December has been a tough month at Arsenal. After a fine victory at home to Hull, results against Everton, Napoli and Manchester City have been less impressive, quality of opposition notwithstanding.
The difficult run will not end just yet, with a home encounter against José Mourinho’s Chelsea on Monday night.
Team and injury news
The main injury concern emanating from the Etihad is the deep cut Laurent Koscielny suffered to his knee. Originally appearing worse than it seemed, he is now likely to only miss the London derbies against Chelsea and West Ham on Boxing Day. It won’t be too long before Koscielny’s return however, as he has a ten percent chance of featuring against the Blues.
Aside from Koscielny’s absence, there are no fresh injury concerns. Ryo Miyaichi, Alex Chamberlain, Abou Diaby and Yaya Sanogo remain sidelined, though Lukas Podolski is “available to be selected”.
Podolski’s return is a timely boost coming into the busy Christmas period, with games coming thick and fast. Though Podolski brings a boost in attacking quality, and, in the words of the boss, “can score in the big games”, it will take a few weeks for the German to get back to full match sharpness.
Jack Wilshere has been banned for two matches following his one-fingered salute to the Manchester City fans in the 6-3 defeat last weekend, thus he will be unavailable against Chelsea and West Ham.
Predicted line-up and players to watch
Any fixture against Chelsea requires defensive stability and, particularly with the dynamic triumvirate of Juan Mata, Eden Hazard and Oscar, the full-backs will have to be on top form. Thomas Vermaelen is likely to make a rare start and will have to play faultlessly to keep is place once Koscielny returns.
Chelsea’s current midfield is a long way from being the best in the league. Frank Lampard and Michael Essien, who both still possess certain qualities, are not the forces they used to be, whilst John Obi Mikel and Ramires, though both not without their merits, are not top quality.
This is where Arsenal could win the battle. If Mathieu Flamini, Mikel Arteta and Aaron Ramsey, or indeed whichever combination Arsene Wenger opts for, are on their game, and they should be after a nine day break, Arsenal will triumph.
Theo Walcott, back in regular contention after injury, has a fantastic record against Chelsea and the pace he brings, especially with Ashley Cole unlikely to start, could see him earn a start.
Predicted line-up: Szczesny; Sagna, Mertesacker, Vermaelen, Gibbs; Ramsey, Flamini; Walcott, Ozil, Cazorla; Giroud.
Doubts creeping in?
When asked during his press conference if this Arsenal team is lacking self-belief after a poor run of results, Wenger replied by suggesting that “we should come out of that game even stronger in our belief”.
Whilst this statement appears questionable, Arsenal certainly showed against City that they pose a threat to the best teams, scoring three and creating many more chances. Conceding six was, furthermore, an anomaly; Arsenal have defended above expectations this season and, despite Vermaelen’s return possibly affecting stability, should perform solidly on Monday.
Last Word
Arsene Wenger has never beaten José Mourinho in competition. A record of four draws and five defeats does not inspire confidence, and Chelsea have three straight victories against the Gunners. Juan Mata moreover has scored four in four starts against Arsenal.
Statistics however do not win football matches. This is a wholly different Chelsea team to the one Wenger could never better in the past and, indeed, a completely different Arsenal side, one which, until Liverpool’s victory against Cardiff, had been top of the league for several weeks.
The chance to reclaim a two point lead at the top of the table, and indeed earning the Christmas number one spot which, though not as prescient as being bottom of the table, more often than not culminates in victory in May.
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