Arsenal vs Birmingham City – Preview

October 17, 2009 by Aylesburyblue
Filed under: Aylesburyblue Articles, Blues News 

Team news
Blues can welcome back Cameron Jerome who has been out for the last month but as usual one comes back and another couple get injured.  Franck Quedrue and Keith Fahey will miss this one and Teemu Tainio is a doubt.  Christian Benitez will also miss the game after returning late from international duty.  I hope he gets fined.

Arsenal will be without Gael Clichy, Niklas Bendtner and Eduardo.  Abou Diaby is doubtful but keeper Manuel Almunia may return.

Previous Meeting
The previous meeting took place in February 2008 when ten man Blues secured a late draw through James McFadden’s injury time penalty.  A McFadden free kick had earlier given Blues the lead before Arsenal hit back with two goals from Theo Walcott. 

The previous meeting at the Emirates ended in a 1-1 draw with Garry O’Connor scoring for us.

Recent Form
Arsenal come into this game on the back of a 6-2 drubbing of Blackburn.  Their home record in all competitions this season is played 6, won 6, scored 21 conceded 4. Blues on the other hand have won one of their last six games scoring only four goals in the process.

Outlook
On paper this looks like a game where we’d be lucky to escape from without a heavy defeat but I’d like to think that we can put up better resistance than other teams have done this season. I’ve said before that I don’t really see these as our games anyway so anything gained is a bonus.  It’s a strange thing to say but considering how important goal difference might be getting away with a 2-0 defeat could be considered a decent result.

This is one game where I don’t think people will complain too much if we play a negative 4-5-1 as flooding the midfield will be the only way to stop Arsenal picking us apart.  In the last game Blackburn gave too much space to Fabregas and he had an absolute field day.  Who knows? If we can frustrate them for long enough we may be able to challenge their slightly suspect defence and nick a point.  Then again probably not.  If nothing else this game should give Carson Yeung an excellent indicator of how far we have to go to become a top team.

My prediction Arsenal 2 Blues 0.

Enjoy the game if you could actually get a ticket.

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Comments

3 Comments on Arsenal vs Birmingham City – Preview

  1. Hiro Protagonist on Sat, 17th Oct 2009 11:52

    2. nothing negative said about eduardo or the incident – or by referring to it we are doing a diservice to him unless we spout vitriol about evil Taylor? I think the gunners comments speak more about them than the writer of the article. Don’t forget this is a blues fans’ site and quite frankly we’re sick to death about hearing about it.

  2. Aylesburyblue on Sat, 17th Oct 2009 13:15

    3. My comment concerned the media furore over the incident not an attempt to belittle the injury. My point is that we can talk about the forthcoming game without having to dig up the past over and over again. Obviously too subtle for some people…

    It was almost two years ago, Eduardo is back playing again. Move on!

  3. KevB8ll on Sat, 17th Oct 2009 14:43

    4. I’ve edited the post, because on reflection the comment wasn’t meant in an atognistic way, I can see how it could be read that way. The guy who wrote this is a good friend of mine, and he DID mean it as he described in his comment above.

    I have a lot of admiration for Arsenal, they are one of those sides I love to watch – so can we leave the Eduardo thing alone now please and concentrate on today’s game instead. (You are winning 2-0 as I write this!)

    I have also removed the two comments that contained bad language – there is no need for that thanks.

    Kev

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