Arsenal Battle Bolton Brawlers for Chance To Correct League Table

It seems like it was just the other day that a bunch of thugs masquerading as footballers tried to ambush the Arsenal team.

One of them slammed his knee deep into our captain’s neck, shoved his face, and pulled his hair while the poor guy was on the ground. Another tried twice to hack Abou Diaby right in front of the referee, and it was only when Tomas Rosicky decided to take the law into his own hands did the referee act, but only to book Little Mozart.

Another one decided to kick Fran Merida even before the unsuspecting Catalan had kicked the ball when he came on as a substitute. Merida now has an ankle injury from that kicking. If these are not acts of violence sanctioned in the name of the sporting spirit of association football, then I don’t know what to call them.

There seems to be widespread acceptance within the establishment of this sort of thuggery as—wait for this—good old fashioned grit and steel, commitment and grafting ability. It’s a well revered attribute of what is seen to make a solid and reliable English Premiership side.

Unfortunately for Arsenal, not turning up for a televised session of ”Stop me any way you can” is not a viable option lest we forfeit three points in a walkover to Bolton.

Arsenal’s only saving grace is that Owen Coyle has had a bit more success in convincing his new team that there is indeed another way of playing football. Fat chance in three days, but you can only hope.

Believe me when I say that there’s a real and present danger that Arsenal players are at risk of injury from causes that are not natural to the game of football. In fact, they are causes that would easily qualify for classification as Actual or Grievous bodily harm in the criminal justice system.

For the simple reason that Bolton don’t want to be hand bagged twice in four days, today’s match at the Emirates is a difficult proposition for the Gunners. The fact that Arsenal have more technically superior players all over the pitch can only be a valid argument if Bolton are prepared to play association football, and I’m not convinced there’s any guarantee.

The Gunners must have a strong desire to go top of the table and gain the psychological advantage over their title challengers, if only until Manure play Hull City on Saturday. There is no room for complacency and the expectation by supporters is that the team will do a professional job and bag the three points.

It’ll be nice to throw in some Wengerball, but like I said, that really depends on whether Bolton are coming to play or whether they’re coming to brawl.

Arsenal have some reprieve on the injury front with Denilson and Theo Walcott back in the squad, in addition to Gaél Clichy, who was given a run out on Saturday. This should give the team more confidence and creative nous in the middle of the park, as well as some solidity at left back. It is rare but pleasing that a relatively strong squad is likely to start.

Tactically, Bolton are going to try and quickly close down Arsenal and get in their faces if you will. Some years ago, this sort of harassment might have worked, but Arsenal have become adept at dealing with this modus operandi.

At the Emirates, it’s almost suicidal to try and play that high energy game against Arsenal. The Gunners are anal about their fitness and all they’ll do is wear the opponent down slowly and patiently before unleashing Wengerball on a bunch of unsuspecting but tired legged fellas who are by then chasing shadows.

And this is even before unleashing the pace of two of the fastest wingers in the Premiership in Theo Walcott and Carlos Vela.

The important thing is that Arsenal have a strong squad to start with, and options on the bench to get behind the Bolton defensive line if they decide to park the bus in front of goal.

The crowd will of course be singing ”You’re only here because we paid your fare” – seeing that Ivan Gazidis was nice enough to reimburse the costs of the 300 Bolton fans who made it down south on the 6th of Jan.

My sense is that the starting lineup will be:

Almunia
Sagna, Gallas, Vermaelen, Clichy
Denilson, Diaby, Fabregas
Rosicky, Eduardo, Arshavin.

AT SOME POINT IN THE GAME, Walcott and Vela are most likely going to be unleashed on the tiring Bolton legs for good measure.

Enjoy the game wherever you are.

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