First off I’d like to apologise for my lack of activity in the past week, having been been heavily bogged down by work and family commitments. During my short absence, Arsene Wenger has managed to secure the signatures of two players at opposite ends of their playing career. Arsene secured the signature of teenage Bolivian hotshot Samuel Galindo from Real America, and signed former Tottenham and Arsenal stalwart Sol Campbell to a short-term deal to bolster the numbers at the back. The Gunners boss has confirmed that Galindo will be immediately loaned out to another club, while Sol Campbell is not in the squad for tomorrow’s game.

Arsenal face a tricky trip up north tomorrow afternoon to take on Bolton Wanderers at the Reebok Stadium. The match will mark  Owen Coyle’s first game in charge of the Trotters, so his squad are sure to be motivated to play well and impress the former Burnley boss. Coyle will have almost  a full squad available for selection today with long-term absentees Sean Davis and Joey O’Brien the only injury concerns, however defender Danny Shittu is on international duty with Nigeria.

Gunners boss Arsene Wenger has plenty more injury woes to deal with ahead of tomorrow’s fixture. Denilson, Nicklas Bendtner, Kieran Gibbs, Theo Walcott, Philippe Senderos, Johan Djourou and Robin van Persie are yet to recover from their respective injuries, while doubts hang over the fitness of youngsters Aaron Ramsey and Jack Wilshere. Emmanuel Eboue and Alex Song are busy at the African Cup of Nations.

Wenger, however, will be boosted by the return of captain Cesc Fabregas, who has spent a month on the sidelines (apart from one brilliant twenty minute cameo) wih a hamstring injury. Gael Clichy is also a chance to return to action today. The French fullback has spent the last ten weeks on the sidelines with a back complaint, but Arsene has confirmed that Clichy will at least be on the bench. That leaves the most likely line-up looking like this:

Eduardo – Arshavin – Rosicky
Nasri – Diaby – Fabregas
Clichy – Vermaelen – Gallas – Sagna
Almunia

BENCH: Fabianski, Silvestre, Traore, Eastmond, Merida, Ramsey, Vela.

With Cesc back, Arshavin able to receive decent service and Diaby firing, I’d expect us to triumph tomorrow. Bolton’s players will be keen to impress their new boss, however at the end of the day they’re still mediocre Bolton and they don’t even have fat Sam Allardyce at the helm. There’s no hiding the fact that the Trotters have struggled this season, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they found themselves relegated come season’s end, even with a talented manager such as Coyle at the helm.

Fabregas, Arshavin & Co. will be too much for the likes of Gretar Steinsson and Gary Cahill to cope with, and I will be thoroughly disappointed if the Gunners don’t end the match as victors. With United and Chelsea both at home to Stoke and Sunderland respectively, a win is necessary if Arsenal want to keep up with the opposition. I’m predicting a 2-0 win with Eduardo finding himself on the scoresheet.

This entry was posted on Saturday, January 16th, 2010 at 4:25 AM and is filed under Arsenal, Match Previews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.