Arsenal versus Norwich: the Champions League battle just keeps on getting tighter. « Untold Arsenal: Arsenal News, supporting the club, the players and the manager

By Phil Gregory

Arsenal host Norwich on Saturday in our final home match of the season, with the battle for the guaranteed Champions League spot of third place getting interesting with Newcastle in almost unstoppable form of late. I don’t doubt I wasn’t the only person who expected them to drop points versus Chelsea, and their shock 4-0 defeat against Wigan is the only thing keeping them from inhabiting third place at the moment. Thomas Vermaelen’s last minute winner against the Toon a few weeks ago may just prove to be very, very important.

With the Premier League hotting up as the title race, the contest for the Champions League places and the relegation battle all look like going down to the wire, it is strange that the talk has largely been dominated by international football. Alas, England can do that given our nation’s outstanding ability to expect far too much from our motley selection of internationals. Given the late appointment of the manager and the limited nature of the players available, England will be lucky to get out of their group; the most I hope for is Hodgson instilling a little bit of pride back in the jersey. A good start would be shipping out the fading stars who won’t be able to cut it come 2014, and putting an emphasis on team spirit and togetherness over individual ability. Anybody who has coached a side will know that a united squad is much greater than the sum of its part, and if a united squad requires getting rid of some of the egos and general idiots, then so much the better.

For Arsenal however, the situation is fairly rosy. Podolski’s signing is certainly an interesting one: after Van Persie, our striking options are limited, so I’m anticipating Lukas to battle for the left sided berth and provide cover for Van Persie in the central berth. Such a plan would surely see the likes of Bendtner and Chamakh shipped out… I suspect Park will stick around as a third choice squad player. The South Korean arrived in that role and unfortunately for him never got a real shot due to Van Persie’s form and fitness.

Looking ahead to the Norwich game, Diaby has suffered a calf injury and has been ruled out of the last two games of this season. This match will come too soon for Theo Walcott, though Johan Djourou returns to offer a little depth at centreback.

Szcznesy

Sagna Koscielny Vermaelen Santos

Song Ramsey

Rosicky

Benayoun Van Persie Gervinho

With no injuries from the Stoke game – not for want of their trying – it seems probable we’ll see a very similar line-up. The only possible change I can see is if Wenger opts for two penetrating attackers on the flanks and plays Chamberlain instead of Benayoun. That said, the Israeli has not been short of attacking potency in recent weeks, so that change seems fairly unlikely. I did however go for Santos at left back: I can’t see much between Gibbs and Santos, and Wenger seems to use them interchangeably. Santos is dangerous on the attack so perhaps we’ll bring him in to support our pursuit of the three points.

I certainly hope we pick up the three points in a comfortable manner, not least because this early kick off is timetabled to be my break from the library and wall to wall exam preparation. Alas, results don’t always follow what we want, and the league table usually provides a slightly more accurate indicator. Norwich’s recent fairytale debut top flight season has tapered off somewhat, and the Canaries now sit 14^th. That should suggest a fairly comfortable home win, but despite a modest league position they have managed to pick up five wins on the road this season. That and the fact that only a Robin double got us the three points at their place earlier in the season after falling behind suggests sounding a note of caution may be wise. Injuries too – while not as bad as they have been – have robbed us of Arteta and Walcott, two reliable performers this season.

Certainly, should have enough to secure the win at home. Spurs clawed back some of the goal difference in their recent 4-1 win, so knocking a few past Norwich certainly wouldn’t go amiss. After a cheeky preview of the yet to be published RefWatch for this article I know that we don’t have to suffer the likes of Dean for this game, so I’ll go for 2-0 to the Arsenal.