Arsenal-Everton Preview

I'm posting a quick preview now so it'll be up before the match because I know I won't have time to in the morning. Manchester United won today against West Ham so we can't win the Premiership any more. I was holding out hope that the Hammers would pull off a miracle but even Nani being sent off couldn't stop United. So that means this match against Everton is going to be all fun and no pressure. It'd be better if it was a no pressure game because we had the title wrapped up but we'll have to live with this this year.

Injury news ahead of the game sees Robin van Persie being sat out as a "precaution." Robin went off after the first half against Derby and let's hope it really is just a precaution and not something that turns out to be a lot worse. Sagna, Rosicky, and Eduardo will also miss the game due to injury as usual. I miss seeing Bakary out there. He's just so solid. Alexander Hleb will continue his suspension and will also miss the game. Mathieu Flamini could return after recovering from his ankle injury so that will be interesting. It could very well be his last home game in the red and white so if he does get to play we should probably let him know that he served us well this year but he is also a money grubbing cunt if he really goes to Milan and plays in the UEFA cup next year.

I think a lot of the younger players and fringe players will probably get another chance this time, maybe even more so than against Derby because this game really does mean nothing. We could get second if Chelsea slip up though. So I'll go out on a limb to pick the lineup.

Fabianski
Hoyte-Song-Gallas-Clichy
Walcott-Flamini-Denilson-Traore
Bendtner-Adebayor

I thought Fabianski was ok but not great against Derby and he looked a little timid at times, but it was his first start in the Premiership so he'll improve every time he gets a game. I hope Hoyte gets to play because I'd like to see him one more time at least this season and I'd also really like to see what Traore can do on the wing because by all reports he has played there well recently. Bendtner is going to get another run out after playing well against Derby and I'm hoping Adebayor will be out there too because it'd be nice for him to catch Ronaldo in the top scorer category.



Match Prediction: Four of our last five games against Everton have been 1-0 or 1-1 so I'm going for a 1-0 home win with Adebayor on the score sheet.


Now for some other news. With all the talk of losing Hleb and Flamini and not having the money we thought we had and all the other stories we get every year about how bad off Arsenal is, a good story has come along. Bakary Sagna is set to be rewarded with a new contract. This is great news for us because he is the best right back in the Premiership and he is only going to get better as he plays more and more for us. Nobody deserves a new deal as much as he does.

In the search for a new managing director, The Times reports that Arsenal are willing to pay big bucks to find and hire someone who is "right for the job." They say that Arsenal are prepared to offer more than David Gill of Man U and Peter Kenyon of Chelsea make. It could help us keep some of these players that seem to always want to leave if we got a new person in that could negotiate contracts better. This could be a big deal for the club so I'll be keeping you updated on the situation.

And the last thing for today is just something to think about. Gennaro Gattuso wants to play in England, and we are about to lose our holding midfielder to AC Milan, where Gattuso currently plays...catching my drift? If Milan sign Flamini I think we could get Gattuso for an affordable price. He is thirty years old but he is one of the best holding midfielders in the world and could easily replace Flamini in my opinion. He isn't the long term answer but maybe he could hold that position for two or three years while we groom someone to take over long term. What do you all think?

Here's to three points against Everton. Cheers all.