For the second successive season, Arsenal will face Aston Villa during the Christmas holiday period. This time, though, the venue will be the Gunners’ Emirates stadium and today’s hosts will be looking to stop Martin O’Neill’s side from replicating their exploits in North London last year by toppling the high-flying Villans.
Villa have exceeded expectations in the Premiership this season, and once again look a good chance of snaking the fourth Champions League spot. Martin O’Neill’s men sit in fourth position on the League table, equal on points with today’s opposition having played one extra match. Today they will be without defensive duo Wilfred Bouma and Curtis Davies, while experienced striker Emile Heskey is unlikely to recover from a groin strain.
O’Neill’s counterpart Arsene Wenger has a whole lot more injury worries to contend with. Skipper Cesc Fabregas and fullback Armand Traore are both a chance to recover from their repsective hamstring strains, while six Arsenal regulars will remain sidelined – Bendtner (groin), Clichy (back), Djourou (knee), Gibbs & van Persie (both ankle) and Rosicky (hamstring). Taking that into account, I think the most likely Gunners lineup today is this:
Eduardo – Arshavin – Nasri
Fabregas – Song – Denilson
Traore – Vermaelen – Gallas – Sagna
Almunia
SUBSTITUTES: Fabianski, Silvestre, Eboue, Diaby, Ramsey, Walcott, Vela.
There are a number of possible alterations to that lineup, with Mikael Silvestre likey to slot straight straight into the starting eleven if Traore fails to recover. If Cesc Fabregas is deemed unfit to feature, the most likey replacement is Abou Diaby although alternatively Samir Nasri could move into a midfield role with Theo Walcott slotting into the forward line.
The recovery of Traore and especially Fabregas will be crucial to the outcome of today’s fixture. The importance of the match cannot be understated. A win to Villa today and Martin O’Neill’s side will move ahead of the Gunners, but an Arsenal victory will allow the hosts to put a real buffer between them and the chasing pack, and give them the opportunity to capitalise on the injury woes of rivals Chelsea and Manchester United.
Today’s game is likely to be a midfield battle. Villa do boast a host of quality in the midfield, with Ashley Young and James Milner the most obvious threats. Arsenal do boast a quality midfield, however the performance of Cesc Fabregas is likely to be the deciding factor. If the talismanic playmaker is unable to pass fit then Villa may have the upper hand, however if Cesc can play, his quality is likely to be the difference between an Arsenal victory and an Aston Villa upset.
I’m going out on a limb and picking the Gunners to triumph this evening. I’m not so sure they will come through with all three points, however I’m certain that this match will be a close one either way. Big performances from the likes of Cesc, Arshavin and Alex Song will be needed if we are to take three points today, and the backline must be at the top of their game if they are to contain the powerful duo of Agbonlahor and John Carew.
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Agbonlahor’s speed is our biggest threat. Without Clichy our back 4 aren’t the fastest by any means. I know its not his true position, but I’d like to see Diaby up front with Arshavin and Nasri. I think having his size would really help create chances, and Eduardo looked too scared to touch the ball last time I saw.
As a Villa fan I’m not taking this lightly. If you take away our away win last season we don’t have a great record in London going back many years. I think Arshavin is such a talent that he can turn a game regardless of how the rest of his team is performing. Obviously I’m hoping for a Villa win but I think a draw would not be badly recieved by either set of supporters and could be acceptable in the scheme of the season. Arsenal have always been my preferred “Top 4″ team by a long way and I would love a tussle between the two for the league title :-D
i hope arsenal can win the next game