Blackburn vs. Arsenal Match Preview

by Ted Harwood on Aug 27, 2010 5:38 PM EDT

On Saturday, August 28, Arsenal will travel north to Ewood Park for a 7:45 EDT kickoff against Blackburn Rovers. ESPN2 and ESPN 3 will air the match live on US television.

In last year's corresponding fixture, Arsenal fell to a 2-1 defeat at the hands of the Rovers. Blackburn made life illegally difficult for Lukasz Fabianski off of set pieces, a tactic which Arsène Wenger hinted that they may try again this weekend as well.

Arsenal have been seen as making something of a tradition out of struggling away against Northern teams, and that result will have done little to abolish that way of thinking. However, Arsenal played that match without Thomas Vermaelen, Manuel Almunia, William Gallas, or Cesc Fabregas. This time around, it will not be so; Almunia is slated to start in goal, Vermaelen and Laurent Koscielny will pair in defense, Alex Song should be roaming in front of the back four, and both Fabregas and Robin van Persie are fully available to start.

The Gunners played very well last weekend vs. Blackpool, and they will look to carry that momentum into tomorrow. One might expect them to play a more guarded game when away, but with players such as Walcott and Tomas Rosicky experiencing the types of form that they are, and with the threat of van Persie, Fabregas, Abou Diaby, Andrei Arshavin, Marouane Chamakh, and Abou Diaby, as well as Denilson (who has never lost against a Sam Allardyce side, as 7AM Kickoff notes on twitter), Arsenal may very well come out guns a-blazin' and look to step on Blackburn's throats.

It would not be surprising to see Arsenal play a 4-1-4-1 or a 4-2-3-1 in the early stages, switching to a more pure 4-3-3 if goals are needed later in the contest.

(New signing Sébastien Squillaci is not available for tomorrow's match, despite having trained with the club today. He will be available going forward, however. Expanding on much of the coverage of Squallaci available today, he looks to be a more combative central defender, roughly the same size as Laurent Koscielny but with six additional years on his compatriot. 30 is still peak age for a center half, and having a full French international as third or fourth choice is not bad at all. He will wear the number 18 shirt vacated by the departed Mikael Silvestre.)

Potential lineup for tomorrow's match:

------------------------------Almunia-------------------------------

Sagna--------Koscielny-----------Vermaelen--------Clichy

--------------------------------Song---------------------------------

-----------------Fabregas-----------Rosicky--------------------

Walcott/Eboue----------van Persie---------------Arshavin

with Chamakh coming off the bench. Diaby may figure somewhere in central midfield as well, perhaps next to Song. Walcott seems likely to start given his freshness and form, as well as his pace and ability to get behind the Blackburn defenders.

All in all, this is a match that Arsenal should win comfortably with a full team. Blackburn will no doubt try to boss Arsenal with a more, er, robust physical approach, but with the skill of Arsenal's full starting eleven available, Arsenal should manage to break down the opposition.

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Hope Allardyce gets blue balls

I hope I can wake up in time to watch the game…it will be 4AM over here….

by silverace99 on Aug 27, 2010 7:01 PM EDT reply actions

This will be a real test for Walcott's improved physique

because he’ll need to be strong on the ball. I foresee a lot of shoulder barges from defenders in trying to slow him down.

We’ll need RvP’s & Fabregas’s passing to be at their best to cut through what I think will be a packed Blackburn defense and midfield.

This.

by elfboy_ on Aug 28, 2010 12:39 AM EDT reply actions

i personally think Chamakh would have been a better choice for starter

Given RVP’s lack of match fitness and the physical game Blackburn is bound to bring. I’d rather have RVP come off the bench when their defense is nice and tired chasing the ball.

by silverace99 on Aug 28, 2010 12:48 AM EDT up reply actions

If I don't have to take my mother-in-law to the airport

or if I find a way out of the drop-off, I’ll be in the game thread. Cmon Gooners!

You don't seem to want to accept the fact you're dealing with an expert in guerrilla warfare, with a man who's the best, with guns, with knives, with his bare hands. A man who's been trained to ignore pain, ignore weather, to live off the land, to eat things that would make a billy goat puke. In *St. Louis* his job was to dispose of enemy personnel. To kill! Period! Win by attrition. Well, *Steven Jackson* was the best.

by 3k on Aug 28, 2010 2:05 AM EDT reply actions