|
|
Premier League Preview: Arsenal - Blackburn Rovers
Morale should be high in both camps when Arsenal host Blackburn Rovers onSaturday, following midweek results that saw the Gunners reach theChampions League quarter-finals and Rovers pick up three vital pointsin their quest to avoid relegation.
Saturday, 14 March, Kick-off: 1500 GMT
Emirates Stadium, Ashburton Grove, London N5
R-Over The Worst?
It didn't workout for Paul Ince during his brief tenure at Ewood Park, but in the 11Premier League games since Sam Allardyce was appointed as hisreplacement on December 17, Rovers have picked up 17 points from apossible 33.
Nevertheless, their position remains precarious:after 28 games last season, Blackburn were in seventh position with 45points; this term, despite Wednesday抯 2-1 win at Fulham, which liftedthem out of the bottom three, they have 30 points and are 15th.
Whilethey are far from safe, the trend is positive. Rovers have enjoyedthree good results in March, their Craven Cottage success coming onthe back of a 2-1 win at Hull City and a goalless draw with in-formEverton.
Needless to say, Allardyce is relieved if notdelighted, and commented after the Fulham win, "Relegation isn'tsomething we're out of but victory here has made life much easier toget out of it.
"We've secured a very important victory, oursecond away win on the trot, which shows us the team is in very goodform... It's two defeats now in 11 games since I've been here and we'vehad two away wins on the bounce. That shows we're gathering enoughpoints to get us out of trouble. It's important the results and theform keep coming. As long as we are carrying on in that vein, thesooner we can try and get to safety."
Arsene's Problem With Allardyce
Whenhe was at Bolton Wanderers, Allardyce gained the reputation of beingsomething of a jinx to Wenger. The Trotters enjoyed a spell where theyground out excellent results against the high-flying Gunners. At thesame time, Blackburn Rovers under Mark Hughes also managed to make lifehard for Arsenal, so that the perception grew that games against eitherLancashire side represented potential minefields for the north Londonoutfit. The key factor in both instances was a direct style and robustphysical approach that seemed to throw Arsenal's slick-passing game tooreadily out of gear.
Allardyce's strategy revolved aroundaccepting that the Gunners were technically superior, but shifting thecontest onto his team's terms by working prodigiously hard to denyArsenal the time and space, especially in midfield, to play their fast,fluent football. To use the vernacular, his team like to get inArsenal's faces and make life physically uncomfortable and tacticallyclaustrophobic for them. Now that he has taken over at Rovers, he willbe hoping to be a thorn in Wenger's side once again.
In factWenger's team have become better at solving this kind of problem, andthis week the Frenchman told journalists, "I take more into accounttheir style of play than the fact Blackburn are physical - we can copewith the physical demands and we showed that against Roma.
"Itis more down to the fact Blackburn will go more direct, and we have totake that into consideration. It is important that no matter whatBlackburn do we dictate our game and dominate in the way we love toplay football."
Wenger will be heartened by the fact thatearlier this season, when Ince was still in charge, Arsenal claimed allthree points following an impressive 4-0 victory at Ewood Park.Adebayor netted a hat-trick after Robin van Persie had opened thescoring from the penalty spot in what remains the Gunners' best awaywin of the season.
Apart from that 4-0 success, Arsenal areseeking a sixth successive home Premier League victory over Rovers,having scored 14 goals in the last four meetings in London. Moreover,Rovers have lost all five of their matches against the 'Big Four' sofar this season.
FORM GUIDE
Arsenal
11 Mar (Champions League) v Roma (A) LOST 0-1 aet (1-1 agg; WON 7-6 on pens)
08 Mar (FA Cup) v Burnley (H) WON 3-0
03 Mar (Premier League) v West Brom (A) WON 3-1
28 Feb (Premier League) v Fulham (H) DREW 0-0
24 Feb (Champions League) v Roma (H) WON 1-0
Blackburn Rovers
11 Mar (Premier League) v Fulham (A) WON 2-1
04 Mar (Premier League) v Everton (H) DREW 0-0
01 Mar (Premier League) v Hull (A) WON 2-1
24 Feb (FA Cup) v Coventry (A) LOST 0-1
21 Feb (Premier League) v Man Utd (A) LOST 1-2
TEAM NEWS
Arsenal
StrikerEduardo is sidelined again after suffering a groin strain, but AndreyArshavin is available to play after being cup-tied in midweek.
MikaelSilvestre (calf), Emmanuel Adebayor (hamstring), Cesc Fabregas (knee)and Tomas Rosicky (hamstring) are not yet fit for selection.
Squad: Almunia,Sagna, Toure, Gallas, Clichy, Nasri, Denilson, Song, Walcott, Arshavin,Van Persie, Fabianski, Djourou, Gibbs, Vela, Bendtner, Eboue, Diaby.
Last Starting XI (v Roma): Almunia,Sagna, Toure, Gallas, Clichy, Diaby, Denilson, Eboue (Walcott 74),Nasri, Bendtner (Eduardo 85), Van Persie. Subs Not Used: Fabianski,Djourou, Gibbs, Vela, Song Billong.
Probable Starting XI: Almunia, Sagna, Toure, Gallas, Clichy, Arshavin, Diaby, Denilson, Nasri, Bendtner, Van Persie.
Blackburn Rovers
Allardyce will again be without Roque Santa Cruz (knee) and Vince Grella (groin).He also has concerns about the fitness of defender Gael Givet (knee)and Morten Gamst Pedersen (rib).
"Morten has a rib problem andwas struggling to breath a little bit," said Allardyce. "We've a coupleof players carrying knocks in Ga雔 Givet and Tugay, but we don't thinkthey are too serious."
Paul Robinson confirmed his fitness atFulham after missing the Everton game with a shoulder injury, but BrettEmerton (cruciate knee ligaments) and Steven Reid (knee) are out forthe rest of the season.
Squad: Robinson, Ooijer, Samba,Nelsen, Givet, Andrews, Tugay, Warnock, Diouf, Roberts, Pedersen, Bunn,Dunn, McCarthy, Khizanishvili, Mokoena, Villanueva, Simpson, Treacy,Olsson, Doran, Brown, Haworth.
Last Starting XI (v Fulham): Robinson, Ooijer, Samba, Nelsen, Givet, Andrews (McCarthy 56), Tugay (Mokoena 82), Warnock, Diouf, Roberts, Pedersen (Dunn
86). Subs Not Used: Bunn, Khizanishvili, Villanueva, Simpson.
Probable Starting XI: Robinson, Ooijer, Samba, Nelsen, Givet, Andrews, Tugay, Warnock, Diouf, Roberts, Dunn.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Arsenal
Robin van Persieis Arsenal's top scorer with nine goals in the Premier League and 15 inall competitions. The Dutchman, who was the first to convert hispenalty in Tuesday's shoot-out (having also scored from the spot in thefirst leg against Roma), has scored six goals in six top-flightappearances against Rovers, and eight in seven league and cupappearances against them.
Blackburn Rovers
Senegalese forward El Hadji Dioufis something of a pantomime villain in the Premier League aftercontroversial spells with Liverpool, Bolton and Sunderland, is now atRovers, reunited with Allardyce, his boss at Bolton. Never a prolificscorer, Diouf is less a striker than a playmaker who operates on thewing or as a deep-lying forward, and in that role Allardyce will behoping he can inflict damage on the Arsenal rearguard.
PREDICTION
Unbeatenin the Premier League since a 3-0 loss at Manchester City on November22, Arsenal have scored just eight goals in eight League matches in2009, and fired blanks in their last three league matches at theEmirates, which all ended in goalless draws. But they scored six intwo games before heading to Rome, and will be hoping the goal touch hasreturned, especially with playmaker Andrey Arshavin scheming in thefinal third.
As for Blackburn, they have won only one of theirlast 11 Premier League meetings with Arsenal and lost 4-0 to theGunners at home earlier this season. But their recent results haveshown an improvement, and Sam Allardyce's side can be relied upon tomake life hard for the Gunners.
It could be a tight contest,but the latter stages could prove decisive: one of the Premier League'smost prolific injury time scorers are up against one of the mostvulnerable in stoppage time. Arsenal have scored six goals in the 90thminute or later; Blackburn have conceded six. Another late win forArsenal?
Arsenal 2-1 Blackburn Rovers
[ Last edited by atai at 14-3-2009 07:32 ] |
|
Post time 13-3-2009 02:39 PM
