Arsenal could of gone into Sundays clash, at The Emirates with Manchester United, in 7th place. However, they should be buoyed by the way Saturdays games have panned out with Newcastle losing, Liverpool losing and Chelsea only managing a draw. These results leave Arsenal 5 points behind 4th placed Chelsea with a game in hand - versus the team that spanked them 8 - 2 in August.
After the 8 - 2 mauling at the hands of Manchester United, Wenger said "You feel humiliated when you concede eight goals." I would agree. It was an abject performance to say the least. There were factors which left our hands tied as we were mercilessly ripped apart at Old Trafford. Wenger also says, "It was a terrible day for us, it was a combination of an under-strength team and weakness. We collapsed physically in the second half."
We had players like Traore on the pitch, who were not even bothered as they knew they were about to leave. We had a bad injury/suspension list with the likes Vermaelen, Sagna, Wilshere, Song and Gervinho all missing. We had out of form players like Djourou, Koscielny, Ramsey and Arshavin getting the runaround while rookies such as Jenkinson (who was also sent off) and Coquelin were exposed to the ruthless reality of playing against Premier League champions. Not forgetting the loss of Fabregas and Nasri coupled with the signings who had yet to be made part of the new Arsenal such as Arteta, Mertesacker and Santos.
At that point Arsenal were written off with no regard for the problems at the Club. Ex-Arsenal player Paul Merson questioned Arsene Wenger; “Don’t put those kinds of players on the pitch and make them like lambs to the slaughter – it’s not good enough. You have got to start looking at the manager now and asking questions."
At that point, Arsenal were 17th in the league with 1 point on the board and a goal difference of - 8. The long and desperate road to recovery began at Arsenal and since then Arsenal climbed the league table, sitting in 5th place while negotiating 1st place qualification in a Champions League group containing Marseille and Bundesliga champions Borussia Dortmund. The dark clouds over Arsenal seemed to have finally cleared and pride as well as confidence appeared to have been rediscovered.
However, in the build up to this game the murmurings seem to have begun again; with Arsenal losing 3 out of the last 6 league games, Wenger's position being questioned and van Persie yet to sign a new deal. As always is the case, Arsenal seem to have severe injury problems, with arguably more injuries than in the last encounter. The lack of full backs available is a serious concern and there is a possibility of there being as many as 8 of the same players who played in the game at Old Trafford remaining in the line up for the return fixture.
Arsenal fans will be desperate to see Vermaelen playing in any capacity, even if it is left back, and if Arteta is not fit, will be a huge blow to Arsenals plans.
The thought of Nani and Valencia running at Djourou and Miquel is a daunting prospect and I believe thats where the game will be won or lost. Manchester Uniteds wing play is extremely important to their style of play and Arsenals full back positions are particularly weak so its inevitable Manchester United will consistently play through the wings. Paul Scholes will play in Manchester Uniteds midfield and hit the wings instantly with his classy range of passing and he will be key to Manchester Uniteds game plan. Arsenal will need to get stuck into Scholes instantly and not give him any time on the ball. This will be important if Arsenal are to stop Man. United from dominating that spacious Emirates pitch.
It will be a hard game tomorrow but the importance of the game is massive. If we win tomorrow it can totally change the prospects of our season;give us huge confidence and squeeze the gap between us and the teams ahead of us. If we lose it will consign us to the expected barrage from the "I told ya so" brigade. Lets hope its the former results that we are celebrating tomorrow night.
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