High-flying Arsenal travel north this evening to take on Owen Coyle’s newly-promoted Burnley at Turf Moor. The Gunners recently avenged a run of three straight domestic defeats with wins over Stoke City and Liverpool while Burnley have only dropped seven points at home this season. With Arsenal missing a host of first team players and Turf Moor turning into a bit of a fortress this season, tonight’s match should prove to be an intriguing tie.
Missing from the Gunners’ travelling party this evening will be the likes of Denilson (back) and Traore (hamstring), while long-term absentees Bendtner (hernia), Clichy (back), Djourou (knee), Rosicky (groin), and Robin van Persie (ankle) remain out. Arsene Wenger’s men will be boosted by the inclusion of Emmanuel Eboue however, after the Ivorian recovered from the injury that kept him out of the weekend victory over Liverpool.
Arsene Wenger may choose to rotate his side ahead of this evening’s encounter, with some members of the squad still possibly feeling the effects of the weekend’s tough victory. This is unlikely though, considering Wenger rotated most of his side a week ago in the Champions League loss to Olympiacos. I’m thinking that the Gunners will line up similarly to this:
Arshavin – Eduardo – Nasri
Diaby – Song – Fabregas
Silvestre – Vermaelen – Gallas – Sagna
Almunia
SUBSTITUTES: Fabianski, Senderos, Eboue, Wilshere, Ramsey, Merida, Vela.
Possible changes to that line-up include Emmanuel Eboue at left back instead of Mikael Silvestre, or possibly Samir Nasri into the midfield at the expense of Diaby and either Carlos Vela or Emmanuel Eboue operating in wide roles up front. Aaron Ramsey is also an outside chance to start. Andrey Arshavin may be put on the bench also, after Arsene Wenger revealed that the Russian playmaker was carrying a foot injury into the match against Liverpool.
On paper, the Arsenal line-up is far stronger than that of Burnley. While boss Owen Coyle has no fresh injury concerns ahead of tonight’s fixture, he will be without strike duo Martin Paterson and Jay Rodriguez as well as Irish midfielder Chris McCann. Wolves boss Mick McCarthy played a weakened side against Manchester United yesterday in order to conserve his side’s energy for there weekend tie against Burnley, but I wouldn’t expect Owen Coyle to do the same. The Clarets will fancy there chances at Turf Moor this evening and I don’t blame them. This is the venue where Arsenal were turfed out of the League Cup last season and where Burnley claimed the prized scalp of Manchester United earlier this campaign.
Many Gooners will be expecting a confident victory tonight however I think Burnley will prove to be a tough test. I would put money on us taking three points in the north this evening however we will have to fight for it. The likes of Chris Eagles and Steven Fletcher have the capability to cause plenty of problems, and Arsenal will have to hold firm and hope that their class shines through.
Entries (RSS)