Arsenal Londra Thread

[beavis]

Premier League preview: Arsenal - Wigan Athletic




FORM GUIDE

Arsenal

16 Sept (UCL) vs Standard Liege 3-2

12 Sept (EPL) vs Man City 2-4

29 Aug (EPL) vs Man United 1-2

26 Aug (UCL) vs Celtic 3-1

22 Aug (EPL) vs Portsmouth 4-1

Wigan Athletic

12 Sept (EPL) vs West Ham 1-0

30 Aug (EPL) vs Everton 1-2

26 Aug (Carling Cup) vs Blackpool 1-4

22 Aug (EPL) vs Man United 0-5

18 Aug (EPL) vs Wolverhampton 0-1

TEAM NEWS

Arsenal
The club's two leading goalkeepers are still sidelined - Manuel Almunia has a virus, while Lukasz Fabianski has a knee injury which will keep him out of action for another month - so 21-year-old Vito Mannone will continue between the sticks. The Italian endured a torrid start on Wednesday when the first 2 times he touched the ball were to pick it out of his own net. Thereafter, despite some wayward and panicky kicking, he did what he had to capably enough.

There is a chance that striker Robin van Persie will be fit to resume his place in attack after missing the game in Liege because of a damaged knee-cap sustained against Manchester City - when he got off the mark with his first goal of the campaign.

But Russian playmaker Andrey Arshavin may not be fit enough to start following the groin injury he aggravated playing for Russia. Wenger said Arshavin had a 10% chance of facing Wigan.

Denilson, Theo Walcott, Carlos Vela, Johan Djourou and Samir Nasri are all still ruled out.

Probable Starting XI: Mannone - Sagna, Gallas, Vermaelen, Clichy - Diaby, Fabregas, Song, Rosicky - Bendtner, Van Persie

Wigan Athletic
In contrast to Arsenal's injury pile-up, Wigan have an almost clean bill of health, their only casualty being Olivier Kapo. The midfielder is recovering from an injury to a medial knee ligament, but did make his comeback in a reserve match on Tuesday, scoring for The Latics against Manchester City.

That could persuade Martinez to name him on the bench; but the Spaniard has an otherwise full-strength squad available and could well select the same side that beat West Ham.

Probable Starting XI: Kirkland - Melchiot, Boyce, Bramble, Figueroa - Thomas, Koumas, Gomez, Diame - N'Zogbia, Hugo Rodallega


PREDICTION: Arsenal 3-1 Wigan Athletic

[TwB-Edmond]

Ms! Mi-ai luat painea de la gura!

[deangel9]

E usor sa combinam rezultatele la final Trebuie sa ai super inspiratie, inspiratie care s-a ferit deocamdata de mine

nu inspiratie, "noroc" e cuvantul potrivit..cred

[TwB-Edmond]

Min.41 Arsenal - Wigan 1-0 (Vermaelen min. 25)

[deangel9]

ce le da Vermaelen..asta, are vreo 3 goluri pana acum, good pentru un fundas.

[TwB-Edmond]

Vermaelen 3, Gallas vreo 3, sunt buni atacantii

[deangel9]

hai si cu golu' 2 sa nu am emotii..

[TwB-Edmond]

Il ai pe bilet la pariuri?

[deangel9]

da

[TwB-Edmond]

Min.50 Arsenal - Wigan 2-0 (Vermaelen min. 25, min. 49)

[deangel9]

cat ati dat pe el?

[TwB-Edmond]

10 mil. din cat am auzit dar nu stiu sigur daca de lire sau de euro

Min. 60 Arsenal - Wigan 3-0 (Vermaelen min. 25,49 Eduardo min. 58)

[deangel9]

Arsenal - Wigan Athletic


1:0 Vermaelen
http://www.mediafire.com/file/m0dnzw..._Vermaelen.avi
http://rapidshare.com/files/28222520..._Vermaelen.avi
http://hotfile.com/dl/12964863/33a6c...aelen.avi.html

2:0 Vermaelen
http://www.mediafire.com/file/kdtmij..._Vermaelen.avi
http://rapidshare.com/files/28224393..._Vermaelen.avi
http://hotfile.com/dl/12968902/1f61a...aelen.avi.html

3:0 Eduardo
http://www.mediafire.com/file/2tlnma...-0_Eduardo.avi
http://rapidshare.com/files/28224397...-0_Eduardo.avi
http://hotfile.com/dl/12968934/dcfd8...uardo.avi.html

4:0 Fabregas
http://www.mediafire.com/file/0h3ikm...0_Fabregas.avi
http://rapidshare.com/files/28225394...0_Fabregas.avi
http://hotfile.com/dl/12970787/da98e...regas.avi.html

[Raddu_AdyY]

daca ar avea si constantza pe cata valoare au ahhhhhhhh ce echipa ar avea arsenal

[beavis]

REZUMAT

[TwB-Edmond]

Wenger backs Senderos to get better

Philippe Senderos will make his first Arsenal appearance in 16 months on Tuesday night with Arsene Wenger insisting his best years are to come.



The Swiss centre-back spent last season on loan at AC Milan and looked to be heading to Everton after they sold Joleon Lescott to Manchester City.

However, a move to Goodison Park before the transfer deadline never materialised, and Senderos is set to make his first Arsenal appearance since May 2008 in the Carling Cup tie against West Brom.

With Johan Djourou sidelined for the best part of the season because of a serious knee problem, the 24-year-old could soon find himself back in Wenger's first-team squad on a regular basis.

"In this job you have always to be ready and the day you get the chance you can do well," Wenger told Arsenal TV Online.

"If you are not ready, everybody will say he is not good enough for the level, to play for Arsenal Football Club.

"Now Philippe is back with us, so we will just give him a chance."

Wenger insisted: "I don't believe he is starting his career again because we know how good he is, but it is a new start, let's say.

"He is still very young for a centre-back, he's 24-years-old and he has the future in front of him.

"The best 10 years are now coming for him."

Senderos will, along with veteran defender Mikael Silvestre, who has yet to make an appearance this season, provide experience at heart of defence.

Full-back Kieran Gibbs, midfielders Fran Merida, Aaron Ramsey and Jack Wilshere are in line feature as they all stake a claim for a regular first-team place, as will pacy forward Sanchez Watt.

Wenger also indicated 19-year-old Poland keeper Wojciech Szczesny was set to make his first-team debut, given Vito Mannone has been standing in for Manuel Almunia, who was out with a virus, and Lukasz Fabianski is still recovering from a knee injury.

Wales midfielder Ramsey, 18, has already made six appearances from the bench this season, scoring in the 4-1 Barclays Premier League win over Portsmouth as well as playing in Europe.

Wenger has been impressed with Ramsey's progress since his £5million move from Cardiff during the summer of 2008.

"I believe he has improved a lot," the Arsenal manager said.

"A midfielder is someone who makes others play, and when you are very young you are more concerned about how you play, and he has made a big evolution in that stage.

"Don't forget that Aaron Ramsey has outstanding physical qualities - he is quick, he has fantastic stamina, he has become much more powerful with his body.

"I believe he is not far now from the other players and he is pushing everybody."

[TwB-Edmond]

FT Arsenal - WBA 2 - 0 (Watt min.68, Vela min.75)

Arsenal: Szczesny, Gilbert, Senderos, Silvestre, Traore, Wilshere, Coquelin, Ramsey, Gibbs, Sunu, Watt. Subs: Shea, Vela, Barazite, Bartley, Eastmond, Frimpong, Randall.

West Brom: Kiely, Zuiverloon, Olsson, Barnett, Jara, Thomas, Koren, Dorrans, Teixeira, Moore, Cox. Subs: Carson, Bednar, Wood, Reid, Mulumbu, Meite, Martis.

[TwB-Edmond]

TEAMtalk Predicts: Fulham v Arsenal

We're going head-to-head with fans to predict the outcome of a Premier League game every week this season and next up is Fulham v Arsenal.



We've made our predictions for the full season at TEAMtalk Towers but we know you can't wait that long to prove us wrong so we're giving you the chance to do it once a week.

We'll pick out one of the big Premier League games every weekend and one of our 'experts' will attempt to predict the result and scoreline. But we'll also get a prediction from a fan of each club to find out who knows the most about the beautiful game - TEAMtalk or the fans.

It's one point for a correct result and three if you can nail the right score, and we're keeping a tally so you can all see just now much we know (or don't know). Feel free to send in your own predictions too - and of course messages to compliment us on another job well done!

Last Time Out

We featured the Manchester derby last weekend and our editor Simon Wilkes bravely stepped up to the plate to give his prediction for a game nobody quite knew what to expect from.

He toyed with tipping up a score draw and must have been gutted he didn't by the 91st minute, but up stepped Michael Owen to ensure his prediction of a home win was on the money.

City fan Mark Hammond was left doubly gutted after backing his boys to get a draw, but United supporter Mike Geddes had plenty to celebrate after his faith in his team was rewarded.

Not surprisingly neither Mike nor Simon got the scoreline correct, but a point for both means TEAMtalk now lead the way at the top of the table!

After four predictions so far we have two points, while the home and away supporters have one apiece. And now we're ahead we have no intention of giving up our position...so it's upto you to catch us.

Week Five - Fulham v Arsenal (Saturday, 5.30pm)

These sides have played just five games apiece in the Premier League so far but Saturday's game already looks of massive importance.

Arsenal have lost two of their three games on the road, albeit at Manchester United and City, and will be keen to build on last weekend's thrashing of Wigan.

Fulham, meanwhile, find themselves down in 14th place after three defeats from their first five games and could even drop into the bottom three should results go against them this weekend.

Roy Hodgson will be without Erik Nevland, Andrew Johnson (shoulder) and Toni Kallio (Achilles), but Arsenal are taking a strong squad to west London with Andrey Arshavin returning from a three-game absence.

Match Facts

Arsenal picked up just one point from their two games against Fulham last season, failing to score in either game and going down by a single goal at Craven Cottage.

The Gunners are the league's leading scorers so far this season, however, and ripped Wigan to pieces in a 4-0 win at The Emirates last weekend. They also boast a vastly superior record in games against Fulham having won 31, drawn seven and lost seven of the previous 45 clashes.

The Cottagers have already lost at home this season - to Chelsea - but still boast an enviable record on home soil having comfortably won their two Europa League games in west London and also seeing off Everton earlier this month.

Predictions

TEAMtalk - Matthew Briggs: The Gunners failed to score against Fulham last season, but I fancy them to put that record straight on Saturday with a 3-0 away win.

Arsenal have endured difficult away games having lost twice in Manchester, but they did crash six past Everton - a side you can normally rely on at home.

Fulham, like the Toffees, are strong on home soil, but they were less than convincing last time out in defeat at Wolves and I think Arsenal will have too much for them.

New centre-back Thomas Vermaelen has also looked a class act and he has also proved he can stride forward and hit the net.

Andriy Arshavin should return and with Nicklas Bendtner, Eduardo and Robin van Persie in the ranks they should have the firepower to down Roy Hodgson's charges.

Fulham fan - Craig Supples: We won this game last season and I'd normally be pretty confident of doing the same again because Arsenal struggled against us even at the Emirates.

However, we were a distant second best against Wolves last weekend and generally haven't been at our best at all this season, although there's certainly not a crisis at the club as some people have suggested.

Andy Johnson will be a big loss because we don't score too many goals at the best of times, but we still look pretty solid at the back at home and I'm expecting a close game.

As usual, my heart and my head are saying two different things but I'll side with my heart and back us to hold out for a 0-0 draw, which would be a decent result.

Arsenal fan - Cyril Andrews: If we were to consider the past 10 meetings with Fulham we have won seven, drawn one and out-scored them 21 to 5.

So on the surface this should be an easy game, but last season we only gained one point from them losing at 1-0 Craven Cottage and tying 0-0 at the Emirates.

This season Fulham have looked quite rocky having lost three out of their opening five games. On the other hand the Gunners came out of the blocks flying beating Everton 6-1 and Portsmouth 4-0 but their trips to Manchester proved a bridge to far, gifting United with 3 points and letting emotions get the better of them at City.

Wigan gave us some respite and we got back to our high scoring, winning ways beating them 4-0 at the Emirates. (It still feels odd not saying Highbury)

Arsenal have good news in that both Arshavin and Walcott are available to play again after their injuries - this should prove to be too much for Fulham and I predict a 2-0 away win for the Arsenal.

FT Fulham - Arsenal 0 - 1 (Van Persie min. 52)

[beavis]

[TwB-Edmond]

Gunners are ready to fire - Sagna

Bacary Sagna insists Arsenal will not be caught cold again in Europe this season as they prepare for Tuesday evening's clash with Olympiacos.



The Gunners suffered a terrible opening to their Champions League Group H campaign when going 2-0 down at Standard Liege inside five minutes.

Although they fought back to record a morale-boosting victory with a late goal from Eduardo, it was a harsh lesson in how costly any lapses in concentration can be.

And Sagna, who started on the bench a fortnight ago, maintains the Gunners will be fully focused right from kick-off against Olympiacos at Emirates Stadium on Tuesday night.

"I hope everyone is ready now to give 100% on the pitch, including the forwards because they are the first to defend," the French full-back said.

"Everyone knows we have to be more powerful in defence to be good in attack.

"We have a good team and everyone is able in this team to play good football and we show it."

Arsenal - who have recorded four straight victories following successive Barclays Premier League defeats away to Manchester United and Manchester City - will be without striker Nicklas Bendtner after he suffered minor bruises when his car went off the road.

The 21-year-old was driving along the A1 on Sunday morning towards South Mimms when his car left the road and collided with the hard shoulder fence and a tree.

It is understood no other vehicle was involved in the incident and the forward is expected to be available for the game with Blackburn at the weekend.

Winger Theo Walcott may also be in line to feature at the weekend, having not played at all this season because of a back problem.

Midfielder Denilson is, however, set for an extended spell on the sidelines because of a fracture to his back.

Manager Arsene Wenger feels his side are improving all the time and head into Tuesday's match on the back of a hard-fought 1-0 win at Fulham.

"I believe we have played well since the start of the season and what is worse, but in a good way, is that in the games we have played the best we have not won," Wenger said.

"But we showed that we can beat anybody since the start of the season and we have that belief in the squad."

Arsenal's parent holding company, meanwhile, revealed an increase in turnover to £313.3million and a record profit after tax of £35.2million from results for the year ending May 31.

Wenger said: "I have always worked in clubs who make money and I would not feel that I do my job well if we lost money at the end of the season, no matter what happens on the sporting side, because you put the club in trouble and, in my opinion, that cannot be accepted from any manager."