Wigan-er Get Back To Winning Ways, Eboooue & More

Wigan roll into town today for the start of a run of fixtures that Arsenal will be looking to take maximum points from, the difficult start having been negotiated with less success than Arsene would have probably been looking for. At the start of the season, his nightmare scenario would doubtless have been three away defeats on the spin. The obvious high expectation from the manager would be three but realistically, he looked and thought that one defeat was acceptable.

Two puts pressure on the team but not damagingly so. This season has to be different from those before at The Emirates. Previously we have succumbed to draws which should have been win or the odd defeat or two against lesser opposition. Those results have to stop. United have won the league for the past couple of seasons on the basis of a phenomenal home record matched by a decent season away – not exceptional and not much above the average a top four side should expect.

Arsenal now has to make the step up at home. Beating teams below sixth is where the title is won and lost. We have struggled at times with this criteria. It has to change now, a fact that Arsene acknowledged yesterday:

[We can make up ground] on one of the two [Manchester clubs] or both. It’s a very good opportunity. We learn two things [from losing both games in Manchester]: that we have the potential to fight for the Championship and we did not make enough of the opportunities we had to deliver points and that puts us under pressure to deliver at home.

Starting today as well. Wigan have been problematical opponents in the past but always overcome eventually. Well, except for a turgid goalless draw on a furrowed pitch at the JJB two seasons ago. With new manager Roberto Martinez at the helm, they are trying to play more football, losing the directness of Steve Bruce’s era. It backfired spectacularly at home to United but for this game, we should expect them to defend and defend. An early Arsenal goal would definitely help on that score, requiring Wigan to attack. For confidence, a clean sheet would not go amiss either. To date, only the visit to Celtic Park brought forth that outcome. Vito Mannone is carrying on in place of Almunia who it seems will be back for the next game having returned to training; how Fabianski must be rueing his injury, the chance of establishing himself as number one slips for another while.

Defensively, I have a feeling that in the next game or two, we are going to see Philippe Senderos popping up in the red of Arsenal once more. Arsene is starting to rotate his players with fixtures coming thick and fast. Gallas and Vermaelen have been ever present so far which will not continue for much longer. I am not sure it will be today though, possibly the visit of Olympiacos will be the catalyst for that change.

In midfield, options are limited by Denilson’s absence. That would seem to suggest that Wenger is going to go with the trio of Eboue, Song and Fabregas. The defensive nature of Song and Eboue’s game would allow for an outrightly attacking triumverate further up the pitch of the Eduardo, Rosicky and Bendtner. I would personally prefer that trio with Eduardo on the left, Bendtner centrally and Rosicky on the right than rushing van Persie into action today. Let the Dutchman ease himself in gently with half an hour to replace Rosicky as the Czech works his way back to full fitness.

That would mean a line-up of:

Mannone, Sagna, Gallas, Vermaelen, Clichy, Eboue, Fabregas, Song, Rosicky, Bendtner, Eduardo

Eboue was singled out yesterday by Arsene as being the yardstick by which Arsenal supporters behaviour is judged, a boo too far as the manager rightly observed. It did not stop the catcalls but they were less intense for others. It was however, Eboue himself who turned it around, a hard working ethic entirely in keeping with his character apparently. And having a pop at Emmanuel Adebayor will have done him more than a few favours as well.

Elsewhere, apparently Marouanne Chamakh nearly joined in the summer. My how that one crept under the media radar – does anyone know anything about him? Is he any good? This morning’s Daily Telegraph had a story that the property loans had been renegotiated without any substance supporting it other than an interview given by Peter Hill-Wood for a recently updated book. The hacks suppose that the financial statements of the Arsenal Group will show this when they are published next month.

Enjoy the match wherever you are watching it. ’til Tomorrow.