Arsenal vs Man Utd

Arteta is out of this game so I reckon Rosicky should start? Henry is still not fit yet.

Seems from Arsene's team news on arsenal.com that no one is back (Vermaelen and Henry very doubtful, Arteta out). I don't think it matters if who we pick in the centre of the park, if we go into the game with the same back four we did against Swansea (which we'll have to do), then we are in a lot of trouble.

On a personal note, if Henry doesn't make it I'll be gutted, I'm going on Sunday and this is the only game I'd have a chance of seeing him in.

on Thomas Vermaelen (calf)
At the moment I don’t think he will make it for Sunday. Let’s hope we have a good surprise. Let’s see how he develops. There may be a test. At the moment we just go day by day but he looks short.

on Mikel Arteta (calf)…
He has no chance. The earliest for him is Aston Villa.

on Thierry Henry…
He will have a test on Saturday. He has a calf problem.

on Jack Wilshere (ankle)…
There is positive news about him because he is back to running after he had a little setback with the inflammation of his bone. He is able to go outside and practice but he is a few weeks away.

on Bacary Sagna (ankle) and Kieran Gibbs (groin)...
Both of them are about two to three weeks away.

on Francis Coquelin (hamstring)…
He is three, four or five days away from full training. I did not see him on Thursday but he is not far away. He could be available for Aston Villa.

on Lukasz Fabianski...
He is fit again.

on Carl Jenkinson (back)…
He is like Wilshere. He is back running but it will be a few weeks.

on Andre Santos (ankle)...
He is two months away. He is progressing well. We planned 12 weeks and he is on schedule.



This is not a positive injury update. I wouldn't completely rule out Vermaelen but if he's short as well then we are in trouble. And if we need a goal and Henry is out, then we throw Park in to make his Premiership debut... I guess Anelka scored his first goal against United, who knows.

And when Diaby isn't even mentioned, then you may as well rule him out for the season.

at least Fabianski is available again!

luke_kennedy wrote:at least Fabianski is available again!

YES! should stick him at left back position.

I'm dreading the match come Sunday. Our injury woes look the same as it did when we went to OT.

it will either be a good day for london clubs or manchester ones.
id be tempted on a cheeky odds bet of spurs and arsenal wins but i can see city doing spurs and with our injuries i dont want to think the possible outcome

haha no ones called for a Bendtner recall yet!so cant be that bad!

Among the prominent reasons explaining football's enduring popularity is the game's ability to offer a chance for redemption.

There is little debate on the exact nadir of Arsenal's turbulent opening to their campaign. On August 28, the Gunners conceded eight goals for the first time in 115 years as a rampant Manchester United side exposed every flaw in their fragile opponents.

A flurry of late transfer activity followed against a backdrop of elevated frustration at Arsene Wenger's management and back then a top-four finish appeared as likely as Thierry Henry staging a dramatic, mid-season homecoming.

Henry's return boosted morale to both dressing room and fanbase and lent further momentum to Wenger's attempt to dispel the negativity that consumed the club after such a disastrous start.

Old Trafford had almost been forgotten but successive away defeats at Fulham and Swansea have darkened the mood again, while Henry went from magician to mediator as his winning goal against Leeds was followed by a frank exchange of views with a supporter at the Liberty Stadium.

Defensive concerns persist, particularly given an ongoing absentee list focused so sharply at full-back, while United have lost just two of their previous 13 meetings in all competitions against a team once considered their most fearsome of rivals.

Goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny is an admirably defiant figure for one so young and the 21-year-old is not in the mood to reopen old wounds.

As the one Arsenal player who regularly fronts up to the media after almost any result, Szczesny has proved adept at putting disappointment behind him.

After all, there were mitigating circumstances on that chastening day. The Gunners had thrown everything into their Champions League play-off second-leg match against Udinese just four days earlier while delays in the transfer market and injuries compounded issues of fatigue.

"We lost badly to United earlier in the season but there are no scars from that game," Szczesny told Standard Sport.

"We had plenty of injuries at Old Trafford, we had played away at Udinese so we had a lot of things to deal with going into that game. We were not able to perform at our best for many reasons.

"We don't see any element of revenge for what happened. We just want to pick up three points and climb up the table because we don't deserve to be where we are.

"I wouldn't treat it as revenge because we got over that game a long time ago. It is time for us to get points against them. We are 12 points off Man United and we need to show the gap in quality is not as big as that difference in the table reveals. We have to show we can challenge the top teams."

For all Arsenal's defensive deficiencies, it is a curious fact that only Manchester City have conceded fewer goals at home than the six the Gunners have allowed at Emirates Stadium.

Only Liverpool, in Arsenal's first home League match of the campaign, have emerged from the Emirates with three points and again there were excuses, not least in the uncertainty surrounding midfielder Samir Nasri's future which cast a sizeable cloud over the occasion.

Wenger was depicted by one tabloid as the "wally without a brolly" accompanied by a rain-soaked and frustrated portrait of the Frenchman, who responded by refusing to speak to national newspaper media the week thereafter. But their home record since had sheltered him from further downpours until this week.

Wenger will seek home comforts again on Sunday and the memory of last season's Aaron Ramsey-inspired 1-0 success over United should provide encouragement, as does the visitors' own vulnerabilities, which were so emphatically exposed by Newcastle earlier this month.

"We are doing very well at home because we don't concede very many goals," added Szczesny. "It is different to our away form and at the Emirates we get the results that prove how good we can be.

"We have to be confident that when the big boys come to the Emirates, we can get the results and that will make the difference in the fight to finish in the top four.

"I love playing big games so the sooner one comes up after a couple of poor results, the better for me. So I am glad we play Man United now.

"We are much more confident going into this match. We know that we are under pressure because we have to deliver the performance and get the three points on Sunday. But I think over the years, this club have shown that we do our best work under pressure and win games so hopefully that will happen again for us."

Only a top-four finish would help Arsenal truly salvage their Premier League campaign and redeem themselves after that horrendous start.

However, exorcising that defeat against United would be an important step along the way.

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard-sport/football/article-24029658-there-are-no-scars-from-united-mauling-says-wojciech-szczesny.do

We'll win this one. 3-1.

Don't really see us getting anything out of this game

In 21 league games this season we have fielded 15 different back 4's.

We've had 7 different players start at left back and 5 different players start at right back.

Of the 30 players that have played for us in league games this season, 13 have played in the back four at some stage.

...Obviously squad depth is a huge part of the game this day in age, but that is a little extreme.

No huge difference from the team that got battered at Old Trafford. Wenger is just too damn stubborn

It isn't Wenger's fault that we have so many injuries.

It's his fault that we didn't sign at least a LB this window.

who would you buy Mohamed?

We don't have a spot in our team to buy another player unless that player is under 21. So basically it is again down to bad luck not Wenger's incompetence.

Damn these injuries.Arteta missing is such a blow.His positional sense makes our midfield more stable.Song will have additional responsibility now, hope we will be solid.

I would have loaned Taiwo or Cissokho.

I think we are potentially really vulnerable on Sunday.

Sagna, Jenkinson, Gibbs, Santos, Diaby, Coquelin, Gervinho, Arteta, Wilshire, Diaby, Chamakh, Vermaelen and Henry all potentially out, impossible to adequetly cover such ridiculous absences.

Mohamed Samir wrote:I would have loaned Taiwo or Cissokho.

If it was as easy as just saying that, I assure you it would've happened.

Taking into account all that team news it looks like we will be lining up like this.....

Szcez, djourou, per, kos, miquel, song, rosicky, Ramsey, Walcott, arshavin, rvp.
The only way we will win this one is if Walcott and arshavin both have their best games of the season and the midfield gives as much support to the defence as possible, as well as the wing forwards. Arshavin... Eggggghhh! Song and rosicky( or whoever starts as the third cm) need to support miquel because I can't see that coming from arshavin.

Our game is so one dimensional at the moment with no attacking full backs I worry we will struggle on the creativity front. I can also see nani having a field day up against miquel and ultimately we will struggle to take anything away from this game. Am I being an optimist? No. Realistic? Yes

Jenks1981 wrote:I think we are potentially really vulnerable on Sunday.

Sagna, Jenkinson, Gibbs, Santos, Diaby, Coquelin, Gervinho, Arteta, Wilshire, Diaby, Chamakh, Vermaelen and Henry all potentially out, impossible to adequetly cover such ridiculous absences.

Exactly. It's not Wenger's fault at all that we might have 13 players unavailable for the match on Sunday.

I think we're looking at a lineup of

----------------------SZCZESNY--------------------
DJOUROU----MERTESACKER----KOSCIELNY----MIQUEL
---------SONG--------RAMSEY--------ROSICKY------
WALCOTT------------van PERSIE----------ARSHAVIN

Hisham El Mawan wrote:

Jenks1981 wrote:I think we are potentially really vulnerable on Sunday.

Sagna, Jenkinson, Gibbs, Santos, Diaby, Coquelin, Gervinho, Arteta, Wilshire, Diaby, Chamakh, Vermaelen and Henry all potentially out, impossible to adequetly cover such ridiculous absences.

Exactly. It's not Wenger's fault at all that we might have 13 players unavailable for the match on Sunday.

I think we're looking at a lineup of

----------------------SZCZESNY--------------------
DJOUROU----MERTESACKER----KOSCIELNY----MIQUEL
---------SONG--------RAMSEY--------ROSICKY------
WALCOTT------------van PERSIE----------ARSHAVIN

Agreed very much. I still think we will do them one. 3-1, expect Song and Walcott to perform. Song would have to play the game of his life since Arteta is absent. And Walcott will have to track back alot to cover for Djourou.

I think Rosicky will start.He has looked good whenever he has played this season.Our creative side has been hampered by no natural full backs.

Arshavin and walcott will have to protect Miquel and Djourou.Easier said than done.I have no hope in Arshavin whatsoever.They always kill us on the counter attacks with our full backs always struggling to recover.In these scenarios DM has to be very alert.Hopefully Song and Rosicky will provide adequate cover.

I don't know how united will line up.But I think Park will start for them.

did we ever have so much injuries when Gary Lewin was our physio??just a thought.How many injuries have happened in training or warm up matches?Wenger picks the coaches.
Just a thought to balance it out.

petty one i know :-)