Preview: Birmingham City v. Arsenal

Arsene Wenger was very disappointed in Birmingham's late equalizer in March. Pic via Daily Mail.

St. Andrew's, Birmingham

Saturday, January 1

5:30 p.m. GMT, 12:30 EST

• Referee: Peter Walton
• This Match, Last Year: Birmingham City 1 - 1 Arsenal
• Reverse Fixture: Arsenal 2 - 1 Birmingham City
• All-Time in All Competitions: 58 Arsenal wins, 38 Birmingham wins, 35 draws
• Arsenal's Recent Form: L-W-W-L-W-D
• Birmingham's Recent Form: D-W-D-D-L-D

Predicted Line-Up

guesses in red

Fabianski

Sagna - Koscielny - Djourou - Clichy

Song - Wilshere

Walcott - Fabregas - Nasri

van Persie

Subs from: Szczesny, Squillaci, Denilson, Rosicky, Arshavin, Bendtner, Chamakh

Out: Diaby (calf), Gibbs (ankle), Almunia (ankle), Vermaelen (Achilles)

Arsenal News and Notes

• There are only two changes from the side that was available for Arsene Wenger on Wednesday.
• Cesc Fabregas returns from his one match suspension for accumulating five yellow cards.
• On the other hand, perpetually injured Abou Diaby injured his calf on Wednesday and will be out for at least three weeks.
• Kieran Gibbs should return in about a week or two. Manuel Almunia will be out possibly forever, at least in terms of his Arsenal career. It's still late January, at best, for Thomas Vermaelen.
• Wednesday's draw at Wigan was the fourth time this year Arsenal has dropped points in a match it was winning at one point (Sunderland away, Spurs at home, and Shakhtar Donetsk away in the Champions League were the other three.) That happened eight times last year, but never at home.
• Arsenal have not dropped points in consecutive league fixtures since late September to early October, a stretch that included a draw at Sunderland, a loss to West Brom, and a loss at Chelsea.

Birmingham News and Notes

• Birmingham, as they stood in October, have only one injury: James McFadden is out with an ACL injury.
• Alexander Hleb (never heard of him...) returned from a hamstring injury off the bench in Birmingham's 1-1 draw with Manchester United on Tuesday.
• Only Everton has won at St. Andrew's this year. Only Aston Villa and Bolton won there last year.
• Birmingham have only won three matches in the league this year, all at home, in 18 total played.

Match Facts

• Samir Nasri had what looked like the winner in the 81st minute of this fixture last year, but Kevin Phillips had Birmingham's equalizer in added time.
• Arsenal won the reverse fixture 2-1 in October. Birmingham scored first against the run of play, but Marouane Chamakh drew a penalty (converted by Nasri) then scored the winner on a beautiful move just after halftime.
• Birmingham have not beaten Arsenal in seven tries, though they have drawn three. Two of those draws have come at St. Andrew's and both Blues equalizers came in added time.
• Arsenal's last loss at St. Andrew's was a 2-1 defeat on May 15, 2005. Dennis Bergkamp equalized for the Gunners in the 88th, but Emile Heskey scored the winner in injury time.

The Referee

• The referee is Northamptonshire-based Peter Walton.
• This is Walton's first Arsenal match of the season. The last time Walton took charge of an Arsenal match, the Gunners won 3-1 at Stoke. Some bad things happened that day. Walton showed someone who may or may not be that type of player, depending on who you ask, a red card.
• He has not taken charge of any Birmingham matches this year either; the last Blues match he worked was their 2-1 win over Burnley in May.
• In 13 matches this year (11 Premier League, 2 Championship,) Walton has shown 41 yellow cards and 5 reds.

Around the League

• Saturday: West Bromwich Albion v. Manchester United; The Hawthorns, West Bromwich
• Saturday: Liverpool v. Bolton Wanderers; Anfield, Liverpool
• Saturday: Manchester City v. Blackpool; City of Manchester Stadium, Manchester
• Saturday: Stoke City v. Everton; Britannia Stadium, Stoke-on-Trent
• Saturday: Sunderland v. Blackburn Rovers; Stadium of Light, Sunderland
• Saturday: Tottenham Hotspur v. Fulham; White Hart Lane, London
• Saturday: West Ham United v. Wolverhampton Wanderers; Boleyn Ground, London
• Sunday: Chelsea v. Aston Villa; Stamford Bridge, London
• Sunday: Wigan Athletic v. Newcastle United; DW Stadium, Wigan

Wigan Athletic 2 - 2 Arsenal: House of Horrors

Wrong net, Sebastien. Pic via Daily Mail.

Wigan Athletic 2: Watson 18 (pen), Squillaci 81 (og)

Arsenal 2: Arshavin 39, Bendtner 44

Monday's psychologically crucial win over Chelsea would mean nothing if Arsenal could not keep the winning ways going; dropping points on Wednesday at Wigan Athletic would likely undo many of the positive strides this team made at the Emirates this week. The 2-2 draw didn't undo everything Arsenal accomplished on Monday, but it certainly has taken the luster off. Perhaps more importantly, it raises, again, many of the same questions about this team.

First and foremost, Arsenal made a stunning eight changes to the side that started on Monday, which isn't entirely surprising given this match took place only 48 hours later. I was expecting maybe five changes at most and I think eight was a bit much. However, unlike what I may have drunkenly thought at the pub yesterday, rotation is not the reason Arsenal dropped points in this match (FYI, I just typed "lost this match" before correcting myself, because that's how it feels.) Of the eight players who entered the squad that did not start on Monday, seven are internationals. Even if it wasn't our top choice side, these are players who still should get the job done at Wigan.

So, in terms of what those changes were, Emmanuel Eboue started out of position at left back for Gael Clichy and Sebastien Squillaci returned in place of Johan Djourou. Abou Diaby and Denilson started in the holding roles for Alex Song and Jack Wilshere (Denilson is the one change that's not an international.) The front four changed entirely as well, with Marouane Chamakh starting up front, Tomas Rosicky starting for the suspended Cesc Fabregas, and Andrei Arshavin playing left wing with Nicklas Bendtner on the right.

Wigan started the match strong and really took it to Arsenal right off the bat. The Latics, in fact, should have gone ahead 1-0 as early as the third minute when Hugo Rodallega dispossesed Laurent Koscielny, found Tom Cleverley, whose cross back for Rodallega just missed the Colombian's head. Poor piece of defending from Koscielny to let Rodallega get in that position.

Wigan would, however, go up 1-0 in the 18th minute from the penalty spot. Just centimeters inside the area, Koscielny was caught with his leg out and Charles N'Zogbia took the opportunity to go down to draw the call. From the live action, I thought it was the correct call, but on replays saw that there was almost no contact and N'Zogbia went down easily. Ben Watson took the spot kick and scored, despite Lukasz Fabianski guessing right.

From there, every Gooner in the world was wondering which Arsenal team would respond. Would they capitulate or respond? By the half hour mark, Arsenal started to respond, thanks to the play of Arshavin and Bendtner, and after a six minute span near the end of the half, Arsenal turned their deficit into a 2-1 lead. The turning point started with a calf injury suffered by Abou Diaby. Reports are that he'll be out for a few weeks ago. This meant the introduction of Jack Wilshere, and therefore, a bit more creative spark in the midfield.

Bendtner puts Arsenal up 2-1 at halftime.

Arsenal drew level in the 39th minute. A Bendtner shot was only parried away by Wigan goalkeeper Ali Al-Habsi and the rebound bounced to Arshavin, who thundered in an acrobatic volley shot. Five minutes later, Arsenal had the lead. Arshavin's through ball was not the best and there was an element of luck in Bendtner getting through two Wigan defenders but his finish was superb. Suddenly, things were looking up.

The second half brought some problems; Arsenal seemed content to coast with their lead. They nearly had a third in the 59th off a corner, but Chamakh's header whistled just wide of an unattended post. They didn't completely take their foot off the accelerator, as they did at Wigan in April, but they still did not do enough to put this match to bed.

It looked like they wouldn't need to for a while, especially when Wigan was reduced to 10 men in the 79th minute, when N'Zogbia foolishly headbutted Wilshere. Yet, three minutes later, Wigan were level, and it came from a common Arsenal problem, that is, poor defending on set pieces. Gary Caldwell positioned himself goal-side of defender Sebastien Squillaci, which meant then when the ball was delivered, there was absolutely nothing Squillaci could do to save the situation, taking an own goal in the process.

Arsenal's knee jerk reaction was to bring on Samir Nasri and Theo Walcott, giving them all of seven minutes plus injury time to pick up a winner. Walcott was invisible, but Nasri came close and Arsenal should have had a penalty in the 89th, when Nasri's free kick struck a Wigan arm in the box. It's exactly what Fabregas did to get booked and concede a penalty against Spurs in November. Arsenal should have had the chance to win the game from the spot, but Lee Probert did not give them the chance.

That said, you can't blame Probert for the draw based on that decision. You can't entirely blame Arsene Wenger for making so many changes either, this is still a squad of quality substitutes that should still be expected to pick up three points at Wigan. You can blame the lack of vocal leadership on the pitch (which, I guess is a byproduct of so many changes) and you can also blame the continuously poor defending on set pieces (how has this not yet been fixed in training?)

Well, four points from two matches in the festive period so far, which I think we all would have taken at the start (though we would have assumed the draw and win would have been in different fixtures.) Now, a huge road trip to Birmingham on Saturday and another crucial chance to get back on the right track that needs to be taken.

Hipster Gooner Man of the Match: Andrei Arshavin, though really, there were no standouts for this choice.

Preview: Wigan Athletic v. Arsenal

Arsenal beat Wigan a month ago to advance in the Carling Cup. Pic via Daily Mail.

 

DW Stadium, Wigan

Wednesday, December 29

7:45 p.m. GMT, 2:45 p.m. EST

• Referee: Lee Probert
• This Match, Last Year: You know, I don't remember playing there last year.....
• All-Time in All Competitions: 11 Arsenal wins, 2 Wigan wins, 1 draw
• Arsenal's Recent Form: W-L-W-W-L-W
• Wigan's Recent Form: W-L-L-D-D-W

Predicted Line-Up

this is almost all guesswork

Fabianski

Sagna - Koscielny - Djourou - Clichy

Song - Wilshere

Walcott - Nasri - Arshavin

Chamakh

Subs from: Szczesny, Squillaci, Eboue, Diaby, Denilson, Van Persie, Bendtner

Suspended: Fabregas (one match, accumulation)

Out: Gibbs (ankle), Almunia (ankle), Vermaelen (Achilles)

Arsenal News and Notes

• Arsenal will be wearing their yellow change kit, for reasons I can't figure out. Against Everton, I'm pretty sure it was because of the Remembrance Day poppies also being red. This time, I don't know. Could they not do the laundry in time for the trip?
• Arsenal are in the middle of a stretch of 4 matches in 10 days, meaning that this seems like a logical time for Arsene Wenger to rotate the squad. This is why our predicted line-up is such guesswork.
• Cesc Fabregas, finally back to 100% fitness, will serve a one match ban; he picked up his fifth yellow card of the year yesterday against Chelsea.
• The injured list remains the same: Almunia may never be back at this rate, Gibbs is back in early January, and Vermaelen might be back later in the month.
• Arsenal have not drawn a match since September, a string of 21 straight matches with a result.
• Arsenal have won five matches away from home. Only Manchester City has won more away from home, six, though they have the benefit of having played an extra road fixture.

Wigan News and Notes

• Wigan's most key injury is Victor Moses, who dislocated his shoulder in the League Cup at Arsenal, after twenty minutes of running circles around Emmanuel Eboue.
• Emmerson Boyce is a doubt with a hamstring gash.
• Franco Di Santo (ankle) is out until around New Year's; James McCarthy (ankle) is out until later in January.
• Wigan are coming off a huge 2-1 win over Wolves on Boxing Day in a relegation six-pointer. The Latics have removed themselves from the drop zone and sat in 16th place entering this round of fixtures.
• Wigan are unbeaten in three, with two draws coming before that win over Wolves. Their last loss in all competitions was the 2-0 League Cup loss at Arsenal in late November.

Match Facts

• Arsenal have beaten Wigan 11 times in 14 meetings, a history that only dates back to 2005.
• Both of Wigan's wins against Arsenal and their one draw came at home.
• Last year, Arsenal beat Wigan 4-0 at the Emirates, but collapsed late in Wigan, blowing a 2-0 lead at 80 minutes only to lose 3-2.
• Arsenal did defeat Wigan a month ago, 2-0 in the League Cup, at the Emirates.
• Last year, Wigan beat Arsenal, Chelsea, and Liverpool at home.

The Referee

• The referee is Gloucestershire-based Lee Probert.
• The only Arsenal match Probert has taken charge of this season was their 4-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur in the League Cup. Probert correctly awarded Arsenal two penalties, converted by Samir Nasri, in the opening ten minutes of extra time.
• Two days before that match was the only Wigan match Probert has taken charge of this year, a 2-0 home loss to Manchester City.
• In 15 matches this season (12 Premier League, 1 League Cup, and 2 Championship), Probert has shown 46 yellow cards and 4 red cards.
• The away side has only won three of those 15 matches: Manchester City twice and the aforementioned Arsenal win.

Around the League

• Today: Manchester City 4 - 0 Aston Villa
• Today: Stoke City 0 - 2 Fulham
• Today: Sunderland 0 - 2 Blackpool
• Today: Tottenham Hotspur 2 - 0 Newcastle United
• Today: West Bromwich Albion 1 - 3 Blackburn Rovers
• Today: West Ham United 1 - 1 Everton
• Today: Birmingham City 1 -1 Manchester United
• Wednesday: Chelsea v. Bolton Wanderers; Stamford Bridge, London
• Wednesday: Liverpool v. Wolverhampton Wanderers; Anfield, Liverpool

Arsenal 3 - 1 Chelsea: There's Only One Team in London

Nothing better than Theo Walcott celebrating behind a beaten Petr Cech. Pic via Daily Mail.

Arsenal 3: Song 44, Fabregas 51, Walcott 53

Chelsea 1: Ivanovic 57

You heard about it over and over and over again, that Arsenal could not rise to the occasion and win the big games. They hadn't beaten United or Chelsea in over two years. There was a psychological issue to overcome here, and if they couldn't jump over that hurdle, then this would probably not be Arsenal's year. On Monday, Arsenal finally passed the test.

Arsenal made a surprising and very welcome five changes to the side that lost at Old Trafford a fortnight ago. Lukasz Fabianski passed fit and returned to his place between the sticks as compatriot Wojciech Szczesny dropped back to the bench. Johan Djourou entered the starting line-up (finally!) as out-of-form Sebastien Squillaci dropped. Cesc Fabregas and Robin van Persie were both finally fit to start at the same time as Tomas Rosicky and Marouane Chamakh dropped, the latter needing a little rest. The biggest change was the return of Theo Walcott to the starting XI, as the lately ineffective Andrei Arshavin was banished the substitutes' bench.

In refreshing news, Arsenal had a strong start to the match, showing there were no signs of the nervousness the Gunners showed at Old Trafford. Cesc Fabregas spoke about the team being scared to lose in Manchester two weeks ago; Arsenal showed right off the bat that this was not the case against Chelsea. It was clear that Fabregas was back to full fitness and that the wingers, Samir Nasri on the left and Theo Walcott on the right, would cause Chelsea's back four problems. There were times when Walcott was running circles around Ashley Cole, and there is really nothing better than that for a Gooner.

That being said, Arsenal's attempts to pick the lock were met with some resistance at the start and through the first half hour, there wasn't much to speak of either way in terms of chances. Perhaps the first sign that Arsenal's luck against the Blues had turned was when Didier Drogba fired a shot wide on his first occasion in space. Drogba and Chelsea always seem to take advantage of every chance Arsenal gifts to them and this time, that didn't happen. That was Chelsea's only chance in the first half.

Rogue striker? Pic via Guardian.

Arsenal finally got in the door just before half time. Just after a brilliant chip shot from Samir Nasri was brilliant saved by Petr Cech's fingertips, Alex Song scored the opener. Song and Wilshere played a lovely one-two on the outside of the area to Fabregas, who went down in the box. Mark Clattenburg played advantage (it's hard to say if a penalty would have been given, I actually doubt it) and Alex Song took a left footed shot across the face of the goal and into the low corner.

Now, we've seen Arsenal capitulate from this position before, but their start to the second half was fantastic, in fact, they stole the ball back from Chelsea after just one pass to kick off the half. Arsenal had a second in the 51st, as a Michael Essien back pass succeeded in finding Theo Walcott. Walcott's pass across goal was tipped by a diving Cech, but only as far as Fabregas, who pounded the ball into the gaping net. Then, a third goal, as Walcott dispossessed Flourent Malouda, found Fabrgeas, who slotted a brilliant return for Walcott who found the net himself this time. Arsenal had three goals in ten minutes spanning both halves.

Remember, though, that this is Arsenal, and they never make it easy. Which is why it wasn't exactly shocking to me that Chelsea pinged a goal back four minutes later. Chelsea has a habit of burning Arsenal on set pieces and on this occasion, a perfectly placed free kick from Didier Drogba found the head of Branislav Ivanovic, who headed one home. The blame for this lies largely on Laurent Koscielny, whom Ivanovic leapt over, though Lukasz Fabianski, caught in a moment of indecisiveness, moved himself into a position where he had no chance to make a save.

We've seen Arsenal collapse in positions like this, but that was not the case on this night. Samir Nasri had a chance to add a fourth for Arsenal but his chip could not beat the arm of the out-rushing Cech. Abou Diaby returned for the first time since October and he had a chance to score, but took way too much time, tried switching to a favored foot, and let Frank Lampard get back to block. Chelsea looked threatening at times, but wasted all of their opportunities, and truly are now, a team in shambles.

From a player-by-player perspective, Fabianski had very little to do, Johan Djourou was fantastic at center half, Alex Song did well in both directions, and quite honestly, Arsenal's entire midfield and forwards dominated this match. There is no doubt about it. This was more than just three points for Arsenal. The belief is back. The confidence is back. This was probably their biggest win in at least two years.

Hipster Gooner Man of the Match: Theo Walcott

Preview: Arsenal v. CSKA London

This fixture ruined my birthday last year. Pic via Daily Mail.

Emirates Stadium, London

Monday, December 27

8:00 p.m. GMT, 3:00 p.m. EST

• Referee: Mark Clattenburg
• This Match, Last Year: Arsenal 0 - 3 Chelsea
• Reverse Fixture: Chelsea 2 - 0 Arsenal
• All-Time in All Competitions: 69 Arsenal wins, 54 Chelsea wins, 51 draws
• Arsenal's Recent Form: W-W-L-W-W-L
• Chelsea's Recent Form: W-L-L-D-D-D

Predicted Line-Up

guesses in red

Fabianski

Sagna - Koscielny - Squillaci - Clichy

Song - Wilshere

Nasri - Fabregas - van Persie

Chamakh

Subs from: Szczesny, Eboue, Djourou, Diaby, Denilson, Arshavin, Walcott, Rosicky, Bendtner, Vela

Out: Gibbs (ankle), Almunia (ankle), Vermaelen (Achilles)

Arsenal News and Notes

• Lukasz Fabianski (hip) and Abou Diaby (ankle) return to the side after their respective injuries. Both would have been available last Saturday against Stoke had the match been played. Diaby has not played since early October at Stamford Bridge.
• Johan Djourou (thigh) appears to be available as well. I wish he'd start for once.
• Both Cesc Fabregas and Robin van Persie should be fit to start.
• Kieran Gibbs remains out with an ankle injury until the beginning of January. It might be mid- to late-January for Thomas Vermaelen, however.
• Any bets on if we'll ever see Manuel Almunia (ankle injury) in an Arsenal kit again?
• It sounds like a broken record by now, but in the league, Arsenal have yet to win at home comfortably without their opposition having a man sent off (Blackpool and Bolton.) They've either lost (West Brom, Newcastle, Spurs) or won maddeningly tight affairs (Birmingham, West Ham, Fulham.)
• Arsenal have only lost two consecutive league matches once this season, but the second match that time was against Chelsea.
• Arsenal have won 10 league matches this year, more than any other side.

Chelsea News and Notes

• Arsenal continues to have bad luck with facing teams just as they're getting healthy again. Chelsea have been recently boosted by the return of Didier Drogba, and possibly more importantly, Frank Lampard in midfield.
• Yuri Zhirkov remains a doubt with a calf injury. Jose Bosingwa (hamstring) could return to the side, but it's doubtful.
• Long term injuries include Alex (knee) and Yossi Benayoun (Achilles.)
• The last time Chelsea went five league matches without a win was the end of the 2006/07 season, when they drew their final five matches and lost the league title to Manchester United by six points.
• The last time Chelsea had picked up as few three points in five straight league fixtures was at the beginning of the 2000/01 season, a stretch that included losses to Bradford City and Leicester, and draws with Arsenal, Aston Villa, and Newcastle United. That stretch continued to four points in six with a draw with Manchester United. Chelsea finished sixth that year.

Match Facts

• Chelsea won the reverse fixture at Stamford Bridge 2-0 in October, with goals from Didier Drogba and Alex.
• Arsenal has lost their last two home fixtures to Chelsea, both by astonishing three goal margins.
• Last year, Chelsea won this fixture 3-0 through a Didier Drogba brace and a Thomas Vermaelen own goal. The year before that, Chelsea won 4-1 through Alex, Nicolas Anelka, Flourent Malouda, and a Kolo Toure own goal. Nicklas Bendtner had Arsenal's consolation goal in that one.
• In their last five competitive meetings, all Chelsea wins, the Blues have outscored Arsenal 13-2.
• Didier Drogba has scored 13 goals in this last 11 competitive matches against Arsenal. He had four goals last year in two matches and scored at Stamford Bridge earlier this year.

The Referee

• The refreee is Tyne & Wear-based Mark Clattenburg.
• Arsenal have outscored their opponents 7-2 in the two matches Clattenburg has taken charge of this season: their 3-0 win at Manchester City and 4-2 win at Aston Villa.
• Then again, Chelsea have outscored their opponents 10-0 in their two matches worked by Clattenburg: their 6-0 win over West Bromwich Albion and 4-0 win over Blackpool, both at Stamford Bridge.
• In 19 games this season, Clattenburg has shown 59 yellow cards and 3 red cards. One of the reds was to Dedryck Boyata of Manchester City five minutes into their match with Arsenal.

Around the League
All other fixtures this week are played on Sunday.

• Fulham v. West Ham United; Craven Cottage, London
• Blackburn Rovers v. Stoke City; Ewood Park, Blackburn
• Blackpool v. Liverpool; Bloomfield Road, Blackpool
• Bolton Wanderers v. West Bromwich Albion; Reebok Stadium, Bolton
• Everton v. Birmingham City; Goodison Park, Liverpool
• Manchester United v. Sunderland; Old Trafford, Manchester
• Newcastle United v. Manchester City; St. James' Park, Newcastle upon Tyne
• Wolverhampton Wanderers v. Wigan Athletic; Molineux, Wolverhampton
• Aston Villa v. Tottenham Hotspur; Villa Park, Birmingham

Arsenal v. Stoke Match Off Due to Snow

You mean to tell me they can't play in this? Pic via Arsenal.

Preview: Arsenal v. Stoke City

Last time at Stoke... Pic via Daily Mail.

Emirates Stadium, London

Saturday, December 18

3:00 p.m. GMT, 10:00 a.m. EST

• Referee: Lee Mason
• This Match Last Year: Arsenal 2 - 0 Stoke City
• All-Time in All Competitions: 48 Arsenal wins, 22 Stoke wins, 21 draws
• Arsenal's Recent Form: W-W-L-W-W-L
• Stoke's Recent Form: W-W-W-D-D-L

Predicted Line-Up

guesses in red

Fabianski

Sagna - Koscielny - Squillaci - Clichy

Song - Wilshere

Walcott - Nasri - Arshavin

Chamakh

Subs from: Szczesny, Eboue, Djourou, Denilson, Rosicky, Fabregas, Van Persie
Doubts: Fabianski (hip), Djourou (thigh), Fabregas (hamstring)

Out: Bendtner (personal), Almunia (ankle), Gibbs (ankle), Diaby (ankle), Vermaelen (Achilles)

Tony Pulis rekindled a rivalry with Arsenal by noting that
Arsenal has picked up more bookings than Stoke this year.
To illustrate that point, Guardian used this photo of a
yellow card that was shown for dissent and not violence.

Match Thoughts

Arsenal's offensively frustrated performance on Monday in their 1-0 loss to Manchester United at Old Trafford has made the month of December a little more difficult, but I must insist to you again that the season is not even half over yet, and there's a lot of football left to be played.

But, I won't kid you either. This is a crucial stretch of fixtures. Before their FA Cup date with Leeds in January, Arsenal will get to entertain Chelsea (December 27) and Manchester City (January 5) at home, while also traveling to Birmingham City (January 1) which is often a tricky road match.

With that in mind, coupled with what we've seen Arsenal do at the Emirates against certain teams this year, that makes this a must-win game. Arsenal have already dropped points at home to two newly promoted sides and a fierce rival this season, they cannot afford to do it again. Falling down in the table on Monday with Manchester United having a game in hand makes it essential to win the games you're supposed to win. So far this season, Arsenal haven't always done that.

But if there's any game that Arsenal should be capable of rallying themselves for, it's this one. We all remember what happened at Stoke in February and that should be all the reason in the world for the Gunners to come out tomorrow and give this side a proper thrashing. Quite honestly, the complacency we've seen from Arsenal at times this season cannot be tolerated against a team that is very much the anti-Arsenal. Rory Delap won't have the benefit of all of those ridiculous towels to wipe off the balls for his preposterous cannon throw-ins while at the Emirates, which should help. We'll see how Ryan Shawcross handles the atmosphere...

This should be a pretty enthralling encounter. Let's hope we see Dominant Arsenal for 90 minutes, something that has been a lot to ask for at home, for some reason.

Arsenal News and Notes

• There are no fresh injury concerns after Arsenal's Monday night loss at Old Trafford.
• Lukasz Fabianski will face a late fitness test, meaning Wojciech Szczesny could make his second consecutive and second career Premier League start in goal.
• Both Cesc Fabregas and Robin van Persie are progressing. I think Fabregas could start Saturday, but would be shocked if van Persie started.
• Abou Diaby is back in training, but is still far too short for this week.
• Nicklas Bendtner's partner is having a child, so the Dane's availability is questionable.
• Manuel Almunia has mysteriously picked up a completely different injury.
• Kieran Gibbs and Thomas Vermaelen are still out for a while. I wouldn't expect either back until January.
• Arsenal's loss on Monday meant they could not stretch their winning streak to five matches across all competitions, which would have been their longest such streak of the season.
• The Gunners have failed on two straight attempts to stretch a two match winning streak to three in the league.

Stoke News and Notes

• Stoke has only two players with injury concerns, and one, Salif Diao (calf) might return to the squad.
• The other injured player, Mamady Sidibe, is out until February with an Achilles problem.
• Stoke City has only received one red card this year. Surprise! It was Ryan Shawcross! He was sent off for two yellows, but they were on ridiculous challenges, four minutes apart, both on Danny Walbeck, in a 2-0 loss at Sunderland.
• Stoke were unbeaten in five before losing 1-0 to Blackpool last week. They have now not won in their last three league matches.

Match Facts

• Arsenal won this fixture last year 2-0. Cesc Fabregas was stopped on a penalty, but Arsenal got goals from Andrei Arshavin and Aaron Ramsey.
• Arsenal have had some rough trips to the Britannia Stadium in the past, but this game is at the Emirates, so we'll worry about that fact in May (or the FA Cup.)
• Stoke City have played twice at Arsenal in their most recent spell in the top flight and have lost 4-1 and 2-0.
• Stoke's last league result at Arsenal was a 1-0 win in 1981/82.

The Referee

• The referee is Lancashire-based Lee Mason.
• This is his first Arsenal match of this season; he previously worked Stoke's 1-1 draw with West Ham at the Britannia.
• The last time Mason took charge of an Arsenal match, it was last April at Wigan, which I have conveniently blocked out of my memory.

Around the League

• Saturday: Sunderland v. Bolton Wanderers; Stadium of Light, Sunderland
• Saturday: Birmingham City v. Newcastle United; St. Andrew's, Birmingham
• Saturday: Blackburn Rovers v. West Ham United; Ewood Park, Blackburn
• Saturday: Wigan Athletic v. Aston Villa; DW Stadium, Wigan
• Saturday: Liverpool v. Fulham; Anfield, Liverpool
• Sunday: West Bromwich Albion v. Wolverhampton Wanderers; The Hawthorns, West Bromwich
• Sunday: Blackpool v. Tottenham Hotspur; Bloomfield Road, Blackpool
• Sunday: Chelsea v. Manchester United; Stamford Bridge, London
• Monday: Manchester City v. Everton; City of Manchester Stadium, Manchester

Arsenal and Barcelona, Together Again, and Why It's Win-Win

I won't go with the "this could get Messi" pun, like I did last year... so... oh, I just did...

Pic via Guardian.

In a drawing that surprised nobody, least of all Arsene Wenger, Arsenal's reward for failing to win their Champions League group is a date with the cruel mistress that is FC Barcelona.

I think most of us agree that the Catalans are playing the best football in the world right now, having hilariously beaten Jose Mourinho 5-0 recently. In many ways, you could say it's the worst possible team Arsenal could have drawn in the Last 16, and that's certainly true if this is the only competition you care about winning.

But, I'm here to argue why this situation is win-win from an Arsenal perspective. Obviously, there are two ways the tie could turn out, but I think both work to a different positive result in the end for our beloved Gunners:

1. Arsenal wins and advances. That would be what we call "sweet, sweet revenge" for everything that has happened to us involving Barcelona in the past calendar year. After crashing out of Europe fairly violently at the hands of Lionel Messi at Camp Nou last April, if Arsenal were to manage to win thus tie and advance to the quarterfinals, it would be a brilliant moment to savor. And, it would still be sweet revenge just on that topic alone, and that doesn't even consider all of the ridiculous tapping up of Cesc Fabregas that took place over the summer.
2. Barcelona wins and Arsenal's European campaign is over. Remember, Chelsea lost in the Round of 16 to Inter Milan last year, then went on to win the Double. The earlier you're out of Europe, the sooner you focus on your domestic season, which are all more winnable trophies for Arsenal than the Champions League is right now, anyway. The Carling Cup, which is arguably Arsenal's for the taking right now, will be over by the time this round concludes anyway, as will be five rounds of the FA Cup (three for Arsenal's involvement.) Last year, Arsenal advanced to the quarterfinals, only to draw Barcelona then, where they proceeded to lose several key players to long term injuries. It killed any fading hope Arsenal may have had in pushing for the league. If you're out of Europe in March, it makes it all the more likely you'll be on top of England in May. Unless you plan on reaching the Champions League Final, it's more detrimental to your season to crash out in either the Semis or the Quarters than in the Last 16.

I understand this may not be a popular viewpoint, and obviously you want to win every competition in which you participate, but I'm just trying to be glass half-full here.

News Roundup 12/15/10 - The Slippery Pitch Edition

The first result on a Google Image search for "slippery pitch" is the Emirates... Pic via Flickr.

• So, the answer to the "What will Arsene Wenger blame the loss on that isn't the players?" game we played outside of the bar after Monday's match is "the pitch," which we did notice was fairly poor. I had thought United were wearing special boots specifically to handle the grease they added to the pitch before the match. But also, seriously, that doesn't explain why they didn't know what to do with the ball in the final third. [BBC, Guardian, Daily Telegraph]
• A snood-wearing Frenchman thinks Arsenal plays too flashy sometimes. [Sky Sports, Daily Telegraph]
• That same snood-wearer was named France's Player of the Year. Bear in mind that everyone that was with that team in South Africa was probably disqualified. [Sky Sports]
• Wojciech Szczesny is determined to make the fact that I learned how to spell his name months ago worthwhile by staying in the side. Yes, I tripled checked that sentence to avoid ironic typos. [Guardian]
• Speaking of goalkeepers, Arsenal and Manchester City are apparently keen on Blackpool keeper Matthew Gilks, who wants out of the seaside. Doesn't City have like eight goalkeepers? [Daily Mail]
• Surprise! Arsenal might be interested in a French center back! I am flabbergasted at that news. The man in question is Mamadou Sakho, who plays for PSG. But, apparently Barcelona are interested too. Shouldn't they, you know, finally pay us for Henry first?[Daily Mail]
• Stoke City fancies their chances at picking up a win at the Emirates on Saturday, since Newcastle and West Brom have done it this year. Well, obviously they would say that. The headline should read "Stoke Thinks They Can Win, Says Stoke Player." [The Sun]
• FA Youth Cup: Arsenal thrashed Darlington 6-1 yesterday, setting up a next round match with either Sunderland or Chelsea. Chuks Aneke had a hat trick. Benik Afobe had a brace. Defender Daniel Boateng scored a rare goal for Arsenal's sixth. [Arsenal.com]

Arsene Wenger Is Very Disappointed in You 12/14/10

Yeah. I sort of felt that way too yesterday.

From: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/arsenal/8200437/Manchester-United-v-Arsenal-Arsene-Wenger-takes-aim-at-Old-Trafford-pitch-and-pleads-for-calm-over-poor-record.html

Manchester United 1 - 0 Arsenal: Uncreative Title to Match Uncreative Midfield

Wayne Rooney's miss was by far Arsenal's only highlight. Pic via Guardian.

Manchester United 1: Park 41

Arsenal 0

For all of the complaining about Howard Webb that we may do, especially in the heat of the match when I'm a good three pints in, the fact of the matter is, even if there were a number of dubious decisions at Old Trafford yesterday, Arsenal certainly deserved their zero points. I'm going to do my best not to go into the officiating decisions, but how United were not booked once in this match is a crime. I'm always much the optimistic one, but still, there's been a lot to be concerned about in Arsenal's play this season, so let's dive right into this.

Arsenal made only one change to the side that beat Fulham in the league last weekend, necessitated by an injury picked up by Lukasz Fabianski. This meant Wojciech Szczesny would make his first start in the Premier League. Despite declaring himself fit again, Manuel Almunia was nowhere to be found, further indicating that he has likely played his final match in an Arsenal shirt. The outfield players were as they were in the last league match, including Tomas Rosicky in the middle of midfield, with Andrei Arshavin to the left and Samir Nasri to the right. Cesc Fabregas, still nursing his hamstring, started on the bench.

Arsenal put themselves behind the eight ball a bit at the start; it seemed like the back four wanted to pass back to Szczesny to get him an early touch on the ball, but with United's pressuring, the home side had a few solid opportunities created by Arsenal's own backward motion, but nothing exceedingly dangerous. The Gunners settled in after about ten minutes.

But, when I say settled in, I mean they worked themselves into a groove through which they were never going to score for one simple reason: there was no creative spark. Again. Without a fit Cesc Fabregas, the central role has fallen to Tomas Rosicky, who has had a few strong performances in the past and a few clunkers, and yesterday was the latter. Without Fabregas, the formation seems to, at times, be all over the place and when coupled with Arsene Wenger's high risk-high reward scheme of having Alex Song push forward, it creates a dangerous situation of counterattack vulnerability when ultimately, there's no one in an Arsenal shirt on the other end of a poorly placed cross.

United scored the match's only goal shortly before halftime. Nani sent a deflected ball into the box (the deflection courtesy Gael Clichy) that found the head of Ji-Sung Park, who twisted an unstoppable header into the corner of the net. Szczesny had no chance. Sebastian Squillaci tried to close down on Park, but he was too late in getting this. This was because Park was not Squillaci's man to cover in the first place; Alex Song is the one that should have been on the Korean.

Arsenal had all of one solid chance to score a goal in the second half (and, all game, really.) Samir Nasri took a left footed shot that Edwin van der Sar could only parry to his left, into the path of Marouane Chamakh. But, the Moroccan found himself wrong footed and caught off guard, and by the time Chamakh got a foot on the ball to take a shot, central defender Nemanja Vidic had already closed him down to block it.

United could have taken a 2-0 lead when they were given a preposterously dubious penalty as Clichy was whistled for handball in the area. To make this call, it has to be an intentional handball (Webb waived off a more legitimate shout for a penalty when Chamakh accidentally handled in the first half.) Nani kicked the ball at Clichy's arm, which was at his side and on the ground supporting his body. How that could be viewed as intentional is beyond me. It was the linesman who waved for the call, but it's still up to Webb to whistle for it. What followed was Wayne Rooney missing the net ridiculously, in what was probably the best moment of the match for an Arsenal supporter.

Arsenal brought in some heavy artillery off the bench, in the form of Cesc Fabregas, Robin van Persie, and Theo Walcott, but the three of them did nothing to change the flow of the match. The creativity and spark still wasn't there. In the end, it's another negative result in Manchester. A bit of a coincidental statistic to pass along, that I don't really think means that much in the grand scheme of things, is that Arsenal have never won the Premier League in a season where they have lost at Old Trafford. Again, small sample size (the Premier League only dates back to 1992) and bit coincidental, as Arsenal have won there and then not won the league as well (in 2006/07.)

Hipster Gooner Man of the Match: Nemanja Vidic

Arsene Wenger is Very Disappointed in this Week's Schedule

The disgust in Wenger's face is for a very understandable reason that with which all of us at Hipster Gooner completely agree! Why on earth is this week's game on a Monday? I think it is safe to say Arsene Wenger isn't the only one disappointed that they have to wait two whole days more than usual for their weekly Arsenal fix!

From: http://www.livesoccertv.com/news/2307/england-premier-league-preview-dec-11-12/

Preview: Manchester United v. Arsenal

There's only one Arsene Wenger. Pic via Daily Mail.

Old Trafford, Manchester

Monday, December 13

8:00 p.m. GMT, 3:00 p.m. EST

• Referee: Howard Webb
• This Match, Last Year: Manchester United 2 - 1 Arsenal
• All-Time in All Competitions: 78 Arsenal wins, 86 United wins, 46 draws
• Arsenal's Recent Form: L-W-W-L-W-W
• United's Recent Form: W-W-D-D-W-W 

Predicted Line-Up

guesses in red

Fabianski

Sagna - Koscielny - Squillaci - Clichy

Song - Wilshere

Nasri - Rosicky - van Persie

Chamakh

Subs from: Szczesny, Djourou, Eboue, Denilson, Walcott, Arshavin, Bendtner

Out: Gibbs (ankle), Fabregas (hamstring), Diaby (ankle), Vermaelen (Achilles), Almunia (elbow)

Match Thoughts

Theo Walcott would like to be
starting again.

Here it is, everyone, the biggest match of the season so far. United away and a real top of the table clash. No doubt about it, the winner of this match will be top of the table for another week. And, if that winner should be Arsenal, they'll be four points clear of United who will still have that game in hand. Yes, Arsenal may be top now, but with United getting frozen out at Blackpool (who occasionally seem to forget they're in the Premier League now) last week, being one point clear really doesn't mean anything unless the Gunners take care of business on Monday.

Can I also say that I really don't like having to wait until Monday for such a pivotal, enthralling, and usually gut-wrenching fixture? Sure, it'll help my sleep-and-drinking schedule this weekend (with all of those early starts, I haven't gotten sleep on a Friday since November 12 - that was really my fault last week plus my birthday has been in there), but it's agonizing all the same. Plus, should Chelsea win at Shite Hart Lane, then this match is going to be a battle for top spot, even though neither side will truly be top coming in.

We should probably know by the end of the day Sunday whether Cesc Fabregas will play, still hampered by his recurring hamstring injury, which he first picked up almost a year ago at Burnley. If you recall, Arsenal was without Fabregas at Old Trafford last year with a completely different injury and controlled the level of play anyway. As I say below in the team news, if Fabregas is not 100% fit, then I don't want him playing. The dip in his quality as a playmaker between when he is 100% and when he is about 80% has been extremely noticeable, plus you risk losing him again to the same injury. We want you back, Cesc, but only at your very best and nothing less.

After that, there are questions about who starts up front, for largely very good reasons. It's always better to have difficult choices to make in your squad because too many players are fit. We'll see if Andrei Arshavin drops to the bench after a poor outing on Wednesday. My predicted line-up takes that into account, but I do largely doubt that may happen (that predicted line-up is very often wishful thinking.) The thing about Arshavin, and we all know it, is that he can be utter crap for 98% of the match, but still pull a brilliant maneuver out of nowhere to set up a gorgeous goal. He leads this team in assists and is fourth on the team in scoring, despite all of the flack he's taken this season.

Theo Walcott is getting frustrated as a super-sub, but considering in-the-form-of-his-life Samir Nasri has been playing right wing, it's hard to fit Walcott in the starting XI right now. Though, theoretically, you can move Nasri to the central role and then start Walcott on the right and drop Tomas Rosicky to the bench. Robin van Persie and Marouane Chamakh did not look comfortable playing together on Wednesday, so the question is: do you keep experimenting with it right now or is this too important a match to start taking gambles on your formation? I expect Wenger to continue with the experiment.

Alex Song proved how useful he can be driving forward as what we started calling last week a "rogue striker." He set up the situation that led to van Persie's penalty goal and had the one-two with Bendtner that set up Nasri's goal on Wednesday. I am all for Alex Song pushing forward, but, only when you have faith in your back four, which I don't. Maybe with a healthy Thomas Vermaelen it'll be easier for Song to push up, but right now, you are seeing far too many instances where the back four is exposed and out of position because Song isn't there to cover.

All in all, a huge three points up for grabs on Monday, though, I hesitate to think it will truly define Arsenal's season one way or the other. It's only December.

Cesc Fabregas: Questionable.

Arsenal Team News

• Returning to the side from Wednesday will be Gael Clichy (illness) and Johan Djourou (thigh.)
• Cesc Fabregas is a big concern to play given his hamstring injury. Looks like he'll be a match time decision. I'd rather him play only if he's 100% (I find his presence detrimental when he's a bit off.) If he's not fully fit, I'd much rather have Nasri or Rosicky play in the middle.
• Ridiculously unlucky Kieran Gibbs is out three weeks after rolling over his ankle on Wednesday.
• Dear Thomas Vermaelen, See you in 2011. Love, All Gooners.
• Dear Abou Diaby, Seriously, I haven't heard anything about the confusion that is your ankle injury. Love, John (and presumably All Gooners.)
• Yeah, I'm going to stop that now...
• According to John Cross of The Daily Mirror, Manuel Almunia has been allowed to go back to Spain for rest and treatment on his injured elbow. It is becoming more and more likely he'll be sold in the January transfer window. And we here at Hipster Gooner will have a photo slideshow/montage ready when that happens.
• Arsenal have won four straight fixtures in all competitions, but an argument over which win was the most comfortable would likely make your brain explode. Arsenal held off Villa's comeback twice and won 4-2, then knocked Wigan out of the Carling Cup before waiting about 75 minutes to beat both Fulham and Partizan Belgrade at home.
• The last time Arsenal won three straight in the league was October 16 to 30, with wins over Birmingham City, Manchester City, and West Ham United.

Manchester United Team News

• Reports today indicate that Paul Scholes (groin) and Rio Ferdinand (hamstring) have passed fit.
• Wes Brown and Jonny Evans have been battling illness but are in contention.
• Michael Owen (hamstring) is back in training, but will not be in the squad on Monday.
• Owen Hargreaves (hamstring) is out until Boxing Day; Antonio Valencia (broken ankle) is out long term.
• United have not lost in the league this season, which is about 40% over. They have, however, drawn almost half the time (7 out of 15) and have only won once away from home, at Stoke.
• Since this match is at Old Trafford, though, that doesn't matter. At home, United have only dropped points once in the league: a 2-2 draw with West Bromwich Albion.
• Last year, United lost at home only twice: to Chelsea and to Aston Villa. That loss to Villa was during this very weekend of fixtures a year ago (December 12.)
• United's only competitive loss this season was their 4-0 thrashing at the hands of West Ham in the Carling Cup two weeks ago.
• They won four of their Champions League group fixtures, but drew two, and both of those were at home, including their match with Valencia on Tuesday.

Match Facts

• United took all six points from Arsenal last year. At Old Trafford in August, Arsenal controlled much of the play and led 1-0 at the half thanks to a brilliant Andrei Arshavin strike. Wayne Rooney equalized from the spot on a penalty conceded by Manuel Almunia, then Abou Diaby headed in the winner for United. Yeah, that happened.
• Arsenal then lost 3-1 to United at the Emirates, a match in which the Gunners seriously competed from about the 80th minute to the 85th.
• Arsenal have not won at Old Trafford in five tries in all competitions. Their last win there came on September 17, 2006, 1-0. Emmanuel Adebayor had the 86th minute winner.
• The Gunners have beaten Manchester United just once over nine encounters over the last three seasons. Samir Nasri had a brace that day, which he seems more than capable of doing again on Monday.
• I'm going to stop typing these, it's making me sad. Then again, you could also assume I'm just jinxing them. Though, I don't think you can jinx something you don't want to happen, right?

The Referee

• The referee is Evil Patrick Stewart Howard Webb.
• Webb has taken charge of only one Arsenal match this season: the 2-1 win over Everton in November.
• For United, Webb has also only taken charge of one match this season: their 3-2 win over Liverpool.
• Funny that, in both of those instances, Webb officiated a win by one of the teams involved in this match against a side from Liverpool.
• In this fixture last year, Mike Dean handed out 9 yellow cards (6 to Arsenal) and awarded Wayne Rooney a penalty. And, then he punched Arsene Wenger in the face. Fine, that didn't happen. But he sent Wenger off for kicking a water bottle after Arsenal's injury time equalizer was nullified for offside. And we all remember Wenger's defiant "I have nowhere to sit" gesture that followed. And if you forgot, it's at the top of this post, so scroll up again.

Around the League

• Saturday: Aston Villa v. West Bromwich Albion; Villa Park, Birmingham
• Saturday: Everton v. Wigan Athletic; Goodison Park, Liverpool
• Saturday: Fulham v. Sunderland; Craven Cottage, London
• Saturday: Stoke City v. Blackpool; Britannia Stadium, Stoke-on-Trent
• Saturday: West Ham United v. Manchester City; Boleyn Ground, London
• Saturday: Newcastle United v. Liverpool; St. James' Park, Newcastle upon Tyne
• Sunday: Bolton Wanderers v. Blackburn Rovers; Reebok Stadium, Bolton
• Sunday: Wolverhampton Wanderers v. Birmingham City; Molineux, Wolverhampton
• Sunday: Tottenham Hotspur v. Chelsea; White Hart Lane, London

Arsene Wenger Is Very Disappointed in You 12/9/10

Disappointed even after a win!

From: http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/dec/07/arsenal-partizan-champions-league

Champions League: Arsenal 3 - 1 Partizan: You're Killing My Nerves

Who do you think this is? Guardian was told it was Song. That's not right...
Other images via Daily Mail.

Arsenal 3: van Persie 30 (pen), Walcott 73, Nasri 77

Partizan Belgrade 1: Cleo 52

Well, that was close.

There were 21 minutes this afternoon where I was absolutely terrified of seeing Arsenal in the Europa League really soon. I was pretty much a Braga goal away from total heart failure. Then, the Gunners made a substitution I thought was a quarter of an hour late, it paid off, and Arsenal secured qualification... and a date with a German side or a Spanish giant in the Round of 16. But the process in getting there, well, it was unpleasant.

Arsenal made three changes to the side that started against Fulham at the weekend. Laurent Koscielny was able to start despite picking up a concussion, so that was not one of the three changes. Kieran Gibbs started at left back in the place of Gael Clichy, Denilson started in the place of Jack Wilshere in midfield, and Robin van Persie started up front alongside Marouane Chamakh, in place of Tomas Rosicky.

This meant Arsenal would again, not play their standard 4-2-3-1, considering the RvP/Chamakh pairing; this is really more of a 4-2-2-2 with the usual holding midfielders playing back, Nasri and Arshavin playing along the wings, and the strikers up front. Of course, it's probably just easier to call it a 4-4-2. Then again, chatting with fellow Hipster Gooner contributor Jack Palmer during the match, he suggested that the formation is more easily described as "Leaky-Shaky-Melange."

There was talk in the lead-up to the match about how important it was for Arsenal to start on the front foot. Given how Arsenal can get nervous at home this season, scoring the first goal and moving forward from there was crucial. The boys in red and white were content trying to pick the lock to score their first goal during the first quarter of an hour, but they were met with much resistance; Partizan was completely content with getting as many players as they possibly could behind the ball. Combine this with Jack Wilshere on the bench, Samir Nasri out wide, and Andrei Arshavin having the beginning of an abysmal game, Arsenal was not getting much done creatively. There are times when I love Arsenal's tippy-tappy, pick the lock style, but at the start of a match like today, you've just gotta bang the God damned door down.

Robin van Persie puts Arsenal ahead from the spot.

The match turned slightly for the worse in the 17th minute when continuously unlucky Kieran Gibbs got his boot caught in the ground, causing him to turn on his ankle. He was stretchered off, then popped back up and came back out onto the pitch for about ten minutes and limped about before being taken off for Emmanuel Eboue. It's really a shame that Gibbs can't seem to go more than two or three games without picking up an injury, this time, without any contact whatsoever. This was a freak accident and hopefully it does not mean a long time on the sidelines for the young Englishman, as I much like Gael Clichy being pushed for his playing time.

Of course, with Clichy not on the bench (out with illness), Eboue was forced to play left back, a position he does not normally play. Even when Gibbs went off with injury at Newcastle in the Carling Cup, Eboue came on and played right back while Bacary Sagna slipped over to the left to cover. The injury led to a lull in concentration from the Gunners, their touches were a bit sloppier (not to say they weren't a little poor even before that) and for about ten minutes, partially while Gibbs was still on limping, Partizan looked threatening on the break. With the way Arsenal's back four have fared lately, anything was possible, but the home side came out of that period unscathed. Partizan tried to exploit Gibbs's injury while he was still on, but could not muster a chance on goal.

There has also been a lot of talk lately about Alex Song's positioning and in the post-match interviews over the weekend, Arsene Wenger confirmed that it was his decision to tell Song to push up a little more than in the past. However, it was Song's forward positioning that led to the chance that led to Arsenal's first goal, though in a roundabout way. Song came up with the ball at the right corner of the penalty area, then slipped a pass through to Robin van Persie. As the Dutchman tried to turn back toward goal, he was tripped by Radosav Petrovic, and the Italian referee pointed to the spot. At the first angle, I thought it was a dive, but that's because Petrovic's tripping leg was obscured. Good call and van Persie did not miss, seizing the opportunity to bury his first goal of the season. Arsenal led 1-0 at the half, though it was not convincing, and it was by no means entertaining.

"Here we go again..."

We've seen Arsenal so many times this year take the lead into halftime, then capitulate early in the second half. It happened against Spurs, it happened at Villa, and it happened again today. And oh boy, was it a shambolic goal. Arsenal started the second half looking for their second goal (and the first 45 seconds of the second half were more exciting than any of the 45 minutes of the first), but in the 52nd, Cleo took the ball 25 yards out, with no Arsenal defenders in front of him, save Sebastian Squillaci. Cleo took a shot, it caromed off Squillaci's foot and popped high in the air, leaving Lukasz Fabianski absolutely no chance. Suddenly, it was 1-1. Suddenly, the doubt was creeping in again. And suddenly, a Braga goal could've meant the Europa League in the coming months.

If you were nervous from the start of this match, like I was, then the next 21 minutes must have been absolutely terrifying. Chance after chance after chance went begging. At the hour mark, I questioned where Theo Walcott and Jack Wilshere could have been hiding. The change of pace had to happen and Andrei Arshavin's disastrous game was dragging Arsenal down. There was no creativity; Samir Nasri was playing as hard as ever but could not find a finish. Robin van Persie and Marouane Chamakh looked uncomfortable together combining up front. Something had to change...

Theo Walcott sends Arsenal through.

The change finally came in the 66th minute as Arshavin was removed for Walcott. A nifty little one-two between he and Alex Song drew a foul as Walcott was body checked to the ground just outside of the box. RvP took the kick, it swerved beautifully, but Vladimir Stojkovic made a top class save and tipped it over the bar.

But seven minutes after coming on, Theo Walcott had a winner for Arsenal. A Sagna cross was blocked down, but cleared only as far as Theo, who chested it down and one-timed a shot across the face of the goal and into the net. And the panic was averted.

Then, Arsenal got a third just four minutes later to make the scoreline a little prettier (considering the effort today was, on the whole, abysmal.) Nicklas Bendtner, who had just come on for Chamakh, played another nifty one-two with Song (maybe he's not such a rogue striker after all,) Song found Nasri at the top of the box and he pounded a strike into the net to make things a little more comfortable.

The end of the match would not be without a little more bad news for Arsenal. With a Partizan striker through on goal and the possibility of a very nervy finish, Bacary Sagna, the last defender, tripped him just ahead of the box, and took a red card for the team. The resulting suspension in the Round of 16 is worrysome, but Sagna made a choice to ensure that Arsenal would be through and not make things more difficult in the final five minutes should Partizan have scored. Mind you, he did not know at the time that Shakhtar led by two and qualification was all but guaranteed.

In the end, this was probably not a good build up to a huge tilt with Manchester United at Old Trafford on Monday and I would love it if I could write a recap where I don't feel the urge to use the word "nervy" in every paragraph. Today we learned: 1) Chamakh and van Persie don't work together yet, 2) we need a creative player in the middle at all times (choose between Fabregas, Nasri, Rosicky, or Wilshere), 3) something has got to be done about this home form problem, and 4) we're off to either Germany or Spain in the next round.

Hipster Gooner Man of the Match: Theo Walcott

Preview: Arsenal v. Partizan Belgrade, Champions League Group Matchday 6

Marouane Chamakh nods in Arsenal's winner in Serbia back in September. Pic via Daily Mail.


Emirates Stadium, London

Wednesday, December 8

7:45 p.m. GMT, 2:45 p.m. EST

• Referee: Paolo Tagliavento (Italy)
• Reverse Fixture: Partizan Belgrade 1 - 3 Arsenal
• Matchday 2 was the first and only competitive fixture between sides
• Arsenal's League Form: L-W-W-L-W-W
• Partizan's League Form: W-W-W-W-W-W

Predicted Line-Up

just assume these are mostly guesses

Fabianski

Sagna - Koscielny - Squillaci - Clichy

Song - Wilshere

Walcott - Nasri - Arshavin

Chamakh

Subs from: Szczesny, Eboue, Gibbs, Denilson, Bendtner, Van Persie, Rosicky

Out: Djourou (thigh), Fabregas (hamstring), Diaby (ankle), Almunia (elbow), Vermaelen (Achilles)

Qualification
Grid of possible results at right.
This assumes Arsenal will finish with a better goal difference than Braga.

• Arsenal will qualify for the knockout stage, if:
• They win, OR
• They draw and Braga drops points, OR
• They lose and Braga also loses.
• Arsenal will win Group H, if:
• They win and Braga wins by fewer than 14 goals.
• Arsenal will finish third, starting the Gooner European Apocalypse, if:
• They lose and Shakhtar Donetsk drops points, OR
• They draw and Braga wins.

Match Thoughts

It is the beginning of an absolutely huge, almost season defining week for Arsenal. They have gone top of the table in the league for now, benefiting from Manchester United's postponement from the weekend. Arsenal still has their fate in their own hands regarding United's game in hand, as the Gunners travel to Old Trafford on Monday.

But it all starts here, at home, in the Champions League against Partizan Belgrade tomorrow. A couple of dreadful results away from the Emirates in Europe through the month of November have put Arsenal's back up against the wall. If their performance is any form of shambolic tomorrow, there's a chance the Gunners will not qualify for the knockout phase, essentially "doing a Liverpool" from last year, or, as I've called it, the "Gooner European Apocalypse." And quite honestly, I had a weird nightmare about that last night.

Arsenal's home form in the league has left something to be desired all season long, including losses to West Brom, Newcastle, and the Scum. Their back-to-back wins over Wigan in the Carling Cup and Fulham on Saturday has only begun to rectify the problem; that rectification must continue tomorrow. The Gunners have been dominant at home in Europe, winning by a combined 11-1 to scoreline against the two sides that would eventually beat them away from London last month.

You'll see that my predicted line-up feels largely like guesswork. It's an XI that would make sense in the league and would make sense for an absolute must-win fixture like this one, but Arsene Wenger's rotational choices in the Champions League this year have been bothering me for a month now. And it's the main reason why this is must-win in the first place.

Robin van Persie could get a start, as could Theo Walcott, but I'd be quite unhappy if Nicklas Bendtner or Emmanuel Eboue got the start too. I like Eboue, and he's passed fit again, but remember he looked dreadful in the Carling Cup, and only escaped further embarrassment when Victor Moses left with injury. Let's have as few question marks as we can on the back line, okay?

Injury News and Match Facts

• Johan Djourou picked up a thigh injury and now suddenly Laurent Koscielny is fine to start. Djourou should be fit again by the weekend, but I'm really concerned at how quickly we've had to rush back the young Frenchman from a head injury due to a lack of center backs.
• The English media has sensationalized the fact that Thomas Vermaelen won't be back until January. It's as if our best player just recently suffered a devastating injury. He's been out since August! Quite frankly, there was a time I didn't expect him to be back at all this season.
• The other injuries remain the same: Cesc Fabregas hopes to be back by Monday at Old Trafford, Abou Diaby's ankle remains mysterious, and I'm pretty sure Manuel Almunia just doesn't want to be number two behind Fabianski.
• Arsenal's 3-1 win in Belgrade in September was the only other competitive fixture between these two sides. Partizan's penalty goal was the only goal they have scored in the group stage, now through five matches.

The Referee

• The referee is Italy's Paolo Tagliavento.
• He's been a Serie A referee since 2004 and a UEFA Cup/Europa League referee since 2007.
• As far as my research dictates, however, this seems to be his first Champions League match.
• His highest international honor to date has been taking charge of two World Cup qualifiers.

England in the Champions League This Week

• Tuesday: Twente v. Tottenham Hotspur; De Grolsch Veste, Enschede
• Tuesday: Manchester United v. Valencia; Old Trafford, Manchester
• Wednesday: Marseille v. Chelsea; Stade Vélodrome, Marseille

Arsenal 2 - 1 Fulham: Samir Nas-a-ri! Nas-a-ri! Samir Nas-a-ri!

SNOOOOOOOOD! Pic via Guardian.

Arsenal 2: Nasri 14, 75

Fulham 1: Kamara 30

If you listen to the British media (and in so many cases, you really shouldn't), you'd be led to believe that it's absolutely appalling that Arsenal are top of the league at this moment, in spite of all their deficiencies. How could a team that concedes so many goals be in first? Well, FYI, only four teams have conceded fewer than Arsenal's 18. Chelsea has been a little more consistent (in that they were consistently great and are now consistently wobbling) and Manchester United can't seem to win in the league away from Old Trafford. The real story is just how strange this title race is going to be this year.

Once again, Arsenal have come away from an uncomfortable match with three points. A month ago, after beating West Ham 1-0, the pundits said "this is the kind of win that a champion grinds out." Now, after four losses in the month of November, the Guardian says the league is "succumbing to a form of 'leadership by the worst'."

Arsenal made nine changes to the side that beat Wigan in the Carling Cup on Tuesday, however, the side was unchanged from the XI that started at Aston Villa a week ago. Tomas Rosicky again filled the box-to-box Fabregas role, Andrei Arshavin and Samir Nasri started on the wings, and Marouane Chamakh started up top.

Andrei Arshavin nearly put the Gunners up in the early going. From a free kick taken by Jack Wilshere, Sebastien Squillaci's header down came to the feet of the diminutive Russian, whose shot was stopped point blank by former Arsenal transfer target Mark Schwarzer. Nasri came close as well, with a shot just wide following a through ball from Arshavin.

But Nasri would not miss in the 14th. Aaron Hughes failed to control a back pass and Arshavin pounced. Arshavin waited to send the ball through to Nasri, who made two defenders look foolish with his footwork (much as that child did to me on numerous occasions during the kick around on 14th Street during the Gooner Holiday Party) and thundered home Arsenal's opener. A Nasri cross nearly added another, but it hit Dickson Etuhu on defense instead of Arshavin and Schwarzer made the save. Alex Song missed wide on another chance after a cross from Rosicky.

After being ripped to shreds by the Arsenal attack for almost half an hour, Matthew Briggs was pulled from the game and replaced by Chris Baird. Though it was unrelated, Fulham's offense started to get in gear at this point. The Cottagers continually attempted to get Diomansy Kamara through on goal, but twice he was flagged offside. In the 30th, miscommunication between Squillaci and Laurent Koscielny led to a disastrous clash of heads, the latter taking it the worst. As Koscielny was dazed, Fulham took advantage. Clint Dempsey dribbled around a poor challenge from Song and found Kamara, slipping through the defense in the spot where Koscielny would have been covering if he wasn't concussed. An easy equalizer.

Johan Djourou came on for the injured Koscielny, and while the Swiss center back impressed during this match on the whole, his first moments in the match were rusty. Kamara was through one more time on goal after beating an offside trap, but Lukasz Fabianski made an excellent block. The Arsenal back four are clearly the Achilles heel of this team (no pun intended on Vermaelen's injury) as are those moments where Arsenal seem to flick the switch off. Kamara's goal stunned Arsenal to the point where Fulham absolutely dominated the final 15 minutes of the first half. If the half were about five minutes longer, the Cottagers could have had a crucial second or even third goal.

Arsenal had a number of chances early in the second half, including wide shots from Rosicky and Song, the rogue striker, plus an Arshavin shot that was saved by Schwarzer. Rosicky was pulled off for Robin van Persie in the 63rd, but soon, the chances began to go Fulham's way. Van Persie's first real involvement in the match was to block a Fulham shot off the line after Fabianski failed to punch a cross clear following a corner. Nervy moments indeed. For about twenty minutes, it looked like if a winner was coming, it'd be the boys in white scoring it.

But the brilliance would once again come from Samir Nasri and the boys in red had their winner in the 75th minute. Andrei Arshavin passed forward to van Persie, who looked like he was teeing up a shot on his left foot. Instead, he slipped a pass to Nasri, who deked around John Pantsil and Schwarzer, then turned his body around to fire the ball into the net from the tightest of angles. Nasri looked like he might have slightly aggravated the knee injury he picked up on Tuesday, but Arsenal had already used all three of their substitutes.

Fulham kept knocking on the door and the ending was by no means comfortable for a Gooner, but when the dust had settled and when Everton had equalized at Stamford Bridge, Arsenal had three points and were sitting on top of the league table. This team has so much to still work on, but first place is first place. I still have three wishes for this team as we enter the holiday season: a little more strength in the back line, a killer instinct to put teams away when they have the chance, and for Alex Song to remember what position he plays.

Hipster Gooner Man of the Match: Samir Nasri