Preview: Arsenal v. Stoke City

On-loan Aaron Ramsey scored for Cardiff last night, as Arsenal 
prepares for the side he was injured against last season. Pic via Daily Mail.

Emirates Stadium, London

Wednesday, February 23

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

• Referee: Peter Walton
• 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: D-W-W-W-D-W
• Stoke's Recent Form: L-W-L-L-W-L

Predicted Line-Up

guesses in red

Szczesny

Sagna - Squillaci - Djourou - Clichy

Song - Wilshere

Walcott - Fabregas - Nasri

Bendtner

Subs from: Almunia, Eboue, Gibbs, Denilson, Rosicky, Arshavin, Chamakh
Suspended: Diaby (third of three, violent conduct)

Out: van Persie (hamstring), Koscielny (back), Fabianski (shoulder), Vermaelen (Achilles)

Arsenal News and Notes

• Suddenly, Robin van Persie and Laurent Koscielny have slight knocks and are unavailable. Part of me suspects that they could play if this was a huge match, but there is an element of caution with a cup final on Sunday.
• Abou Diaby still has a calf injury, but can't play anyway, serving the final match of his three match ban.
• Johan Djourou will be available following his back injury suffered against Barcelona.
• I suspect Nicklas Bendtner will start over Marouane Chamakh in RVP's place. Bendtner is in "better" form, if you can really say that. This is more to say that Chamakh is in poor form. Also, Arsenal could use Bendtner's height against a rugby team.
• This is the first of five Arsenal matches within a two week span (the others being the Carling Cup final on Sunday, FA Cup replay next Wednesday, Sunderland in the league next Saturday, and Barcelona on the following Tuesday.)
• Arsenal are unbeaten in 10 across all competitions and nine in the league.
• Arsenal have only lost once (the 1-0 at Ipswich Town in the Carling Cup semi-final first leg) in their last 16 competitive fixtures.
• The Gunners are unbeaten in 12 at home and have won six straight at the Emirates since the Leeds draw.

Stoke News and Notes

• Matthew Etherington faces a late fitness test after withdrawing from Stoke's Saturday FA Cup win over Brighton & Hove Albion with a back problem.
• Mamady Sidibe has a long term Achilles injury; Abdoulaye Faye has a hamstring injury.
• Stoke City have not won away from home in the league since Boxing Day (four straight losses), though they have two away wins in that time period in the FA Cup.

Match Facts

• The Gunners won this fixture 2-0 last year. Cesc Fabregas missed a penalty, but Arsenal got goals from Andrei Arshavin and Aaron Ramsey.
• Arsenal have won eight straight home fixtures against Stoke in all competitions; five of those were league matches.
• Stoke's last league result at Arsenal was a 1-0 win in 1981/82.
• Stoke City scored in the opening ten minutes of both matches against Arsenal at the Britannia last season; they have not scored in the opening 15 minutes of any match this year.

The Referee

• The referee is Northamptonshire-based Peter Walton.
• Walton was in charge of Arsenal and Stoke's league meeting at the Britannia last year and was the man who showed red to Ryan Shawcross.
• Walton's only Arsenal match this year was the Gunners' 3-0 win at Birmingham on New Year's Day.
• For Stoke, Walton has taken charge of a 2-1 loss at Bolton and 1-1 draw with Manchester City.

Around England

• Today, Champions League: Copenhagen 0 - 2 Chelsea
• Today, Premier League: Blackpool 3 - 1 Tottenham Hotspur
• Wednesday, Premier League: Marseille v. Manchester United; Stade Velodrome, Marseille
• Thursday, Europa League: Liverpool (0) v. (0) Sparta Prague; Anfield, Liverpool
• Thursday, Europa League: Manchester City (0) v. (0) Aris, City of Manchester Stadium, Manchester

Preview: Leyton Orient v. Arsenal, FA Cup 5th Round

Orient's mascot is a dragon. His name is Theo.
Last year, Theo Walcott's birthday cake had a dragon.
Connection!?!? Pic via Leyton Orient.

Matchroom Stadium, London

Sunday, February 20

4:30 p.m. GMT, 11:30 a.m. EST

• Referee: Kevin Friend
• All-Time in All Competitions: 7 Arsenal wins, 2 Orient wins, 1 draw
• All-Time in FA Cup: 4 Arsenal wins 
• Arsenal's Premier League Form: D-W-W-W-D-W
• Leyton Orient's League One Form: D-D-D-W-W-W

Predicted Line-Up

I usually only get like seven of these in cup ties

Almunia

Eboue - Koscielny - Squillaci - Gibbs

Denilson - Wilshere

Bendtner - Rosicky - Arshavin

Chamakh

Subs from: Szczesny, Sagna, Clichy, Song, Fabregas, Nasri, van Persie
Suspended: Diaby (second of three, violent conduct)
Doubtful: Walcott (hamstring)

Out: Djourou (back), Fabianski (shoulder), Vermaelen (Achilles)

Arsenal News and Notes

• Johan Djourou picked up a back injury on Wednesday and will miss the cup tie. Get well soon (damn it, we need you)!
• Theo Walcott is a doubt with a hamstring knock, though I wouldn't have expected him to start anyway, and certainly hope he wouldn't have been necessary to use. Arsenal has been leaving these cup ties for late, though, haven't they?
• No other new injuries, but a lot of rotation likely.
• Arsenal are unbeaten in nine across all competitions, by far their longest streak of the season. Arsenal last went unbeaten in nine from February 20 to April 3 last year, a streak that was snapped at Camp Nou.
• In 25 tries, Arsenal has never lost an FA Cup tie to a lower tier team under Arsene Wenger.

Leyton Orient News and Notes

• Orient currently sit in 10th place in League One, meaning Arsenal have played progressively lower teams down the table with each passing round (Huddersfield Town is in 3rd.)
• There are three teams currently still alive in the FA Cup that are below Orient in the table: Sheffield Wednesday, Notts County, and non-league Crawley Town.
• I'd give you their injury news, but honestly, I can't seem to find specifics. As of last week, it appears that Adam Chambers and Matthew Spring are injured. I hope that is good enough for you.
• Orient are unbeaten in nine League One fixtures (5 wins, 4 draws) since a New Year's Day loss to top of the table Brighton & Hove Albion. They have won three straight.
• To progress this far in the competition, Leyton Orient has beaten Dagenham & Redbridge (another London derby!) in a replay, Droylsden in a replay in which they scored six goals in extra time, then upset two Championship sides in Norwich and Swansea. Both of those sides sit in Premier League promotion playoff spots right now.

Match Facts

• Arsenal have won all five matches they have played against Leyton Orient since World War I.
• The last meeting came in the 1978 FA Cup. Arsenal won 3-0 at Highbury.
• Leyton Orient has spent only one season in the top flight, 1962/63. Arsenal beat them 2-1 at Brisbane Road and 2-0 at Highbury.
• Orient's last win over Arsenal came in the old second division, on February 13, 1915. Orient won 1-0 at Millfields Road.
• Arsenal have won all four FA Cup ties against Leyton Orient, with three of those coming away from home.

The Referee

• The referee is Leicestershire-based Kevin Friend.
• This is Friend's second Arsenal match in his career. The first was the 3-0 win over Wigan last month, in which Robin van Persie had a hat trick.
• His last Leyton Orient match was on April 13, 2009. Orient won 1-0 at Swindon Town.

Other 5th Round Ties (and 4th Round Replays)

• Saturday: Chelsea v. Everton (4th Round Replay); Stamford Bridge, London
• Saturday: Stoke City v. Brighton & Hove Albion; Britannia Stadium, Stoke-on-Trent
• Saturday: Birmingham City v. Sheffield Wednesday; St. Andrew's, Birmingham
• Saturday: Manchester United v. Crawley Town; Old Trafford, Manchester
• Sunday: Manchester City v. Notts County (4th Round Replay); City of Manchester Stadium, Manchester
• Sunday: Fulham v. Bolton Wanderers; Craven Cottage, London
• Monday: West Ham United v. Burnley; Boleyn Ground, London
• Next Tuesday: Chelsea or Everton v. Reading; London or Liverpool
• Next Wednesday: Manchester City or Notts County v. Aston Villa; Manchester or Nottingham

Preview: Arsenal v. Barcelona, Champions League Round of 16, First Leg

Have you heard that Cesc Fabregas used to play for Barcelona in his youth days?
Because this is the first that I'm hearing about that.
Pic via Daily Mail.

Emirates Stadium, London

Wednesday, February 16

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

• Referee: Nicola Rizzoli (Italy)
• History: 0 Arsenal wins, 3 Barcelona wins, 2 draws
• Arsenal's League Form: D-W-W-W-D-W
• Barcelona's League Form: W-W-W-W-W-D

Predicted Line-Up

guesses in red

Szczesny

Eboue - Koscielny - Djourou - Clichy

Song - Wilshere

Walcott - Fabregas - Nasri

van Persie

Subs from: Almunia, Gibbs, Squillaci, Rosicky, Arshavin, Bendtner, Chamakh
Suspended: Sagna (one match, professional foul)

Out: Diaby (calf), Fabianski (shoulder), Vermaelen (Achilles)

Arsenal News and Notes

• Samir Nasri surprisingly returns to the squad, having returned to training after the hamstring injury he suffered January 30 in the FA Cup. He should only start he's 100%. I would hope.
• Abou Diaby, however, picked up a calf strain on international duty. Nobody noticed, I guess, since he's suspended domestically.
• Speaking of suspensions, remember Bacary Sagna's red card against Partizan? Because I forgot about it too. He's unavailable and Emmanuel Eboue will deputize.
• Tomas Rosicky returns to the side as well, though I also, in this case, don't remember him getting hurt.
• Arsenal are unbeaten in eight across all competitions and have lost once in their last 14.
• The Gunners have not lost at home since November, going unbeaten in 11 at the Emirates.

Barcelona News and Notes

• Caveman impersonator Carles Puyol will miss the tie with a knee injury, forcing left back Eric Abidal to play in the center and forcing Maxwell (who was terrorized by Theo Walcott last year) to start on the left.
• As far as I can tell, Puyol is the only major injury in their side.
• Sporting Gijon's 1-1 draw with the Catalans at the weekend marked Barcelona's first league loss in 16 matches.

Match Facts

• This is the sixth all-time meeting between Arsenal and Barcelona. Arsenal have never won.
• No foreign club has ever won a Champions League tie at the Emirates, in 27 matches.
• Last year, Arsenal came from 2-0 down to draw level with Barcelona in the first leg of the quarter-finals. Nicklas Bendtner put Arsenal ahead on aggregate in the second leg before Lionel Messi scored four to knock the Gunners out.
• The two sides met in the 2006 final. Sol Campbell put ten man Arsenal ahead 1-0, but Samuel Eto'o and Juliano Belletti scored in the last fifteen minutes to win the title for the Catalan side.
• In 1999/2000, the two sides played twice in group play. Arsenal salvaged a draw at the Nou Camp, but then lost 4-2 in their home match, which was played at Wembley.

The Referee

• The referee is Serie A's Nicola Rizzoli. This is his first Arsenal match.
• Rizzoli took charge of last year's Europa League final, when Atletico Madrid beat Fulham in extra time.
• His last match on English soil saw him send off Manchester United's Rafael for two yellow cards in last year's quarter-finals, as Bayern Munich advanced on away goals.
• Rizzoli took charge of Barcelona's 5-1 win over Panathinaikos in the group stage earlier this year.

Other Round of 16 Ties

• Tuesday: AC Milan 0 - 1 Tottenham Hotspur
• Tuesday: Valencia 1 - 1 Schalke 04
• Wednesday: AS Roma v. Shakhtar Donetsk; Stadio Olimpico, Rome
• Next Tuesday: Copenhagen v. Chelsea; Parken Stadium, Copenhagen
• Next Tuesday: Lyon v. Real Madrid; Stade de Gerland, Lyone
• Next Wednesday: Inter Milan v. Bayern Munich; San Siro, Milan
• Next Wednesday: Marseille v. Manchester United; Stade Velodrome, Marseille

Preview: Arsenal v. Wolverhampton Wanderers

Wolves? Wolves.
Free use image via Wikipedia.

Emirates Stadium, London

Saturday, February 12

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

• Referee: Chris Foy
• This Match, Last Year: Arsenal 1 - 0 Wolves
• Reverse Fixture: Wolves 0 - 2 Arsenal
• All-Time in All Competitions: 55 Arsenal wins, 29 Wolves wins, 25 draws
• Arsenal's Recent Form: W-D-W-W-W-D
• Wolves' Recent Form: L-W-L-L-L-W

Predicted Line-Up

guesses in red

Szczesny

Sagna - Koscielny - Squillaci - Clichy

Denilson - Wilshere

Walcott - Fabregas - Arshavin

van Persie

Subs from: Almunia, Gibbs, Djourou, Song, Rosicky, Bendtner, Chamakh
Suspended: Diaby (first of three, violent conduct)

Out: Nasri (hamstring), Fabianski (shoulder), Vermaelen (Achilles)

Arsenal News and Notes

• Nobody is injured coming back from international duty! Hooray!
• Cesc Fabregas and Robin van Persie have recovered from their probably fictitious physical ailments that kept them off international duty.
• Alex Song (thigh) and Johan Djourou (knee) face Friday fitness tests and Arsene Wenger is optimistic that they will be in the squad. Song is supposedly at 90%. Could they be rested anyway, with Barcelona on the horizon?
• Denilson (does anyone remember what was wrong with him? thigh? hamstring?) is fit and back in the squad, and will have to start if Song doesn't, since Abou Diaby is suspended.
• Samir Nasri is back in training and is a week or two away from competition. Shame he'll miss the first leg of the Barcelona tie. And Thomas Vermaelen should be, what, three weeks away? So they say.
• Arsenal had a six match winning streak across all competitions snapped last week, but remain unbeaten in seven overall, unbeaten in eight league matches, and unbeaten in ten at the Emirates.

Wolves News and Notes

• Stephen Hunt (calf) faces a late fitness test, as does Dave Edwards (leg.)
• Defender Kevin Foley (ankle) will likely be recalled.
• Long term injuries include Michael Kightly, who has missed all year with a tendon problem in his knee, and Adlene Guedioura (broken leg.)
• Wolves have only picked up four points on the road this season, in 11 road matches. Wolves picked up a win at Liverpool Red and a draw at Liverpool Blue.
• They have been giant killers at Molineux, however, having beaten Manchester City, Chelsea, and most recently, Manchester United at home. But, Arsenal won there in November, so really, that's just nothing but helpul.

Match Facts

• Arsenal have beaten Wolves eleven straight times, across all competitions.
• Marouane Chamakh needed about 37 seconds to score against Wolves at Molineux in November. Then, Wolves controlled a lot of play for about 92 minutes before Chamakh scored again.
• In this match last year, Arsenal needed a billion minutes before Nicklas Bendtner headed in an injury time winner.
• Wolves' last win against Arsenal came at Highbury by a 3-2 score in 1979.

The Referee

• The referee is Merseyside-based Chris Foy.
• The last time Chris Foy was supposed to take charge of an Arsenal match, it was against Leeds in the FA Cup at the Emirates. Then, it turned out that the referee was actually Phil Dowd. For the love of God, if that happens again...
• Arsenal have won both matches worked by Foy in which they've played this year by 2-1 scores, first at Blackburn then at home against Fulham.
• Foy has not worked a Wolves match this season. His last was a 0-0 draw with Stoke in April.

Around the League

• These are the reverse fixtures of those played November 9-10.
• Saturday: Manchester United v. Manchester City; Old Trafford, Manchester
• Saturday: Birmingham City v. Stoke City; St. Andrew's, Birmingham
• Saturday: Blackburn Rovers v. Newcastle United; Ewood Park, Blackburn
• Saturday: Blackpool v. Aston Villa; Bloomfield Road, Blackpool
• Saturday: Liverpool v. Wigan Athletic; Anfield, Liverpool
• Saturday: West Bromwich Albion v. West Ham United; The Hawthorns, West Bromwich
• Saturday: Sunderland v. Tottenham Hotspur; Stadium of Light, Sunderland
• Sunday: Bolton Wanderers v. Everton; Reebok Stadium, Bolton
• Monday: Fulham v. Chelsea; Craven Cottage, London

Preview: Newcastle United v. Arsenal

Fabianski is out for the season. "Club in crisis," says the Mail, ridiculously...


St. James' Park, Newcastle upon Tyne

Saturday, February 5

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

• Referee: Phil Dowd
• This Match, Last Time: Newcastle 1 - 3 Arsenal (March 21, 2009)
• Reverse Fixture: Arsenal 0 - 1 Newcastle
• All-Time in All Competitions: 65 Arsenal wins, 66 Newcastle wins, 36 draws
• Arsenal's Recent Form: D-W-D-W-W-W
• Newcastle's Recent Form: L-W-W-D-D-L

Predicted Line-Up

guesses in red

Szczesny

Sagna - Koscielny - Djourou - Clichy

Diaby - Wilshere

Walcott - Fabregas - Arshavin

van Persie

Subs from: Almunia, Squillaci, Gibbs, Denilson, Rosicky, Bendtner, Chamakh

Out: Song (thigh), Nasri (hamstring), Fabianski (shoulder), Vermaelen (Achilles)

Arsenal News and Notes

• Stay ready, Wojciech! Lukasz Fabianski is traveling to Germany for surgery on his injured shoulder. He's out for the season.
• Alex Song took an accidental kick to the thigh from Laurent Koscielny in the first half against Everton and could not walk on it after. He'll be short for this match.
• Samir Nasri will need about three weeks for his hamstring injury.
• And how long do we have left on Vermaelen's injury? Four weeks? Four months? Four years?
• Arsenal has won three straight in league play for the third time this season. The last time Arsenal entered a league fixture on such a streak, they lost to Newcastle.
• This is the first time this year that Arsenal has won six straight across all competitions.
• Arsenal has won their last two matches away from home, but at no point this year have they won three straight away fixtures.

Newcastle News and Notes

• As part of this week's transfer frenzy, which Arsenal watched from the sidelines, Newcastle sold Andy Carroll to Liverpool for a bajillion dollars.
• Newcastle signed Stephen Ireland on loan from Aston Villa. Turns out, he's hurt and will miss two weeks.
• Shola Ameobi's broken cheekbone further depletes the Magpies' attacking options.
• Ryan Taylor (ankle) has returned to training, but another four remain out: Dan Gosling (knee), Steven Taylor (hamstring), Alan Smith (ankle), and Hatem Ben Arfa (broken leg.)
• Newcastle are winless in four matches across all competitions, a run which started by crashing out of the FA Cup to Stevenage.

Match Facts

• In the reverse fixture, Andy Carroll scored just before halftime to give Newcastle a 1-0 victory at the Emirates.
• Arsenal has already won at St. James' Park this year, knocking Newcastle out of the Carling Cup with a 4-0 fourth round win.
• The Gunners had been unbeaten in nine against Newcastle before November's loss at the Emirates.

The Referee

• The referee is Staffordshire-based Phil Dowd.
• Arsenal's experience with Dowd has not been the best this season. He's taken charge of the 1-1 draw at Sunderland, the 3-2 loss to Spurs, and the 1-1 FA Cup draw with Leeds. Arsenal won both matches they played that were worked by Dowd last year.
• Newcastle's experience with Dowd has been highly pleasant, however. He's taken charge of their 5-1 derby thrashing of Sunderland and the 4-3 win at Stamford Bridge that saw Chelsea out of the Carling Cup.
• In 24 matches (20 league, 4 cup) he has shown 86 yellow cards and 8 red cards, one of which was to Alex Song.

Around the League

• These are the reverse fixtures of those played November 6-7.
• Saturday: Stoke City v. Sunderland; Britannia Stadium, Stoke-on-Trent
• Saturday: Aston Villa v. Fulham; Villa Park, Birmingham
• Saturday: Everton v. Blackpool; Goodison Park, Liverpool
• Saturday: Manchester City v. West Bromwich Albion; City of Manchester Stadium, Manchester
• Saturday: Tottenham Hotspur v. Bolton Wanderers; White Hart Lane, London
• Saturday: Wigan Athletic v. Blackburn Rovers; DW Stadium, Wigan
• Saturday: Wolverhampton Wanderers v. Manchester United; Molineux, Wolverhampton
• Sunday: West Ham United v. Birmingham City; Boleyn Ground, London
• Sunday: Chelsea v. Liverpool; Stamford Bridge, London

Preview: Arsenal v. Everton

Tomas Rosicky equalized late for Arsenal last year to deny Everton three points. Pic via Daily Mail.


Emirates Stadium, London

Tuesday, February 1

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

• Referee: Lee Mason
• This Match, Last Year: Arsenal 2 - 2 Everton
• Reverse Fixture: Everton 1 - 2 Arsenal
• All-Time in All Competitions: 95 Arsenal wins, 58 Everton wins, 41 draws
• Arsenal's Recent Form: W-D-W-D-W-W
• Everton's Recent Form: W-D-L-W-D-D

Predicted Line-Up

guesses in red

Szczesny

Sagna - Koscielny - Djourou - Clichy

Song - Wilshere

Walcott - Fabregas - Arshavin

van Persie

Subs from: Almunia, Eboue, Gibbs, Denilson, Diaby, Bendtner, Chamakh
Suspended: Squillaci (one match, professional foul)

Out: Nasri (hamstring), Fabianski (shoulder), Vermaelen (Achilles)

Arsenal News and Notes

• Samir Nasri is out for two or three weeks with a hamstring injury. Ouch. He'll probably miss the first leg against Barcelona on the 16th.
• Lukasz Fabianski may need surgery on his injured shoulder and his season might be done. Welcome back to the conversation, Almunia.
• Denilson picked up a knock to his hamstring on Sunday as well, but played through the injury with Arsenal on ten men and out of substitutions. He's technically a doubt for this match, but do you think he would start anyway?
• Sebastien Squillaci will serve a one match ban, but he wasn't going to start this one either.
• Bacary Sagna returns from a concussion suffered last midweek.
• Arsenal did not concede a goal in league play in the month of January (four matches.)
• Arsenal have won five straight across all competitions for the second time this season and are currently unbeaten in nine at home.

Everton News and Notes

• Tim Cahill has been out on international duty, as Australia lost the Asian Cup Final to Japan 1-0 in extra time this weekend. He returned to England yesterday and will be rested today.
• Victor Achebe is a doubt with a groin strain. Tony Hibbert may miss through illness. Both face late fitness tests. Ross Barkley has a broken leg.
• Everton are in the bottom half of the table but have only lost once since November, a stretch of eight league matches.
• The Toffees have 12 draws this year, more than any other side in the league.

Match Facts

• Arsenal needed a late deflected equalizer from Tomas Rosicky to pick up a point in this fixture last year. The match ended 2-2.
• Earlier this season, Arsenal built up a 2-0 lead at Goodison Park, then turned off the accelerator and hung on through a close finish for a 2-1 win in November.
• Everton's last win at Arsenal was in 1996 and the Gunners are currently unbeaten in their last seven matches against the Toffees.

The Referee

• The referee is Lancashire-based Lee Mason.
• This is Lee Mason's first Arsenal match of the season. He would have taken charge of Arsenal's home fixture with Stoke City that was called off due to snow.
• For Everton, he has taken charge of two matches this year, both at Goodison Park: a 1-1 draw with Wolves and a 4-1 loss to West Brom where both sides had a man sent off.
• In 18 matches this season (12 Premier League, 3 Championship, 1 League Two, 1 League Cup, and 1 FA Cup), Mason has shown 73 yellow cards and 5 red cards.

Around the League

• These are the reverse fixtures of those played November 13-14.
• Tuesday: Sunderland v. Chelsea; Stadium of Light, Sunderland
• Tuesday: Manchester United v. Aston Villa; Old Trafford, Manchester
• Tuesday: West Bromwich Albion v. Wigan Athletic; The Hawthorns, West Bromwich
• Wednesday: Birmingham City v. Manchester City; St. Andrew's, Birmingham
• Wednesday: Blackburn Rovers v. Tottenham Hotspur; Ewood Park, Blackburn
• Wednesday: Blackpool v. West Ham United; Bloomfield Road, Blackpool
• Wednesday: Bolton Wanderers v. Wolverhampton Wanderers; Reebok Stadium, Bolton
• Wednesday: Fulham v. Newcastle United; Craven Cottage, London
• Wednesday: Liverpool v. Stoke City; Anfield, Liverpool

Preview: Arsenal v. Huddersfield Town, FA Cup 4th Round

On-loan Benik Afobe has extended his stay with Town for the rest of the season.
Pic via Sky Sports.

Emirates Stadium, London

Sunday, January 30

12:00 p.m. GMT, 7:00 a.m. EST

• Referee: Mark Clattenburg
• Last League Match: Arsenal 1 - 0 Huddersfield Town (January 22, 1972)
• All-Time in All Competitions: 32 Arsenal wins, 16 Huddersfield wins, 25 draws
• All-Time in FA Cup: 2 Arsenal wins, 0 Huddersfield wins, 0 draws
• Arsenal's Premier League Form: W-D-W-D-W-W
• Huddersfield's League One Form: L-D-W-W-W-D

Predicted Line-Up

almost all guesswork

Szczesny

Eboue - Squillaci - Song - Gibbs

Denilson - Diaby

Bendtner - Rosicky - Arshavin

Chamakh

I have no intention of guessing the bench for this one.
Doubts: Almunia (ankle), Rosicky (illness)

Out: Sagna (concussion), Fabianski (shoulder), Vermaelen (Achilles)

Arsenal News and Notes

• Sebastien Squillaci (hamstring) and Abou Diaby (calf) are expected to return to the side.
• Alex Song was rested during the week, meaning his ability to shift to center back in addition to Squillaci's return could finally give a rest to both Koscielny and Djourou.
• Bacary Sagna is out of the hospital and, despite his concussion, will likely start vs. Everton on Tuesday.
• There are possible returns for Tomas Rosicky (illness) and even Manuel Almunia ("ankle".)
• Wow, I included a lot of rotation in that predicted line-up... But, our B Team can surely beat a League One side at home, right? Right?!? Also, Arsenal plays a league match on Tuesday, so there'll be a lot of resting.
• Arsenal have won four straight across all competitions and have scored three goals in each of those matches.
• The Gunners are unbeaten in eight matches at the Emirates, after losing three of their first nine at home.
• Arsenal are on their fourth four match winning streak of the season. They have reached five straight wins just once.

Huddersfield Town News and Notes

• Benik Afobe, on loan from Arsenal, is not eligible to play (says Arsenal) or is eligible to play (says Huddersfield.) So, I have no idea. Sanchez Watt was given permission to play for Leeds, so I can't see why Afobe wouldn't as well.
• Top scorer Jordan Rhodes damaged knee ligaments in Town's 0-0 draw with Colchester United at the weekend, and is out for eight weeks.
• Also out are Damien Johnson (knee), Alex Smithies (knee), Liam Ridehalgh (mono), and Gary Naysmith (foot.)
• The Terriers are unbeaten in five league fixtures, but suffered a hard 4-0 loss to Carlisle in the first round of the Northern section Final of the League Trophy on January 18.

The disconcerting image of the Graf Zeppelin
above Wembley in the 1930 final.

Match Facts

• Arsenal beat Huddersfield Town 2-0 in the 1930 FA Cup Final. Arsenal also beat Huddersfield 1-0 in the FA Cup two years later. This is their first FA Cup meeting since.
• Huddersfield Town's last season in the top flight was 1971/72. Arsenal won both fixtures that season 1-0.
• The Gunners and Terriers have played three League Cup ties since their last league meeting. Arsenal won 1-0 in 1982, 3-1 on aggregate in 1986, and 6-1 on aggregate in 1993.
• Huddersfield's last win in North London was in 1954, winning 5-3 at Highbury.

The Referee

• The referee is Tyne & Wear-based Mark Clattenburg.
• Clattenburg has taken charge of three Arsenal matches this year, all big wins for the Gunners: 3-0 at Manchester City, 4-2 at Aston Villa, and 3-1 against Chelsea.
• Clattenburg's last Huddersfield Town match was on April 9, 2007 in League One. Huddersfield lost at home, 2-0 to Blackpool. Blackpool's goalkeeper in that match was on-loan Joe Hart.
• In 25 matches this year (18 Premier League, 2 League Cup, 1 FA Cup, 2 Europa League, 1 Champions League, and 1 Euro qualifier,) Clattenburg has shown 68 yellow cards and 3 red cards.

Other Fourth Round Ties

• Saturday: Everton v. Chelsea; Goodison Park, Liverpool
• Saturday: Swansea City v. Leyton Orient; Liberty Stadium, Swansea
• Saturday: Aston Villa v. Blackburn Rovers; Villa Park, Birmingham
• Saturday: Birmingham City v. Coventry City; St. Andrew's, Birmingham
• Saturday: Bolton Wanderers v. Wigan Athletic; Reebok Stadium, Bolton
• Saturday: Burnley v. Burton Albion; Turf Moor, Burnley
• Saturday: Sheffield Wednesday v. Hereford United; Hillsborough Stadium, Sheffield
• Saturday: Stevenage v. Reading; Broadhall Way, Stevenage
• Saturday: Torquay United v. Crawley Town; Plainmoor, Torquay
• Saturday: Watford v. Brighton & Hove Albion; Vicarage Road, Watford
• Saturday: Southampton v. Manchester United; St. Mary's Stadium, Southampton
• Sunday: Wolverhampton Wanderers v. Stoke City; Molineux, Wolverhampton
• Sunday: Notts County v. Manchester City; Meadow Lane, Nottingham
• Sunday: West Ham United v. Nottingham Forest; Boleyn Ground, London
• Sunday: Fulham v. Tottenham Hotspur; Craven Cottage, London

Preview: Arsenal v. Ipswich Town, Carling Cup Semi-Final, Second Leg

Will the Diminutive Russian start tonight? Will he find his form again? Pic via Guardian.

Emirates Stadium, London

Tuesday, January 25

7:45 p.m. GMT, 2:45 p.m. EST
Ipswich Town leads 1-0

• Referee: Mark Halsey
• All-Time in All Competitions: 29 Arsenal wins, 18 Ipswich wins, 11 draws
• All-Time in League Cup: 1 Arsenal win, 2 Ipswich wins, 1 draw
• Arsenal's Premier League Form: W-D-W-D-W-W
• Ipswich's Championship Form: L-W-D-L-L-W

Predicted Line-Up

mostly guesses

Szczesny

Eboue - Koscielny - Djourou - Gibbs

Song - Wilshere

Nasri - Fabregas - Arshavin

Chamakh

Subs from: Shea, Sagna, Clichy, Denilson, Walcott, Bendtner, van Persie

Out: Fabianski (shoulder), Rosicky (illness), Squillaci (hamstring), Diaby (calf), Almunia (ankle), Vermaelen (Achilles)

Arsenal News and Notes

• So, how much rotation?
• Full backs: I would not be shocked if both Sagna and Clichy were rested.
• Center backs: Looks like Koscielny and Djourou again, out of necessity. Squillaci returns to training this week and should play in the FA Cup Sunday.
• Holding midfield: I've listed both Song and Wilshere to start, but I know that's wishful thinking. You just know Denilson will play. Abou Diaby could also return Sunday.
• Attacking midfield: If Arsenal wants to control the creative flow, I think both Fabregas and Nasri should start. Drop Bendtner from the starting forwards from the Leeds match last week. More wishful thinking?
• Center forward: Tough call; I think Chamakh will start with van Persie the possibly necessary impact substitute.
• Arsenal have kept clean sheets in every league match played in 2011, but have allowed one goal in each cup match against Championship sides (Leeds twice and Ipswich in the first leg.)
• Since losing at Ipswich, Arsenal have won three straight, scoring three in each of those matches. Robin van Persie has six of those goals. Samir Nasri, Theo Walcott, and Bacary Sagna have the other three.

Ipswich News and Notes

• Ipswich Town have no fresh injury concerns, but midfielder Lee Martin is cup-tied.
• Ipswich have not won a domestic trophy since the 1978 FA Cup, when they beat Arsenal.
• The Tractor Boys took a 1-0 lead into the second leg of the League Cup Semi-Final in 2001 against Birmingham City. They went down 1-0 in the second leg, forcing extra time, where they lost 4-1, 4-2 on aggregate.
• Ipswich have not won in six road competitive fixtures. They only need a draw today to reach Wembley.

Match Facts

• Tamas Priskin had the 78th minute goal to give Ipswich the 1-0 lead after the first leg.
• Arsenal have reached this stage of the League Cup 14 times, but have advanced to the Final only six times and have won it only twice (1987 against Liverpool and 1993 against Sheffield Wednesday.)
• Arsenal beat Ipswich twice by 2-0 scores during Town's last year in the top flight, 2001/02.

The Referee

• The referee is Lancashire-based Mark Halsey.
• Halsey's only prior Arsenal match this year was the 2-0 win at Wolves. Arsenal could really use a goal within 40 seconds in this one, as Marouane Chamakh had at Molineux in November.
• Halsey's last Ipswich Town match came in an FA Cup tie, on January 5, 2008. Ipswich were down to ten men in 24 minutes and lost at home to Portsmouth 1-0.

Around the League

• Tuesday, League: Blackpool v. Manchester United; Bloomfield Road, Blackpool
• Tuesday, League: Wigan Athletic v. Aston Villa; DW Stadium, Wigan
• Wednesday, Carling Cup: Birmingham City v. West Ham United; St. Andrew's, Birmingham (West Ham leads 2-1)
• Wednesday, League: Liverpool v. Fulham; Anfield, Liverpool

Preview: Arsenal v. Wigan Athletic

Arsenal has played Wigan so much in the past two months, I've exhausted the pictures to use.
So, here's Gunnersaurus. Enjoy! Free use image via Wikipedia.

Emirates Stadium, London

Saturday, January 22

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

• Referee: Kevin Friend
• This Match, Last Year: Arsenal 4 - 0 Wigan
• Reverse Fixture: Wigan 2 - 2 Arsenal
• All-Time in All Competitions: 11 Arsenal wins, 2 Wigan wins, 2 draws
• Arsenal's Recent Form: L-W-D-W-D-W
• Wigan's Recent Form: D-W-D-L-D-D

Predicted Line-Up

guesses in red

Szczesny

Sagna - Koscielny - Djourou - Clichy

Song - Wilshere

Walcott - Fabregas - Nasri

van Persie

Subs from: Shea, Gibbs, Eboue, Denilson, Arshavin, Bendtner, Chamakh

Out: Fabianski (shoulder), Squillaci (hamstring), Diaby (calf), Almunia (ankle), Vermaelen (Achilles)

Arsenal News and Notes

• With no new injuries to the main starting XI, why assume there'll be changes? Though, I'm not positive how many times Arsene Wenger will keep starting Johan Djourou consecutively.
• Denilson (hip) and Marouane Chamakh (knee) picked up knocks in the midweek win at Leeds, but are expected to recover for Saturday.
• Abou Diaby and Sebastien Squillaci remain a week away from returning from their respective injuries.
• Apparently, Lukasz Fabianski's shoulder injury now "requires patience." I'm thus far quite satisfied with Wojciech Szczesny's deputizing, aren't you?
• Thomas Vermaelen will return in six weeks, after a procedure to remove an injured tendon that apparently some people don't even have, or something.
• Manuel Almunia? Anybody?
• Arsenal have won two straight and have lost once in their last eight across all competitions; they are unbeaten in five in the league, with two draws.
• Arsenal have not lost at home since that early morning we're not going to speak about again.

Wigan News and Notes

• Victor Moses has returned to training as of yesterday, but will not be back until next month. Moses injured his shoulder in the Carling Cup against Arsenal.
• Wigan will likely be without Tom Cleverley (hamstring) and Franco Di Santo (ankle) as well.
• Despite facing a battle against relegation, Wigan Athletic under Roberto Martinez is not the type of side that plays negative football. Wigan tends to play a strict 4-5-1 formation with Hugo Rodallega as the center forward.
• Wigan, like Arsenal have only lost once in their last eight competitive fixtures, but they have drawn five of them. Their only loss in this stretch was a 1-0 home defeat to Newcastle.
• Wigan is even on points with Aston Villa, but sit in 18th place, and thus, the drop zone, because the Latics have scored five fewer goals. They are even on points and goal difference.

Match Facts

• Wigan have never picked up a point at the Emirates, but they did knock Arsenal out of the Carling Cup in 2006 on away goals, despite losing the match itself.
• In late November, Arsenal beat Wigan 2-0 at the Emirates to knock the Latics out of the Carling Cup. Antolin Alcaraz gave Arsenal an own goal before Nicklas Bendtner sealed the win.
• Wigan used a late equalizer from a Squillaci own goal to steal a point from Arsenal at the DW Stadium in late December. Arshavin and Bendtner had Arsenal's goals.
• Last year, Arsenal beat Wigan 4-0 in league play at home. Vermaelen had a brace; Eduardo and Cesc Fabregas scored the others.

The Referee

• The referee is Leicestershire-based Kevin Friend.
• Last season was Friend's first in the top flight. He has split his time between the Premier League and Championship this year.
• This is the first time Friend will take charge of an Arsenal match. He is the third official to work his first Arsenal match this year after Stuart Atwell (4-1 win vs. Bolton) and Michael Oliver (3-2 loss to West Brom.)
• For Wigan, Friend has taken charge of their 2-0 win over Swansea in the League Cup, and their 2-1 loss at Blackburn in the league.
• In 19 games this year (8 Premier League, 8 Championship, 2 FA Cup, 1 League Cup,) Friend has shown 61 yellow cards and 3 red cards.

Around the League

• These are the reverse fixtures of those played December 28-29.
• Saturday: Wolverhampton Wanderers v. Liverpool; Molineux, Wolverhampton
• Saturday: Blackpool v. Sunderland; Bloomfield Road, Blackpool
• Saturday: Everton v. West Ham United; Goodison Park, Liverpool
• Saturday: Fulham v. Stoke City; Craven Cottage, London
• Saturday: Manchester United v. Birmingham City; Old Trafford, Manchester
• Saturday: Newcastle United v. Tottenham Hotspur; St. James' Park, Newcastle upon Tyne
• Saturday: Aston Villa v. Manchester City; Villa Park, Birmingham
• Sunday: Blackburn Rovers v. West Bromwich Albion; Ewood Park, Blackburn
• Monday: Bolton Wanderers v. Chelsea; Reebok Stadium, Bolton

Preview: Leeds United v. Arsenal, FA Cup 3rd Round Replay

Wojciech Szczesny will make his fourth straight start. Pic via Daily Mail.

Elland Road, Leeds

Wednesday, January 19

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

• Referee: Mike Dean
• Original Tie: Arsenal 1 - 1 Leeds United
• All-Time in All Competitions: 44 Arsenal wins, 41 Leeds wins, 32 draws
• All-Time in FA Cup: 5 Arsenal wins, 2 Leeds wins, 7 draws
• Arsenal's Premier League Form: L-W-D-W-D-W
• Leeds's Championship Form: W-D-D-D-L-W
• Winner in 4th Rd.: v. Huddersfield Town on Sunday, January 30 (Noon GMT, 7:00 a.m. Eastern)

Rotation?

There's such potential for changes in Arsenal's side for this match, that I'm going to tackle this position-by-position, instead of going with the normal predicted line-up format:

Goalkeeper: Lukasz Fabianski suffered a set back in recovery from his shoulder injury, so Wojciech Szczesny will continue to deputize. Fabianski is not expected to be back until after the Carling Cup second leg with Ipswich, so he'll be back for the fourth round of the FA Cup at the earliest (should Arsenal win this match.) With Manuel Almunia still out, James Shea will remain on the bench. There's been a lot of media talk about how Szczesny will handle a sell-out crowd at Elland Road, which is only of concern if you forget that he was fine at Old Trafford last month.

Defense: Bacary Sagna returns from his three match ban, so I expect he'll start as Emmanuel Eboue will need a break. Sebastien Squillaci's return won't be until February and Thomas Vermaelen is undergoing a procedure on his Achilles that has put a 4-6 week timetable on his return, so Arsene Wenger's hands are tied at center back again: Laurent Koscielny and Johan Djourou will start. Maybe there'll be some rotation at left back as we could see Kieran Gibbs start over Gael Clichy.

Holding Midfield: Aaron Ramsey will return to the bench for this match, but I again don't think he'll start. Ramsey would likely have seen some amount of time against Leeds or against Ipswich if Arsenal were winning at any point. Since I'd expect one of either Alex Song or Jack Wilshere to be rested (more likely Wilshere, who started both matches last week,) that unfortunately will mean a start from Denilson. Abou Diaby maintained in a French interview that he'll be fit by this weekend, but Arsene Wenger said in his press conference that he's likely out for as long as Fabianski (that is, until the end of this month.)

Attacking Midfield: Here is where the most questions about rotation lie, as all three starters (Cesc Fabregas, Samir Nasri, and Theo Walcott) could drop to the bench for rest. Tomas Rosicky could return; according to the BBC, he's been out with a virus that I don't seem to recall anybody mentioning before. Nicklas Bendtner and Andrei Arshavin could get starts as well; I'd be totally shocked should Carlos Vela enter the starting XI. Since this match is must-win to advance, the more changes that are made here, the less comfortable I'm going to feel. All three usuals won't start, but I'd prefer there only be one change at most (which, if I had to choose, would be Walcott dropping since he, like Wilshere, started both matches last week.)

Forward: Robin van Persie is finding his form, but Marouane Chamakh has not started since the original tie with Leeds last Saturday. The Moroccan came off the bench at Ipswich and did not feature at West Ham. My gut instinct is to start RVP for the must-win cup ties and maybe give Chamakh a run-out at the weekend.

Other Arsenal Notes

• Jay Emmanuel-Thomas has been loaned to Cardiff City for the remainder of the season.
• Arsenal's win at West Ham on Saturday was their first win in four, however, the Gunners have only lost one of their last seven in all competitions.
• Arsene Wenger has never been bounced from the 3rd Round of the FA Cup in his career at Arsenal. Sheffield United were the last side to knock out Arsenal from this round, in 1995/96.

Leeds News and Notes

• Luciano Becchio is a doubt, after suffering a back injury against Scunthorpe this weekend.
• Defender George McCartney has joined Leeds on loan after the initial match, and as such, is cup tied.
• Sanchez Watt has again been granted permission to play against his parent club.
• Leeds's 4-0 win over Scunthorpe at the weekend was their first win in six.
• Leeds have not lost at Elland Road since late October and are unbeaten in seven home matches.

Match Facts

• Arsenal has required at least one replay at some point during their path to each of their 10 FA Cup titles.
• Arsenal had won three straight against Leeds before the 1-1 draw at the Emirates. Leeds's last win over Arsenal was 3-2 at Highbury in 2003.
• This is the eighth FA Cup tie between the two sides; Arsenal has won five of them.

The Referee

• The referee is Wirral-based Mike Dean.
• Over this season and last season, Arsenal has not won any of the six matches of which Dean has taken charge.
• Arsenal have not scored in a match worked by Dean since Cesc Fabregas's 7th minute goal at Burnley in what was eventually a 1-1 draw. Their opposition has kept a clean sheet in the last four. Excluding injury time, Arsenal has not scored in 443 minutes of playing time while Mike Dean is the head official.
• This is Dean's first Leeds match since a 1-1 draw with Luton Town in 2007/08.

Other Third Round Replays

• Tuesday: Wolverhampton Wanderers v. Doncaster Rovers; Molineux, Wolverhampton
• Tuesday: Manchester City v. Leicester City; City of Manchester Stadium, Manchester
• Tuesday: Cardiff City v. Stoke City; Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff

Preview: West Ham United v. Arsenal

Alessandro Diamanti is probably singing that stupid bubbles song...

Pic via Guardian.

Boleyn Ground, London

Saturday, January 15

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

• Referee: Andre Marriner
• This Match, Last Year: West Ham 2 - 2 Arsenal
• Reverse Fixture: Arsenal 1 - 0 West Ham
• All-Time in All Competitions: 53 Arsenal wins, 33 West Ham wins, 38 draws
• Arsenal's League Form: W-L-W-D-W-D
• West Ham's League Form: L-D-W-D-W-L

Predicted Line-Up

guesses in red

Szczesny

Eboue - Koscielny - Djourou - Clichy

Song - Wilshere

Walcott - Fabregas - Nasri

van Persie

Subs from: Shea, Gibbs, Denilson, Ramsey, Arshavin, Bendtner, Chamakh

Suspended: Sagna (third of three, violent conduct)

Doubtful: Denilson (thigh)

Out: Fabianski (shoulder), Squillaci (hamstring), Diaby (calf), Almunia (ankle), Vermaelen (Achilles)

Arsenal News and Notes

• Good news, everyone! Tests this week show that there is no long-term concern over Thomas Vermaelen's Achilles injury. This, of course, does not quite mean he is on his way back.
• Lukasz Fabianski is did not pass fit with a shoulder problem. Denilson is a doubt with a thigh problem, but I can't imagine him being anywhere near playing in this match, right? I hope.
• Sebastien Squillaci still needs about a week or two with his hamstring injury. Abou Diaby is still out a while with a calf problem. Manuel Almunia may never be seen again.
• This is the final match of Bacary Sagna's three match ban.
• Aside from Eboue over the banned Sagna and Szczesny in goal, I can't see why we wouldn't use the same starting XI that beat Chelsea and Birmingham but drew City.
• Arsenal have not won in three competitive fixtures, their longest winless streak of the season. Their last streak this long was last year when Gunners went winless in five from April to early May.
• Arsenal will wear their yellow change kit tomorrow, since West Ham wears claret. In 10 games this season wearing yellow, Arsenal have won just three, drawn three, and lost four, including Tuesday's Carling Cup tie at Ipswich.

West Ham News and Notes

• West Ham have just completed a six-month loan signing of Wayne Bridge from Manchester City, possibly so he can keep a better eye on where John Terry is in relation to his girlfriend. But, also because the Hammers were so light at left back that center half Matthew Upson played there on Tuesday.
• Victor Obinna will start a three match ban after being sent off on Tuesday.
• Players possibly returning from injury for the Hammers include Herita Ilunga (hamstring), Kieron Dyer (thigh), Benni McCarthy (calf), and Lars Jacobsen (heel).
• Longer term injuries include Jack Collison (knee), Manuel Da Costa (ankle), Thomas Hitzlsperger (thigh), and Peter Kurucz (knee).
• West Ham have won three of their four competitive fixtures in 2011, but the loss was a 5-0 drubbing at Newcastle last midweek.
• Three of West Ham's four league wins have come at home. In addition to beating relegation rivals Wolves and Wigan at Upton Park, the Hammers also beat Tottenham 1-0 in September.
• In league play, West Ham's goal difference is -2 at home and -14 away.

Match Facts

• West Ham struck in the 74th minute, then again on an 80th minute penalty to turn a 2-0 deficit into a 2-2 draw against Arsenal in this fixture last year.
• Arsenal returned the favor, using late goals from Eduardo and Aaron Ramsey to knock West Ham out of last year's FA Cup, 2-1, in January, the last match played between these two sides at Upton Park.
• Arsenal used an 88th minute winner from the head of Alex Song to win the reverse fixture on October 30.
• Arsenal's last league win at Upton Park was on October 26, 2008, 2-0, thanks to a Julien Faubert own goal and an injury time goal from Emmanuel Adebayor.
• West Ham's last win over Arsenal at home was in November of 2006, 1-0, with an 89th minute winner from Marlon Harewood.

The Referee

• The referee is West Midlands-based Andre Marriner.
• His name sounds like a soap opera character, doesn't it?
• Marriner has taken charge of just one Arsenal match this season, the 4-0 win at Newcastle in the Carling Cup's fourth round.
• By contrast, this will be his third match at Upton Park this year. Previously, he worked West Ham's 3-1 loss to Bolton and 1-1 draw with Fulham.
• In 19 games year (15 Premier League, 1 Championship, 1 League Cup, 1 FA Cup, and the Community Shield), Marriner has shown 68 yellow cards and 3 red cards.

Around the League

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

Preview: Ipswich Town v. Arsenal, Carling Cup Semi-Final, First Leg

New Ipswich manager Paul Jewell took Wigan past Arsenal in this round five years ago.
Pic via Guardian.

Portman Road, Ipswich

Wednesday, January 12

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

• Referee: Martin Atkinson
• Last League Match: Arsenal 2 - 0 Ipswich (April 21, 2002)
• All-Time in All Competitions: 29 Arsenal wins, 17 Ipswich wins, 11 draws
• All-Time in League Cup: 1 Arsenal win, 1 Ipswich win, 1 draw
• Arsenal's Premier League Form: W-L-W-D-W-D
• Ipswich's Championship Form: L-L-L-W-D-L
• Second Leg: Tuesday, January 25 at Emirates Stadium

Predicted Line-Up

guesses in red

Szczesny

Eboue - Koscielny - Djourou - Gibbs

Denilson - Wilshere

Bendtner - Rosicky - Arshavin

Chamakh

Subs from: Fabianski, Miquel, Song, Ramsey, Nasri, Fabregas, van Persie

Suspended: Sagna (second of three, violent conduct)

Out: Squillaci (hamstring), Diaby (calf), Almunia (ankle), Vermaelen (Achilles)

Arsenal News and Notes

• Reserves captain and center back Ignasi Miquel remained with the first team this week, after Sebastien Squillaci picked up a hamstring injury on Saturday.
• Meanwhile, Jay Emmanuel-Thomas, Craig Eastmond, and Conor Henderson all started for the reserves on Monday, making their availability for this cup tie unlikely. Then they lost 10-1, largely thanks to an 11th minute red card and a fairly makeshift line-up in places, against an Aston Villa side who started multiple first-team fringe players.
• After posting about the difficult question of whether you start the A Team or the B Team for this match, my predicted line-up is generally the B Team, with some big names available on the bench. I expect this match to be where I am the most wrong this season, in this respect.
• Aside from Squillaci, I have not heard of any other new injuries, but news has been slow between cup ties.
• Arsenal have drawn three of their last four competitive fixtures, after going 21 matches without a draw.
• Arsenal have drawn two straight matches. They have not gone more than two games without a win this season.

Ipswich News and Notes

• After firing Roy Keane at the end of last week, Ipswich went to Stamford Bridge for their 3rd Round FA Cup tie against Chelsea on Sunday, and were hammered 7-0.
• Ipswich Town have dropped points in three straight competitive fixtures.
• Before their 3-0 win over Leicester City in mid-December, Ipswich had lost seven straight league matches.
• Ipswich needed extra time in their first two rounds of this competition, to beat Exeter City and Crewe Alexandra.
• West Bromwich Albion was the only Premier League side Ipswich was forced to beat to advance this far in the competition.

Match Facts

• This is the third time Arsenal will meet Ipswich Town in the League Cup. Over two legs in 1970, Arsenal drew 0-0 at Ipswich before winning 4-0 at Highbury. Ipswich Town returned the favor, knocking Arsenal out in November of 2000, winning 2-1 at Highbury. James Scrowcroft had the 89th minute winner, scored on Stuart Taylor, who himself had just returned from a loan spell at Crystal Palace.
• Ipswich Town's last top flight season was 2001/02. Arsenal won both fixtures 2-0 that year. Freddie Ljungberg had three of the four goals. Thierry Henry had the other, from the penalty spot, at Ipswich.
• The aforementioned Ipswich League Cup win stands as their most recent victory over Arsenal.
• You would have to go back to September of 1984 for Ipswich's last league victory over the Gunners. Then again, this isn't a league match, so that's actually fairly moot.

The Referee

• The referee is West Yorkshire-based Martin Atkinson.
• Atkinson took charge of Arsenal's last Carling Cup tie, the 2-0 win over Wigan, in late November. He also took charge of Arsenal's 1-1 draw at Liverpool (when he sent off Laurent Koscielny) and 2-1 win over Birmingham (when he sent off Jack Wilshere.)
• February 18, 2009 was the last time Atkinson took charge of a match at Portman Road; Ipswich Town beat Nottingham Forest 2-1.

Other Matches

• Tuesday, Carling Cup Semi: West Ham United v. Birmingham City; Boleyn Ground, London
• Wednesday, League Match: Blackpool v. Liverpool; Bloomfield Road, Blackpool

Preview: Arsenal v. Leeds United, FA Cup 3rd Round

Thierry Henry hit four past Leeds in their last meeting. Pic via BBC.

Emirates Stadium, London

Saturday, January 8

12:45 p.m. GMT, 7:45 a.m. EST

• Referee: Chris Foy
• Last League Match: Arsenal 5 - 0 Leeds (April 16, 2004)
• All-Time in All Competitions: 44 Arsenal wins, 41 Leeds wins, 31 draws
• All-Time in FA Cup: 5 Arsenal wins, 2 Leeds wins, 6 draws
• Arsenal's Premier League Form: W-L-W-D-W-D
• Leeds's Championship Form: W-W-D-D-D-L
• Potential Replay Date: January 18 or 19

Predicted Line-Up

all guesswork

Szczesny

Eboue - Djourou - Squillaci - Gibbs

Eastmond - Denilson

Bendtner - Rosicky - Vela

Chamakh

Subs from: Fabianski, Koscielny, Clichy, Ramsey, Wilshere, Arshavin, Emmanuel-Thomas

Suspended: Sagna (first of three, violent conduct)

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

Arsenal News and Notes

• Emmanuel Eboue will certainly return to the squad, with Bacary Sagna serving a three match ban.
• Kieran Gibbs appears ready to start as well, at left back.
• I imagine Sebastien Squillaci will return as well, but don't know which other center back will drop to the bench. I guessed Johan Djourou to start.
• Wojciech Szczesny will likely start in goal, but with Vito Mannone still out on loan until January 31 (and hurt,) Fabianski will be on the bench.
• The midfielders and forwards, though? I have no clue.
• Aaron Ramsey probably won't start, but it'd be great to see him on the bench, maybe coming on as a substitute.
• Since losing consecutive matches to Tottenham and Braga at the end of November, Arsenal have lost only one of their last nine fixtures across all competitions. They are currently unbeaten in four.
• Arsenal have not gone unbeaten in five straight fixtures since October.

Leeds News and Notes

• Sanchez Watt, on loan from Arsenal, has been granted permission to feature. However, he picked up a head injury against Cardiff City on Tuesday which required stitches.
• Defender Ben Parker, who had been a long term absence after hip surgery, played his first 90 minutes since August of 2009 on Tuesday.
• Leeds-born-but-grew-up-in-London-and-is-an-Arsenal-supporting winger Lloyd Sam came on as a substitute Tuesday, but picked up a thigh injury after six minutes, and is now a doubt.
• Defender Andy O'Brien is also a doubt with a dead leg.
• Leeds was unbeaten in 12 before losing to Cardiff on Tuesday. Their last loss before that was also to Cardiff.
• During the streak, Leeds rose from 16th in the Championship to as high as 2nd. They currently sit 5th.

Match Facts

• The last time Arsenal played a non-Premier League side in a domestic cup tie was the third round of last year's Carling Cup, against then-Championship side West Bromwich Albion. Since then, they've played Liverpool, Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur, Newcastle United, and Wigan Athletic in the Carling Cup and West Ham United and Stoke City in the FA Cup.
• Arsenal won all three meetings with Leeds in their most recent top flight season, 2003/04. Then again, Arsenal didn't lose that year, which you might recall. Arsenal won the league meetings 5-0 at Highbury (Henry scored four) and 4-1 at Elland Road. Arsenal also won an FA Cup tie 4-1 at Elland Road.
• Leeds's last win against Arsenal was a year before that, by a 3-2 score at Highbury. Mark Viduka had the 88th minute winner.
• Leeds United has only won one FA Cup in their history. It was in 1972 and they beat Arsenal 1-0 in the final.

The Referee

• The referee is Merseyside-based Chris Foy, who took charge of last year's FA Cup Final.
• Arsenal have won both matches worked by Foy in which they've played this year by 2-1 scores, first at Blackburn then at home against Fulham.
• Foy has taken charge of one Championship match this year and it was Leeds's 2-1 win at Middlesbrough.

Other Third Round Ties

• Saturday: Burnley v. Port Vale; Turf Moor, Burnley
• Saturday: Coventry City v. Crystal Palace; Ricoh Arena, Coventry
• Saturday: Bristol City v. Sheffield Wednesday; Ashton Gate, Bristol
• Saturday: Fulham v. Peterborough United; Craven Cottage, London
• Saturday: Doncaster Rovers v. Wolverhampton Wanderers; Keepmoat Stadium, Doncaster
• Saturday: Brighton & Hove Albion v. Portsmouth; Withdean Stadium, Brighton
• Saturday: Huddersfield Town v. Dover Athletic; Galpharm Stadium, Huddersfield
• Saturday: West Ham United v. Barnsley; Boleyn Ground, London
• Saturday: Reading v. West Bromwich Albion; Madejski Stadium, Reading
• Saturday: Sheffield United v. Aston Villa; Bramall Lane, Sheffield
• Saturday: Bolton Wanderers v. York City; Reebok Stadium, Bolton
• Saturday: Blackburn Rovers v. Queens Park Rangers; Ewood Park, Blackburn
• Saturday: Swansea City v. Colchester United; Liberty Stadium, Swansea
• Saturday: Stevenage v. Newcastle United; Broadhall Way, Stevenage
• Saturday: Burton Albion v. Middlesbrough; Pirelli Stadium, Burton upon Trent
• Saturday: Millwall v. Birmingham City; The Den, London
• Saturday: Southampton v. Blackpool; St. Mary's, Southampton
• Saturday: Watford v. Hartlepool United; Vicarage Road, Watford
• Saturday: Sunderland v. Notts County; Stadium of Light, Sunderland
• Saturday: Scunthorpe United v. Everton; Glanford Park, Scunthorpe
• Saturday: Hull City v. Wigan Athletic; KC Stadium, Kingston upon Hull
• Saturday: Stoke City v. Cardiff City; Britannia Stadium, Stoke-on-Trent
• Saturday: Preston North End v. Nottingham Forest; Deepdale, Preston
• Saturday: Norwich City v. Leyton Orient; Carrow Road, Norwich
• Saturday: Torquay United v. Carlisle United; Plainmoor, Torquay
• Sunday: Leicester City v. Manchester City; Walkers Stadium, Leicester
• Sunday: Chelsea v. Ipswich Town; Stamford Bridge, London
• Sunday: Manchester United v. Liverpool; Old Trafford, Manchester
• Sunday: Tottenham Hotspur v. Charlton Athletic; White Hart Lane, London
• Monday: Crawley Town v. Derby County; Broadfield Stadium, Crawley
• Tuesday: Wycombe Wanderers v. Hereford United or Lincoln City; Adams Park, High Wycombe

Preview: Arsenal v. Manchester City

I've told you before, I'm using this for every City game until he's gone.
Even though I doubt he'll play tomorrow...

Pic via Guardian. I wish the caption was too.

Emirates Stadium, London

Wednesday, January 5

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

• Referee: Mike Jones
• This Match, Last Year: Arsenal 0 - 0 Manchester City
• Reverse Fixture: Manchester City 0 - 3 Arsenal
• All-Time in All Competitions: 92 Arsenal wins, 45 Manchester City wins, 39 draws
• Arsenal's Recent Form: W-W-L-W-D-W
• Manchester City's Recent Form: W-W-L-W-W-W

Predicted Line-Up

guesses in red

Fabianski

Sagna - Koscielny - Djourou - Clichy

Song - Wilshere

Walcott - Fabregas - Nasri

van Persie

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

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

Arsenal News and Notes

• No reason to change the predicted side from the XI that starting against Chelsea last Monday and Birmingham on Saturday; there are no fresh injuries to the team.
• Kieran Gibbs might return to training today; his earliest shot at a return would be Saturday in the FA Cup against Leeds.
• Manuel Almunia: pretty much free to leave.
• Does anybody know why Marouane Chamakh wasn't on the bench on Saturday? I haven't heard a thing.
• Aaron Ramsey has returned from his loan spell at Nottingham Forest. He completed 90 minutes yesterday for the first time since his injury. Forest beat Ipswich Town 1-0.
• Arsenal are unbeaten in their last three matches. Their last unbeaten run of four came at the end of October.
• Arsenal are unbeaten in their last 21 league matches in which Johan Djourou has played and have won 14 straight of those. His last appearance in a league loss, however, was to Manchester City.

Manchester City News and Notes

• Attacking threats David Silva and Mario Balotelli will both miss the match with knee injuries. The former might be out for two weeks. The latter won't get the chance to learn who Jack Wilshere is.
• Emmanuel Adebayor, possibly short for this match with a heel injury, got into a training ground scuffle with fellow former Gunner Kolo Toure. It was Patrick Vieira who broke it up. Isn't that hilarious? You can't make that up.
• City have agreed to a transfer fee for Edin Dzeko from Wolfsburg. All of that paperwork won't go through before this one, though. I also believe they are close to buying the entire planet Earth as well.
• City have won five of their last six matches; only United are on better form in the league, which I honestly hope isn't true after today, though it makes me feel dirty to root for Stoke.

Match Facts

• It might be hard to use as a barometer, thanks to Dedryck Boyata's 5th minute red card, but Arsenal controlled the reverse fixture against 10-man City, winning 3-0 at Eastlands. Samir Nasri had the opener and Cesc Fabregas missed a penalty before half time, then Alex Song and Nicklas Bendtner closed the scoring in the second.
  
• This match last year was a dreadfully uninteresting 0-0 draw. The best part was when Patrick Vieira was subbed off for Emmanuel Adebayor and the chorus of praise turned instantly to boos as they passed each other.
• Manchester City has not actually won at Arsenal since a 3-2 win on October 4, 1975. They have drawn seven matches in North London since. Then again, City's a much different team now.

The Referee

• The referee is Chester-based Mike Jones.
• Jones has taken charge of two Arsenal wins at the Emirates this year: the 6-0 win over Blackpool and the 1-0 win over West Ham.
• He has taken charge of only one Manchester City match, a 0-0 draw with Birmingham at Eastlands in November.
• In his 19 matches this season (15 Premier League, 2 League Cup, 2 Championship,) he has shown 69 yellow cards and 2 red cards, including one to Ian Evatt of Blackpool for a last man foul on Marouane Chamakh at the Emirates.

Around the League

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

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

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