Written by Mean Lean on Wednesday, 23 February 2011 12:51

I was going to copy and paste my preview from earlier on in the season before the snow came tumbling down but that would be rather cheap wouldn't it? Times have changed, circumstances are different but the feelings of animosity still remain between the clubs, at least from the fans point of view. There is no reason for me to go back into what happened, we all know but if you want to get an idea of how much it means then have a read of yesterday's piece by Wenger Boy if you missed it.

We will be playing a very different line up to the one against at Leyton Orient but unfortunately for Wenger, he will not be making as many changes as he would like. Robin Van Persie has a slight hamstring strain and Laurent Koscielny carries a back problem so will both be absent for this evening's match.

Arguably two of our best players of the last few months along with Jack Wilshere and that is obviously a slight concern but we have the strength of squad to deal with minor set backs. I had truly almost forgotten what it was like to have injuries, we have been rather fortunate for a change during the last few months and have been able to keep most of the lads together.

It is hard to predict which position and player will be missed the most, I expect Arsenal to have most of the ball and to be in and around their penalty area more than our own so you would say that Van Persie's absence will be felt more from the squad but Stoke will play a direct game, looking to get balls into our box as often as possible, while Koscielny may not be as strong as Djourou in the air, he is in fantastic form and has stood up to practically everything that has been thrown at him.

Koscielny's replacement should be pretty straight forward, the experienced Squillaci will continue in the heart of defence. He has played pretty well on the whole when partnered with Johan Djourou earlier this season. I remember at Wolves, they were tested continuously but stuck to their tasks superbly.

My concern is not really in the air but playing a high line against Kenwyne Jones and getting caught on the turn. It really shouldn't be a massive concern because you would expect our team, even without Van Persie to put them under far more danger than they put on us.

Van Persie's replacement isn't so cut and dried, Wenger has the choice of two, Chamakh was second in command earlier in the season when Van Persie first started to find his form but Chamakh's form has drastically diminished in recent weeks. Nicklas Bendtner looks sharper and is more hungry for goals so if the choice was mine then the Dane would get the nod from me. Chamakh didn't make the bench in the game against Barcelona so that would suggest that Bendtner has currently moved above him in the pecking order, at least for the short term.

So Theo Nik Nasrgas it would have to be for me. Bendtner is powerful in the air and could be useful in both penalty boxes.

Mean Lean's Predicted Line Up:

One to watch: Nicklas Bendtner

I seem to be the odd one out when it came to Bendtner's performance against Orient on the weekend. I thought he looked sharp and interchanged well with Arshavin and the midfield. His shooting was wayward but his overall play looked neat and tidy. If Bendtner continues from where he left off then I expect the Dane to flourish in a more creative and fluid team around him. I have a good feeling that he will score if he plays this evening.

Mean Lean's Match Prediction:

Arsenal 2 (Bendtner, Cesc) Stoke City 0

Stoke City will be hoping to use the long ball as well as Rory Delap's long throws to try and unsettle us but they may find that a little more difficult with the physical stature of both Johan Djourou and Wojciech Szczesny in the Arsenal team.

It will be very interesting to see how physical the opposition are and if it affects the referee's performance. Would you be surprised even in the circumstances that Stoke City are allowed to get away with over the top tackles and Arsenal get booked for minor offenses.

Needless to say, victory is very important once again. The team are in a good habit of winning Premier League fixtures and we must continue doing that.

I hope the sight of Shawcross heightens the atmosphere at the Emirates, he will deserve every boo and hiss from the home support, let us use that to our advantage and pen them in their own half and let our football do the talking.

I ask the footballing gods for two things tonight, three points and a clean bill of health.

COME ON YOU REDS!

• Add New
• RSS

Comments (12)

• 23-Feb-2011 13:37 | | Green gooner  - stoke game
  

  well said mate lets hope we bring all the points in and no injuries, then bring on the next game, we in good position to do better than anyone out there thought we could, so keep the FAITH as always and come on you GOONERS!

• 23-Feb-2011 13:45 | | Wenger Boy
  

  Let's hope the replacements don't upset the balance. We're at home though so I expect to collect all three points.
  
  Come on Arsenal.

• 23-Feb-2011 13:48 | | Adams  - Antici...pation
  

  Seems like a long way to go until kick off tonight. That stage of the season where every minute feels like an hour. Shame about RvP & Koscielny tonight but feels good to be going into the game with Szczesny and Djourou at the back. I think you are right re Bendtner, hopefully this could be just his sort of game and he can nick the points for us with a powerful header.
  
  Ramsey scored last night which is great news, plus JET chipped in with an assist. Good stuff.
  
  These next three games do trouble me though... Over the last few years, which teams have we suffered our worst injuries against? Stoke (Ramsey), Birmingham (Eduardo), and Sunderland (Diaby). Like you I will be crossing everything for a clean bill of health, not just tonight but in the 10 days ahead.

• 23-Feb-2011 14:16 | | robin
  

  re injuries, luckily for us we don´t have to go to their ugly places in these three games, could be a damper for their thugs...

• 23-Feb-2011 14:37 | | Mr H
  

  Talk about crunch time!!! I really wish I owned a TV right about now. Been living off of shitty streams and an even shittier internet connection. Only caught the 1st half against Barca (managed to watch Fa Cup in a pub), so I'm hoping all these games in 2 weeks will go smoothly, along with any streaming.
  
  Do you think AW is resting RVP and Kos for Sunday against the Thugs in Blue? Would make sense.
  
  For all you lucky enough to go to the match, give that shit bag Shawcross the worst night of his life. May he tremble with fear with the thought of ever playing at the 'Rates again.

• 23-Feb-2011 14:49 | | JamrockRover  - JamrockRover
  

  I don't really care how we get the win tonight, once we get it.
  
  On another issue I love the graphics with your projected team.

• 23-Feb-2011 15:00 | | adrian  - window of opportunity
  

  A small window of opportunity is opening for the gunners in the premier league title chase. If they can win every game in the next few weeks they will be able to put pressure on manu. This all starts with tonights game against stoke and only a win will do. It would also be nice to avoid any bumps and bruises with the carling cup final due up on sunday.

• 23-Feb-2011 15:51 | | goonernim
  

  Although RVP is going to be a significant miss tonight, Im actually quite relieved he wont be playing, i could imagine him getting lumps kicked out of him all night. Another saving grace is that bendtner or Chamakh will give us an added ariel safeguard when the pubis boys are launching balls into our box. The Kozzer absence is a bit more worrying, he has shown in recent months that he is far more mobile and assured on the ball than squillaci. Im pretty confident though, I hope the atmosphere of the barca game will carry over to tonight, cant wait. COME ON YOU GOONERS!!!!

• 23-Feb-2011 17:21 | | goonerbegood  - WE MUST CLINICAL AND ORGANIZED .FOR TODAY'S GAME.
  

  Hello fellow gooners,
  the palyers must know that stoke is coming for an upset.But we must be well prepared both mentaly physically and clincal in front of goal.
  (Like the second goal against barca ,)this is a great advantage to move forward.
  we must stay focused ,defence need to be organized to deal with their long balls and inter cam play.
  
  ruth lessly but yet intellingently.

• 23-Feb-2011 17:45 | | Adams
  

  @goonernim, I agree with your point about RvP. He'd most likely have been battered tonight so yeah there is a silver lining in him having a hamstring tweak. If we have any skilful players left standing at the end of our next four games I will be fucking amazed.
  
  In a few hours time we could be within one point of *** U
  
  COME ON ARSENAL!!!!!!!

• 23-Feb-2011 20:48 | | MeanLean
  

  Half time:
  
  We are playing at a very slow tempo and we will not create enough chances passing as slowly as we are. Perhaps 1-0 up and a cup final on Sunday is on their minds.
  
  Really shite for Cesc, I hope it is nothing serious. We cannot start losing our big players now.
  
  Fingers crossed for the second half.

• 23-Feb-2011 21:47 | | MeanLean
  

  Thank *beeeeeppppp* for that! I was absolutely shitting myself at the end. Cannot remember being that nervous in a long time (Newcastle I guess)
  
  The thought of those brutes snatching a late draw was making me feel rather uncomfortable.
  
  1 point off the Mancs. Get in!

Write comment

Your Details:

Name:

Comment:

Title:

Message:

Powered by Compojoom comment 4.1.7 stable