Chelsea vs. Arsenal: Match Preview

The Premier League's second and third placed sides will face off on Sunday as a day of giant battles concludes. North London rivals Arsenal and Chelsea are separated by only two points after a recent slump in the Gunners form, and the Blues could leapfrog the Gunners if they win on Sunday. Manchester United, who sit one place and three points ahead of Arsenal, play Liverpool at Old Trafford earlier the same day.

Arsenal have drawn their last four league games, falling from five points ahead of United to three points behind in four weeks, and would be seen as very long shots to win the title if they fall a further three points behind on Sunday. Although they are short on confidence, the Gunners have proven their worth in big games, beating holders AC Milan in the Champions League in between draws with Aston Villa and Wigan.

Chelsea have won three of their last four games, defeating West Ham, Derby, and Sunderland. The Blues will be gutted after failing to draw level with Arsenal on points against Tottenham midweek, though. Despite leading the game three times (once by a two goal margin) Avram Grant's side was denied three points by a late goal from Robbie Keane. Chelsea will also remember that Arsenal came out 1-0 winners in the reverse fixture at the Emirates this season, and that Arsenal were the last side to defeat the Blues at the fortress that is Stamford Bridge.

Neither team has too many injuries to worry about. Arsenal will be missing Abou Diaby, Tomas Rosicky, and Eduardo da Silva. Chelsea are likely to be without number one goalkeeper Petr Cech, but have a strong replacement in Carlo Cudicini. Former Gunners striker Nicolas Anelka is also a slight doubt with a minor hamstring injury.

The Arsenal squad is likely to remain unchanged from the side that drew 1-1 with Middlesbrough last week.

Manuel Almunia will remain in goal, behind a defensive line of Bacary Sagna, Kolo Toure, William Gallas, and Gael Clichy. The back line will have a busy day against the likes of Joe Cole, Didier Drogba, and maybe even Nicolas Anelka. The defenders will also have to be strong in defense against set pieces with Frank Lampard a threat in dead-ball situations.

In the midfield Mathieu Flamini will be the invisible wall in front of the back four while Cesc Fabregas and Alex Hleb try to break through the Chelsea defense with their deft passing. Emmanuel Eboue is likely to feature on the right, although he could be replaced by Theo Walcott after an ineffective performance against Boro. The midfield holds the key to victory in this game, and if our midfielders can hold their own against Lampard, Ballack, and Cole, we should be able to win the game.

Emmanuel Adebayor and Robin van Persie will start up front again, with the Dutchman finally approaching match-fitness. Hopefully both strikers will regain their form in this game, as a stalwart Chelsea defense which includes former Gunner (C)ashley Cole, Ricardo Carvalho, and John Terry is unlikely to gift many goals.

Sunday's games could be hugely influential in deciding this season's title-winners. If Arsenal can overcome their lack of confidence against the Blues, I believe that they can end Chelsea's unbeaten home record this season. I predict that the Gunners will come out 1-0 victors in a tight game.

Arsenal vs. Bolton: Match Preview

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First-placed Arsenal will take on struggling Bolton Wanderers this Saturday, only three days after Sammy Lee parted ways with the second-from-bottom club. Bolton, who finished sixth in the Premiership last season, find themselves in an early relegation battle, having picked up only five points from nine games this season. Arsenal on the other hand are riding a wave of ten consecutive wins in all competitions and will hope that their brilliant form continues despite the international break last weekend.

With former Gunner Nicolas Anelka (who has been Bolton's only bright spot this season) searching for an exit, the future looks grim for Sam Allardyce's future side. Under Big Sam the club played a brand of football which contrasted starkly with Arsene Wenger's quick passing game. The long balls and crosses from the wings seemed to work against most teams and caused quite a bit of trouble for Arsenal last season. However, under Sammy Lee (and now in the care of Archie Knox) the club have become much less of a threat.

Arsenal nearly have a full-strength squad for the clash with Robin van Persie the only major player missing due to injury. The Dutchman picked up a knee injury in the Netherlands midweek win over Slovenia. Philippe Senderos also picked up a back injury and is likely to be back in two weeks. However, with the return of William Gallas, he probably would've missed the match anyways. Other returning players include Jens Lehmann, Tomas Rosicky, and Eduardo.

The return of Lehmann may cause a selection headache for Arsene Wenger. Manuel Almunia deputized well during Lehmann's absence, picking up five clean sheets prior to the 3-2 win over Sunderland. However, Lehmann put in a good performance for Germany during the inernational break, and will be pushing for the number one spot. Personally, I think that Lehmann should start the game, because he is far better at dealing with crosses than Almunia. I have written before that I always support Lehmann over Almunia, but in this case in particular we need someone who can make good decisions. Unfortunately, I'm thinking that Wenger may opt to play Almunia.

In front of goal we see the return of William Gallas, bolstering our back line. He should start alongside the familiar triplet of Bacary Sagna, Kolo Toure, and Gael Clichy. Let's hope our returning captain can keep fellow Frenchman Anelka in check.

Wenger will have more headaches in the midfield, with Cesc Fabregas the only sure starter. Mathieu Flamini's form makes it likely that he will be chosen over Gilberto in the holding midfield spot, despite the Brazilian's international play this week. Alex Hleb and Tomas Rosicky are the most likely players to complete Arsenal's four man midfield, but other options could include Abou Diaby, Lassana Diarra, Emmanuel Eboue, or even Theo Walcott.

An interesting option would be to play a 4-5-1 with Alex Hleb playing in the hole as he did (to great effect) in Arsenal's pre-season games. However, it is more likely that Eduardo will start up front alongside in-form Emmanuel Adebayor. Nicklas Bendnter will also be looking to get in on the action now that van Persie is out of the picture. He will probably start on the bench and look to grab some minutes towards the end of the match.

Arsenal shouldn't have too much trouble beating a down-in-the-dumps Bolton side, but we will have to watch out for Nicolas Anelka. The Frenchman has scored five goals this season already and will be looking for more against his former club. However, Arsenal's central defense pair of William Gallas and Kolo Toure should be able to handle the sulk, even in the air.

I predict a 2-0 win for the Gunners, extending our winning streak to eleven games and keeping us at the top of the table. I'm not too worried about this game... it's Robin van Persie's injury that troubles me. We need the Dutchman for next Sunday's clash against Liverpool, but he is unlikely to be fit by then. For now though, let's just win this game and keep up our brilliant start to the season.

Do we need a new striker? If so, who should it be?

Despite having bought Eduardo da Silva and having brought Nicklas Bendtner back from loan this summer, many fans believe that we need another striker to deal with the loss of Thierry Henry. With Arsene Wenger claiming that he wants to play with two strikers, some believe that we need to sign a new striker. Arsenal has been linked with Obafemi Martins, Robinho, and former Arsenal man Nicolas Anelka amongst others. With Bendtner performing admirably during the pre-season and Eduardo looking comfortable in an Arsenal jersey, as well as the fitness of Robin van Persie and Adebayor, I think we are pretty set on strikers. I don't think that we need to bring in any new strikers, and I will go through each of the three men above telling you why they don't belong.

Obafemi Martins - Rumors about the transfer of the 22 year-old Nigerian have been abundant, in large part because of the £13 million buy out clause in his contract. Even now, it is rumored that Arsenal have placed a £9 million bid on the player, although it is unlikely that Big Sam would accept such an offer (even if it were true). At 22, Martins would be a typical Wenger buy (although he has already proven himself in the Premiership with 13 goals last season in 36 league appearances. While he is an excellent player, he is not the type of player that Arsenal need right now. At 5 ft 7 in Martins would be short even for Wenger's current team of midgets. While he is good in the air he has little to offer that can't already be gotten from our current strikers. He may be better than Adebayor and Bendtner right now, but Bendtner has great promise, and in my opinion Adebayor doesn't deserve a starting spot anyways.
Edit: Obafemi Martins is not going to leave Newcastle

Robinho - Robinho plays as a winger or a second striker more than an out-and-out striker. Arsenal don't need a second striker (as we have Hleb who is brilliant playing in that position) and while we do need a winger, we don't need Robinho because of his price tag. While I wouldn't mind seeing Robinho at Ashburton Grove, I don't think that he would warrant the huge price-tag that Real Madrid would be sure to slap on him. A player like him (someone selfish) would be appreciated, but with such a huge price tag and small frame (5 ft 9 in) I would rather see Morten Gamst Pederson or someone similar join us.

Nicolas Anelka - I don't think we need too much of an explanation why Anelka shouldn't rejoin Arsenal. The former Arsenal man was rumored to be Arsene Wenger's first choice as a replacement for Thierry Henry (I'm not quite sure why), but his sulking attitude would make him more of a liability than anything else. He showed us in his two seasons at Arsenal that he is a great player, but his attitude is the type that rips a team apart - not what Arsene Wenger wants.

So there you go. I don't think we should buy a striker, although a winger would be a welcome addition to our squad. However, I don't think that we should be splashing Chelski-like amounts of cash on players like Robinho (unless of course Abromovich decides to buy Arsenal).

What do you think? Do we need a new striker? Who should Arsene be going after?