Barcelona VS Arsenal Match Preview

Arsenal face Barcelona tomorrow evening in what should prove to be a brilliant game of football. In the first leg Arsenal were superb and defeated the Spanish giants 2-1 at the Emirates Stadium. For much of the game Barcelona were on top but Arsenal scored two late goals, to take a 1 goal lead to the Nou Camp. This is a crucial advantage but Barcelona do have a very valuable away goal.


   I believe it is crucial that Arsenal play their normal game and go for the win at the Nou Camp. Despite having the lead, Arsenal of all teams would struggle to defend the lead if they just sat back, especially when you are playing against Barcelona undoubtedly the best attacking side in the world. Arsenal just need to play their natural game and try to score the all important away goal. If we fail to score at the Nou Camp I'm sure Barcelona will win the tie as I simply can't see Arsenal keeping a clean sheet, especially when the midfield enforcer Alex Song is missing due to injury. Alex Song along with Theo Walcott and Robin Van Persie will miss the game due to injury and this is a huge blow to Arsenal's chances. All three are very important players for the side but Arsenal will simply have to cope without them. Abou Diaby will most likely replace Alex Song in the midfield, he is a very similar player and is powerful and quick. This could be key against the likes of Iniesta and Xavi and in the absence of Theo, Diaby could provide some much needed pace for the Arsenal side. It will also be a huge night for Nicklas Bendtner who like last season will spearhead the Arsenal attack as Robin Van Persie is once again injured at a crucial stage of the season. Barcelona also have many players missing including Puyol and Pique, giving Arsenal a great chance against a defensive partnership likely to include Busquets and Abidal. 


  Every single one of the Arsenal players will need to be at their best to defeat Barcelona and reach the quarter final. We are once again the underdogs and Barcelona are the favourites to go through. However there are many results that would put Arsenal through to the next round. Any draw non-scoring or scoring will be enough for the Arsenal and of course a victory would take us to the quarter finals as well. We can also lose the game 2-1 and take Barcelona into extra time and even a 3-2 defeat would take us through on the away goal rule. I believe the 90 minutes will end with Arsenal losing 2-1 and as a result the game will go into extra time and maybe even penalties. You can't predict who would win in this situation and both times would go into extra time with a 50-50 chance of winning. Arsenal will need to be at the top of their game to even take the game into extra time but the players definitely have the ability to get a positive result at the Nou Camp. Samir Nasri and Jack Wilshere for example have been superb this season and we also now have a goalkeeper who we can trust in Wojciech Szczesny. For many of the players this will be one of the biggest games of their careers and we will soon find out if they can step up their game and defeat the world's best ever team on their home turf. Here is the starting XI, Arsene Wenger is most likely to select to face Barcelona in the Nou Camp. 

Goalkeeper
Wojciech Szczesny will continue in goal for the Arsenal. Despite the Carling Cup final he has been immense this season and I'm sure he will cope with the pressure he will be under at the Nou Camp.


Right Back
Bacary Sagna didn't feature in the last leg due to being suspended. He will now however replace Emmanuel Eboue, to the relief of some Arsenal fans. 


Centre Back's
Johan Djourou will play alongside Laurent Koscielny in the Arsenal defence. They will both be key against the outstanding Barcelona forwards, and if Koscielny is half as good as he was in the first leg, we will be in with a great chance of victory. 

The 4-2-3-1 Arsenal formation.

Left Back
Gael Clichy will continue at left back, and will also need to play superbly to deal with the likes of Lionel Messi.


Defensive Midfield
Abou Diaby will replace Alex Song in the Arsenal midfield. He will be very important in the absence of Song and will hopefully showcase the talent we all know he has but rarely shows. 


Centre Midfield 
Jack Wilshere will continue in the midfield and will need to form a new partnership with Abou Diaby. Along with Koscielny if he plays half as well as he did in the first leg he will be proud of his performance. 


Attacking Midfield 
The Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas has been given a 90% chance of starting by Arsene Wenger. This is a huge relief to the Arsenal faithful as he is simply our best player. Without him we would really struggle and it is great news he will be leading the team out at the Nou Camp. He is crucial to our chances and can hopefully play at his best against his hometown club.


Right Wing
Samir Nasri will start on the right hand side against Barcelona. He played well in the first leg and will be key to our chances tomorrow night.

He scored last year, can he this year?

Centre Forward
Nicklas Bendtner is like Marmite. Some Arsenal fans love him and some simply hate him. He is however more likely to start than Chamakh and will lead the Arsenal attack against Barcelona. It is clear to see he is very talented and this will be the perfect stage for the 'best striker in the world' to showcase this to the world. I have confidence in Bendtner at the moment and I don't think he will let the side down at the Nou Camp. I also believe he won't win us the game and that the more likely match winners are Cesc and Samir. 


Left Wing
Andrey Arshavin the hero from the first leg will be in the starting XI for the second leg and Arsenal fan's will be praying Andrey Arshavin will be at his best like he was when he came off the bench at the Emirates. He will be a key player for the Arsenal and has the capability to win us the game. 

Arsenal 0-0 Sunderland Player Ratings

Arsenal failed to defeat Sunderland at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday afternoon. The majority of the team played well but none of the players, played well enough to provide Arsenal with a much needed victory.

Wojciech Szczesny 8/10
A return to form for the young goalkeeper. He made two vital saves towards the end of the match to stop Arsenal from losing the match.

Bacary Sagna 6.5/10
A solid display from the French full-back.

Laurent Koscielny 7.5/10
Solid in defence but he also contributed going forward for the Gunners.

Johan Djourou 6.5/10
Played well despite picking up a head injury during the match.

Gael Clichy 7/10
Was poor defensively but brilliant when going forward.

Abou Diaby 7/10
A good game for the lanky midfielder. Defended and attacked well.

Denilson 4/10
Poor from the Brazilian. Lacked energy and played many poor passes.

Jack Wilshere 8/10
Another good game from the youngster. Played in a more offensive role and didn't look out of place at all.

Samir Nasri 8/10
A good display from the Frenchman. Was very unlucky not to score on two occasions.

Nicklas Bendtner 6.5/10
Not awful from the Danish Centre Forward but wasn't able to take the chances he was given to win Arsenal the game.

Andrey Arshavin 7.5/10
A bright performance from the little Russian. Should of scored a hat-trick in the second half. On one occasion he shot straight at the keeper, was pushed on another and incorrectly ruled offside on the third.

Man Of The Match: Samir Nasri
Not his best ever display for the Arsenal but still a strong performance,was very unlucky not to score the winner.

Arsenal 0-0 Sunderland

This was an important match in Arsenal's season but they failed to get the win and ended up drawing 0-0 against a Sunderland side they should really be beating at this crucial stage of the season. Arsenal dominated the whole match and had many easy chances to clinch the much needed victory. There were also two referring decisions that clearly went against Arsenal. Andrey Arshavin was pushed in the box and this warranted a penalty. Not much later he scored a legitimate goal that was wrongly called as offside. Wenger was disgusted with these decisions, but his own players should also take the blame as they wasted a variety of easy chances as well. Luckily for the Arsenal it has turned out to be a very valuable point, as United have now lost two games in a row. We are now just 3 points behind with a game in hand, this is a very strong position to be in this late in the season.

Laurent Koscielny and Wojciech Szczesny returned to the starting line up after their Carling Cup final disappointment. In the absence of Fabregas, Wilshere was played further forward and Nasri played from the right hand side. Arsenal started the game fairly well, but most of their attacks came on the counter attack. This was a problem for the Arsenal especially when we were lacking the pace of Theo and the creative influence of Cesc. Nicklas Bendtner was inches away from scoring when Gael Clichy put a good cross into the penalty area. Later on in the 35th minute Samir Nasri nearly scored a superb solo goal as he drifted through the defence into the 6 yard box. It was a difficult finish from a tight angle and even Nasri was going to struggle to score from there.

Chamakh hitting the crossbar. 

The second half began with Arsenal once again dominating possession but struggling to create any chances. As a result of this Wenger replaced the poor Denilson with Chamakh in a very attacking move. The Moroccan nearly made an instant impact when he broke through the Sunderland defence providing Arshavin with a chance he really should have scored. Not long after Andrey Arshavin nearly scored again but as he struck the ball he was pushed by Titus Bramble and as a result his shot went wide. It could have easily been a penalty but in all honesty was a tricky decision for the referee. This is because he was nowhere near the incident and couldn't keep up with play at all. How was he supposed to see if it was a penalty when he was nowhere near the ball at the time? Soon after this Andrey Arshavin was once again the victim of a poor decision. He scored a brilliant goal but it was wrongly ruled offside. The replays showed he was marginally onside, and this just added to Wenger's frustrations.

Bendtner's day summed up.

 All in all this was a disappointing afternoon for the Arsenal but it was still a valuable point especially after United lost to Liverpool today. Arsenal can't just blame the poor referring decisions as they still had chances to win the game themselves. The two decisions were however inexcusable, but Nicklas Bendtner's miss at the end was also inexcusable. We are now only 3 points behind United with a game in hand and are well and truly in the title race. The team must now regroup for an incredibly important game against Barcelona on Tuesday. We are expected to lose the game due to the amount of injuries but Barcelona will also be without their two first choice centre halves.

Arsenal VS Sunderland Match Preview

Arsenal face Sunderland in a crucial Premier League fixture at the Emirates Stadium tomorrow afternoon. It is a great chance for Arsenal to close the gap on Manchester United to a single point. Despite Sunday's disappointment we are in superb form and should be able to defeat Sunderland in a must win fixture tomorrow. Once again the injury curse has hit Arsenal at the crucial end of the season. There are many players who will be missing tomorrow including, Song, Fabregas, Walcott and Van Persie. This is a big blow for the side but hopefully the fringe players will step up like they did on Wednesday against Leyton Orient and pull out the victory to give us an excellent chance to win the Premier League. Aaron Ramsey has also returned to the squad but will most likely play a role from the bench towards the end of the game. This is great news as  he is a very talented footballer and will undoubtedly be better than Denilson has this season.  I am now going to look at the starting XI Wenger should choose for the important match.

Goalkeeper
Wojciech Szczesny will return in goal after being rested for the Orient game. He will need to forget the disappointment of his error on Sunday and continue to play as well as he has been for the rest of the season.

Right Back
Bacary Sagna will return at right back. He has been solid this season and will hopefully continue to do so on Saturday.

Centre Back's
Laurent Koscielny will return from injury to partner Johan Djourou at the back. Despite Sunday the duo have been incredible at the back and long may this continue for the Arsenal.

Left Back
Gael Clichy will return at left back and will no doubt now have an eye for goal after his brilliant effort on Wednesday.

Defensive Midfield
Abou Diaby will fill in for Alex Song in the more defensive midfield role. He is a very talented player and will hopefully showcase this in the next couple of very important games.

Centre Midfield
Jack Wilshere will return to the centre of midfield after a game off on Wednesday. He will still be disappointed because of Sunday but will be able to put this behind him and play as well as he has been this season.

Attacking Midfield
Samir Nasri will start in the Cesc Fabregas role for the Arsenal tomorrow night. He has been superb this season and hopefully this can continue.

Right Wing
Nicklas Bendtner will start on the right-wing for Arsenal. He was brilliant on Wednesday and hopefully can score a couple again.

Centre Forward
Marouane Chamakh will start in the absence of Robin Van Persie. He scored on Wednesday and this should inspire him to play like he did at the start of the season for Arsenal.

Left Wing
Andrey Arshavin will return to Arsenal's left wing tomorrow. He played well against Birmingham and hopefully will produce again.

 This team should defeat Sunderland despite missing some key figures. It is still a strong side and I believe this will show through in a 3-1 victory for the Arsenal.

Arsenal 5-0 Leyton Orient Player Ratings

Arsenal comfortably defeated Orient 5-0 at the Emirates on Wednesday evening. Nicklas Bendtner scored a hat trick along with Chamakh and Clichy picking up a goal each. Hopefully Nicklas Bendtner will be able to continue in this form against Sunderland and Barcelona in two more very important matches.

Manuel Almunia 7/10
 For once the Spaniard had a good game and didn't let the side down like he did when we drew at Leyton Orient.

Emmanuel Eboue 7/10
A good display from the Ivorian right back. Defended well and also got forward on occasions to help the Arsenal forwards.

Sebastien Squillaci 7/10
An improved display from the Frenchman. Appears to have built a strong partnership with Ignasi Miquel.

Ignasi Miquel 7.5/10
A very confident and assured display from the young Spanish Centre Half.

Kieran Gibbs 7/10
The young Englishman had a good game and looks set to be Clichy's long term replacement.

Abou Diaby 7/10
Good to see the Frenchman back. He played well and will be a key player when we face Barcelona as Alex Song looks like he will miss the game due to injury.

Denilson 6.5/10
An average display from the Brazilian. Played some good passes but I believe Abou Diaby makes him look better than he really is.

Tomas Rosicky 7/10
A confident display from the Czech International. One of his best games for a while.

Connor Henderson 7.5/10
The youngster looks to be a good player and certainly made a good impression on his debut.

Nicklas Bendtner 9/10
A brilliant game for the Danish Centre Forward. Took all his goals superbly especially his glorious second goal.

Marouane Chamakh 7.5/10
A return to form for the Moroccan forward. Has needed a goal for a while and hopefully this can give him some much needed confidence.

Man Of The Match: Nicklas Bendtner
May well have been his best game for the Arsenal. Played superbly and fully deserves the man of the match award. Hopefully he can do the same against Barcelona and Sunderland.

Arsenal 5-0 Leyton Orient

Arsenal emphatically defeated Leyton Orient 5-0 at the Emirates Stadium last night to set up a mouthwatering quarter final at Old Trafford. Arsenal needed to bounce back from the disappointment of Sunday and they well and truly did so against Orient. Arsene rotated the side and gave Connor Henderson his Debut,and Ignasi Miquel his home debut. Therefore this wasn't Arsenal's strongest side and it also included reserve Keeper Manuel Almunia. Nicklas Bendtner also started in the absence of Robin Van Persie and was in top form scoring a superb hat-trick to give the fans more confidence in him.

 Arsenal started the game well, dominating possession and Marouane Chamakh scored an early goal, his first in 14 games. It was a well taken goal and will be a huge confidence boost for the Moroccan, and will hopefully inspire Chamakh to play like he did at the beginning of the season for the Arsenal. Connor Henderson was involved in the build up and he looks like to be another typical Wenger player who is very confident on the ball. Tomas Rosicky got the assist and this could also be a confidence boost for the Czech Republic international. Leyton Orient had a couple of good chances to equalize but Almunia made some good saves much to the surprise of the Arsenal faithful. Nicklas Bendtner was looking his typical self until towards the end of the second half. In the 27th minute Kieran Gibbs crossed for Bendtner to score a great header, which is something we simply don't see enough of from the big Dane. Bendtner then scored an excellent second goal, curling the ball into the bottom corner and leaving the Keeper with no chance whatsoever.

 Arsenal continued to look in control at the start of the second half and Kieran Gibbs won the side a penalty in the 62nd minute. Obviously Bendtner took the penalty and scored confidently to secure his second hat-trick for the Gunners. Tomas Rosicky was later substituted after suffering concussion, it was a disappointment as he had been playing well and looked far better than he did on Sunday. Gael Clichy then scored a late goal for the side, with a well placed finish into the bottom corner. This was only the French defender's second goal for the club but he finished it like he'd been scoring goals his whole career.

Chamakh scoring the important opener. 

 All in all this was a good game for the team, and would of reinstalled confidence throughout the side. Especially the fringe players who haven't played well lately, for example Squillaci and Eboue. The whole side played well and we will now face Manchester United in a tough quarter final. In my opinion the main plus point of the game was Nicklas Bendtner scoring a hat trick. It means he is now in good form and this is what we need when Van Persie is injured and we have many important games ahead of us, including a trip to the Nou Camp.

Arsenal Vs Leyton Orient Match Preview

Arsenal face Leyton Orient in a Fa Cup replay at the Emirates Stadium this evening. The side will need to bounce back from the disappointment of Sunday and there will be some players rotated especially with another two important games straight after tonight's must win game.

Goalkeeper
Manuel Almunia will be starting as according to Wenger he needs games. I would pick Szczesny myself as it would be ideal for him to play straight after the disappointment of the cup final, also Almunia is well and truly useless.

Right Back
Emmanuel Eboue will replace Sagna at right back for tonight's game. This will keep Sagna fit for the tough games ahead.

Centre Back's
Wenger has said that Koscielny will miss the game through injury and that he could do with a rest. Therefore Squillaci will partner Djourou at the back against Orient.

Left Back
Kieran Gibbs will probably start at left back giving Gael Clichy a well needed rest.

Defensive Midfield
Alex Song will continue in the defensive midfield role this evening.

Central Midfield
Denilson will start ahead of Wilshere who could do with a rest, he will be on the bench however.

Attacking Midfield
Wenger has said that Diaby will play in the absence of Fabregas, as he didn't want to risk him in the cup final.

Right Wing
Samir Nasri will start on the right wing due to the Walcott injury.

Centre Forward
Van Persie is once again injured and Bendtner will start in his absence. Hopefully he can perform as well as he is capable of and not like he did at the weekend.

Left Wing
Andrey Arshavin will start again on the left for Arsenal. He played well at the weekend and hopefully this can continue for the little Russian.

This is a weakened side but should have the quality to defeat Leyton Orient at the Emirates tonight. It will be tough but the quality should shine through and I'm predicting a 3-1 victory for the Gunners.