Arsenal to Keep on Track at Hull Today

We make the trip to Hull today for an evening match and by the time we kick off, Chelsea's game against West Ham will already be over.

I don't expect West Ham to get a result at Stamford Bridge, but then again stranger things have happened.

Chelsea lost their last home league match 4-2 to Man City and with Cech and Mr. Tweedey both injured and Terry off form, their defence is not what it used to be.

The other title contenders besides ourselves and Chelsea are "Manure," of course, and they don't play until tomorrow, when they are at home to Fulham.

Again, I don't hold out much hope of Fulham getting a result, with their poor away form and their trip to Juventus on Thursday night only just behind them. 

The injury situation has been well documented, and our defence in particular is stripped to the bare bones. With Sagna carrying a knock, I'm sure Eboue will start at right back and Clichy will obviously play on the left.

Thankfully, Vermaelen is fit and with Campbell doubtful, it would seem that we will have to endure 90 minutes of torture with Silvestre in the team.

He scares me when I see him playing for Arsenal, and it's not that he doesn't give his best, but his best just isn't good enough.

I have already said that I think we should recall Bartley from his loan spell at Sheffield United and let him play alongside Vermaelen. I'm sure Vermaelen could nurse him through any games when both Gallas and Campbell are out.

In midfield with Cesc not playing, it means we will get another chance to see Nasri in the playmaker's role that he has filled so well in the last game and a half. He will be ably supported by Diaby with Denilson in the holding position.

With Nasri in such good form and Diaby playing so well too, the biggest problem could be the absence of the suspended Song. Denilson hasn't impressed in the defensive role up to now and I don't think he's particularly suited to it.

He doesn't seem to be up to the hard part of the job where he has to discipline himself to fill in for defenders going forward or track back when the opposition attack.

His passing isn't incisive enough and he loses the ball in dangerous positions too often for me. I hope he proves me completely wrong today, has a great game, and commands the midfield as if it were his own little kingdom, but I doubt it.

That would mean that the front three should be Walcott on the right, Rosicky on the left and Bendtner as the centre forward.

After his three goals on Tuesday night I hope Bendtner can keep his shooting boots on because with a defence like Hull's we will get enough chances to win the match and it's just a matter of taking them.

There is a doubt over the fitness of Rosicky and if he's out, I would imagine that Eduardo will play on the left.

Hull have conceded 59 goals in 28 league goals so far but their home record is pretty good for a team in second last place in the league.

In their five wins, five draws, and three defeats at home, they have scored 18 goals and conceded only 20.

I saw an interview with their manager last Sunday where he said they would have to change their style slightly to facilitate the fit-again Bullard.

But they went on to get thumped 5-1 by Everton and apparently Bullard and Barmby have been seen squaring up to each other in the local park where Hull train as they look for a new place to train.

If the reports are true, Barmby wasn't happy with Bullard's efforts on the day and accused him of being lazy.

I'm sure they will try to play the typical way for most of our opponents by getting in our faces and tackling hard whenever possible.

It means they will have to work very hard and even one lazy player on the pitch could cost them dearly. 

All Arsenal have to do is turn up, take to the pitch, and play their own game, and they will be too good for Hull. That's easy for me to say, but it's not always easy to do, and if they need anything to spur them on, they need only think of their promise to win the league for Aaron Ramsey.

We have 99 goals so far this season in all competitions and I think we will have at least 101 goals afterwards. I'm predicting a 2-1 win for Arsenal and I think Bendtner will be the man to score that 100th goal.

I think it will be a very close game but our class should tell and by 7.30 tonight I expect us to be in second place in the table. 

There is a bit of bad blood between the two clubs after the handbags incident at the Emirates earlier in the season.

With Stephen Hunt in their side, I'm sure the incidents on that day will come back to the surface, and from what I remember, he was one of the main culprits with a bad late tackle on Almunia and a few other tackles that were beyond the rules of the game.

I'm sure Hull won't forget that Nasri stood on Garcia's foot and I'm sure that Arsenal won't forget the histrionics from Garcia, either.

Both clubs were fined by the FA after the incident, and I'm sure the FA will be keeping a close eye on today's events.

The boss said that there is no bad blood between the clubs and that there wasn't too much to what happened in the home game.

Of course there was also "spitgate" when their deranged manager accused our captain of spitting at him, but Cesc was cleared of all charges thankfully.

With Cesc injured today, it means the captain's armband will be worn by Almunia although personally I think Vermaelen would be the perfect choice. Almunia doesn't inspire confidence, and I wonder if the players feel the same way. 

Finally for today, our ladies team have a big game tomorrow as they take on Duisburg in the second leg of their Champions league quarter final at home.

Duisburg won their home leg 2-1 on Wednesday night and Arsenal did well to hold the current European Champions to that scoreline.

I hope they can get a similar result to the one we got against Porto on Tuesday night but it won't be easy.

They lost most of their top stars to the professional game in the States last summer, but it doesn't seem to have had any effect on their domination of the domestic game.

That's it for today but I'll be back with a full review of the game tomorrow.

Here's a good goal from a few years ago.

See You Tomorrow.