after the superb win against AC Milan on tuesday it is absolutely vital we get a good win against Wigan ...we must not think it will be easy though ..i hope Arsenal will go all out attack against Wigan ...another impressive win will boost our confidence even higher and set us up nicely for the end of season run in and the crucial matches coming up .. ...

have you seen their pitch? its the worst pitch ive seen since the early 90's.

when we played them passing and moving on the ground was practically impossible. the ball bobbled horribly and obviously this will suit Wigan much more so dont expect a walk in the park.

i still cant see anything other than an Arsenal win though so i will go with a hard fought 0-2

oh dear ...i can see Arsene Wenger having a moan about that then , he hates playing on muddy or bad pitches ....still that is how it is at some grounds ..

im sure wenger will have something to say.

its hardly a mystery or a secret so he has plenty of time to prepare. it really is disgraceful though in all honesty

Diaby and Walcott are out injured. Van Persie played 60 minutes in a behind closed doors match against the Colorado Rapids, but Wenger states he's not ready yet.

Rosicky might be ready.

what !! how the hell did Walcott get injured ...he seemed ok on Tuesday ...Diaby does seem to suffer with injuries ...

iwould prefer that Robin Van Persie only comes back when fully fit and ready ...he could be vital in the coming weeks ...

he got injured in the friendly against Colorado Rapids

oh wonderfull ......not sure why Arsene Wenger would have played him so soon after the AC Milan match ...and with a match coming up on sunday ...

Diaby got hurt in the CL match. Walcott hurt his thigh. Nothing major, but out for the weekend.

Not sure why we would even have a friendly at this stage of our campaign.

so almost certain Adebayor and Bendtner will be up front ......hugs and kisses a plenty then ...

Yep, as long as one or the other, or both score a goal. They can continue to hate each other for all I care.

i agree.
I reckon Arsenal can do it..1-3 maybe, something along those lines.
but i swear there'll be trouble if RVP plays and gets injured

teams always play friendlies all through the season, usually to try out plsyers just returning from injury or get more match fitness. the reserve games can be very competitive so its easier on a fragile player

ooh no i dont mind him playing in that game...i just mean in the wigan game. because im going to the following game and i would verrrrry much like to see mr van persie play

It'll be a tough game as the pitch and the style of football we'll be facing won't be nice.

But I think with the big confidence boost and condition of the First XI we shouldn't really have too many problems beating Wigan. But they've usually given us very tough games. Last season if I recall correctly, we needed a late Adebayor winner. But we're much better this season and should be better prepared.

Flamini again will be key. If he can do his best and do some good dirty work in the middle then it'll free up Cesc to produce the goods, and he's been coming into good form in recent weeks.

I'd expect the same backline as the Milan game and basically the same Midfield only with Hleb & Eboué on the Wings and the best of pals up front. Hleb on the LW will be great I think - he seems to play better on that side as he drifts inwards and combines with Cesc who comes from the right side. With Bendtner & Adebayor to hit, I expect Eboué & Sagna to make use of their pace & crossing abilities.

Flamini has been outstanding recently, and it's given Cesc the chance to play even more. I'm far from an Arsenal supporter (about as far as you can get), but I'm really admiring what Arsenal are doing this season. I'd like to see Wigan take a point, but Arsenal are just too good at the moment, even if playing in a swamp doesn't pander to their style of play.

should be a comfortable win for the Gunners.. 0-3 would be simply enough.. one for cesc and one for bendtner and another one for flamini [he hardly scores but then we never know].. so none left for adebayor.. lol..

I think it'll be a comfortable win for us(2-0 or 3-1 maybe). Cesc and Flamini to continue their wonderful form form Europe and Adebayor to score. Though the pitch is reportedly not good, it should be a win for us and we have to pull away from ManU and increase the goal difference as much as possible.



Has Eboue completed his 3 match ban already??? I thought he completed only 2??? Maybe I am wrong, but could you clear this Axe???

Yes notably Old Trafford a few weeks back, it was embarrassing to see such a mess at the countries supposedly richest club.

I'd still expect Arsenal to win whatever the pitch condition, 2-0 me thinks.

Forgot about that.

That's good news for us then. Although Gilberto will probably start with Cesc pushed out to a wider role.

You are correct. Eboue is still out.


On that note...

Manuel Almunia
William Gallas
Bacary Sagna
Philippe Senderos
Gael Clichy
Gilberto
Cesc Fabregas
Mathieu Flamini
Alexander Hleb
Emmanuel Adebayor
Nicklas Bendtner

Bench:
Jens Lehmann
Justin Hoyte
Kolo Toure
Alexandre Song
Robin Van Persie

I see Arsenal winning this one 3-0 RVP with the Welcome goal!

yawn, what a boring first half. hope rvp comes on for bender in the 2nd half

It's probably been too comfortable for us first half here. Wigan haven't really threatened at all and neither have they gotten into us so to speak. We've knocked it around neatly and created some half decent chances. Adebayor, Bendtner and Cesc have all had good efforts.

We need to come out of first gear soon after half-time and bag a few goals before Wigan start taking advantage of the scoreline.

Bendtner has been good and Senderos has been brilliant at the back. So there's no real problems with the performance. Gilberto needs to stick to what he knows best and leave the forward play to Cesc and Flamini.