Arsenal News » Arsenal v Everton preview unlike any other Arsenal Everton preview. Honest.

Well, hi-de-diddley-do there.  Phil’s doing exams, so I’m doing the predictions and stuff.   Right, of we go…

High-flying Everton travel to the Emirates aiming to continue their fantastic run in the league.  (How am I doing so far?)

The Gunners dropped out of the title race when they slumped to a 3-0 home defeat to leaders Chelsea on 29th November.

David Moyes’ boys are now unbeaten in their last five league games – and are zooming up the table, as well as powering their way into the 4th round of the FA Cup.

Sound like dribble to you?  Of course it is, but it is more or less what a lot of papers have said, although they have now changed their “Arsenal failure” story to one of “While some pundits have written off Arsenal, the club have been quietly making progress up the league.”

No journalist, drunk or sober, will ever admit to being wrong. Which is why blogs like Untold Arsenal are so important.  If we ever were wrong then we’d be in there admitting it.  But it has never happened.  (Warning this paragraph contains mild irony).

So what of this Everton success machine?   Unbeaten in five?  Well, up to a point.  Five league games, means a possible 15 points.  Everton got seven points.   Under 50% unless I miss my calculator.

And yes they have gone charging up the table… to 12th.   A whacking four points above relegation trouble.

And yes they charged into round four of the Cloggies Cup beating that top level premier team Carlisle Untidy 3-1.   Indeed if Carlisle can score against them so can I.

But what’s it really like at Everton?

This is the club that is losing money each and every year (except the year of selling the Rooney), largely because they don’t make much money, but spend a lot on wages and transfers.   They were hoping to clear some debts by building houses on their old training ground – but they built the new training ground and spent the money without getting planning permission for the old ground.

So then they shouted and ranted about how wrong it was that this little group of politically motivated men (the elected councillors) should stop the development.   Then they asked a group of politically motivated men (same guys) to give them planning permission for a new stadium.  And guess what, they got turned down.

Well, what a turnip.

According to the press Everton will want to avenge the 6-1 we beat them by on Day One.   It is the press’ way of ignoring the fact that all of them tipped Everton to win that game.  Untold Arsenal went for Everton 1 Arsenal 7 and if that silly Rambo had passed the ball rather than shooting in the 92nd minute, we’d have been right.

Everton have not won at Arsenal since 1996.

We’ve gone a six-match unbeaten league run, but in our case that means 16 points out of 18.   I could also make jokes about games in the hand, but I did that last week.

We are without Cesc, Jack, Song, Eboue, Bendtner, Walcott, Clichy, Giggs, VP, and Djourou.   So its life pretty much as usual.  Rosicky may be, maybe not.

For the other lot, Jo is suspended, Saha is injured and Yakubu Aiyegbeni and Joseph Yobo are in Africa doing things.  Mikel Arteta and Phil Jagielka are injured.

Those team type things

Us…

Almunia

Sagna, Vermaelen, Gallas, Traore, (Silvestre)

Denilson, Ramsey, Diaby (Roskicy)

Arshavin, Eduardo, Nasri (Vela)

Them

Howard,

Neill, Baines, Heitinga, Hibbert,

Pienaar, Neville, Fellaini, Bilyaletdinov,

Cahill, Vaughan.

The score…

Five nil to the Arsenal.  Two by the Snowman, one by the ref, and two more for Almunia.  Match abandoned after 13 seconds.

Read Making the Arsenal.  Details here – where you can also buy it for distribution to anywhere in the galaxy.

Catch up on Arsenal 100 years ago here

It’s a bit chilly in the midlands, but we’re still hoping to make it to the deep south for the game.

(c) Tony Attwood 2010.