Expecting the worst

Results

Date	Time	C	Opponent	F	A	R	S
28 Dec	3:00 PM	P	Portsmouth (A)	4	1	Win

I'll be honest, I'm not confident about tonight's game at Portsmouth.

Our away form this season has not been great. Only four wins out of nine on the road, with particularly disappointing results at West Ham, Sunderland and Burnley.

We also seem incapable of getting a good run of wins going. In September-October we managed a run of four league wins a row, but three of those were at home to Wigan, Blackburn and Birmingham. Nothing special. Since then our current run of three on a trot is the first time we've managed more than two consecutive league victories, before some kind of slip-up.

And worst of all, we're now without too many key players. van Persie's inevitable absence leaves our strikeforce looking a bit weak, and Fabregas won't be able to save us again today. Even Denilson is doubtful for tonight.

What else? Oh yeah, the pitch will probably be in dreadful condition and it'll be cold and I just don't think the likes of Almunia, Diaby, Nasri, Eduardo or Walcott will be up to it.

If we are going to win this game, we will have to be more solid at the back than we were against Villa. The few times they got forward they looked a little too dangerous for my liking. Had they been a bit more confident they might've punished us. Pompey have similar strong and pacey players who will hassle our defenders and close us down quickly, and they will be spurred on by their noisy home crowd.

And whoever plays in midfield will need to pass to Arshavin more. In the first half against Villa no one passed to him. When Fabregas came on, he got more involved. With Fabregas and van Persie out, he is the one player who can change the game in an instant. If Eduardo regains his confidence, he can be another player to do that. On their day, these are players who can score with their only shot of the game, and score from almost any position on the pitch.

For that to happen, Diaby needs to hog the ball less, and Nasri needs to play fewer of those sideways passes and be a bit more adventurous.

Wenger keeps saying how unpredictable this league is this season, and that'll be his line again tonight if we drop points. Sure, this isn't an easy game, and sure, Chelsea and United will continue to drop surprise points, but I think it's crucial that we get a run going, and that we win more away games like this one.

Personally, I'm predicting a 0-0 or 1-1. I might be saying all of this so not to get my hopes up, but that seems to me like a wise attitude with Arsenal. We'll see.

User Comments

User Comments

• Got something to say?
• Read comments

Vs chelsea