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