Arsenal VS Wolverhampton Wanderers Match Preview

Arsenal are taking on Wolves at 3pm tomorrow in a crucial game at the Emirates Stadium. We need a win to get back on track after the disappointing visit to St James Park last Saturday. Last week Wolves did us a huge favour by defeating Manchester United last Saturday to stop United from extending the gap which now only is four points. We should beat Wolves despite their brilliant showing last week at Wolves, due to the fact the game is at home and this should really help Arsenal. Man United will be taking on Man City at 12:45pm, in a mouth watering Premier League game. If City were to win this match and we were to beat Wolves we would be only a point behind United in the title race and this would be a great position to be in at this point in the season.

 There has been some brilliant news on the injury front for the Arsenal. Johan Djourou's injury isn't as bad as everyone first feared and he will be available to feature against Wolves. Cesc and Robin have also recovered from 'sickness' and according to Wenger 'Cesc and Van Persie will both be playing'. This means Wenger won't be resting his star players for the Barcelona game, this is good news as the Wolves match is just as important. I'm now going to look at the starting XI Wenger should pick to defeat Wolves tomorrow.

Goalkeeper
  Wojciech Szczesny will continue in goal despite conceding four at the weekend. He is in superb form at the moment and Arsenal finally appear to have a Keeper they can rely on.

Defence
 Right Back
Bacary Sagna will keep his place at right back. He has been in good form recentely and won't be rested to face Barcelona as he is banned for that match anyway.

Centre Back's
 Johan Djourou should partner Laurent Koscielny at the back. The duo have been in magnificent form, and even though Johan is fit he may be rested for the Barcelona game. I would however stick with him as the Wolves attack would love to go up against Sebastien Squillaci.

Left Back
I believe Kieran Gibbs will start at left back. The youngster needs games and this would be a good opportunity for him. Gael will probably be rested so he can be in prime condition to play against Lionel Messi on Wednesday.

Midfield
Defensive Midfield
 Alex Song will return to hold together the Arsenal midfield. We clearly missed him against Newcastle and he will be invaluable against Wolves.

Centre Midfield
Jack Wilshere will return from England duty to line up in his preferred role in the Arsenal midfield. He has been in glorious form and should dominate the Wolves midfield on Saturday.

Attacking Midfield
Cesc Fabregas has recovered from his supposed illness to face Wolves. He was clearly rested from International duty so he can be in perfect condition to face Wolves and Barcelona.

Attack
Right Wing
Theo Walcott will start on the right hand side hopefully continuing on from his solid International performance against Denmark.

Centre Forward
Robin Van Persie has also recovered from illness to start against Wolves. Similarly to Cesc he was also withdrawn from the Holland game to be ready for the tough games ahead.

Left Wing
Andrey Arshavin will start on the left, in his final chance to secure a starting place against Barcelona on Wednesday. Hopefully he can continue his return to the form we all know he is capable of.

Arsenal should have enough to defeat Wolves, but will need to be far stronger mentally than they were at the weekend. The return of Alex Song is key and the fact that Johan Djourou should play for the whole match. We are far better with them in the team and I'm predicting a 3-1 victory for the gunners.

Jack Wilshere impresses in his full England debut

An Impressive Debut.

Jack Wilshere started the friendly alongside Frank Lampard against Denmark and put in a solid and reliable performance. He only played 45 minutes of the game but this was enough to show he deserves a place in the England side, and Arsene Wenger probably had an agreement with Capello for the youngster to only play 45 minutes of the match. Fabio had said before the game that Jack would be playing in a defensive role. This however wasn't really the case as he played in a traditional central midfield position, alongside Lampard and got forward well on occasions, as well as some brilliant tackles when he tracked back to help out the defence.

Jack's signed shirt.

 I personally believe Jack had a good debut as he fitted into the midfield brilliantly, especially when you consider that he is still only 19. He didn't make any mistakes and only gave the ball away on two occasions. He looked enthusiastic, full of energy and definitely a player for the future. Jack clearly enjoyed his debut, and he felt himself that he played well and showcased his talents to the world.

 However the English press have been at it again. Despite a good England victory the team have been criticised in the press and Jack Wilshere has been criticised for not putting in a magnificent performable. The player is only 19 years old and to be making your international debut and being a regular in the Premier League the boy clearly has class and is a brilliant player for his age. But once again the British press criticised a young England player's performance with one national newspaper giving him just 5 out of 10. This is very surprising as it was clear he played well and should be impressed with what he has achieved for his age. Many journalists decided instead to praise a young Danish player Eriksen. He had a good game but is nowhere near the level of Jack Wilshere. Are Ajax still in the Champions League? Had anyone really heard of him before last night? The answer to both of these is no and Martin Samuel's article in the Daily Mail seems pretty poor. Jack played in a deeper role for the sake of the team, he managed to play there due to his commitment and talent. I can assure you that Eriksen will never reach the level Jack already has at 19 years of age.

A round up of today's Arsenal news

The main news today is the huge relief that Johan Djourou hasn't suffered a serious injury and could even return on Saturday to feature against Wolves. The Swiss physio has said that, ' Johan Djourou's knee injury is clearly not as bad as first feared. The player suffered very painful bruising on the knee but, if the healing process runs as it should, Djourou could probably begin training in less than one week.' This is brilliant news for the Arsenal faithful as the Defence has been relying on Johan's superb performances in the last couple of months. Koscielny and Djourou have developed a vital partnership at the back, and this has made me far more confident as an Arsenal fan especially when we will have to face Messi and Co.

 There has also been brilliant news today about the future of our captain Cesc Fabregas. Barcelona's director of football has quashed any rumours of the Spaniard returning home in the Summer. He said today that, 'Right now, everything is dead regarding a transfer.' This appears to mean Cesc will be staying at the Emirates in the short term but I wouldn't believe at all what Sannlehi has said today. They've said in the past so much about transfer rumours and then gone and done the opposite. I believe Cesc will end up at the Nou Camp in the future but not for a couple of seasons yet. He is committed to the Arsenal and to winning trophies with the club. If he moved now he would be no more than a bench warmer for Barcelona. He knows himself that Iniesta and Xavi will be picked over him and he should wait until Xavi is older and he can then take his place. 

 Tonight Jack Wilshere is making his debut for England against Denmark. This is a chance for the country and the world to see how good Jack Wilshere actually is and I'm sure he will shine. He isn't a world class talent he is a world class player already as he has proven this season with Arsenal. Hopefully he will continue his marvellous form against the Dane's and teach Nicklas Bendtner a few lessons. 

Theo Walcott and Jack Wilshere set to feature for England

England are facing Denmark in Copenhagen on Wednesday night. Surprisingly two Arsenal players are set to feature for the national team and it is a great chance for both Theo and Jack. This doesn't happen often and both Arsenal and Wenger are criticised for not developing players for the national side. These criticisms will be stopping soon however as Walcott and Wilshere are set to become regulars for England and Kieran Gibbs is likely to be Ashley Cole's deputy in future teams.

Jack is set to make his first start for England.

 Fabio Capello has said that he wants Wilshere to play in a holding midfield role against Denmark. Arsene has said this wouldn't be a problem for young Wilshere at all as he has the talent to play anywhere in the midfield. Currently at Arsenal he has been playing in quite a deep midfield role anyway and I'm sure Jack will impress wherever he plays for England. He is likely to feature with Lampard in the midfield but in the future he is likely to develop a partnership with Jack Rodwell. Jack has the talent to feature for England for many years to come and on current form is a far better choice than Gareth Barry for the holding midfield role in the England team. After all Jack is only 19, and he is already a regular in the Premier Leauge for a side challenging for the title and is therefore good enough to play for his country.

Another hat trick from Theo?

 Theo Walcott has had a very mixed international career so far. He was amazingly picked for the 2006 world cup side without playing for Arsenal before hand. Even more surprisingly Fabio left him out of the 2010 side, picking the likes of Wright-Phillips instead. He has now realised his mistake and Theo looks set to play regularly on the right wing for England from now on. He has had his best season for Arsenal this season and will be hoping to take this onto the International stage. If he can have a couple of good games for England, he will become a certain starter on the right wing.

 Tomorrow night will be a good sign for both Jack and Theo to show what they can do in what should be an easy friendly against Denmark. Hopefully the duo will return to Arsenal injury free and then feature against Wolves at the weekend. Nicklas Bendtner will be playing against England and hopefully he won't get injured either. If Arsenal pick up any more injuries during the international friendlies it could be devastating for our season with the players we already have injured. Cesc and Robin have both pulled out of the international games citing illness. I don't believe they are ill, but that Wenger doesn't want them getting injured. Spain and Holland fans may not be pleased but as Arsenal fans it is good news they will be ready for the important games ahead.

Will Johan Djourou be back in time for the Barcelona games?

Johan Djourou picked up a knee injury against Newcastle on Saturday, and Squillaci proved he isn't a capable replacement for the Swiss defender. It is unknown as of yet how bad the knee injury is with various reports from different parts of the media. There are reports that the Swiss FA believe he has suffered knee ligament damage and this could be damaging to Arsenal's season as it may mean Djourou will be out for the rest of the season. The centre back has built an excellent partnership with the Frenchman Laurent Koscielny and this has led to many clean sheets in recent matches. The pair look confident together and it spreads confidence throughout the rest of the team knowing they can rely on the centre back's. However with Djourou now joining Vermaelen on the sidelines we are left with two centre backs. Squillaci and Koscielny have played together many times this season and we have lost the majority of the games when the pair start at the back. This is the dilemma now facing Wenger as tough games against Barcelona are approaching and we only have two central defenders available to play.

 We can only hope as Arsenal fan's that Djourou's injury isn't as bad as some people are saying and he will recover in time to face Barcelona. After all he has said on Twitter himself, "Hello. Thanks for the support. I was hit on my knee on Saturday as you saw it. I'm feeling better. For more infos check Arsenal.com Cheers" This appears to be a good sign for Arsenal fans and may be a sign that he may recover in time to play Barcelona. Wenger will have no option if Djourou hasn't recovered for the Barcelona game, than to pair Squillaci and Koscielny in defence. This isn't a great prospect for Arsenal and will be a worry for the Arsenal fans. This is mainly due to the duo's poor form when playing together, and the fact that they'll be dealing with the likes of Messi, Villa and Iniesta.

 I personally feel that Johan was taken off at the weekend as a precautionary measure. After all we were 4-0 up and no one thought we were going to throw the game away from that position. Wenger probably believed that we would win comfortably and that it was better to take Johan off to make sure he didn't aggravate his injury. If Johan's injury is serious, Wenger will be hoping that Vermaelen recovers quickly because otherwise his decision not to buy a centre half will look like a big mistake. I think Djourou will be back in time for the first Barcelona game and Vermaelen for the second. If this is the case there is no defensive crisis, but if the duo don't recover quickly Arsenal's season could be over in a matter of weeks. If they return quickly to the centre of defence, Arsenal will be very confident of beating Barcelona and catching United in the title race.

Is Twitter a good thing for football?

Over the past couple of years, Twitter has become one of the biggest websites in the world. It is a great way to follow celebrities and of course footballers, and especially Arsenal players. Many of Arsenal's players are on the social networking site and it is a great way for the players to communicate with the fans. Jack Wilshere and Wojciech Szczesny are the two Arsenal players who use Twitter the most, but other plays such as the captain Fabregas and Robin Van Persie are also on the social networking site. Despite all the good aspects of Twitter, there are disadvantages to it as the former Liverpool forward Ryan Babel found out recentely. He used the site to criticise Howard Webb and posted a picture of Webb in a Man United shirt. The FA didn't find this at all funny and he was fined as a result. This is the main danger of the site as when players feel decisions go against them they can be on twitter within minutes of the match when emotions are still running high. 

Cesc and Denilson deny the newspaper stories. 

 This season has seen many Arsenal players join Twitter, with the older players such as Van Persie being encouraged to join by the younger players like Wilshere. It has proved to be a great insight into the players life's and some of the banter between the players is brilliant. It also enables the players to get news out to the fans as quick as possible and let's them let the fans know the truth behind some stories that appear in the papers. A good example of this is when Denilson's comments were translated incorrectly by the English tabloids, saying that he didn't think Fabregas was a good enough captain. The players soon denied this with messages on their twitter pages and then a photo of the pair was posted as well, to prove there hadn't been a falling out between the duo. 

Andrey caught out by the captain.  Twitter is also great for players updating the fans on whether they're injured and how long they will be out for. When a quote comes directly from the player not a newspaper it's more believable and more than likely the truth. Many of the players also let slip whether they're playing or not before matches. Johan Djourou does this quite a bit letting the fans know if he is starting before anyone else finds out. There are also many funny tweets and pictures uploaded by the players. This is normally done by Fabregas with this picture of Andrey being a prime example.

 The main thing Twitter enables the Arsenal players to do is to give their opinions to the fans and their views on the games they've played in. This can be a great thing but it has it's downsides as well. Players can be on Twitter within minutes of the match finishing on their mobile phones. Straight after the game, emotions will obviously be running high and players don't really think of the consequences when tweeting about a poor refereeing decision or another controversial aspect of the game. The prime example of this is Ryan Babel who criticised  Howard Webb and got fined as a result. However in recent weeks some of the Arsenal's players tweets have been under scrutiny with many newspapers picking up on the controversial tweets, especially by Jack Wilshere and Wojciech Szczesny. One of Wojciech's 'controversial' tweets was after a Manchester United game, " How can you not get frustrated with decisions like that going ALWAYS Man Utds way?! Its a clear pen and sending off". The press got hold of this and the young keeper responded by tweeting, "I don't understand why some of you get frustrated with me for saying this. The decition was shocking! FACT! What a goal for WBA btw!", and then the day after, "If someone doesn't want to know what I think about football then go and follow Katie Price. I write to true Arsenal supporters :)". This was Wojciech simply saying his opinion which I believe all footballers should be entitled to. It is different to the Babel situation as it is his opinion and he didn't directly abuse the referee. 

 Jack Wilshere was clearly frustated after the poor showing at Newcastle yesterday and his tweet soon after the game confirmed this. "Inconsistent refereing needs to stop.its killing the game.if Diaby goes..whats the difference between that and Nolan on our keeper!?? #joke". This was later removed by the Arsenal star as I guess he believed he was going to get into trouble over it. He may still get fined by the FA but it will be stupid if the young Englishman is. He is simply expressing his opinion which everyone should be entitled to. 

 In my opinion Twitter is a good thing for the game and especially for the fans. It is a brilliant way for the players to communicate directly with the fans. It is also proving to be extremely popular with over 200,000 people following Wilshere's tweets. It allows the fans to keep up with what the players are up to and is far easier for the players than having interviews with newspapers to share their opinions on the game. However the players do need to be careful with what they tweet especially over refereeing decisions. I also hope players aren't banned from the site as if they are the fans are losing a great method of communication with the players. Arsene Wenger also backs the idea of his players being on Twitter as long as they don't get themselves into trouble. 

A list of the players on Twitter:

Alex Song 

Bacary Sagna

Jack Wilshere

Wojciech Szczesny

Cesc Fabregas

Jay Emmanuel Thomas

Benik Afobe

Emmanuel Frimpong

Craig Eastmond

Johan Djourou

Sanchez Watt

Denilson

Henri Lansbury

Robin Van Persie

Samir Nasri

Arsenal 4-4 Newcastle United Player Ratings

A game of two halves at St James Park, which turned out to be the game of the season so far. Arsenal were superb in the first half and awful in the second.

Wojciech Szczesny 7.5/10
 An impressive game for the young keeper. Despite conceding 4 goals he wasn't at fault for any and made some crucial saves which stopped Newcastle from defeating Arsenal.

Bacary Sagna 5.5/10
 Like most of the team, was good in the first half both defensively and offensively. Was caught out a couple of times in the second half too far forward.

Laurent Koscielny 6/10
Also played well in the first half but did concede 2 penalties in the second half. Only one of them was a penalty and didn't look as good as playing with Squillaci

Johan Djourou 7.5/10
Defended well in the first half and scored a good header in the first half. He got injured early in the second half  and Arsenal went downhill from there.

Gael Clichy 5/10
Very similar game to Bacary Sagna. Solid in the first half and then poor in the second. Was caught too far forward and he exposed the centre halves on many occasions.

Abou Diaby 4/10
 Played well until he totally lost the plot after a bad tackle from Joey Barton. He got sent off as a result and this affected the team badly.

Jack Wilshere 6.5/10
 Looked impressive in the first half but didn't defend well when the team needed him to late in the second half.  After the Diaby sending off he needed to play more defensively but wasn't able to do this well.

Cesc Fabregas 6/10
A poor performance from the captain. Struggled to have any influence on the game in both the first and second half.

Theo Walcott 7/10
 Scored an early goal and set up another. He did waste possession a couple of times and could of tracked back more to help out the defence.

Robin Van Persie 7.5/10
 Was superb in the first half scoring two great goals. Had no impact in the second half apart from a goal that was ruled just offside.

Andrey Arshavin 6.5/10
 Played well early in the game but got worse as the game went on. Wasted possession and didn't help out defensively when he was needed.

Substitutes 


 Sebastien Squillaci 3.5/10
 As soon as the Frenchman came on the defence looked shaky and he was a big factor in Arsenal not getting the win. Hopefully Johan isn't badly injured and Sebastien won't have to play many games.

Tomas Rosicky 5/10
Was brought on to replace the ineffective Arshavin. He was even more ineffective and was poor defensively in the closing stages.

Emmanuel Eboue 5/10
Was brought on to defend the lead as he is meant to be a better defender than Theo Walcott. Made a couple of mistakes and gave the ball away.

Man of the match: Wojciech Szczesny 
 Nobody really deserves the motm award but Szczesny played well and wasn't at fault for any of the four Newcastle goals.