Swansea preview: do the basics right

Hello everyone.

We face Swansea at Liberty Stadium tomorrow and it will be our last game before the Interlull.

Injury update

And this Interlull could not have come at a better time. This two-week break will allow us to get back some of the walking wounded. I'm mostly talking about Olivier Giroud (who starts training next week) and Serge Gnabry (though it's hard to fathom how the German might make even the bench). Debuchy also shouldn't be too far away, if only not ready right after the international break.

The most grim (and, potentially, the most damaging) piece of news is that Koscielny isn't close to full fitness:

“He has not started running outside so you cannot think he will be available in two weeks’ time. Then, you have to see how he responds to going outside and running. He is not there yet anyway. He cannot run. He will not be available for three or four weeks.”

Given the dearth of options at centre-back (a deficiency we couldn't have solved during the summer. Oh, wait...) and the simple fact that Arsene doesn't trust Bellerin to start games, we'll have to muddle along at least till Debuchy returns. And before that happy moment we'll have to play the minimum of four games (Swansea, United, Borussia and West Brom), in which (surprise!) we'll have to garner points. With Monreal at centre-back. Brilliant. Don't get me wrong, I think the Spaniard is a very good defender, who, at the start of this campaign, had a strong run in his preferred position. But Monreal is very obviously struggling in this new and unfamiliar role and given the quality of the opposition coming our way, it may prove very costly indeed.

The situation is further exacerbated by Arteta's absence. Fortunately for us the Spaniard has suffered only a grade one hamstring strain and thus will only miss two weeks. UNFORTUNATELY for us, he's set to miss tomorrow's game, which means we'll most definitely have little to no organisation in the middle of the park.

However, Theo is ready to start games, while Wilshere is available once again. With that sorted out, a guessing game is in order.

The back five

I'm starting to consider just copying and pasting this part from my previous posts, cause nothing is changing. Debuchy and Kos are out and Bellerin doesn't have the trust of the manager. Oh, Ospina is also out, for whatever this piece of news is worth. This means the same back five as against Anderlecht. A daunting prospect, considering how it collapsed along with the rest of the team in the last half an hour, but there's nothing we can do to change it. Apart from slapping Mert in the face for losing two aerial duels, one of which lead to their equaliser. Moving on.

The midfield

With Arteta out, Flamini well below par (just let him leave when his contract expires at the end of the season and buy a proper DM. The second bit should be done in January, preferably) and Ramsey having completely lost his head, I suggest a Wilshere-Cazorla base.

Both players are very good going forward through the middle, and both have the legs and the energy to track back. Cazorla, as a more experienced guy, should be able to organise the midfield. Definitely better than Ramsey or Wilshere.

However, I have a sinking feeling Ramsey will start once again, presumably alongside Jack. Arsene's quite public urge for Ramsey to get back to basics before the Anderlecht game was ignored by the Welshman and for that alone I'd drop Ramsey without giving it a second thought. But I'm pretty sure AW will do no such thing. So I expect Aaron to start and the only thing I can hope for is that he will do his job properly this time around.

Further up field it should be Sanchez once again. The Chilean is one of the few up to scratch right now:

"He was one of the very few who was at his level. He was involved in the three goals. He was one of the two or three players who were at their level."

Five goals in three games and one hell of an impact through the middle. Alexis definitely should play, he's about the only one who works his socks off for the team. However, if he scores and we still won't win I won't hold it against him if he personally slaughters every one of his teammates.

The attack

Welbeck is set to start up top once again, though I have a hunch it will be his last start in quite some time if he doesn't score. With Giroud back in training next week the Frenchman will definitely be viewed worthy of a couple of starts, especially since Welbeck looks exhausted. If, on top of that, the Englishman also turns out to be useless in front of goal (for now, at least), Giroud can start right after the international break.

The flanks are, once again, less obvious, but so what? We need quality, not quantity and right now we are not getting the most out of our flanks. Oxlade is good and works hard, but Cazorla is far from impressive on the other side. That's one of the reasons I'd prefer to see him shifted back inside, though I'm pretty sure it won't happen. At least tomorrow.

If, however, by some miracle, it WILL happen, then Walcott is the obvious replacement. Theo on the right, Oxlade on the left, Welbeck centrally. And Alexis under the striker. Imagine the pace.

The main problem right now, however, is not at the attacking side of the pitch. We need to sort our defense out, if we don't, we'll continue to drop points.

The verdict

Stability, we need defensive stability:

"It all has to harmonise well from the build-up through the back, and after, getting you to find the players who have the quality to give a good ball. After that as well, the guys that can make the runs and finish."

The main reason why I think Arsene persists with Monreal is that he wants a stable back four. We enjoyed a very good spell last year because we fielded a consistent defensive unit, which coincided with Ramsey walking on water. This time around the balance was disrupted early on when Debuchy went down in a heap against City and then when Kos's condition needed lengthy treatment.

So the manager had a choice: play Bellerin every three days in the hope of him making the grade, or give Monreal a run at centre-back. Both options weren't ideal, but we can only blame this situation on ourselves. We were incredibly lucky not to suffer a lot of injures at the back last season, this time it didn't work out. And so we have to adapt.

Honestly, I don't know what to expect of the game anymore. I'd really like us to put in a shift at the back, like we did in 2012-2013. Yes, it wasn't particularly pleasant to scrape out wins by a one-goal margin, while holding on for dear life in stoppage time, but at least we got the job done.

This defensive focus was also down to us not having the personnel to thrive up front. We didn't have Ozil, Welbeck and Sanchez back then and had to find other ways to win games. We just couldn't be these slick guns a-ho guys and thus adapted. Now there's no need for such conservative performances, but we have to start somewhere to get back our defensive solidity. The end of 2012-2013 campaign can serve as a blueprint.

That's it for now. Keeping everything I can crossed for a win tomorrow and then the Interlull will provide us with a breather.

Until later and c'mon you Gunners

Follow me on Twitter (@AlexBaguzin)

Arsenal 3-3 Anderlecht: a bloody mess

"This game is of utmost importance to our hopes of qualifying. Win, and we almost certainly ensure an early passage into the last sixteen. Anything less can be quite damaging."

That's what I said before the game. However, not even in my worst nightmares could I have seen such a scenario.

After almost two full days I have calmed down a great deal, but my blood still boils when I think of that game. So I'll break my review in points, as I don't feel like writing a usual review. This was by no means an ordinary game.

The brilliance of Alexis Sanchez

The Chilean was directly involved in all three goals, and that in itself is saying a lot. He set up Welbeck for the penalty, smashed an unstoppable volley for the second and won the crucial challenge to release Oxlade for the third. All three goals were of Sanchez's creation and have, once again, come as a result of the enormous amount of work the Chilean puts in. Every Arsenal player and, probably, the manager, owe him an apology for this result.

The defense

Atrocious. The worst I've seen us defend in quite a while. Probably since these big away losses last year. On the one hand, it's surprising. Probably our best defensive display happened not so long ago, ironically in the game against Chelsea.

On the other, it's not that surprising. With Chelsea we had Koscielny fit and the centre of our defense looks much, much better when the Frenchman plays alongside Mert. This time Monreal partnered the German and produced one of his worst displays.

Even at 2-0 up I felt the game wasn't put out of Anderlecht's reach. They broke time and again down the middle and the absurdity of Monreal staying much further up field than is required of a defender was further compounded by Ramsey's weak display.

Aaron seems obsessed right now.Obsessed with scoring goals. He desperately tries to replicate his last year's form, neglecting his defensive duties. His all-round game suffers as a consequence. The Welshman forgot we don't need a goalscoring Ramsey, we need a hard-working one:

"A midfielder is a player who defends well, attacks well and keeps his priorities right

 He's not a goalscorer, so he has not to be obsessed by that. I just want him to do his job well. The goals are the consequence of the quality of his game. I don't believe that he has to be obsessed by that.

He's running after consistency. He's one of the players who has been very efficient last season."

Ramsey is not impressive at all at the moment. He's consistently below-par and I think he should be dropped against Swansea for the returning Wilshere.

The conceded goals

Yes, Vanden Borre was offside for the first goal. Miles offside. Yes, his penalty needed to be retaken because some bloke or another ran into the box before the initial shot.

But so what? The fact remains: we've let a three-goal lead slip. Which is inexcusable against any opponent in any competition under any circumstances, let alone at home against Anderlecht in a crucial game:

"We cannot afford to make that many mistakes and to concede three goals after we went 3-0 up. It's just not good enough. I'm very disappointed - we missed a great opportunity to finish the job today. It's not good."

Arteta's words. And a bit more:

"Even with the first goal, you have a two-goal lead at home and we know what we're playing for. It was a massive day for us to finalise the group stages, and we need to analyse the mistakes and what happened in the second half, because it's not at the level required at this club."

Personally, I consider one of the main reasons of our draw is Arteta himself being subbed. We had no choice - he pulled a hamstring - but the Spaniard at least kept the midfield organised and ticking. He mopped up the mess left behind by Ramsey several times during the first half and thus losing Arteta equalled losing probably the most important on-pitch player. Flamini, who came on, had a disastrous night. Really, I'm not sure why the Frenchman is still at the Club. He's not at the level required. Why are we tolerating mediocrity? And please don't tell me there are no better DMs available. Because there are. The same Tielemans would do a better job.

The aftermath

Apart from Twitter being flooded by angry and disappointed fans, there are far worse repercussions to this draw.

Firstly, we basically lose all chances of qualifying from the top spot. Borussia is five points ahead of us with two games to go and only a miracle can gift us the first place. Looking at how the Germans perform in the Champions League, I'm not counting on one. Moreover, I think they completely deserve their first place.

Secondly, there's a mathematical chance of us not qualifying at all. It is highly unlikely, cause for this scenario to pan out we need to lose both remaining fixtures while Anderlecht win their respective games (Borussia away is one of them), but it's not out of the picture completely and this worries me. We should have at least solved this problem on Tuesday's night.

And finally, that little bit of confidence we've built up after three consecutive wins is now gone. Smashed to pieces. We'll need to start from scratch and by that I mean a win against Swansea away. No easy task.

There's all the usual talk of picking ourselves up, learning lessons and so on, but the genuine fear I have right now is, if we don't strengthen central defense and midfield in January, we can be in for a very long and muddy campaign.

Until later

Follow me on Twitter (@AlexBaguzin)

Anderlecht preview: first let's qualify

Good evening.

It's Anderlecht tomorrow and a win will (barring Dortmund's loss to Gala at home) guarantee us a place in the last sixteen. But firstly, of course, we need to win.

Arsene's press-conference has already taken place and the boss has given the injury update. There are no new injures from the game against Burnley (thank God), though there's also a downside: Wilshere will not be involved tomorrow night. The Englishman is down with an illness and should be fine for the weekend, but he's out of the equation for now. So let's try to figure out the squad Arsene may put together.

The back five

Don't think we can expect any changes here. Szczesny in goal, as usual, and the same back four. Chambers was outstanding on Saturday, Monreal seems to be adapting quite quickly to his new position and, finally, AW just doesn't have the trust in Bellerin. So the same it remains until Koscielny's return. Which shouldn't be too far away.

The midfield

There were a lot of moans from Arsenal fans before the last two games regarding the Flamteta axis, however, I have stumbled upon an interesting and quite possible explanation for this. To put it shortly, both our holding midfielders covered the full-back positions, which allowed Chambers and Gibbs to spend more time attacking. And we've seen what an impact they can have further upfield.

Nonetheless, I still think we don't need that kind of caution against Anderlecht at home. Bottom line is, Flamini was far from impressive on his last outing, while I'm pretty sure Ramsey can do a good job covering for Chambers or Gibbs. As you may recall, he has played at right-back against Sunderland in 2012-2013 after one Koscielny (I think) was sent off. So I'd play Aaron from the first minutes. He has the legs to work in both attack and defense and is much better than Flamini in one sense at least. Arteta should complete the base of our midfield.

After talking up Sanchez in the number 10 role, I think it's only logical for the Chilean to continue there. He has been terrifc under the striker in the last two games and this kind of energy may bring about errors from Anderlecht.

The attack

Welbeck should start once more. With Giroud still out, Sanchez busy wreaking havoc in a deeper position and Walcott still not at his best, Danny is our only viable option. Notice the word "viable". I'm not excluding Poldi or Sanogo from making an appearance in that central position, but both are far from convincing there, though for different reasons. As for Campbell, I have given up on the idea of him playing. He'll be lucky to make the bench tomorrow, let alone start in a lone forward position.

On the flanks we have a wealth of options. Oxlade, Cazorla, Posolski and Rosicky can all start there, with Walcott bound to make an appearance if things go well. If it was up to me, Rosicky and Podolski would start. Poldi had a fantastic impact from the bench in his last two appearances (scored a winning goal against Anderlecht too), while with Rosicky it's easier. The Czech didn't play a lot and Cazorla's form should open the door for Thomas.

However, we all know how Wenger trusts his players to come through the bad patches by regularly giving them playing time, so I won't be surprised to see the Ox and Santi get the nod again. Good thing is, we have options and these are good options.

The verdict

This game is of utmost importance to our hopes of qualifying. Win, and we almost certainly ensure an early passage into the last sixteen. Anything less can be quite damaging.

But I don't think we can expect anything less than a win. We have found some kind of form, balanced the defense and the attack better and, with all due respect, it's only Anderlecht at home. We should, by all accounts, take the three points.

Elsewhere, Arsene has given his thoughts on the new seeding system:

"I think yes [it is a surprise], because the logic is not respected. Logic for me is when you play in Europe, you should be judged on the results in Europe."

I've already given my thoughts on the matter, but I'll say this again: national championship is one thing and European tournaments is another. Clubs are sufficiently rewarded for winning the title. A greater number of their games is aired next year, giving the clubs more income from TV rights, they get a one-off (huge) payment and a cup to go along with it. And almost the same happens with the winners of the Champions League, bar, maybe, television rights.

Assuming Liverpool won last year and the system was introduced immediately, what would have happened? Liverpool in the first pot. They would have got a weaker group. And now look how they struggle. I'm not sure they'll make it out of the group, what good will it have done to allow them an easier passage into the knockout stages, if they are clearly not up to scratch?

Of course, they didn't win the league, so all of this sounds highly hypothetical. But I'm not talking about one team, rather about a concept.  Imagine Zenit or Juventus in the top pot. They are good teams, but Zenit has only just qualified for the last sixteen with six points (an all-time record), while Juve was overpowered by Galatasaray altogether.

Giving too many opportunities to lesser teams devalue the competition. So UEFA needs to think before introducing major changes. It's them who'll ultimately lose money, and money seems to be the only thing they care about.

That's it for now. Here's for the win tomorrow and I'll be back with the customary review.

Until then

Follow me on Twitter (@AlexBaguzin)

Arsenal 3-0 Burnley: positive all around

Good evening.

Finally, we've done what was required. With minimal fuss. With minimum danger of dropping points. And though we left it until the 70th minute to open the scoring, no one can say we had another indifferent performance or that we are unable to score goals and comfortably beat the opposition we're expected to beat.

It looks like I'm exaggerating, right? After all, it's just Burnley, a newcomer, a team sitting at the very bottom of the table. They are yet to win a single match, ten games into the season. And now ask yourselves: just how many times have Arsenal dropped points to a team we were supposed to beat easily? I can count three games this year only: Leicester, Hull and Tottenham. We had three rather apathetic performances and, on the last two occasions, sparked into life only after finding ourselves a goal down. In front of our own fans. Against Leicester we haven't started playing real football at all and could even have lost that game. So taking for granted a win over an inferior opponent isn't an option when Arsenal is involved. We are notorious for shooting ourselves in the foot.

But yesterday we had a complete performance. Despite us opening the scoring late in the day I was never worried we'd win the game. I knew we would. I had this feeling as though we were already 2 or 3 goals up, so I sat back, relaxed and waited for the table to show we now had three more points. Let's start at the beginning, however.

The squad

Unchanged. Exactly the same group of players in the line-up. The only difference was Walcott and Sanogo slotting in for Wilshere and Campbell respectively.

And this made three things clear: Arsene, for some reason or another just doesn't trust Bellerin (at least for now), a Flamteta axis was introduced to give us more defensive solidity and Campbell most likely has no future at Arsenal.

With Bellerin I can understand Wenger's reluctance, as the Spaniard is only 19 years old, but this raises a more important question: why was Jenkinson allowed to leave if his understudy isn't trusted to perform even against the opposition of Burnley's calibre? I don't know and I don't think we'll ever find that out. Though sometimes I'd really like to get a glimpse of what's going through the manager's head when he makes one decision or another.

Wilshere being omitted for Walcott is clear: Jack is carrying a slight knock, while everyone was waiting for Theo to finally make his debut. Which Walcott did, to the stadium's delight.

Finally, Campbell. Another enigma. Arsene very obviously doesn't trust the Costa-Rican and his situaiton heavily reminds me of the one with Arshavin. My compatriot was just dropped at some point and never restored the manager's faith in himself. And though some named laziness and complete disinterest as the main factors for Arshavin's diminished role, reports from the training ground suggested otherwise till his very last days with the Gunners. So I'd rather put my money on a falling-out with Wenger, than anything else.

And I think that's the case with Campbell. He is clearly proud to be a Gunner, yet he rarely plays. He seems to be a nice and hard-working lad (not without talent, mind you), but Arsene just doesn't pick him. So as sad as it sounds, I won't be surprised if we part ways with Joel in January. I'm much more baffled by him staying in the first place.

The first half

We dominated it. That simple. Burnley put all men behind the ball and their attacks were few and far between and carried little to no threat.

Cazorla (a disappointment of the match to be) could have opened the scoring on the 10th minute after Welbeck's headed pass found the Spaniard on the edge of the box, but Santi's effort was tame.

Three minutes later Welbeck himself should have put us in front following a quick interchange which involved Gibbs, Sanchez and Danny, only for the Englishman's goal-bound effort to deflect off Trippier's hand for a corner.

We continued to pile on the pressure and this resulted in a flurry of chances. We should have been awarded a penalty on the 21st minute for a clear and deliberate handball from Boyd, before Cazorla spurned another opportunity to give us the lead. Oxlade's and Alexis's combined effort saw Cazorla primed for the kill, but the Spaniard flashed his effort just wide.

Then came the spell of Alexis Sanchez, First he turned on the edge of the box and unleashed a curled shot, which skimmed inches wide of the post with Heaton stranded, then the keeper blocked the Chilean's effort from a tight angle and, to cap it all off, Heaton made another fine save following a shot from Alexis. 0-0 at half-time.

The second half

Our first real chance came on the 65th minute and again Cazorla was at fault for not scoring. A cross from Sanchez was tapped into Welbeck's path by Chambers, Danny back-heeled the ball to Cazorla and Santi, with the goal at his mercy, hit it straight at the defender. Luckily, we scored soon after this episode.

Chambers put in an umpteenth cross into the box and Alexis, of all people, was on hand to head the ball home. It was funny to watch the Chilean, who's rather short, to pull off a header with huge Trippier and Duff either side of him. Arsene later summed this goal up rather nicely:

"It’s more the result of determination and desire than doing something special technically. He has the attributes of a fighter and of a quality, talent player."

We were 2-0 up minutes later. Cazorla swung in our seventeenth corner (not kidding, look it up), a scuffle ensued and Chambers smashed the ball into the net from close range for his first senior goal. Well done, Calum.

After that goal it was all us. Walcott (applause for the debutant!) and Podolski came on with ten minutes to go and both contributed rather nicely. Podolski should have scored twice, but his first shot was brilliantly saved by Heaton and his second (from Walcott's cross) hit the woodwork. Both were cracking efforts, both showed how technical Poldi can be, as both were volleyed efforts, so I really felt for the German. Deserved to score, unlucky not to. Walcott, on a side note, also fashioned a chance of his own, but Heaton intervened once more to deny the Englishman on his debut.

In the end, it was Sanchez who stole the show. We stormed upfield in a lighting-quick counter-attack, Gibbs found Sanchez with a low cross and the Chilean did the rest. By which I mean rounding off two defenders inside a year and firing an unstoppable shot past Heaton. 3-0 it ended and, in all fairness, it should have been more.

The verdict

"We had a strong team pressure and we had to intensify that in the second half, which we did. Slowly you could see that the chances were coming and at the end of the day, it became easy when it was 2-0. They did very hard and we did make mistakes at the back. Overall I think it was a very satisfying win. Recently at home we haven’t got the results we wanted but for the confidence of the team it’s also important to win without conceding a goal." 

Arsene also commented on Sanchez being deployed centrally:

"Since he’s played through the middle he looks more goal dangerous. Now it looks to me that he’s really dangerous through the centre of the pitch because he’s in full confidence, he’s physically strong, he likes to take people on as well and he makes perfect runs. Through the centre of the pitch maybe he’s more dangerous."

I never expected Arsene to solve the problem of Ozil's absence in such a way, so hats off for the manager. He took a risk and it paid off. Hope Alexis will continue playing there.

Overall, a very good day at the office. Coupled with Liverpool, West Ham and now United all losing, we now sit 4th, three points behind City. And no, United and Liverpool winning wouldn't have changed that, I've just added them to gloat once more time about how useless they both look.

As for us, you have to be dead inside not to enjoy the win. Yes, Burnley were far inferior to us yesterday, but a win, coupled with a clean sheet and a convincing performance is the best you can ask for. Now onto Anderlecht.

And I'll be back with you tomorrow (most likely) to discuss anything interesting that might pop up.

Until then, enjoy the win

Follow me on Twitter (@AlexBaguzin)

Burnley preview: put in a performance

Good evening.

It's Burnley at home tomorrow and while the manager is wary of the threat (*cough*) Sean Dyche's side poses, this game looks a bit of a breather still. Burnley currently occupy the last position in the league and are yet to win a single game. That's not to say we only have to turn up to take the three points (Blackburn anyone?), but it's not like we are playing City or Chelsea either.

So I think a bit of rotation won't hurt. Quite a lot of players need practise in order to be sharp when called upon, so these should be given a chance, in my view.

There are question marks over some of our players, Gibbs and Wilshere in particular. Kieran is a 50/50 with a slight hip injury, while Jack has sustained some minor knock on his knee in training and may miss both the tomorrow's game and the return fixture against Anderlecht. Walcott also doesn't seem ready to start the game:

"He’s fit. He lacks competition. Physically he lacks two things: contact in the Premier League and competition. But fitness wise there is no problem at all."

If it was up to me, all three Englishmen would only be used from the bench, should they all be deemed fit to make the squad, of course. With Wilshere and Gibbs it's obvious: better short-term pain and the consequent long-term gain than vice versa. With Walcott, it's been a while since he's back, so giving him more than 15-20 minutes against not the strongest of sides may not be a bad idea, but this decision is completely up to the manager, as he's much better informed than I am. If Walcott needs to be eased back into action a while longer, so be it. Theo's been out for too long to risk him in any way.

In a brighter piece of news, Giroud is "miles ahead of schedule" in his recovery (see the link above):

"He is doing very well. He's three weeks ahead of schedule and I think he will join in normal training after the international break."

Which is really good to hear. Personally, I've missed the Frenchman more than I like to admit. His neat flicks, his impeccable haircut, the anguished look to the skies after a miss. Just before Ollie got injured I've written a piece on him, explaining just why I think he's so important. I stand by what I said.

Welbeck has done a very good job in the Frenchman's absence, but there are some aspects to Ollie's play Welbz couldn't emulate. I'm mostly talking about how Giroud is better at throwing his weight about, winning aerial duels and serving as a springboard for our attacks. However, Welbeck is definitely better with the ball at his feet and he's also a much, much better runner than the Frenchman. It'll be very interesting to see what happens when Giroud returns. We may even see the 4-4-2 Wenger talked about earlier, with both Welbeck and Giroud featuring at the same time.

Right, this was supposed to be a preview. So here goes.

The back five

It's Szczesny in goal, as usual, but what defenders will shield our goalie?

For me it should be Bellerin - Mertesacker - Chambers - Monreal. Even if fit, Gibbs should be rested, we don't want to aggravate his injury. With all due respect to Burnley, it's one of those occasions where playing both Bellerin and Chambers doesn't look much of a risk. The young Spaniard had a good game against Hull and we are going to need him anyway in the coming weeks, so providing Hector with the much-needed experience may stand him in good stead. Debuchy and Kos aren't due to return for another three weeks at least, no point in risking Gibbs when the situation doesn't call for it.

The midfield

With Jack most likely out, I fully expect Ramsey to be reintroduced to the side. The Welshman is over his injury and, as he hasn't hit the heights of the last year, he needs to play to find his form again.

I wouldn't be against the idea of Aaron playing a bit deeper, though, and helping Arteta out. As you may remember, Ramsey's dramatic upturn in form began during the second half of 2012-2013 campaign, when he formed a rock-solid partnership with Arteta and helped us secure the fourth place. We may want to revisit this situation once more, especially since Aaron's attacking verve has dwindled down for now.

However, I do not exclude Flamini slotting in for either Arteta or Ramsey, most likely the former. Though I'm not at all convinced in Flamini's usefulness, the Frenchman was included in last week's symbolic best XI, which means he's not that bad either. We'll see what happens tomorrow.

Ahead of a Ramsey-Arteta or Ramsey-Flamini duo I'd play Sanchez. And, after our game against Sunderland, I think few will disagree. Of course, the Chilean is far from being a conventional number 10, one like Ozil, but his restless energy and the ability to make things happen may be of more use to us right now. With Cazorla out of shape, Rosicky not playing a lot and Wilshere being unavailable for now, playing Sanchez under the striker may prove to be a masterstroke from Arsene. If you want to read more on the subject of Alexis in this new role, check out Tim Stillman's column. A very good read.

The attack

Is it time to cut Welbeck a break? I think it is, but, once again, Arsene may have different thoughts. If Daniel can take three games inside the next week, then he'll start tomorrow. If not, I think we should keep him wrapped in cotton wool for much harder games against Anderlecht and Swansea.

What options do we have if Welbz is rested? As I'm quite sure we'll see Sanchez under the striker, not leading the line, that leaves us with two possible options: Podolski and Campbell. Oh no, three: Sanogo. As the Frenchman hasn't featured for us since August 31st (I don't think it's a coincidence), he may get some minutes tomorrow. The official version is that Yaya had a hamstring injury, but I tend to think he was just taken out of the firing line by Wenger. Now that he has miraculously resurfaced, he may start tomorrow. I won't be too surprised if that happens.

Still, I'd prefer Campbell or Podolski. In that order. The German is more effective on the flank (and he may well play there tomorrow), while Campbell can be quite a good centre-forward. He's adept at holding up the play, can beat defenders when facing the goal and is very quick. Not quite Welbeck-quick, but still. I'd like to see the Costa-Rican given a chance.

On the flanks I fully expect Cazorla and Oxlade to continue, however, I may be wrong on both counts, especially if Welbeck starts up top. This game is a chance for some R&R for our key players and Cazorla, at the very least, is a key player. So Poldi or Campbell popping up on the flanks won't really surprise me.

The verdict

We need not only a win, but a strong performance to give our confidence a further boost. With the players we have I'm more than sure we can get both and start a very important week with a bang.

So let's do this. C'mon you Gunners.

And I'll be back with on Sunday with a review.

Until then

Follow me on Twitter (@AlexBaguzin). And don't forget you can subscribe via e-mail using the form on the right-hand side