Arsenal vs Blackburn - Preview
February 3rd 2012 15:29
Arsenal face Blackburn tomorrow in what is a must win game for the Gunners, having slipped to 7th in the table following their poor recent form. Just a little heads up to any fans, the game starts at 1pm UK time, and is NOT on TV here. The game kicks off early due to tube upgrades, so they'll be no service on the Victoria Line for anybody going to the game either.
For any Arsenal fans thinking this one will be a walk in the park, cast your mind back to September, where the Gunners fell to a 4-3 defeat at Ewood Park against Blackburn. Arsenal scored 2 own goals that day, and dominated Blackburn for most of that game. But at the end of the day, Blackburn got the 3 points, and that's all that matters. If you go back a little further, towards the end of last season, Arsenal drew 0-0 at the Emirates against Blackburn.
Team News
The only new injury news since the Bolton game is that Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has injured his knee, and Arsene Wenger isn't sure whether he'll be able to play yet. Kieran Gibbs is nearly ready to play again, but is likely to sit out of this one.
Wenger has said he is considering making a few changes to his line-up, with most of his first choice players having featured against both Aston Villa in the FA Cup, and Bolton in midweek.
Blackburn will be missing Yakubu, who netted twice for Blackburn in their 4-3 win over the Gunners back in September. They will be boosted by the fact that David Goodwillie is likely to recover from illness in time for the game. Bradley Orr could make his Blackburn debut following his deadline day move from QPR, but Christopher Samba misses out following his desire to leave the club in the January transfer window.
Fan Protest
Arsenal and Blackburn have both had bad seasons, and we've seen Blackburn fans staging various protests throughout the season to get Steve Kean out. Some Arsenal fans are planning a protest this weekend, that will prove a point about the amount of empty seats at the Emirates Stadium. When Arsenal announce their attendance for a game, they set it as how many tickets they sold for the game. Sometimes they will give the figure as just under full capacity, when there are clearly a lot of empty seats in the stadium. The protesters plan to put black bin liners over the empty seats at the Emirates, to prove the point that fans aren't coming to games anymore because of how bad the team are playing, and the fact that the ticket prices and season ticket prices continue to rise every year. We will see what happens, but if Arsenal are behind in this game, expect the boos to ring around the stadium once more, with chants related to the club's lack of spend in the transfer market likely to come up too.
I'm hoping Arsenal can get a win today and gain some confidence for what is a very important part of their season coming up. This month alone includes a tricky trip to Sunderland, AC Milan away in the Champions League, possibly another trip to Sunderland in the FA Cup (if not Sunderland, then Middlesbrough), and to finish the month there is the North London Derby against Spurs at the Emirates. It's a busy month, and a tough month. Arsenal need to win this one for sure. If they can't beat Blackburn without their main man Yakubu up front, and their defensive rock Christopher Samba, then quite frankly, they don't deserve a top 4 finish this year.
For any Arsenal fans thinking this one will be a walk in the park, cast your mind back to September, where the Gunners fell to a 4-3 defeat at Ewood Park against Blackburn. Arsenal scored 2 own goals that day, and dominated Blackburn for most of that game. But at the end of the day, Blackburn got the 3 points, and that's all that matters. If you go back a little further, towards the end of last season, Arsenal drew 0-0 at the Emirates against Blackburn.
Arteta scores at Ewood Park back in September
Team News
The only new injury news since the Bolton game is that Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has injured his knee, and Arsene Wenger isn't sure whether he'll be able to play yet. Kieran Gibbs is nearly ready to play again, but is likely to sit out of this one.
Oxlade-Chamberlain is a doubt for tomorrow's game
Wenger has said he is considering making a few changes to his line-up, with most of his first choice players having featured against both Aston Villa in the FA Cup, and Bolton in midweek.
Blackburn will be missing Yakubu, who netted twice for Blackburn in their 4-3 win over the Gunners back in September. They will be boosted by the fact that David Goodwillie is likely to recover from illness in time for the game. Bradley Orr could make his Blackburn debut following his deadline day move from QPR, but Christopher Samba misses out following his desire to leave the club in the January transfer window.
Yakubu won't be able to score against the Gunners this time round, due to suspension.
Fan Protest
Arsenal and Blackburn have both had bad seasons, and we've seen Blackburn fans staging various protests throughout the season to get Steve Kean out. Some Arsenal fans are planning a protest this weekend, that will prove a point about the amount of empty seats at the Emirates Stadium. When Arsenal announce their attendance for a game, they set it as how many tickets they sold for the game. Sometimes they will give the figure as just under full capacity, when there are clearly a lot of empty seats in the stadium. The protesters plan to put black bin liners over the empty seats at the Emirates, to prove the point that fans aren't coming to games anymore because of how bad the team are playing, and the fact that the ticket prices and season ticket prices continue to rise every year. We will see what happens, but if Arsenal are behind in this game, expect the boos to ring around the stadium once more, with chants related to the club's lack of spend in the transfer market likely to come up too.
Empty seats at Arsenal has been a problem since moving to the Emirates
I'm hoping Arsenal can get a win today and gain some confidence for what is a very important part of their season coming up. This month alone includes a tricky trip to Sunderland, AC Milan away in the Champions League, possibly another trip to Sunderland in the FA Cup (if not Sunderland, then Middlesbrough), and to finish the month there is the North London Derby against Spurs at the Emirates. It's a busy month, and a tough month. Arsenal need to win this one for sure. If they can't beat Blackburn without their main man Yakubu up front, and their defensive rock Christopher Samba, then quite frankly, they don't deserve a top 4 finish this year.
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