Why is it that every game at the moment feels massive?
We travel to Blackburn tomorrow lunch time and you have to believe our fortune will be better than the last time we travelled north. Blackburn are sat on the bottom of the table at the moment with only a single point which they managed to grab at Craven Cottage last weekend. On top of that they are one of the few teams that have actually scored less than our 3 goals this season only managing to find the net twice so far.
Arsenal's team news is pretty much the same as it has been for the rest of the season. Wilshere and TV5 are both out with Vermaelen-itis and Diaby has still not been found so the official line is he's injured too. You can however add to that list Rosicky and Ryo, both of whom are a doubt.
When talking about injuries, Wenger has said that Vermaelen should return after the next international break which I think means he should be back for the Sunderland game. Jack however is still wearing his boot so we won't know how he's doing until the boot comes off. A bit of good news though is that Ramsey seems to have shaken off his injury and has been training normally with the rest of the squad so could be in contention, whether he's fit enough for a start or just able to make the bench we'll have to see but either way it's a pleasant change to see players making a quick recovery. If he plays tomorrow I can see all the Arsenal medical staff doing a merry jig waving their middle fingers in the air to all those people that have been criticising them over the past months.
Another big plus for the trip to Blackburn is that we see the return of Alex Song and Gervinho to League action. The forehead and Song have both finished their bans served to them from the Newcastle game on the opening day and they should both start and Gervinho seems to be raring to go in a recent interview he said:
"It has been a stop and start season for me. I took the red card and I am annoyed with myself"Gervinho is such an exciting talent and I think when he settles properly into the team we will be watching one of the best players in the league working wonders for Arsenal. His pace on and off the ball is wonderful, he has the ability to take players on - even if he does sometimes try too much - and as his record for Lille showed last year he knows how to find the net. His forward runs and the way he cuts inside reminds me of watching Freddie Ljungberg or Bobby Pires at Highbury. If you haven't guessed already, this guy excites me quite a lot.
I have not played in the Premier League at home so far so thank God the wait is over"
"I am looking forward to my return this weekend"
Robin Van Persie has the potential to be one of the best strikers in the world, he just needs to stay fit. This is a claim I and many others have been making for years. The Dutchman has all the qualities needed to have his name mentioned in the same breath as some of the greatest strikers in world football. Ewood Park is the place to start proving this. RVP has scored in 10 of the last 11 away games he's played in for Arsenal, only failing to score against Newcastle on the opening day and he will be eager to overwrite his memories of Ewood Park from last year as he came off injured after only 34 mins.
The defence pretty much picks itself at the moment. I think Wenger will keep his faith in Gibbs at left back and these games are the sort of games that Mertesacker will come into his element. His lack of pace will not matter tomorrow he will be there with all his positional know how to stop set pieces and long balls reaching their intended targets and his strength will keep him on top of what will hopefully become very frustrated Blackburn strikers.
The biggest question mark in the line up this weekend is who will join Song and Arteta in the middle of the park. If Ramsey didn't have his set back then I think he's be straight in but I think Wenger may take the side of caution and keep him on the bench. That leaves either Benayoun or Frimpong and that decision depends on how Wenger wants his team to approach the game. If we are going to play carefully and scrap a result together then we could see Frimpong but if he wants to take the game to Blackburn as he should then then Benayoun's attacking mind set would be a much better choice.
My Line-up
Szczesny
Sagna - Koscienly - Mertesacker - Gibbs
Song
Arteta - Benayoun
Walcott - Gervinho
RVP
This fixture finished 2-1 last year with Theo Walcott literally breaking the net. Steve Keen is very much a man under pressure at the moment and looking to be one of the first management casualties of the season, as much as I don't agree with the way managers are thrown away after a few bad results these days, I really hope we do absolutely nothing to help his cause. We should have enough to see off Blackburn and in all honesty I'd take another scrappy 1-0 win but I still look forward to that day in the near future when all our players click and we go on an absolute rout against the unfortunate 11 men put in front of us, it's coming and you never know when it may strike.
One thing is for certain, our superb away fans will be out in voice again cheering on our boys whatever the result. Keep it up Gooners and lets hope all of our weekends get off to start we need.
Till next time,
Goonerfish.
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