Arsenal begin a period of games that could make or break their title challenge with the visit of Manchester United. The champions come into the game fresh from progressing to the Carling Cup final via a thrilling yet hauntingly predictable injury time winner from Wayne Rooney.
Whilst United were beating their noisy neighbours in dramatic fashion on Wednesday night, Arsenal were labouring to a 0-0 draw at Villa Park. In normal circumstances it would be deemed a good result, but given their next three opponents the necessity for all three points was especially high.
Sir Alex Ferguson has dubbed the tie as “the biggest game of the season” for his club, and the same is also true for the Gunners. League leaders Chelsea have been rampant of late. They scored eleven goals in their dismissals of Birmingham City and Sunderland, and are expected to make similarly light work of relegation candidates Burnley. If that match goes to form, then by the time Arsenal and United kick off on Sunday, the Londoners will be five points off the pace.
Despite the news that Thomas Vermaelen’s injury is not as serious as first feared, the game will come too soon for the Belgian. The same is true for Eduardo, who pulled up with a hamstring injury in the same game. The striker is expected to be back in the squad for the Chelsea match on the seventh.
Amongst the misery of Wednesday night, perhaps the biggest positive was the performance of Sol Campbell. The veteran replaced Vermaelen after 35 minutes, and went on to have a surprisingly convincing game against Villa’s considerable attacking talent. He did show signs of weariness towards the end of the game however, and was fortunate not to be penalised for a foul on Richard Dunne. It remains to be seen whether the 35 year old has the fitness to cope with such a busy schedule. Before rejoining the side he had made just two appearances in six months; an appearance on Sunday would be his third in just seven days.
As well as the enforced changes, Nicklas Bendtner will take the place of Eduardo in the starting line-up, it is likely that Emmanuel Eboue and Alex Song will be immediately reinstated to the squad after returning from the African Cup of Nations.
In contrast to Arsenal’s injury ravaged squad, Sir Alex Ferguson has a near full complement of players to choose from. Long term absentee Owen Hargreaves is still struggling with a knee injury, whilst John O’Shea has almost certainly played his final game of the season. Rio Ferdinand will miss the game through suspension after the FA punished him with a four game ban for his elbow on Craig Fagan.
United were the victors when these two sides met at Old Trafford earlier in the season, but not without some disastrous defending from Arsenal. Diaby’s own goal gave the Red Devils the impetus to go on and win the game after the Gunners had taken the lead through Andrey Arshavin’s speculative strike.
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