Arsenal are in fantastic form in the Premier League and FA cup and even though we had to suffer yet another disappointing early exit from the Champions League, the players did go some way to redeeming themselves by playing well and winning 2-0 away in Monaco, so Arsene Wenger will be hoping that we can continue our strong run and cement our place in the top four by beating a struggling Newcastle United side at St. James´ Park today.
The manager has urged his players not to take the Magpies for granted, even though they have a host of players missing through injury and suspension. They still have a strong side with the likes of Perez up front and Sissoko, Colback, Gouffran, Janmaat and Tim Krul in goal, so it is no gimme.
The Gunners have our own injury concerns of course and the boss has been speaking about fatigue as well so there may be a few changes to the starting XI. One of those will not be Olivier Giroud though, after Wenger praised his big striker to Arsenal Player for the strength he has shown to bounce back quickly after his terrible first leg against Monaco.
Our manager said, “I believe he bounced back because he is strong mentally. On the night [at home to Monaco] maybe he wanted to score too much, and he was a bit tense. I gave him the chance to play again in the game afterwards, and he scored. That’s the best way to find your confidence back.”
The French striker is in great form but Alexis Sanchez looks in need of a rest and is likely to start on the bench today and most of us expect Theo Walcott to get a rare start but there are Welbeck and Ozil to consider as well. I would guess that the German could be rested as well with Cazorla playing at number 10 and Ramsey starting alongside Coquelin.
Fit again Gabriel is likely to come in although whether for Koscielny or the BFG is anyone´s guess. The players Wenger selects, to be fair, should not really matter. As long as Arsenal start with the right intent then it should be another crucial away win.
If we get an early goal I can see a big score and I think we will get another clean sheet so my prediction is 3-0 to the Gunners.
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ADMIN MESSAGE:
For the SECOND time, we will be using a new IN PLAY phone app for Android or Apple for the Arsenal fans to interact on Matchday, and this game should be a lot better as we now know how to use it!. Everyone can download the app on this link, and then join the Fan Club called Just Arsenal News. If you are asked for a code to join our Just Arsenal” Fan Club
it is 1942M.
Once you have joined you will see a small eye on top right (This is called DISCOVERY) then hit the search button at the top and enter ‘Arsenal Game chat’ or the code for the MatchDay chat which is NKXQQ and I will approve you as a member. We got over 200 fans registered last weekend, so hopefully we can all get interacting during the match. All those who registered last week DO NOT need to re-register. Everyone get registered and we can start chatting just before the game. Come on you Gooners!