Arsenal face Wigan tomorrow in a crucial clash for both sides. A point relegates Wigan effectively, and leaves Arsenal relying on Sunderland for fourth place. So, a win is a must for either side, which suggests a fairly open game.
Squad news
Err, everyone is available. Apart from long-term absentee Abou Diaby (I think that’s now officially part of his name), every Arsenal player is available.
Kieran Gibbs returns after missing the QPR game with a small knock, and Lukasz Fabianski will presumably take his place on the bench.
Wigan have no fresh injury worries ahead of the game, with Maynor Figueroa and Jean Beausejour both injured previously.
Difficult
Arsenal are at an immediate disadvantage tomorrow, as Mike Dean is refereeing.
Arsenal’s record of results with him officiating is too poor for it to be a coincidence, so you can expect a lot of soft free kicks and dodgy yellows in Wigan’s favour tomorrow, all accompanied by that horrendous attention-seeking face he makes when he knows he’s being annoying. He loves it. He won’t love it when I find him one day.
*legal disclaimer: I don’t want to injure or in any other way harm Mike Dean*
Arsene Wenger has a few selection headaches. Does Jack Wilshere merit a start, and should Santi Cazorla start out wide or centrally? This is a game where Arsenal will need pace on the break, and Tomas Rosicky could be sacrificed for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain or Gervinho out wide, with either Theo Walcott or Lukas Podolski playing through the middle.
Otherwise, the rest of the team picks itself, as ever. Arsenal have enough to beat a weakened and tired Wigan side, but as we know it’s never that easy.
Expected line-up
Szczesny; Sagna, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Gibbs; Arteta, Ramsey; Oxlade-Chamberlain, Cazorla, Podolski; Walcott
Rumour mill
Today we’ve had an ‘exclusive’ claiming that Manchester United are looking to sign Cesc Fabregas, and a report from the Spanish media claiming Arsenal have signed Gonzalo Higuain.
It’s getting awfully close to silly season, so get ready for a relative storm of rumours.
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