm GMT, Goodison Park, Liverpool

Everton were soundly thrashed by Liverpool on Tuesday night and have a fair few injury problems at the moment. They have only lost one of their 11 home games though and need to win to keep pace with the fight for fourth place. If they can't find someone to score the goals of the injured Romelu Lukaku they could find themselves among the also rans.

If Seamus Coleman is back from injury he's Everton's top fantasy performer with Leighton Baines and Kevin Mirallas worth considering too.

Villa have taken eight points in their last five games and they're in the top half of the table with an eight point gap to the relegation zone. They have only lost three of their 11 away games and only Chelsea have a better defensive record away from home. It won't be easy for them against a good Everton team, but they are set up to hit teams on the break away from home.

Christian Benteke looks to have regained some form with three goals in three games and could be the best fantasy bet in the Villa team.

This could be a very close affair but I think Everton will take the three points.

Prediction: 2-1

Fulham v Southampton 

3pm GMT, Craven Cottage, London

Fulham have lost 12 of their last 15 games and have the worst defensive record at home and away from home. They have lost seven of their 11 home games and will do well to avoid relegation if they can't improve their defensive record. It looks like it could be a very tough remainder of the season for them, but they are still only three points away from safety. 

I still can't see any Fulham players to recommend with the possible exception of Steve Sidwell.

Southampton were very good against Arsenal on Tuesday night and probably should have taken all three points. They have a good defensive record away from home but they have only won three of their 11 away games. They started the season very strongly and the signs are they might just finish it strongly too.

Adam Lallana and Jay Rodriguez keep racking up the fantasy points week after week and are well worth having in any fantasy team.

I think Southampton are good enough to take the three points from this game.

Prediction: 1-2

Hull City v Tottenham Hotspur

3pm GMT, KC Stadium, Hull

Hull have lost their last four games in the league without scoring a goal and are drifting dangerously close to the relegation zone. They have only lost three of their 11 home games though and only Arsenal have a better defensive record at home. If they're going to keep a safe distance from the relegation zone they need to start scoring goals and winning games again.

Hull defenders aren't a bad fantasy choice at the moment when they're at home in particular.

Spurs took another real hiding from City on Wednesday night, but they're still right in the fight for fourth place. They have won eight of their 11 away games and only Chelsea have a better defensive record away from home despite the six goals Spurs they conceded at City. The defeat on Wednesday night was their third thrashing of the season, but they have managed to bounce back from the other two and need to do so again. 

Christian Eriksen and Emmanuel Adebayor still look like they could be good fantasy buys as long as Spurs can bounce back.

I think Spurs away form will be enough to see them take the three points.

Prediction: 0-2

Stoke City v Manchester United

3pm GMT, Britannia Stadium, Stoke

Stoke have taken only one point in their last six games and lost their last two games by the same 1-0 scoreline to Palace and Sunderland. They have only lost two of their 11 home games though and have beaten Chelsea and drawn with City at home. They're just three points above the relegation zone and need to turn some recent good performances into points on the board. 

I can't see any Stoke players making an impression for fantasy managers at the moment.

United may have lost to both Chelsea and Spurs recently, but they have still won six of their last eight league games. They have kept clean sheets in four of those eight games and are only six points off the top four despite a very disappointing league campaign so far. They have won as many league games away from home as at home and have scored more goals away from home.

With Robin van Persie and Wayne Rooney back from injury and Juan Mata new among the ranks there are plenty of good fantasy options in the United team too and Patrice Evra is worth considering too.

I think United will be too strong for Stoke and continue their fight for a top four place with a win.

Prediction: 1-3

Sunday February 2

West Bromwich Albion v Liverpool

1.30pm GMT, The Hawthorns, Birmingham 

West Brom have only won once in their last 13 league games and have slipped to only three points above the relegation zone. They have only won three of their 11 home games and have only kept one clean sheet in that very poor run. Like so many other clubs they need to improve quickly before they find themselves in a very awkward position.

There haven't been any West Brom players excelling this season although Chris Brunt and James Morrison have looked good in recent weeks.

Liverpool had a great 4-0 win over Everton on Wednesday night and are looking good in fourth place. They have only won four of their 11 away games though and have conceded 20 goals away from home. They have the firepower to beat any team, but they need to improve in defence to stay ahead in the race for fourth place. 

Every fantasy team just has to have Luis Suarez in it and Daniel Sturridge and Steven Gerrard are in fine form too.

I think Liverpool will be able to score enough goals to insure all three points in this game.

Prediction: 1-3

Arsenal v Crystal Palace

4pm GMT, Emirates Stadium, London

Arsenal ended their run of five league wins in a row when they drew 2-2 at Southampton on Tuesday night. They're only one point behind City and haven't lost a home league game since the opening day. They have the best defensive record at home too and a win would put them back on top of the table ahead of the game between City and Chelsea the next night.

Santi Cazorla continues to shine for Arsenal along with any or all of their defence.

Palace have won six of their last 12 games to move four points clear of the relegation zone. They have kept clean sheets in seven of their last 13 league games and have proved very hard to beat since Tony Pulis got the manager's job. They have lost nine of their 11 away games though and have only scored five goals in those games.

Jason Puncheon has been very good in recent weeks since he missed a penalty against Spurs and the Palace defenders and goalkeeper have been very good bargain buys too.

Arsenal have to win this game and I think they will do so by a couple of goals.

Prediction: 2-0

Monday February 3

Manchester City v Chelsea

8pm GMT, Etihad Stadium, Manchester 

City are an unstoppable machine at home and have won all 11 of their home league games scoring 42 goals in the process. They're on top of the table and will move six points ahead of Chelsea if they can beat them. They won't find it too easy against a packed Chelsea defence, but if any team can break them down it's City.

There are so many City players to choose from with Yaya Toure and David Silva in fine form along with Vincent Kompany, Alvaro Negredo and maybe even Eden Dzeko now that Sergio Aguero is injured again.

Chelsea will try to do to City what West Ham did to them on Wednesday night. They have already drawn 0-0 away to Arsenal and United and would be more than happy to be the first team to take a home point off City this season. They have only won five of their away league games though, but they have got the best defensive record away from home.

Eden Hazard and John Terry have been the best fantasy performers for Chelsea, but they might not get many points from this game.

I think City are good enough to get past the bus Chelsea will park and win by a couple of goals.

Prediction: 3-1

That's it for this week.

See you next week.

Arsenal Beat Cardiff To Put It Up To The Chasing Pack

Arsenal went into yesterday's game away to Cardiff four points clear at the top of the Premier League and looking to increase that lead. With Liverpool, Chelsea, City and United not playing until today it was a great chance for them to increase that lead to seven points and put some pressure on each of those teams. 

Cardiff had already won at home to City and drawn at home to United last week and they were certainly going to be no pushover at home. Their proficiency from set pieces had been the undoing of the Manchester clubs and Arsenal knew they had to keep their defensive concentration for the full 90 minutes. Arsenal had only conceded one goal in their previous four league games and more of the same defending would be needed to win this game.

Arsene Wenger made three changes from the team that beat Marseille on Tuesday night as he looked to build up a lead at the top of the table with some very tough games coming up. In fact the changes he made meant the team was the exact same as the one which beat Southampton 2-0 last Saturday. With a home game against Hull on Tuesday night some squad rotation was important, but players like Aaron Ramsey, Mesut Ozil and Olivier Giroud simply cannot be left out at the moment.

Arsenal started very positively and were almost ahead inside the first minute when Jack Wilshere hit the bar with a fine effort. He had scored after less than a minute against Marseille and was very close to getting his fith goal of the season. The early signs were good as Arsenal dominated possession and looked to get an advantage.

Not long afterwards Per Mertesacker took a bad blow to the mouth after a collision with Bacary Sagna and looked like he might have to go off with blood pouring from his mouth. Thankfully he managed to return but Cardiff got their first real chance from a header when he was off receiving treatment. Thankfully the header from Fraizer Campbell went wide after he out jumped Sagna.

The next incident was quite bizarre and I'm sure it's one Giroud would like to forget in a hurry. He found himself through with only the keeper to beat but thinking he was offside stopped and allowed a Cardiff defender to get back and block his effort. He was definitely offside when Ozil flicked a through ball on to him, but the officials failed to see Ozil's touch and the whistle never blew. As good as Giroud has been this season (and he has been very good), a more ruthless striker would have put the ball in the back of the net and asked questions afterwards. 

Just before the half hour mark Arsenal got the lead goal they wanted and it was the Ozil and Ramsey partnership on the mark again. Ramsey ran into the centre forward's position and he clearly pointed at where he wanted the ball played with Ozil duly obliging. It was a sweet ball from Ozil and a fantastically controlled header from Ramsey to put Arsenal 1-0 up. He didn't celebrate out of respect to the club that gave him a break in the game and the Cardiff fans appreciated it. 

Arsenal stayed in control for the rest of the half and started the second half in the same mode with the second goal looking imminent. A superb passing move ended with Ramsey cutting the ball back for Giroud to shoot from six yards out, but unfortunately there was a defender on hand to clear it off the line. The miss almost proved costly a short while later when Campbell rose high to get a header in, but Wojciech Szczesny make a fine save to deny him.

Cardiff got a bit of confidence from that chance and as long as Arsenal couldn't get the second goal they stood a chance of getting back into it. The best of the chances was missed by Santi Cazorla when he failed to get enough on a shot with only the keeper to beat when I expected him to bury it. As the clock ticked down Arsenal brought Nacho Monreal and Mathieu Flamini on for Cazorla and Wilshere to shore things up and hold their narrow lead.

In true Arsenal style the player who was brought on to tighten things up in a defensive midfield role was the next man to score when Flamini burst forward to get on to an Ozil pass and fire the ball into the net first time. With only four minutes left the game was effictively over as Cardiff were never going to pull two goals back. It was his first goal in English football in almost six years, but he did spend most of that time playing in Italy.

Theo Walcott came on as normal time came to an end to run the clock down more than anything, but he had a big hand in Arsenal's third goal. Arsenal won the ball in their own box and fed it to Walcott who broke quickly forward and passed to Ramsey who fired in his second goal and Arsenal's third. The goal showed how much of an asset Walcott's pace can be when teams are trying to push forward against Arsenal in particular.

It was a very impressive display from Arsenal against a Cardiff team who are no mugs at home as they have proved against both City and United. The two late goals put a bit of gloss on the scoreline but the result was no more than the team deserved on the day. They set out to play their own game from the first minute and played some excellent football at times.

The inter changing of the players in the attacking third is quite fantastic to watch and a real headache for opposing teams. The midfield combinations and alternatives Arsenal have at the moment are magnificent and there's still Lukas Podolski and Akex Oxlade-Chamberlain to add to the equation when they return from injury. The defence is now statistically the second best in the league and only City have scored more goals than Arsenal.

Next up is a Hull team who have struggled away from home with five defeats in six games and it's a game Arsenal should be winning. In the meantime they can sit back today with a seven point lead at the top of the table and watch as the chasing pack try to make up ground on them. It's a great time to be an Arsenal fan and I can only imagine it's a great time to be an Arsenal player too.

That's it for today.

See you tomorrow,

10 Man Arsenal Win 2-0 At Palace

Arsenal went to Crystal Palace in the early kick off today knowing a win would put them five points clear at the top of the table before any of the chasing pack played their games. Arsenal had taken 19 points in their last seven league games while Palace had lost their previous five and only Sunderland were below them in the table. Arsenal were very strong favourites to win and their biggest enemy was going to be complacency more than likely. 

Arsene Wenger made two changes from the team which was beaten 2-1 at home in the Champions League by Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday night. Santi Cazorla came in for Tomas Rosicky on the left of the attacking trio and Mathieu Flamini returned to his midfield anchor role in place of Jack Wilshere who wasn't risked after hurting his ankle against Dortmund. It was a very strong looking Arsenal team and they surely just needed to play at full pace to get a win.

Arsenal were on top from the start but the pace they were playing at wasn't what it might have been as they looked a little fatigued and possibly a little complacent too. The best chances early on came to Arsenal but they suffered a blow after only eight minutes when Flamini limped off with what looked like a groin injury. He was replaced by Serge Gnabry who went out to the right hand side of the attacking trio.

When Arsenal didn't score early on Palace gradually came into the game and had a few chances of their own before the half was over. Luckily Wojciech Szczesny was in fine form in the Arsenal goal and Palace weren't at their best in front of goal. Arsenal probably should have had a penalty in that first half but the referee ruled that a foul on Gnabry was outside the box when it was actually in it.

There was no score at half time and Arsenal needed to pick up the pace and the effort after the break if they were going to win. Thankfully they were given a helping hand by Palace after less than a minute of the second half when a foolish challenge in the box brought Gnabry down for a certain penalty. Mikael Arteta stepped up to put the penalty away and give Arsenal the lead they wanted.

I hoped to see Arsenal build on that lead but they didn't reall create an awful lot and Palace gradually started to push forward in search of an equaliser. They didn't really seem to carry much of a threat until just before the mid point in the half when Arteta was judged to have impeded Marouane Chamakh in a goal scoring position and was shown a straight red card. There are a few questions to be asked of the referee about the card but also about the Arsenal defence.

First of all I would like to know how Chamakh was given so much space to run into and secondly where were the Arsenal central defenders at the time to leave Arteta marking him. Also how did the referee judge that a player has an obvious goal scoring chance when he was only a few yards inside the Arsenal half and did Arteta actually take Chamakh down or did they just collide. It was harsh on Arteta and it was just what Palace needed to try to get back into the game.

With the man advantage Palace started to push forward and Arsenal quickly brought Wilshere on to replace Gnabry. For the next 10 minutes Palace built up a head of steam and Arsenal only kept their lead thanks to the brilliance of Szczesny. He showed exactly how good he can be and made one fantastic save in particular which probably won Arsenal the three points.

As the game wore on Arsenal were getting more chances on the break as Palace pushed further forward but couldn't get the final ball right to put the game to bed. Nacho Monreal came on for Santi Cazorla to tighten things up at the back and he was the one who looked most likely to make something happen as he pushed forward. The second goal eventually came with three minutes left and with it the game was finally over.

Aaron Ramsey broke into the Palace box and held the ball up before floating it into the path of the on rushing Olivier Giroud to power a header home from five yards out. There was nothing the Palace keeper could do about it and Arsenal saw the rest of the game out with relative ease. When the final whistle went Arsenal had the three points they needed and could sit back to see how all of their rivals fared.

It might not have been a vintage performance from Arsenal but most importantly of all they got the win they needed. They have 22 points from their first 9 league games and are top of the table going into two really tough league games. It's been a hectic season with games coming twice a week every week and Arsenal have managed to keep winning in the league.

Most of the players who played today will now have a bit of a rest in midweek as the boss will look to play the fringe players in the Capital One Cup against Chelsea. As I've said before I don't really mind too much how that game goes as long as Arsenal can have their best team possible ready to play Liverpool next Saturday. With Dortmund and United to follow that game before another international break it would be too much of a gamble to risk players against Chelsea.

For the moment though Arsenal are top of the table and have won 15, drawn three and lost one of their last 18 league games. That's one defeat in almost half of a season and they have taken more points in the current calendar year than any other team. As the schedule gets really tough in the next few weeks hopefully they can keep that record going.

That's it for today.

See you tomorrow.