Arsenal Travel to St. James Park with Haunting Memories

After the pulsating match Arsenal and Newcastle United provided us with last year at St. James Park, this year's season opener promises to be another fascinating match. How can Arsenal travel to St. James Park without having last year's 4-4 draw in the back of their mind?

To be honest, I'm not very sure it is going to be possible, but they could use the match as motivation. After leading 0-4 last year at half time, Arsenal managed to leave St. James Park with a 4-4 draw, which had every Newcastle fan in a frenzy while Arsenal fans were in complete disbelief. 

Last season during this fixture, Arsenal fielded the following starting XI: Szczesny, Sagna, Koscielny, Djourou, Clichy, Diaby, Fabregas, Walcott, Wilshere, Arshavin, van Persie. Out of those 11, only Gael Clichy is no longer at Arsenal, having moved on transfer to Manchester City. 

Arsene Wenger is hoping that he will have Thomas Vermaelen, Theo Walcott, Jack Wilshere and Robin van Persie available as they have picked up slight knocks during the preseason. Arsenal will need a full squad available if they want to start the new campaign with a victory. 

This time around, Arsenal could possibly have a healthy Samir Nasri available if he doesn't end up completing a move to Manchester City. If Arsenal and Manchester City are to get into serious talks for the transfer, Nasri will most likely be held out of the squad.

Arsenal's new summer signing Gervinho will more than likely take part in Wenger's first official starting squad. The Ivory Coast international will be sure to offer some critical assistance to the Gunners on the wing with his pace, strength and ability to take on defenders. 

Saturday afternoon, when both teams take the pitch, the electric environment inside St. James Park will bring back memories of last year's match. With an attitude of wanting to prove a point, that is when Arsenal players must use it in a way that will allow them to come out from the get-go.

One of the key factors for Saturday's match is clearly the availability of Vermaelen, van Persie and Wilshere. With Fabregas out of the squad, either Vermaelen or van Persie will be called on to captain the squad. In my opinion the best option would be Vermaelen as he is a leader and has no problem relaying messages to his team.

It's not very often that a team coughs up a 0-4 lead, and that’s one of the worst things that could have happened to Arsenal's mentally weak team. This weekend’s match will help to see where Arsenal's players stand from a mental standpoint.

If the Gunners concede first, it will most likely take a very serious emotional toll on the squad. Anything but a victory in this match will undoubtedly add an incredible amount of pressure on Arsene Wenger, who is already under scrutiny from the Arsenal faithful.