A look at the next three matches of Arsenal which include away visits to Goodison Park and the slightly more local Boleyn Ground. The Gunners are in poor form with more than unsatisfactory recent League results as well as elimination from the FA Cup and Europe’s Champions League.
19th March: Everton vs Arsenal
The North London club scraped a 2-1 win over Roberto Martinez’ side back in October. Back then, it put us one-point clear at the top of the table. However, a win this Saturday will still keep the Gunners at least eight points off the top stop, this will heavily depend on the outcome of Leicester’s fixture at Selhurst Park.
Arsene Wenger will attempt use the fast flowing football in the final third that was often utilised in Wednesday’s 3-1 defeat to Barcelona. Although it was not very effective against Mathieu and Dani Alves, the system should operate better against John Stones and Phil Jagielka. Especially with the pace of Welbeck leading the line.
With Welbeck playing well since his return from a long-term injury, I think we should fancy our chances against the Toffees. The men in blue have struggled at home this season and this could be the key to a vital three points. If Ozil can use his creativity to make the front men dangerous then we are in with an excellent chance. Wenger should start Campbell and Elneny as well to keep everything moving and ensuring that each team move is as productive as possible.
2nd April: Arsenal vs Watford
Watford are a team that, much like Crystal Palace, have played well in recent weeks but failed to pick up the necessary points in the battle to secure a top 10 spot. Of course, thanks to Guediora’s stunning finish on Sunday at the Emirates, the Hornets defeated an Arsenal side that failed to capitalize on chances. This allowed Quique Flores’ side to claim their place at Wembley in the FA Cup quarter-finals.
Wenger’s side will be looking to repeat their 3-0 win at Vicarage Road back in October. The key to bagging three points will be our defence. Ighalo and Deeney have supplied the majority of Premier League goals for the club so if Koscielny and Bellerin can hold them off, then we have a superb opportunity to take another step in our stuttering title challenge.
9th April: West Ham vs Arsenal
All Gunners fans will remember the opening day of this season’s Premier League when Reece Oxford kept Mesut Ozil in his back pocket to help the Hammers secure a 2-0 victory. That was of course Slaven Bilic’s first game in charge of the West Ham XI and he has gone on to secure their highest ever BPL tally after 20 games.
They also managed to bag the ‘Signing of the Season’, which was of course the acquiring of Dimitri Payet from Marseille for £10.7 million. They have picked up wins against Man City, Liverpool and Chelsea so far this season.
Wenger’s side won 2-1 at the Boleyn Ground last season and this will be the last ever time the Frenchman visits the stadium as the Hammers prepare to head to the 2012 Olympic Stadium later this year. The importance of this fixture will be to keep each man marking his opposite. This means that the job of marking the likes of Payet and Antonio will be more difficult so we should assign our best players for them, maybe Coquelin and Koscielny?
We should then put our top players on their worst defenders, for example, Ozil on Oxford who played centre-back in the 3-2 victory over Everton.
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