Bolton vs Arsenal - Preview
January 31st 2012 16:27
Arsenal travel to the Reebok Stadium on Wednesday evening to face relegation battlers Bolton Wanderers.
Arsenal have lost all three of their league games in 2012, with their only wins so far in the new year coming in the FA Cup. Bolton on the other hand, have hit form of late. With wins in the FA Cup and a couple in the league too, 2012 has been pretty good for The Trotters.
Arsenal will be hoping that they can gain momentum after come from 2 goals down at half time to win against Aston Villa in the FA Cup on Sunday. Bolton will also be hoping their cup win against Swansea on Saturday can provide them with a boost that can get them some precious league points.
Bolton used to be a real bogey team for Arsenal, even when Arsenal were unbeatable, Bolton always have proven to be a difficult opponent, particularly at the Reebok Stadium and back in the days when they were managed by Sam Allardyce. Arsenal have been better against Bolton in more recent years, but Arsenal did lose this fixture last season, which effectively ended any title hopes that they had.
Thierry Henry and Mikel Arteta are both available for the Gunners following injuries, as is defender Johan Djourou. Bacary Sagna is a possible starter, but given the fact that he's been out since October, it could be too early for him. Kieran Gibbs is back in full training for Arsenal following a lengthy spell on the sidelines. Arsene Wenger says he is still short of match fitness though. The injury list is getting thinner thankfully. Wojciech Szczesny will return to the Arsenal goal, having been rested for the cup tie against Aston Villa.
Bolton's new signing Tim Ream could make his debut, but that is dependant on the American obtaining his work permit in time. He is listed as a doubt. Another Bolton new boy cannot feature, as Ryo Miyaichi isn't allowed to play against his parent club, following his loan move to Bolton on transfer deadline day.
Arsenal are looking to get their first league win of the new year (not really new now, seeing as we're a month in already!). You'd hope that with Bolton and Blackburn as their next two fixtures, they'll be able to put some points on the board.
Should any transfers involving Arsenal happen between now and the deadline, they will get a mention in the Bolton game write up. The most likely deal to happen coming into the club, is the signing of Thomas Eisfeld from Borussia Dortmund. I don't know a lot about the guy, but he is rumoured to have signed / be on the verge of signing with the club. All I know is that he is 19 years old, suffered a horrible cruciate ligament a few years back, which is the reason he didn't break into Dortmund's first team. He is likely to have been put through a lengthy medical due to that injury. The rumoured fee involved is a small one, with it being between £400k and £600k. This is because his contract is up in the summer, and Dortmund would rather take what they can get now, than let him go for nothing in the summer. My policy is that if the deal isn't on the Arsenal website, or a reliable source such as the BBC, then it hasn't been done. I haven't heard anything yet regarding completion of the deal.
A comparison that can be made, is that of Eisfeld to Amaury Bischoff. Bischoff joined the club in the summer of 2008, and Arsene Wenger admitted he had taken a gamble on the former Werder Bremen player, due to past injury problems. Like Eisfeld, Bischoff didn't feature much for the first team due to injury problems. When Bischoff got to Arsenal, he rarely featured in the first team, making 2 substitute appearances in the Carling Cup, 1 in the FA Cup and another in the Premier League. This was as good as it got for Bischoff at Arsenal, and despite flashes of talent in the reserves, and in his rare appearances in the first team, he was released by the club after his contract expired in the summer of 2009.
Now I'm not saying Eisfeld will be like that, it's just a comparison between the two. So far there are a lot of similarities, but you never know with Wenger's signing of youngsters. He can hit with players like Fabregas, and miss with somebody like Bendtner and Lupoli. Here's hoping he's more like Cesc than the other two turned out.
Arsenal have lost all three of their league games in 2012, with their only wins so far in the new year coming in the FA Cup. Bolton on the other hand, have hit form of late. With wins in the FA Cup and a couple in the league too, 2012 has been pretty good for The Trotters.
Arsenal will be hoping that they can gain momentum after come from 2 goals down at half time to win against Aston Villa in the FA Cup on Sunday. Bolton will also be hoping their cup win against Swansea on Saturday can provide them with a boost that can get them some precious league points.
Bolton used to be a real bogey team for Arsenal, even when Arsenal were unbeatable, Bolton always have proven to be a difficult opponent, particularly at the Reebok Stadium and back in the days when they were managed by Sam Allardyce. Arsenal have been better against Bolton in more recent years, but Arsenal did lose this fixture last season, which effectively ended any title hopes that they had.
Van Persie scores at the Reebok in a 2-1 loss last season
Thierry Henry and Mikel Arteta are both available for the Gunners following injuries, as is defender Johan Djourou. Bacary Sagna is a possible starter, but given the fact that he's been out since October, it could be too early for him. Kieran Gibbs is back in full training for Arsenal following a lengthy spell on the sidelines. Arsene Wenger says he is still short of match fitness though. The injury list is getting thinner thankfully. Wojciech Szczesny will return to the Arsenal goal, having been rested for the cup tie against Aston Villa.
Bolton's new signing Tim Ream could make his debut, but that is dependant on the American obtaining his work permit in time. He is listed as a doubt. Another Bolton new boy cannot feature, as Ryo Miyaichi isn't allowed to play against his parent club, following his loan move to Bolton on transfer deadline day.
Arsenal are looking to get their first league win of the new year (not really new now, seeing as we're a month in already!). You'd hope that with Bolton and Blackburn as their next two fixtures, they'll be able to put some points on the board.
Should any transfers involving Arsenal happen between now and the deadline, they will get a mention in the Bolton game write up. The most likely deal to happen coming into the club, is the signing of Thomas Eisfeld from Borussia Dortmund. I don't know a lot about the guy, but he is rumoured to have signed / be on the verge of signing with the club. All I know is that he is 19 years old, suffered a horrible cruciate ligament a few years back, which is the reason he didn't break into Dortmund's first team. He is likely to have been put through a lengthy medical due to that injury. The rumoured fee involved is a small one, with it being between £400k and £600k. This is because his contract is up in the summer, and Dortmund would rather take what they can get now, than let him go for nothing in the summer. My policy is that if the deal isn't on the Arsenal website, or a reliable source such as the BBC, then it hasn't been done. I haven't heard anything yet regarding completion of the deal.
Eisfeld: Rumours suggest he is very close to being an Arsenal player. Some rumours even say the deal is done.
A comparison that can be made, is that of Eisfeld to Amaury Bischoff. Bischoff joined the club in the summer of 2008, and Arsene Wenger admitted he had taken a gamble on the former Werder Bremen player, due to past injury problems. Like Eisfeld, Bischoff didn't feature much for the first team due to injury problems. When Bischoff got to Arsenal, he rarely featured in the first team, making 2 substitute appearances in the Carling Cup, 1 in the FA Cup and another in the Premier League. This was as good as it got for Bischoff at Arsenal, and despite flashes of talent in the reserves, and in his rare appearances in the first team, he was released by the club after his contract expired in the summer of 2009.
Now I'm not saying Eisfeld will be like that, it's just a comparison between the two. So far there are a lot of similarities, but you never know with Wenger's signing of youngsters. He can hit with players like Fabregas, and miss with somebody like Bendtner and Lupoli. Here's hoping he's more like Cesc than the other two turned out.
Remember him?: Bischoff making a very rare appearance in an Arsenal shirt
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