vs
Saturday, 20 August 2011
Arsenal v Liverpool 7:45pm - Mio : 102 / 110
Fabregas - Gone
Samir Nasri - Leaving soon
- Injured ?
Jack Wilshere
Abou Diaby
Armand Traore
Kieran Gibbs
Johan Djourou
- Suspended
Gervinho
Alex Song
Liverpool may never have a better time to end their miserable away run against Arsenal but manager Kenny Dalglish insists his team will not under-estimate Arsene Wenger's side.
The sale of captain Cesc Fabregas to Barcelona earlier this week and the impending departure of Samir Nasri to Manchester City have only added to the Gunners' problems.
Jack Wilshere, Abou Diaby and Armand Traore were joined on the injury list by Kieran Gibbs and Johan Djourou after their midweek Champions League victory over Udinese.
And with new signing Gervinho and Alex Song also suspended for tomorrow's match everything is pointing towards the Reds ending a stretch of 14 away matches to Arsenal without a win.
Liverpool's last victory came in February 2000 and only two of that winning side - Jamie Carragher and Steven Gerrard, currently sidelined by injury - are still at Anfield.
Sold: Fabregas joined Barcelona on Monday in a £35m deal
Rolling back the years: Liverpool's last victory came in February 2000
'Maybe we're due for a win,' said Dalglish. 'But it is not going to make it any easier for us because they have lost Fabregas, Nasri is unlikely to be playing and they have a couple of suspensions.
'It will still be a difficult game for us. Arsenal have been most football fans' second team because they play great football and are entertaining to watch.
'Unfortunately they have not won anything for six years and that is the monkey they would love to have off their back.
'But they are still a team I have the greatest respect for and so we go in there and hopefully we can make it as difficult for them as they will for us.
'I don't know how they are going to react, it is up to us to know how we are gong to react.
'We can control what we do and we can compete against them - that is all we can do.'
Having begun their season positively with a good first half at home to Sunderland Dalglish saw his side fade after the interval as they were held to a 1-1 draw.
The Scot insists, however, that fitness is not an issue, pointing to the fact he fielded four debutants and two players who had been involved at the Copa America.
'The boys that played with the emotions and the magnitude of the task in front of them, for different reasons, it was understandable that the second half was maybe not as good as the first,' he said.
'But we have no problem at all in terms of their fitness. 'We were disappointed with the performance because we can play better than that but we have a lot more positives to take out of it when we look back now than we thought we did at the time.'
One game into the new season, Arsenal are facing up to an injury crisis unprecedented even by their remarkable standards that means they are set to field three debutants against Liverpool.
Arsene Wenger set to field three debutants against Liverpool a novice, a teenage rookie and a debut for 18-year-old Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
As if the summer departures of Gael Clichy, Cesc Fabregas, Emmanuel Eboue, Denilson and Samir Nasri were not sufficiently restricting, another eight members of the current first-team squad are set to be ruled unavailable this weekend.
Deprived of almost any other options, Arsene Wenger will almost certainly select novice right-back Carl Jenkinson at left-back, with a second teenage rookie, Emmanuel Frimpong, thrust into midfield alongside Aaron Ramsey for his Premier League debut. The identity of the third member of the Gunners' midfield will perhaps be of greatest interest, however, with the only obvious solutions available to Wenger to be either the use of Andrei Arshavin in a central role or a debut for 18-year-old Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
In attack, Marouane Chamakh is set to start despite his woeful outing in midweek purely on the basis that, if Arshavin is employed as an emergency midfielder and the want-away Nicklas Bendtner isn't considered sufficiently focused to be considered, there are no other attack-minded players remaining in Arsenal's accepted* first-team squad who are eligible for selection.
Expected Team: Szczesny; Sagna, Vermaelen, Koscielny, Jenkinson; Frimpong, Ramsey, Oxlade-Chamberlain/Arshavin; Walcott, Van Persie, Arshavin/Chamakh.
* We're aware that 'accepted' isn't quite the right word but it's the best we have at the moment.
i will be happy if Liverpool win
This is really going to be
BOYs vs MEN
Arsenal are probably going to give their young Japanese boy his debut...
I will be surprise if Liverpool can't win...
indeed
liverpool has the upperhand though
but u nv know what the youngsters can do.
I am a bit sitting on the fence here... Like to watch this but I want to catch the Sunderland vs Newcastle match as well cos I think that one will be explosive... lol...
Oh well, lets see how that one goes in the first half... Expecting fireworks with Lee Cattermole and Joey Barton, who gets send off first... lol.
instead of saying liverpool to win, i rather say its Arsenal's to lose.
I still say arsenal to perform better,
one man down, one goal down. it looks downhill for arsenal with united match still to come.
really Arsenal's to lose man...
I still stand by my beliefs that arsenal will not qualify for top 4. they will not qualify for CL. for next season.
frimpong and meireles both show middle finger
if FA dont charge them, confirm plus chop they are bias against man utd.
Arsenal were so pathetic...
If they go to United with the same players and play the same way... Chances are they will get thrash !
Haiz
e injury list is coming ..
and wth they sell eboue ...
we has juz lost 3 CB .... wala0 all our player youngster...
even Arshavin speed/dribble CMI le
how to face man u ...
wenger really need to buy some players in lar..
Originally posted by Rooney9:I still stand by my beliefs that arsenal will not qualify for top 4. they will not qualify for CL. for next season.
i think this is going to be the case.
Originally posted by Bus&Soccer l0v3r (VO3x 1):Haiz
e injury list is coming ..
and wth they sell eboue ...
we has juz lost 3 CB .... wala0 all our player youngster...
even Arshavin speed/dribble CMI le
how to face man u ...
wenger really need to buy some players in lar..
the problem is, he still insists youngsters can make e cut.
Arsenal will not win anything this season, not even top 4. they may even finish 6th place.
is arsenal can win a sliverware
i can bet man city to win title lia0
Originally posted by AEW5001:the problem is, he still insists youngsters can make e cut.
ya lor
dun knw wad wenger doing
cant he juz cash in some players to help out rather than seeing his stubborn look .....
actually wenger did spent big sums before, but many were flops.
Can add Emmanuel Frimpong and Koscielny to the list of missing for next week now... Nasri may not even be around by then too... Gervinho and Alex Song for sure out... The rest injured today like... Wilshere, Diaby, Traore, Gibbs and Djourou... not sure about their condition yet...
At the rate Arsenal are losing players... Very soon their 8yrs old will have to be brought into the first team also... lol...
Sad, cos for a moment from the start of the 2nd half, they played better than Pool. Only after the sent-off, they became headless chickens.
why cant he bid 15m for everton CB Jagielka. Everton is in dire straits now. in fact he can target Fellani, arteta, baines also.
Originally posted by Rooney9:actually wenger did spent big sums before, but many were flops.
wenger might have been better off being a chief scout instead.
someone how i also dun like 4-5-1 formation ..
seeing rvp hardly has shots
Originally posted by Rooney9:why cant he bid 15m for everton CB Jagielka. Everton is in dire straits now. in fact he can target Fellani, arteta, baines also.
i could wan wenger to buy baines..
if wenger can lure Fellani , i would be glad. (juz like an tanker)
Arteta mai lar..
ask him buy Cahill instead
maybe its time for wenger to retire.
he seems to have lost it.