EPL: Arsenal FC vs Man. City FC - Mon. Dec. 21st, 8:00pm - SS1

[redanddread]

Well boys & girls - here it is - the big one. The two teams that most think will duke it out for this years Premier League title.

Hopefully the magical Alexis Sanchez will be fit for us & the mercurial Sergio Aguero won't be for them.

Win this and we've laid down a marker at the perfect time.

Both teams have their weaknesses but City have been poor on the road of late & if we intend to win the league this year then these are the type of games that champions elect do win - beat your rivals at home and don't lose on the road.

 

[Rain Dance]

I hope we can replicate our Bayern win and not our Bayern loss. anyway, draw or 1-0 to the Arsenal, I hope

 

[Rimaal]

Our last 6 fixtures against Man City:

13 Jan 2013 Arsenal v Manchester City 0-2 PL
4 Dec 2013 Manchester City v Arsenal 6-3 PL
29 Mar 2014 Arsenal v Manchester City 1-1 PL
10 Aug 2014 Arsenal v Manchester City 3-0 FA Community Shield
13 Sep 2014 Arsenal v Manchester City 2-2 PL
18 Jan 2015 Manchester City v Arsenal 0-2 PL

2 loses, 2 draws, 2 wins.

Kompany is in doubt for the match.
Aguero is in doubt, however he'll likely be on the bench.
Sanchez is in doubt, not even Wenger knows if he'll be on the bench.

This will be a 6 pointer.


Wenger:

Boss Wenger admits crock Alexis Sanchez could potentially be back fit for City's visit after injuring his hamstring at Norwich.

And the Frenchman was in good spirits after progressing into the last 16 of the Champions League at Olympiakos in midweek.

Asked about being top at Christmas, Wenger said: “Let's see, City is a big game, we want to beat City at home.

“Now we have eight days to prepare and it will be an interesting one. We can at least recover first and prepare then.

“It has been a great week for us but don't worry I've had as well a few bad weeks so sometimes it balances itself out a little bit.

 

[AbouDiabyMilitia]

If we had Coquelin I'd say I'm quite confident will win. But Flamini hasn't satisfied me defensively the past three games and I fear Aguero/Silva will pounce hard if Flamini doesn't do his best Coq impression.

City vs Arsenal games have been fun for the past few years - guaranteed goals. If they don't start Aguero I think we have a good shot at winning.

 

[kopzilla]

Should we play a patient and calculated game like home Vs Bayern? Probably a sound counter attacking game...I think so because it will play to our strengths...Walcott, Ramsey, Özil and Giroud can be devastating on the counter.

 

[TheLoneFalcon]

In a league where no-one seems to want the title and all squads are flawed, not to mention the managers, a four point gap almost halfway in would be very significant. Massive, massive game. Biggest event for the club since losing Lord Bendtner imo.

 

[haha_arsenal]

Alexis will be available, right ?
so who would we drop ...
Joel or Theo ?

 

[Emibury]

Arsenal 2-0 City. Same team as against Villa, except with Sanchez in for Campbell (hopefully).

 

[Rimaal]

Arsenal 2-0 City. Same team as against Villa, except with Sanchez in for Campbell (hopefully).

Even if Sanchez is back by then, I think it would be too risky to start him straight off after an injury. I think he would come in as a sub.

 

[Emibury]

Perhaps, but that will be up to Wenger to decide on his fitness. I say if he looks sharp in training then chuck him in the starting line up. He doesn't have to play the full 90 but I would want him in there from the start.

 

[ArsenesNO1Fan]

We should be winning this one, they've been dominated by Liverpool and Stoke and not looking great recently. Allot depends on if Arguero, Kompany and Alexis are back. Alexis is expected back. I think their 2 lads will struggle if they're back or not though as they've had worse injuries

Should we play a patient and calculated game like home Vs Bayern? Probably a sound counter attacking game...I think so because it will play to our strengths...Walcott, Ramsey, Özil and Giroud can be devastating on the counter.

No we should start with a fast high press, control possession, win it back and they should concede. Then sit back and counter.

Bluemoon don't seem to fancy this:

'I hope they at least take us out to dinner first. It would be nice to be wined and dined a little before we get ****ed.'

 

[ArsenesNO1Fan]

OK Kompany won't be back apparently.

 

[ArsenesNO1Fan]

http://forums.bluemoon-mcfc.co.uk/threads/arsenal-away-pre-match-thread.317884/

Most predicting a loss, Arguero likely out but maybe back. Apparently he usually takes a few games to get into his stride too. Many are so frustrated with Bony they seem to think playing without a striker would be better.

 

[Bananacoffee]

This is the real test for our team without Coq, in my opinion.

Our last win over City came primarily as a result of Coq completely shutting Silva down, not allowing him in the room between midfield and defense.
Can Flamini do the same? Probably not, so someone else will have to step up/we will have to play another kind of game in order to win.

Luckily City are horrific at the moment and they have a lot of injuries, so there's that.

 

[morpho]

Flamster actually did a ok job against Villa. Heres hoping Wenger talked to him about his defensiv duties. Ramsey is our man going forward.

 

[Lady_Gooner]

if we draw/lose our home form for the 1st half of the season won't be that good .. We really should have beaten Sp**s or Liverpool. We'd also be leaving ourselves too much to do 2nd half of the season.

Fingers crossed Alexis will make the bench because chamberlain (poor babe) isnt offering us anything from there atm.
I also hope this isn't like when we played Chelsea after 8days rest and produced a thrilling 0-0 lol

 

[say yes]

http://forums.bluemoon-mcfc.co.uk/threads/arsenal-away-pre-match-thread.317884/

Most predicting a loss, Arguero likely out but maybe back. Apparently he usually takes a few games to get into his stride too. Many are so frustrated with Bony they seem to think playing without a striker would be better.

Ha - interesting how pessimistic they are. This PL season has shredded everyone's confidence.

Reckon they'll win.

 

[Rimaal]

Blue Moon doen;t fancy this match, and neither do I, frankly. LOL May the most pessimistic win (I am the unbeaten champ of pessimism).

 

[Le Professeur]

Not sure who I'd want to start up top. Theo against their high line could be carnage, then again Oli's in great form lately.

 

[A_G]

It'll be a shame if Sagna gets booed.