Welcome Back Arsenal

It’s been far too long since we’ve seen Arsenal play football and international friendlies just do not make up for the teal thing. By the real thing I mean Arsenal of course and not competitive internationals which are only marginally better than their friendly cousins. The season is drawing towards a close now and there’s still a lot to be decided at the business end of it.

Unfortunately we have to wait an extra day for Arsenal to play this weekend as they don’t face Stoke at the Emirates until 1.30 on Sunday. It’s another must win game for us as most of our games will be from here until the end of the season. A top four finish might be beyond us at this stage, but we still have to make sure we finish sixth to at least assure ourselves of Europa League football next season.

The teams below us haven’t really put any pressure on us at all, but both Burnley and Leicester are capable of closing the gap if we drop points. We have crucial games against both of them to come and the outcomes of those games will probably decide whether we have to fight to finish sixth or whether we can really concentrate on trying to win the Europa League. There is no doubt that the Europa League has to be our number one priority with the prize of Champions League football on offer to the winner, but we cannot completely ignore our bread and butter.

Ahead of Sunday’s game there’s fairly good news on the fitness front of the squad with almost everybody available to play. Of course Santi Cazorla is still injured and who knows if we’ll ever see him in an Arsenal shirt again, but Jack Wilshere looks likely to recover from the knock which kept him out of the England games and Alexandre Lacazette is almost ready to play again too. It’s going to give Arsene Wenger a few selection headaches for Stoke on Sunday and against CSKA next Thursday too.

I think he’s going to go with a pretty strong team against Stoke and the strongest team possible against CSKA. His options are a little easier with Pierre-Emireck Aubameyang ineligible on Thursday so he should be unleashed against Stoke. It will be a straight choice between Danny Welbeck and Lacazette agsinst CSKA with Welbeck likely to get the nod and Lacazette probably gradually introduced in the next couple of games from the bench.

We have had our run ins with Stoke over the years and it would be great if we could push them even closer to the Championship for next season. The treatment their fans dish out to Aaron Ramsey is still a bone of contention and it would be nice to see the player who shattered his leg that day getting relegated. Maybe his mother will come and collect him if it happens and wipe the tears from his eyes.

Besides that horrific incident we have had to listen to their constant chants of our players always cheating when they have the termerity to go down after being kicked by Stoke players. We have struggled up there far too often for my liking, but their record at the Emirates is hardly one to write home about. If we can play our part in relegating them it will at least put s smile on my face in a season which has given us very little to smile about.

That’s it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Arsenal Wishing For Santi To Come Early

Christmas is only around the corner and so many kids out there are anxiously waiting to see what Santa brings them. As a football club you wouldn't think Arsenal would have a wish list from Santa, but what they do need in an awful hurry is the return of Santi Cazorla. It's only five weeks to Christmas, but if the magical little Spanish man doesn't come back soon it could be too late for their title chances.

Since he picked up his injury late in the 6-0 win over Ludogorets they have struggled to find any fluency. Not only have the goals dried up, but the team aren't even making many chances. The last two games may have been against two of the better teams in the league, but the chances had dried up before Arsenal played Spurs and United.

In those two games things got decidedly worse though with Arsenal only managing one attempt on target in each game. There's a lot to be said for the team remaining unbeaten since the opening day of the season, but they have drawn three of their last four games. It's been a long time since there were two points for a win and three draws in four games has seen Arsenal drop back to fourth place.

Of course Arsenal are still well in the picture for the title, but they need to find their mojo again and quickly too. If Santi can't play then something else has to be tried and maybe it's time for Granit Xhaka to become a more important and regular member of the team. Is it possible that Aaron Ramsey could play alongside him and a combination of the two of them might give the team the injection it needs from midfield.

I certainly think it has to be better than playing Ramsey in a wide position where he just isn't suited to playing. There is no point in fitting players into the team out of position when others can play far better in that position. I'm not knocking Ramsey, but I think he has to be played in a position where he can affect the game or not at all. 

The next few league games aren't as hard as the last two, but they're by no means easy and there's the small matter of a game with PSG on Wednesday night too. Arsenal need to put a run of a few wins together to keep pace at the top of the table and to show that they can cope without that man Santi. It's not going to be easy for them, but Arsene Wenger has to find a way forward from the place the team finds itself in right now.

That's it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Arsenal v Middlesbrough Preview And Confirmed Arsenal Lineup

Arsenal just can't stop winning at the moment and that's a pretty handy habit to have. They have won their last six league games to move level on points with City at the top of the table with a couple of favourable games to come before the pressure of some bigger games. They play Middlesbrough at home today and then next Saturday they travel to Sunderland and six points can and should be attained from those two games.

If they can go into the games against Spurs and United on the back of eight consecutive wins it will give them plenty of confidence as well as a little bit of a cushion in case things don't go their way. I'm not saying I think they will lose those games, but they tend to be very close affairs and sometimes the outcome can be decided by matters which cannot be controlled. If they win the games against Boro and Sunderland I would in fact be very confident of them taking at least four points from the games against Spurs and United which would be more than acceptable.

Of course other factors will come into play too such as an EFL Cup game, a Champions League game and a dreaded international break. The squad still hasn't been affected too badly by injuries, but we have Aaron Ramsey, Olivier Giroud, Per Mertesacker and Danny Welbeck among others who are currently unavailable. While we can do without further injuries we are coping very well without those four players and the available squad still has plenty of depth.

The league season is very long and always has it's twists and turns, but I haven't seen anything yet to suggest there is any team who Arsenal cannot match in a head to head situation or over the entire season either. The problems could come if or when results go against them and they ability to overcome a couple of bad results in the past leaves them open to questions on how they might cope this season. We are constantly told of the team's mental strength and we will see if there is any truth in it at some stage I have no doubt.

As for Boro there is very little expected of them today after an awful run of results has seen them take only one point from their last five games. They will take some encouragement from Swansea running Arsenal close last week though and of course Arsenal had to play a midweek game too. Watching Arsenal destroy Ludogorets 6-0 on Wednesday night won't have done Boro's confidence too much good, but they won't be easy to break down. 

They have done better on their travels than they have at home and they will follow the tried and trusted method away to Arsenal of shutting up shop and looking for something on the break or from a set piece. It's the sort of game Arsenal struggle in sometimes, but I think the attacking flair currently on show from Arsenal will be too much for Boro.

The team is almost the same as it was last Saturday with the exception of a change in the midfield duo. Granit Xhaka missed out after his red card against Swansea of course and it looks like Santi Cazorla hasn't recovered in time from the knock he picked up in midweek. They are replaced by Francis Coquelin and Mohamed Elneny who will both be eager to take the chance to show what they can do.

Coquelin in particular will hope to move ahead of Xhaka in the pecking order again after losing his place due to injury. Elneny will do well to oust a fully fit Cazorla from the team, but he is certainly a more than capable replacement today. It will be interesting to see how they work together with Coquelin doing most of the tackling and Elneny trying to set the tempo for the team.

It's still a team who are on paper far too good for Boro and should be looking to win by a couple of goals at least. If players like Alexis Sanchez, Mesut Ozil and Theo Walcott can continue to terrorize defenders Boro will be in for s very busy afternoon. I think they will do just that and get their seventh league win on the bounce.

That's it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Arsenal v Chelsea Preview

Arsenal are going quite well in the league at the moment with three wins in a row and nine goals scored in those games. That's a pretty good return for a team who aren't playing a striker and only City have more goals than them in the opening five games of the season. Those three games were against teams they were expected to beat though and today's game will be a tougher task.

They face a Chelsea team who have 10 points from their opening five games too, but who have taken only one point from their last two games. They were beaten for the first time last week at home to Liverpool and drew away to Swansea in their previous game. Like Arsenal they have struggled to keep clean sheets and both teams have only managed one in their first five games.

On the face of it both teams are in a very similar position even if their results have gone the opposite way to each other. They both suffered their only defeat at home to Liverpool and both teams will be looking for three points to try to keep pace with a City team who have a 100% record so far. The loser of this game could find themselves eight points off the top of the table if City get the expected three points at Swansea and a draw would see them both seven points adrift.

There's a long season ahead, but it can't be a good thing to give a team like City a lead like that so early on. I'm not suggesting this is a must win game for both teams, but it's not far from it. There will be plenty of twists and turns to come, but Arsenal will want to continue their winning run and Chelsea will want go put a stop to their recent slide.

From a team selection perspective it looks like Arsene Wenger will more than likely go with the team that won 4-1 away to Hull last week. It seems to be his favoured starting line up at the moment despite £35 million new boy Granit Xhaka sitting on the bench. Xhaka came on late against Hull and scored a stunning goal and he got another one in the midweek EFL Cup victory away to Forest despite being bought more for his defensive qualities.

The team who played in that win at Forest did very well and showed that we have plenty of quality in reserve. As well as Xhaka's goal we got two from Lucas Perez and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain chipped in with one also. Considering the boss made 11 changes from the win over Hull it shows the strength in depth we have and those players will all be anxious to get a chance in the first team.

I'm still not pushed on Alexis Sanchez playing as the central striker, but the boss seems determined to pursue the project and he did score twice last week. He probably should have had a hat trick as he missed a penalty too and we seem to be getting quite a few penalties this season. We have four already in our five league games and we only got two in 38 league games last season. It would be great if we improved our conversion rate with both Alexis and Theo Walcott missing their attempts and Santi Cazorla at least scoring both of his.

I think we will make enough chances today to have every chance of winning the game, but our hopes could well depend on how we defend as a team. We have had our run ins with Diego Costa as he has had in just about every game he plays. Our players cannot react to his provocation today and we just have to hope the referee will for once see what he gets up to and punish him appropriately. Chelsea won their first two games with late goals from Costa and he should have been sent off in both games before getting those goals.

I don't think it will be an open free flowing game with goals galore and a thrill a minute. To be honest I'm not too concerned what sort of game it is once Arsenal emerge victorious. They can do that, but it will require their best performance of the season so far and their first 90 minute performance too.

That's it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Arsenal Lay The Vikings To Waste With 8 Goals

The new season draws ever closer and this time next week we'll be preparing for the big kick off. Arsenal had their last two pre season games to play this weekend and they got the first one out of the way last night when they played Viking FK. The quality of the opposition may not have been top drawer, but Arsenal were still impressive in putting eight goals past them with no reply.

Arsene Wenger picked a fairly strong team from those he has available at the moment, but he also possibly held a few players back for Sunday's game against Manchester City. Noteable absentees were Petr Cech, Calum Chambers and Granit Xhaka who might have played and didn't while Aaron Ramsey and Alexis Sanchez should probably see some action against City. Cech apparently has an eye infection but he should be fit to play Liverpool next week while Chambers and Xhaka don't appear to be in any doubt.

Arsenal were in control from the start and would have taken an early lead, but Santi Cazorla had his penalty saved. Cazorla was captain for this game with Per Mertesacker on the long term injured list and must be considered to keep the post in Mertesacker's absence. We were told he was a bit short of fitness for the Liverpool game, but he played the full 90 minutes and was the star performer for me.

The Viking goalkeeper continued his heroics in the first half, but Joel Campbell eventually made the breakthrough when he slid in to finish off a header from Mohamed Elneny which looked like it might have gone in anyway. There was still some hope for Viking at half time with only Campbell's goal separating the teams, but that soon changed after the break. Arsenal made three changes at the break and their early pressure paid off with four more goals before the hour mark. 

Those goals came from Cazorla, Theo Walcott, an own goal and Campbell again and the game was over as a contest at that point. Three more goals were added in the last 20 minutes with Alex Iwobi grabbing a brace and Chuba Akpom adding the final goal right at the end. There were some good goals among those eight goals and they made the game very enjoyable to watch. 

City will present a much tougher test on Sunday, but you can only beat the team you play and Arsenal certainly did that in style last night. I think the team we see against City will be something close to the one which starts the season against Liverpool next week. We already know Mesut Ozil, Laurent Koscielny and Olivier Giroud won't play against Liverpool and I imagine Ramsey and Alexis are unlikely to play from the start too.

That's five players from the probable starting lineup who won't be on from the start due to international commitments in the summer and it's going to make the opening fixture particularly difficult. Liverpool will be expected to do a lot better this season as Klopp's first full season in charge and a win away to Arsenal would be a great way for them to start. We're short of our strongest lineup in defence, midfield and attack and it's going to be a struggle to get something from the game.

Even with all of our attacking players available we are goal shy, but the removal of last season's top two scorers only makes matters worse. As bad as the need for a new striker is we need Giroud available as soon as possible despite his shortcomings. He's the only fit proven striker in the squad and the only other options as a central striker at the moment are Walcott, Akpom or maybe even Campbell.

Walcott wanted to be considered as a striker, but he has now decided he's a wide right pkayer again and he has done nothing to convince me he is the man to start up front against Liverpool. Akpom has managed a few goals so far in his limited opportunities in the pre season games and probably has more of a striker's instinct than any of the other choices, but he's very much unproven. The last option might be Campbell and I think he could be the best option despite not really being an out and out striker. I've been impressed with him in pre season and I think he's the most likely of the three to get on the scoresheet in that game.

While Cazorla was the man of the match for me I was also impressed with Campbell and Iwobi did well when he came on too. I had hoped Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain would continue his good form of the last few games, but he didn't do much in the 45 minutes he played. Maybe he might have done better if he had stayed on for the second half when Arsenal scored seven goals, but I had hoped to see him continue on his recent vein.

The chances are Chamberlain will be in the starting team against Liverpool and he has a chance to disprove the doubters early this season. If it doesn't go well for him in those early games he could find himself taking a back seat when the rest of the squad are fully available again. It's a big season for him and his performances could make or break him as a player at the highest level.

We might get a better idea of where the team are before the season starts in the City game on Sunday, but these games count for little in reality. The real football doesn't begin until next week and the pace of the games before then just isn't the same. I can't say I'm overly confident ahead of that Liverpool game, but hopefully that will change as the game approaches.

Finally for today there's still time to join my Fantasy League and my Predictions Leagur for the new season. There's a €50 prize for the fantasy league and it's open to anyone to join.

To join my fantasy league go to the official site and set up your team after entering your details. Once you've set up your team go to the league's option and join a private league. The code for my league (Ever Arsenal league) is 64693-22498 and there's already well over 500 teams in it.

For my predictions league go to the official site and make your forecasts for the first set of games (you can change them later if you want) and then go to the mini leagues option. Go to the join a mini league option (invitation code) and use the code for my league 64693-215432 to sign up. After that you can join in the fun of predicting every single game in the upcoming season.

That's it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Arsenal's Title Hopes Still Intact

The defeat at home to Chelsea on Sunday was a blow to Arsenal, but it certainly wasn't a fatal blow to their Premier League title hopes. A win would have put them back on top of the table, level on points with Leicester and more crucially three points ahead of City. With 15 games left to play for each team there's certainly an awful lot more football to play and a lot of points to be won and lost too.

The most worrying thing for Arsenal is their current run of form with only two points from their last three games. They have got to play on Sunday afternoon for each of those games knowing how City had done before they played and they failed to press home any advantage on each occasion. Admittedly they were tough games, but the two point return from them definitely wasn't that of potential champions.

For the second time this season a game against Chelsea was ruined by a red card for an Arsenal player and Chelsea went on to beat them. I was far from impressed by Chelsea's performance, but Arsenal weren't good at all either despite working very hard. If they're going to go the distance they need to improve and very quickly too.

On the plus side Alexis Sanchez made his return from injury as a sub and others look set to follow him shortly. When Francis Coquelin and Santi Cazorla first got injured the team seemed to cope well enough without them, but they have struggled for the last few games. They're struggling badly in midfield and the return of Coquelin can't come quickly enough, but unfortunately Cazorla has a bit to go before we see him again.

Arsene Wenger has had very few options available to him for the last couple of months, but those options are increasing now. It doesn't look like he will add any more players before the transfer window closes despite the squad still being short of a striker. The players who have struggled recently will still be called upon in the main to get the job done and they need to find some form quickly.

Arsenal managed to finish third last season, but they never really managed to challenge for the title. They did better against the rest of the title contenders than they had done in a while, but they dropped too many points against the teams below them in the rest of the top half of the table. It's a pattern they're following again this season and one they need to change quickly.

As it stands they have 10 points from four games against the rest of the top five, but only six points from six games against the next four teams. It's difficult to explain why they have done so well against the teams right up there and have struggled against the teams below them. It could be a lack of focus in those games in comparison to games against the top five or maybe it could be that the teams at the top of the table are more prepared to play a style which is more suited to Arsenal. 

For whatever reason it is they need to sort it out quickly. They have a cup game against Burnley this weekend, but they follow it up with a home game against resurgent Southampton and that's the type of game they need to win, but have struggled in this season. They have a busy and very tough schedule coming up with Barcelona on the horizon twice as well as Leicester and United in the league.

As it stands Leicester lead the way even if the common consensus is they won't last the pace. They are out of all cup competitions though and can concentrate on the league while Arsenal try to challenge on three fronts and City on four. City only lead Arsenal on goal difference, but they have their own troubles and still haven't won back to back league games in over three months. I'm not convinced by either of them and I think the league is still there for Arsenal to take.

The thing is Arsenal are far from convincing too and the title is there for any team to take if they can put a good run together. I just hope the players returning from injury can add the impetus that the team needs to change their fortunes. It's still the best chance they have had to win the league in 12 years and they need to grab that chance with both hands.

That's it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Arsenal Score Four To Win 3-1

Arsenal never believe in doing things the easy way and so it was again today against Sunderland. After failing to win their previous three games they quite simply had to win at home to the team 16th in the Premier League. They got a boost before the game started with the news City had lost at Stoke and a win would put Arsenal above them into third place at worst.

Arsene Wenger picked the team almost everybody predicted and to be fair to him he didn't have too many choices. It meant Aaron Ramsey shifted to a central role to replace the injured Santi Cazorla and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain came in for the injured Alexis Sanchez. Laurent Koscielny recovered from his knock last week to take his place in the centre of the defence while Theo Walcott was on the bench after returning from his latest injury.

Arsenal weren't exactly impressive from the start and they were obviously missing the influence of both Cazorla and Alexis. Sunderland tried to hit Arsenal on the break and that tactic looked like it might just pay off for them a few times in that first half. Arsenal needed inspiration from somewhere and it was that man Mesut Ozil who produced the goods yet again.

With the game seemingly going nowhere he played a great ball for Joel Campbell behind the Sunderland defence in the 33rd minute. Campbell kept his head to slot past the advancing keeper and give Arsenal the lead before producing a dummy from his shorts to suck on in celebration. It was just what Arsenal needed and it was important for them to hold that lead until half time after dropping points in their last two games despite scoring first.

It wan't to be though as Olivier went for an inswinging near post free kick with his left foot when he should have gone with his right and put it past Petr Cech to put Sunderland back in the game. To be fair to Sunderland it was the least they deserved from a first half where they were easily Arsenal's equals. I worried at that stage that Arsenal would be unable to get the better of them in the second half just like the last two games.

As so often happens when a player scores an own goal it was Giroud who made the next significant breakthrough in the game 18 minutes into the second half. Nacho Monreal made a good break forward and passed to Aaron Ramsey who crossed for Giroud to nod home. I'm sure it was as much a relief for Giroud as it was for us fans and I just hoped we could keep the lead this time.

Walcott came on for Chamberlain just after the goal and suddenly Arsenal looked like they knew how to play football again. Ramsey probably should have increased the lead, but he missed a good chance just as he had done seconds before the first half ended. As the game wore on Sunderland had a couple of chances of their own and almost equalised with a couple of minutes to go. 

Thankfully they put a good chance over the bar and Arsenal added a third just after the game moved into added time. There was a bit of a scramble in the Sunderland area and Ramsey was on hand to stab home a messy goal from close range. The game was as good as over at that stage and with other results going in their favour they moved up to second in the table behind surprise leaders Leicester.

It was far from a good performance but the win was very important after failing to win their last three league games. Arsenal are still well in the hunt for the title despite all of the injuries and from what I could see they didn't pick up any more injuries at least. The form of Mesut Ozil continues to push the team forward and it's a dream to watch him play.

I haven't been the biggest fan of Campbell, but he took his chance well and continues to give his all for the cause. I've been critical of Giroud too, but he showed good mental strength to bounce back from his own goal to put Arsenal ahead again. We need players who can make a difference at the moment and both of them did so today at crucial times 

It was great to see Walcott back in the team and hopefully he will be available from the start on Wednesday night. Arsenal will have to play an awful lot better to get the result they need away to Olympiacos, but it's far better to be going into that game on the back of a win. It's still going to be a big ask with the quality of the players unavailable, but just maybe  today's win will make it that little bit easier. 

Next up in the league it's a trip to the team propping up the table next Sunday. Villa haven't won a game at home yet this season and it's a game Arsenal again just have to win. I hope former Arsenal player Remi Garde does well at Villa, but that can start after Arsenal have beaten them next week.

That's it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Arsenal v Sunderland Preview

Things haven't being going too well in the league for Arsenal recently with only two points from their last three games. The fact they're only two points off the leaders isn't so bad, but the points dropped in those last three games were an opportunity lost. They could and probably should have won all three games and they could find themselves five points clear at the top of the table if they had done so.

However, there's no point in dwelling on the past and the players have to look at the points they can still win rather than rue the ones they have lost. They can't keep passing up opportunities to beat teams in the lower reaches of the league and tomorrow's game presents another opportunity to do so. Sunderland have just climbed out of the relegation zone after winning their last two games, but they still have to be seen as one of the easier games for Arsenal this season.

The injury situation has only got worse since this time last week with both Santi Cazorla and Alexis definitely out of tomorrow's game after picking up injuries last Saturday at West Brom. Alexis could be back in a few weeks, but Cazorla is out until March at least and his absence is another huge blow to the team. He had formed a very effective partnership with Francis Coquelin in the engine room of the team and both of them will now be missing until well into the new year.

For me the only fit player who can play in that position in Cazorla's absence is Aaron Ramsey and it will give him an opportunity to play in his favoured position. He'll play alongside Mathieu Flamini and hopefully they can form an effective partnership over the next few months and both stay fit too. We just can't afford any more injuries in midfield (or attack for that matter) and we have to hope Mikel Arteta, Jack Wilshere and Tomas Risicky can all return as soon as possible.

Pinning our hopes on any or all of those three staying fit is a push though and Arsene Wenger really has to add to his options when the transfer window opens. It's not easy to prise players away from their clubs half way through the season and the better players are rarely available. The boss has to do all he can to bring someone in though and we have to hope the players we have can keep us competitive until then.

The results in the last three league games have given this game more importance and it's one the team quite simply have to win. I just hope the players haven't got their minds on the all important Champions League group decider away to Olympiacos on Wednesday night. They have a huge task in that game needing a two goal win with so many players unavailable, but they can't let it affect how they perform against Sunderland.

On the good news front Laurent Koscielny, Kieran Gibbs and Theo Walcott all have a chance of playing tomorrow and hopefully they will give the boss more options. I would like to see Walcott come on at some stage which would mean he might just be available from the start on Wednesday night. As well as Giroud has done in his absence Walcott's pace gives Arsenal an option Giroud just cannot offer.

The boss doesn't have too many choices in his team selection, but he surely has to play the strongest team possible. The team need to get back to winning ways and they can't leave anything on the pitch for Wednesday night. Despite Sunderland's recent upturn in form they have a pretty poor away record this season and Arsenal need to add to that record.

I know the last three league games have not been good and the players are suffering from a lack of rotation due to all the injuries. At least they had no midweek game this week and it will hopefully have given them a chance to recharge their batteries. Let's just hope they have done just that and a good win against Sunderland will send them to Greece on Wednesday night in high spirits and full of confidence.

That's it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Injuries Threaten To Ruin Arsenal's Season

November has been a month to forget for Arsenal on the domestic front in particular with only two points taken from three very winnable league games. At least they managed a win over Dinamo Zagreb in their Champions League group to keep their hopes alive despite a 5-1 drubbing at the hands of Bayern Munich. Their fate will be decided when they travel to Greece next week needing a two goal win against an Olympiacos team who have won all 11 of their league games so far this season.

If they're going to progress they will have to do it the hard way with a growing injury list taking it's toll on a weekly basis. Aaron Ramsey made his comeback as a sub in the win over Zageb and started in the draw at Norwich on Sunday while Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain came on as a sub on Sunday. However, the good news of their returns was countered by injuries to Laurent Koscielny, Santi Cazorla and Alexis Sanchez.

In the previous league game we were treated to injuries to both Francis Coquelin and Mikel Arteta and there just seems to be no end to it. Theo Walcott is nearing a return if the reports are to be believed and we can only hope it's as soon as possible as he will be needed in Greece next week. Besides all of them there are still the longer term absences of Danny Welbeck, Jack Wilshere and Tomas Rosicky and none of them will be back before the turn of the year.

It looks like Alexis and Cazorla will miss that game in Greece, but Koscielny looks like he might be back for the weekend game at home to Sunderland. If both of them are missing the need to have Walcott in the team increases as Arsenal need goals on the night. He could play on the right with Chamberlain on the left and Ramsey dropping back to play the Cazorla role. 

All of this depends on Walcott returning and the team picking up no more injuries against a Sunderland team managed by Sam Allardyce on Saturday. The game looked like a dead cert win for Arsenal only a couple of weeks ago, but Sunderland have found some form to win their last two games and kept clean sheets in both games too. I'm not for a second suggesting that Sunderland will be favourites for the game, but they won't be a pushover either.

Personally I'm glad to see an end to November as it's been a poor month for Arsenal far too often and I'm waiting for them to bounce back in December. Hopefully the players minds won't be drifting to that game against Olympiacos when they play Sunderland and they can get their league challenge back on course. Despite not winning their last three games they're still only two points behind the leaders and they certainly can't be written off yet.

That's it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Arsenal's Trip To Swansea Previewed Plus Win Prizes !

Arsenal travel to Swansea tomorrow on the back of a great run in the Premier League which has seen them win six of their last seven games. The less said about the Capital One Cup defeat to Sheffield Wednesday on Tuesday night the better and I like to think it's back to the important football tomorrow. I wasn't too worried about that defeat even if the performance was disappointing, but the loss of both Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Theo Walcott to injury on the night was far more worrying.

It means Arsenal have an injury list to match the best of them with Chamberlain and Walcott added to the names of Aaron Ramsey, Mikel Arteta, David Ospina, Danny Welbeck, Jack Wilshere and Tomas Rosicky. With a few of the contenders to possibly replace any of those players in the strongest team already out on loan it means Arsene Wenger's options are severely limited. The team against Swansea should still be at almost full strength, but those players will have to play against Bayern Munich on Wednesday night and against Spurs next Sunday too. 

Olivier Giroud will have to lead the line in all three games with the pace of Walcott not an option in games where it could have been a deciding factor. Bayern will most certainly attack Arsenal with everything they have and pace is the most potent weapon against them. I can see both Swansea and Spurs leaving space behind their defences too particularly as they know Giroud doesn't have the pace to exploit them. 

The big decision for the boss against Swansea and in the other two games will be who plays on the right hand side of the attacking trio. It's the position which has been most affected by all of the injuries and he needs to find a solution to the problem. For me there are five or six options and he could possibly go with any of them.

If Mathieu Debuchey was to come in at right back Hector Bellerin could push forward and his pace would certainly be a welcome asset. He's still only finding his way in the team though and it might be an awful lot to ask of him, but it could be tried against Swansea to start. My biggest worry with Bellerin's inclusion would be how Debuchey would fare at right back up against Jefferson Montero even with some help from Bellerin.

There's also the option of Kieran Gibbs playing wide on the left with Alexis Sanchez moving to the right and that could be the one to make a lot of sense. Gibbs has done alright in that role previously and Alexis would have no problem on the right as he's right footed anyway. He's at his best cutting in from the left though and he would lose that playing on the right.

Santi Cazorla could definitely play there too or he could switch to the left if Alexis played on the right. Switching Santi would mean the inclusion of Mathieu Flamini alongside Coquelin in midfield and I'm not sure if that would benefit the team. Santi has such a huge influence from a central role that it could adversely affect the way the team plays if he switched to a wide role and I'm not at all convinced by Flamini.

The other main option is the inclusion of Joel Campbell from the start and it probably looks like the sensible one on paper. I'm not at all convinced by him though despite his excellent work rate and commitment and I have been wholly unimpressed by him every time I have seen him play for Arsenal. I don't think he's up to the task and a player has to offer more than just hard work to earn a place in the team.

Alex Iwobi made his full debut on Wednesday night and showed some promise at times, but the boss said afterwards that the game was a level too high for all the debutants. If any of them were to get a second chance against Swansea I think Iwobi would be the best option. 

The final candidate is Dan Crowley who has come back early from his loan spell at Barnsley. Depending on what you want to believe he was either allowed to leave as Barnsley were unimpressed or Arsenal have recalled him with a view to using him. I don't which is the right rumour, but I would be surprised to see him play from the start.

I have a feeling Gibbs will get the nod with Alexis switching sides and it certainly wouldn't be the worst choice for the team. Whoever plays though Arsenal need to approach this game as they would any other game and treat the opposition with all the respect they deserve. The team looked tired towards the end of last Saturday's game against Everton and the midweek break will have done them some good at least. 

Swansea came from behind to win away to Villa last week to put an end to a poor run of results for them and their performances suffered as that run wore on. They have done well against Arsenal since their promotion to the Premier League four years ago and have won four of their eight games. They did the double over Arsenal last season and Arsenal know that they cannot allow Swansea to get into their groove. They play good football and are capable of beating any team in the Premier League as they showed when they beat United a few weeks ago. 

Despite beating Villa last week I'm not convinced Swansea are at their best and I think a strong performance from Arsenal will give them some real trouble. If Arsenal give them some hope by not showing up from the start it could just be what Swansea need on the day. A Swansea team playing with confidence can be very hard to handle and Arsenal cannot allow them to build up a head of steam.

The Arsenal bench will be very interesting and I expect it will have quite a defensive look to it. With so few attacking options available outside those on the pitch it's not easy to know who will be there to call on if Arsenal need to change things up front. Whatever happens to Arsenal they simply cannot afford another attacking injury and we need to cross our fingers and anything else we have to ensure it doesn't happen. 

With City playing at home to Norwich it's essential that Arsenal take the three points to keep up the pressure on them at the top of the table. It's also essential that they continue to perform at their best with two huge games coming up after this one. The players need to deal with this game first though and they cannot get ahead of themselves or they could find themselves on the end of another famous Swansea win. 

I think they will continue in the recent vein though and I would be surprised if they don't win. I don't think there will be too much in it, but a one goal win would do very nicely considering the recent record against Swansea and the games coming up in the next week. I don't usually look forward to international breaks but Arsenal need to get through to the next one and hope a few of those injured players will be ready to play when the real football kicks off again in three weeks.

It's time for the competition now with thanks to the people in Paddy Power. All you have to do to enter is to be one of the first six UK residents to comment on the blog and you will then be assigned a square from the goal in the graphic below. You can see below what the prizes are and the better Arsenal do the more potential for the prize to become better.

The prizes are as follows:

If a goal lands in your square you will receive;

A £10 Amazon Voucher

Land two goals in your square and win:

Football Manager 2016 on Pre Order! Release date November

Land three goals or more in your square and win:

An Arsenal Football Shirt (they can choose Home/Away/Third)

Competition sponsored by bingo.paddypower.com

Rules:

·        Each player is only allowed one square, no multiples

·         Entries will not be accepted from blog owner, contributor or employees of Paddy Power

·        Squares will be allocated to the first 6 people to comment on available squares

·       The BBC’s definition of which square the ball went into is final, this can be found on BBC Football news http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/results

·        Prizes are subject to availability

·        Only one prize per square

·        Only the first 5 goals are counted      

·         UK entries only

·         If the match score is 0-0 the first to comment on the original post will win the booby prize, a Danny Dyer Football Foul-Ups DVD

That's it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Arsenal's Trip To Leicester City Previewed

It hasn't been the greatest start to the season for Arsenal, but they're still only five points behind the league leaders City who are at least looking a lot more beatable after losing at home to West Ham last week. Two defeats in six league games is far from ideal for Arsenal though even if there was little they could do about last week's defeat at Chelsea thanks to Mike Dean. If they're going to challenge for the title they have to find a lot more consistency and put in performances worthy of potential champions.

So far those performances haven't been there and they have failed to take any team apart. They were by far the better team at home to Stoke, but still needed a lateish goal to finish up 2-0 winners after a couple of scares. They haven't found their goalscoring touch yet and it's hard to finish teams off when you miss chance after chance.

Today's opponents Leicester have had a great start to their season and continued on where they finished last season. They are the only unbeaten team in the Premier League with three wins and three draws so far and they have scored in every game they have played. They have also conceded in every game they have played and that gives Arsenal some food for thought today.

Leicester have made themselves the comeback kings of the league and their never say die attitude has to be admired. In Riyad Mahrez they have the in form player in the league and he will have to be closely watched by Arsenal today to try to contain him. Arsenal won 2-1 at home to them towards the end of last season, but Leicester were very good that night and deserved something from the game. Despite the departure Nigel Pearson of they have continued in the same vein and Claudio Ranieri has them playing good attractive football.

In team news the only Arsenal player who won't be available from the midweek squad which won away to Spurs in the Capital One Cup is Gabriel Paulista. He admitted to the FA charge of improper conduct and received a one match ban for his troubles. The fact that his conduct was a reaction to an improper red card which was later rescinded makes no difference and he misses out today.

There's not much more that can be said about last Saturday, but the latest utterings from Mourinho are those of a man losing the plot. Of course he's trying to deflect from his team and their shortcomings so far and the pressure it has put on his job. It strikes me that he's now the voyeur he accused Arsene Wenger of being quite a few years ago. Also if he actually needs an explanation of Diego Costa's retrospective red card then he really is losing the plot. He should try looking at the footage of the game and see if he finds Costa's behaviour acceptable and within the rules of the game and if he does the men in the white coats will be on their way to Stamford Bridge very soon.

Anyway I digress and it's back to today's game and what the team news means to Arsenal. Francis Coquelin won't be back from the injury he picked up in that game and it looks like he'll miss out on the Olimpiacos match on Tuesday night too, but he could be available against United next weekend. He's a big miss of course, but at least Santi Cazorla will be back from his one game suspension after his red card against Chelsea.

I would be very surprised to see anything other than a full strength Arsenal team despite the big game coming up on Tuesday night as a win today is essential. That should mean Aaron Ramsey could be the only player to keep his place from that win over Spurs although somebody has to play the Coquelin role. I can't see both Ramsey and Cazorla playing in the middle as somebody has to do the donkey work which Coquelin excels at.

Mathieu Flamini has surely moved up in the pecking order after his display against Spurs where he did the hard work very well as well as scoring the two goals on the night. The chances are Mikel Arteta will be chosen ahead of him, but I have serious doubts about Arteta and he has looked far from his best in the two games he has played so far. I would prefer to see Flamini get the nod and get the reward that display against Spurs deserves.

Otherwise I think the team will be the same as it was against Chelsea and it's about time a few of the players stepped up. Alexis Sanchez made the difference when he came on against Spurs and maybe he has at last shaken off his late return to the squad and lack of pre season. He needs a goal to get going and just maybe that first goal will arrive today.

Leicester's defensive record offers Arsenal plenty of hope today and I think there are goals there for them to score. They have to concentrate for every single minute of the game though as Leicester have stormed back after trailing far too often this season. Leicester haven't played a team as good as Arsenal can be yet and an Arsenal team playing at it's best are more than capable of taking all three points.

The thing is we haven't seen Arsenal anywhere near their best yet and they are eight games into the season. They need to click as a team and impose their attacking style on their opponents as well as taking advantage when they are dominating possession and chances. If they can eventually find their shooting boots this team is far from out of the title race and they need to perform like a team who can win the league. They will get good chances today and I think they can and will win if only they can put them away

That's it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Arsenal's Capital One Cup Game At Spurs Previewed

The last week hasn't gone well for Arsenal with a defeat away to Dinamo Zagreb followed by the defeat at Chelsea on Saturday. To make matters worse they got a total of three red cards in those games with Olivier Giroud, Gabriel Paulista and Santi Cazorla all getting their marching orders. Cazorla won't be available tonight after that red card against Chelsea, but Arsenal won their appeal against Gabriel's red and he will be available.

The circumstances of Gabriel's red card were ridiculous in the first place and Mike Dean has been shown in a very poor light. He gave Gabriel a straight red for kicking out at Diego Costa, but Arsenal managed to find a camera angle which showed there was no contact and to claim it was violent conduct was a joke. Thankfully common sense prevailed and the appeal was upheld, but Gabriel still has to face an improper conduct charge for his reaction to his red card.

The FA also imposed a three game ban on Costa for his violent conduct towards Laurent Koscielny or possibly Gabriel or maybe even a combination of both. Chelsea released a statement saying they were very disappointed with the outcome, but Costa's cheating won them the game and got them the three points. Despite Gabriel winning his appeal Arsenal got nothing out of a game where the wrong decisions of the referee clearly had a huge influence on the result. There is nothing they can do to get those three points they lost back and the result was just what a struggling Chelsea team needed to kickstart their season. 

The continued insistence on not using the vast array of cameras at a game to help the officials was shown up to be totally inadequate yet again. If TV replays had been allowed Costa would have been sent off and Arsenal would have been the team with the man advantage for more than half of the game. The fact that the retrospective decision has proved that is exactly what should have happened will have no bearing on the authorities and referees will continue to be infallible which is a very dangerous thing when the likes of Dean are involved.

Normally a Capital One Cup game wouldn't be top of the list of priorities, but after those two defeats and considering the opponents it has taken on more significance. To lose three games in a row would be seen as a mini crisis for Arsenal and it's something they have to try to avoid. If they're going to do that they quite simply have to find some goalscoring form and find it fast. 

In seven games this season Arsenal have only scored six goals and that's simply not good enough for a team with their attacking options and ambitions. Both Theo Walcott and Olivier Giroud have a couple of goals each with two own goals helping the Arsenal cause, but none of the midfielders or wide players have got in on the act yet. With players like Alexis Sanchez, Aaron Ramsey, Mesut Ozil and Cazorla among those not to find the net that just isn't good enough. 

It's not that the team aren't creating chances, but the finishing has been very poor at times while opponents continue to score a much higher percentage of their chances against Arsenal. Their league form had been on an upward trend before the Chelsea game though and the referee made their chances in that game almost impossible. They need to bounce back from it quickly and there is no better opportunity to put things right than against their local rivals.

I would be very surprised to see Spurs play anything other than a full strength team even though they have to play City in the early kick off on Saturday. They had a slow start to their season, but they have won three games in a row in all competitions and will be feeling an awful lot more confident than they were just over a week ago.

I think Arsenal need to put out a strong team too and do all they can to get through to the next round. I know Arsene Wenger has used this competition to blood youngsters and give fringe players a chance to shine, but tonight could be very different. I don't think he will play his strongest side with a trip to unbeaten Leicester to come on Saturday, but he will probably play a stronger than usual team.

His options are already a little limited though with Cazorla injured and Francis Coquelin injured from Saturday's game along with the longer term absentees of Jack Wilshere, Danny Welbeck and Tomas Rosicky. I would be surprised if Koscielny played too considering the injury problems he has had, but otherwise I wouldn't be surprised to see any of the other first choice players on show. 

This might only be the Capital One Cup, but any game against Spurs means a lot to us fans and hopefully it means as much to the players. It would be great to see them find their goalscoring form in this game with Alexis in particular surely due a goal. He scored 25 goals last season and while he is still playing catch up after missing out on pre season he did hit the woodwork twice in the 2-0 win over Stoke.

I saw a couple of Spurs games recently and was wholly unimpressed with their 3-1 victory in the Europa League last week, but they did look better in beating Palace on Sunday. I thought they closed the Palace players down very quickly as Palace tried to being the ball out of defence and Arsenal need to be aware of that. If Spurs are going to push that far up then maybe there will be some room behind them for Theo Walcott to run into if he's in the team.

With Cazorla out there's a possibility of Ramsey playing a deeper role and the chances are he will play alongside Mikel Arteta. The club captain didn't have a good game against Dinamo last week, but it was his first start in a long time and hopefully he can get to the pace of the game tonight if he plays. If he's not in the team then Mathieu Flamini would be the obvious choice and I don't know if he would do any better.

Spurs got the better of Arsenal last season in head to head meetings with a win and a draw, but of course they finished below them in the league as they always do. Every dog supposedly has it's day and last season belonged to them in terms of head to head meetings, but the Arsenal players have the chance to reverse the trend tonight. What they will need from first to last minute is total commitment no matter what team is chosen and they have every chance of winning if they can bring that to the game.

If they're going to do anything this season they need to find some consistency and they just haven't got it yet. Three defeats in seven games isn't good enough and failing to score in three of those games isn't up to scratch either. It's about time the players started taking their chances and putting away teams that they are dominating and when they do that then things will surely improve.

That's it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Arsenal's Trip To Newcastle Previewed

It has been far from a good start to the season for Arsenal with only four points and two goals from their first three games. One of those goals was an own goal too and no other team has scored less goals than Arsenal so far. Their real problems have been at home where they have continued on from where last season finished with a goal drought.

They did beat West Brom 4-1 at home towards the end of last season, but they are their only goals in their last six home games. The team have made plenty of chances in those games, but a failure to take those chances has led to even more calls for a striker to be bought before the transfer window closes. Of course it's not only strikers who score goals, but they are the ones expected to do so on a regular basis.

With City on fire already it's crucial for Arsenal to try to keep pace with them and they just cannot afford to keep dropping points at home in particular. Arsenal had a slow start to last season and were already out of the title race before they could find any real form. If they can't put a strong run together now they run the risk of this season going exactly the way of last season.

This time a year ago it was Mesut Ozil who was being asked to perform so soon after playing in the World Cup and this season Alexis Sanchez finds himself in the same boat. He came on as a sub in the opening game against West Ham with less than a week of pre season training under his belt and he has being playing catch up ever since. He is Arsenal's most important player, but it almost defeats the purpose to have him playing without a proper pre season and we can only hope he isn't adversely affected by it.

Before the season started I thought the Arsenal squad looked almost strong enough to challenge on all fronts, but I'm less inclined to believe it with every game. There are a few injuries of course as usual with Jack Wilshere, Danny Welbeck and Tomas Rosicky all out and the attacking options on the bench are very limited as a result. Arsenal brought both Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain-Chamberlain on in the draw against Liverpool on Monday night, but they were the only attacking options available from the bench.

Those options won't change for the trip to Newcastle and it's just a matter of whether Arsene Wenger decides to change the team around. The case for Walcott to start ahead of Olivier Giroud can easily be made, but they are very different players and it really depends on how Newcastle approach the game. If Newcastle are going to come at Arsenal and leave space behind their defence then Walcott is the obvious choice, but otherwise Giroud is more likely to lead the line.

The boss can't predict how Newcastle will approach the game though and even if he could he will send his team out to play how he wants them to play. I don't see too many changes from Monday night and the second half performance against Liverpool was certainly a lot better than the first half. If they're going to win they have to perform for the whole 90 minutes though and they cannot afford to play for only half of the game.

The only doubts besides the injured players I mentioned are the two players who missed out late on last week with both Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker still doubtful. Gabriel Paulista looked the part in that game and Calum Chambers improved after the break when Arsenal got a hold on the game. He struggled when Arsenal were under pressure in the first half though and he still has a lot to learn as a central defender.

If Koscielny and Mertesacker are not passed fit to play then I wouldn't be surprised to see Kieran Gibbs come in at left back with Nacho Monreal switching to the centre of defence in place of Chambers. It might be a bit tough on Chambers, but the team comes first and he needs to work on his game some more before he can properly challenge for a place. 

Chamberlain must be wondering what he has to do to get a place in the team and just like last season he seems to be the first player to be dropped when changes need to be made. It can't be easy for him to see Aaron Ramsey playing in his wide right role when he would probably be the best option in that position. He is prone to losing the ball in dangerous positions at times, but every single Arsenal player suffered from that problem in the first half against Liverpool.

I'm not knocking Ramsey as he was one of the better players last week, but the boss needs to find a different role for him if he is going to play him. If that means there has to be some rotation with Santi Cazorla or Mesut Ozil missing out then so be it, as I think the team needs the width and pace offered by Chamberlain. At the moment it seems the boss is picking the players he wants to play and then slotting them into positions rather than choosing a formation and then the best players to suit that formation.

Maybe Wakcott could come in on the left with Alexis central and Chamberlain on the right or Alexis could even be rested to the bench. If Ramsey is to be accommodated then Cazorla is the most likely to drop to the bench or he could push forward with Ozil sitting it out. For me they are all options which must be considered to try to change things and make Arsenal less predictable for their opponents.

I don't think there will be too many changes though and I can only hope the players can put in a 90 minute performance this week. With a dreaded international break coming up a win is essential and the players must understand the importance of the three points. Things will look a lot better going into that break if the team are on seven points and they can come back ready to push on and get their Champions League campaign going too. 

The team were able to play a much more open game away to Palace a few weeks ago and hopefully they will find Newcastle as easy to attack. Newcastle have two points from their three games and will be looking for their first win of the season and hopefully they can be drawn out of their shell. If they attack Arsenal I think Arsenal will pick them off, but if they sit back and defend it could be a long hard afternoon for Arsenal.  Either way the players and the boss have to find a way to get the three points and make sure Arsenal stay in touch with the teams above them.

As usual this season my fantasy league is up and running again and it's open to all comers with a €50 prize (out of my pocket) to the winner. You can join up by using the league code 48497-14043 after you have set your team up here and good luck to all who play. There were over 1,000 teams in my league last season and there's already more than that signed up for this season.

I'm also running my Predictions League again this season and it's very enjoyable even if there's no cash prize for the winner. The code for my league is FD757-ARR after you have signed up here and of course both games are completely free to play. 

That's it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Arsenal Beat Hull To Close In On Second Place

Arsenal had won eight games in a row before drawing with Chelsea last week and needed to get back on track away to relegation threatened Hull last night. It didn't look like it was going to be an easy task against a team who had won their last two games and kept clean sheets in both of them including a victory over Liverpool. As it turned out it wasn't as difficult as predicted and Arsenal won 3-1 and could have scored quite a few more too.

Arsene Wenger picked the same team which had drawn with Chelsea last week and is now recognised as what he sees as his current strongest 11. The team came into the game on the back of four away wins in a row, but the performances hadn't always being fully convincing in those games despite the players getting the results they needed. With Chelsea having won the title with another dour performance on Sunday it was time for Arsenal to show what they could do and how well they could play.

Arsenal had by far the better of the opening exchanges and dominated the possession while looking the most likely to open the scoring. When the first goal did come it had more than enough help from ex Spurs players to make it all the more enjoyable for Arsenal fans. Spurs had lost to City on Sunday which meant Arsenal only needed a point to celebrate St. Totteringham's Day mathematically, but in truth it was as good as done and dusted anyway.

Tom Huddlestone was caught in possession in midfield by Mesut Ozil and the ball made it's way to Alexis Sanchez who ran at the hull defence. Jake Livermore had already taken a yellow card, but he took Alexis down just outside the box to stop his run and could easily have fallen foul of the referees cards again. Alexis got up himself to take the free kick and his effort was deflected past Steve Harper by Michael Dawson to complete the helping hand from the former Spurs' trio.

With Hull reeling and looking like they had little to offer in attack Arsenal seized the chance and added to their lead within five minutes. Huddlestone again lost possession in midfield and Santi Cazorla played a delightful pass to Aaron Ramsey who took it down with an excellent touch and turned to shoot. As he got his shot off Robbie Brady slid in to block it and could only deflect it past Harper into the top corner.

There was only just over 30 minutes gone, but the task already looked beyond Hull and Arsenal went in search of a third goal to kill the game. Alexis had a one on one with the keeper, but had his effort saved and it looked like they would reach half time at 2-0 and on 99 goals in all competitions for the season. Just before the break that changed though as they got that third goal through that man Alexis again.

It was Ozil who won the ball in midfield again and gave it to Ramsey who played a lovely pass behind the Hull defence for Alexis to run onto. He took the ball around the keeper and rolled it into an empty net for his 24th and the team's 100th goal of a season in which Arsenal still had five and a half games to play. At that stage it looked like Arsenal could add to their lead and maybe even pull back the five goal advantage City had over them on goal difference.

The second half belonged to Arsenal again despite Hull pulling a goal back inside the first 15 minutes when Stephen Quinn headed in a cross which was their only effort on target in the whole game. David Meyler had been sent on at half time to put the boot in and had already kicked a couple of Arsenal players before he followed through on Laurent Koscielny to win the ball and take the Arsenal player out. When the cross came in Koscielny was still down and Quinn nipped into the space he would have occupied to score. How the referee didn't give a free kick is a mystery to me, but Myler got away with it and Hull got the lifeline they so desperately wanted.

They still didn't try to over commit players in attack though as Arsenal looked so dangerous on the break, but they did have one more chance when Paul McShane put a header over when he could have done better. The chances Arsenal missed were far more frequent though and probably a fair deal easier too. The very best of them fell to Jack Wilshere and only failed to nestle in the net when the arm of James Chester blocked it. I'm not sure whether there was intent or not, but surely the referee would have given a penalty if he had seen it as the ball was destined for the net.

Wilshere had replaced Ramsey who had another fine game with a goal and an assist and Wilshere looked very sharp when he came on too. His willingness to run at the Hull players with the ball unsettled them and he should have had a penalty late on as well as being hauled down just outside the box after a great run a little earlier. It was good to see him back in the team after a five month absence and he took the chance to remind the manager of exactly how good he can be.

Quite often in the past Arsenal have been vulnerable when Wilshere has lost the ball when running at the opposition defence, but with the always impressive Francis Coquelin behind him it could be a very different matter. Coquelin again did all the donkey work in the middle and showed what a great engine he has as his energy levels never dropped from first minute to last. Since his promotion to the team Arsenal have taken more points than any other team in the Premier League and he continues to look like the link that was missing from the team.

Arsenal didn't add to their lead though and Alexis didn't get a hat trick either despite going close on another couple of occasions. He has had a great first season at the club and he's only two goals off the amount Thierry Henry scored in his first season at the club and Alexis isn't even a central striker. I'm still not sure how Eden Hazard beat him to the PFA player of the season award when you consider how many of Hazard's goals came from the penalty spot and how often he falls over his own feet to win those penalties and free kicks too.

Speaking of the PFA I also cannot comprehend how Phillippe Coutinho got into their team of the season and Santi Cazorla didn't when you consider the contributions of the diminutive Spaniard for Arsenal this season. He was at his imperial best again last night and deserved his man of the match award and you can only imagine that other footballers just don't watch many games if they have rated Coutinho above him this season.

The three points brought Arsenal level on points with City and three goals behind them on goal difference with a game in hand. They have five points to spare over United and only need five points from their last four games to guarantee third spot at worst and one of those games is away to United in just under two weeks. They are also nine points ahead of Liverpool with only three games for Liverpool to play and have a goal difference advantage of 22 goals over them.

Champions League qualification for next season is as good as guaranteed and St. Totteringham's Day has arrived and all with four games to spare too. Third place looks very much on the cards too which would mean no Champions League qualification round next season and second place is most certainly up for grabs too. It's just a pity it took Arsenal so long to find some real form with so many players missing early in the season and I would have liked to have seen how they and Chelsea both reacted if they could have put up a much tougher challenge to the new champions. It has to be remembered Arsenal were 15 points behind Chelsea after only 12 games and were even behind Spurs only 10 games ago.

It's hard not to be positive about Arsenal at the moment with so much good football being played and the team looking so balanced and with so much strength in reserve too. The boss added a World Class player in the last two summers and it has to be hoped he can find another one to add this summer. If he can do that it might just be the final piece Arsenal need to make them genuine contenders for the whole season for the first time in a long, long time. 

That's it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Arsenal v Liverpool Preview

With international football now over until the domestic season ends Arsenal can concentrate on their dual goals of qualifying for the Champions League and retaining the FA Cup. They will have a maximum of 10 games to play before the season ends and those games will determine their fate. The first of those games is at home to Liverpool in the Premier League today and it's right up there with Arsenal's most important games this season.

As it stands Arsenal are third in the table one point behind second placed City and one point ahead of fourth placed United. Liverpool had been slowly but surely catching all the teams ahead of them until they lost to United and now find themselves six points behind Arsenal with eight games to play. If Arsenal can beat Liverpool they can open up a nine point gap over Liverpool with only seven games to play and even a draw would keep the gap at a very respectable six points. 

What Arsenal cannot afford to do is lose the game and let Liverpool close to within three points of them. Momentum counts for so much at this stage in the season and Arsenal have that on their side with nine wins in their last 10 league games. I don't think they're going to win the league at this stage, but they have the chance to go second before any of the other teams in the top four play and that's a chance they cannot afford to turn down.

Arsenal have come very close to missing out on a top four finish a few times over the last five or six seasons and they cannot allow that situation to develop again. Their run in is far from easy with a home game against Chelsea and a trip to United to come, but a win over Liverpool would potentially see those games as opportunities rather than hurdles. If they can push themselves into a second place finish it would be their best performance in the Premier League in 10 years and it would give us all some real encouragement for next season.

If the reports are to be believed Arsenal have every single first team squad member back in training and it's the first time they have had such a luxury in almost 10 years. While s few of those players aren't quite fit enough to be considered for this game it still gives Arsene Wenger so many options he'll find it hard to sleep at night. He has to play his strongest team against Liverpool though and I expect him to do just that.

The FA Cup semi final against Reading in two weeks is another matter though and the team that day could have a very different look from the one which plays Liverpool. Players such as Mikel Arteta, Jack Wilshere, Mathieu Debuchy and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain should all be raring to go in two weeks time and I would expect to see them all in that game. The FA Cup is there to be won again this season for Arsenal and playing those players could hardly be seen as putting out a weakened side.

There's no need to go into the potential team against Liverpool too much as we all have a pretty good idea who will play. With players like Mesut Ozil, Alexis Sanchez and Santi Cazorla at their disposal Arsenal can give any team a torrid time. Olivier Giroud is in fantastic form at the moment too and he has scored the first goal in each of his last five games for Arsenal with Arsenal going on to win each game too.

Liverpool have to be given the respect they deserve though and they have been in pretty good form too. Besides that defeat at home to United they have amassed an awful lot of points since the turn of the year and have been even more impressive on the road than at home. They have taken 16 points in their last six away games and kept clean sheets in each of those games too.

Like Arsenal they have had their problems with injuries and have really missed Daniel Sturridge who has been injured for most of the season so far. He is available for this game though and their only real absentee is the suspended Martin Skrtel who scored Liverpool's late equaliser when the sides met at Anfield earlier in the season. While this is a very important game for Arsenal I think it's even bigger for Liverpool who just cannot contemplate defeat or their Champions League ambitions will lie in ruins.

I don't think Arsenal need to go hell for leather and they certainly don't need to over commit players in search of the first goal. Liverpool need three points from this game far more than Arsenal do and that could just count in Arsenal's favour. Arsenal should be happy with a point from the game, but that might just be what they need to come out on top.

I think second place is a real possibility and I want to see the team take the opportunity to make that progress. A win at home to Liverpool would be a huge step on the road to that goal and I think Arsenal can do it. Once they don't lose I will be happy though no matter what the benefits of finishing second might be. As always I'll be cheering from first minute to late and I think the three points  will come to Arsenal.

That's it for today. 

See you tomorrow.

Arsenal's Premier League Trip To Newcastle Previewed And Predicted Line Up

Arsenal came so close away to Monaco on Tuesday night, but they went out at the same stage of the Champions League for the fifth season in a row. It seems to be their fate in the Champions League in recent seasons to reach the knockout stages and then blow it in the first leg before almost achieving the impossible only to gloriously fail. The mistakes were made in the first leg against Monaco and most of us knew how it would end up despite the optimism we had on Tuesday night.

No team had ever overcome a two goal deficit after the home leg in the Champions league knockout stages and Arsenal weren't going to be the ones to change that statistic. They gave it a real go though and they showed how well they can play and how average Monaco really are. I would be shocked to see them make any further progress in the competition.

I wrote a few days ago about Arsenal's ability to put disappointments behind them and do what is necessary in the next game. I have no doubts there will be some tired limbs after the game on Tuesday night, but most of those players will have to pick themselves up and take on Newcastle on Saturday afternoon. I can't remember the last time Arsenal played at 3pm on a Saturday two weeks in a row, but that's the case this week.

For the second week in a row they also have the opportunity to put pressure on some of those teams in and around them in the league by winning their game before most of their rivals play. City play in the early kick off and will be expected to win at home to West Brom no matter how badly they are playing while Spurs and Southampton both play their games at the same time as Arsenal. Meanwhile Liverpool, United and Chelsea will all have to watch on as they all play on Sunday afternoon. 

The meeting of Liverpool and United will see one or both of them drop points and afford Arsenal the opportunity to give themselves some breathing space over at least one of them as long as they beat Newcastle. It would be great to see Chelsea go to Hull with Arsenal only four points behind them even if Chelsea do have two games in hand. I don't think Arsenal will catch Chelsea, but I want to see them and their obnoxious manager start to sweat just a little.

In early team news it looks like the only player who could return to the squad is Tomas Rosicky while Mathieu Debuchy, Mikel Arteta and Jack Wilshere are all still a few weeks away from returning. With a dreaded international break to come after this weekend there's a possibility one or all of them will be available soon after proper football returns. That has to be a good thing considering how many injuries Arsenal players tend to pick up on international duty.

I don't expect to see too many changes from the team that played on Tuesdsy as there is no upcoming game to rest the players for. As long as those players who performed so well against Monaco are feeling fresh enough to go again I would expect to see a very similar team. There are plenty of options on the bench though so Arsene Wenger could shake things up just a little.

I don't think it would be s bad thing if he gave Alexis Sanchez a little break as his form has deserted him in recent weeks. He carried the team almost single handedly for most of the first half of the season, but maybe he's feeling the effects of giving everything he has from first to last minute of every game he plays. If he was to miss out I think Aaron Ramsey would be the player to come in alongside Francis Coquelin in midfield with Santi Cazorla pushing s little further forward and Mesut Ozil a little wider.

I'm not a huge fan of Ozil playing in a wide role, but Cazorla has been so good in the middle that he has had to play there. It's not as if Ozil stays there when he plays wide any way as he drifts around the pitch trying to influence the game and make things happen. He has a big part to play in the fluidity of Arsenal's attack no matter what position he plays in.

If the boss decides to make changes he has plenty of options with Calum Chambers, Kieran Gibbs, Gabriel Paulista, Tomas Rosicky and Theo Walcott all available to him besides Ramsey. As I said though I expect the changes to be kept to a minimum and the team to continue to build on the momentum of the last few months. 

Arsenal have won eight of their last nine league games and have won 13 of the 16 games they have played since the turn of the year. Those wins have seen them through to the FA Cup semi finals and they are breathing down the necks of second placed City too. If they can continue winning games at the current rate then second place is a real possibility and that would be Arsenal's best league finish in a decade.

Newcastle haven't had the best of it since the turn of the year with only two wins in their 10 league games and only one out of five at home. Alan Pardew left to be temporarily replaced by John Carver and the chances are he won't keep the job with that record. They do have their moments at home though as Chelsea found out to their expense just when they were harbouring thoughts of matching Arsenal's invincibles.

The deciding factor in the game could be the striking options for both teams with Olivier Giroud in such good form for Arsenal while Newcastle's top scorer Papiss Cisse is suspended after his spitting incident against United. Giroud has scored the opening goal in each of the last four games he has started since his awful showing in the first leg against Monaco. Like the rest of the Arsenal team he seems to have discovered the ability to bounce back and he has to be a good bet to get the first goal once he starts the game.

This game brings back the awful memories of the 4-4 draw a few seasons ago when Arsenal were 4-0 up at half time. There have been some good memories at Newcastle too of course such as Denis Bergkamp's magnificent goal up there and Arsenal sealing fourth place on the last day of the 2012/13 season by winning 1-0. A win on Saturday will set the team up very nicely before those other teams play on Sunday and I think Arsenal will get that win. If they can play with the intensity and drive they showed on Tuesday night they should be more than good enough to take the three points. 

That's it for today.

See you tomorrow.