Arsenal versus Bolton – Untold preview time « Untold Arsenal: Arsenal News, supporting the club, the players and the manager
This weekend brings Bolton down to the Emirates stadium, and with the second string returning to winning ways, it’d be great if the first team could follow suit. Bolton are a strange side, with a lot of positivity surrounding Owen Coyle’s management that isn’t really borne out by the results. They came in at 14th last season after starting strongly, and this season they sit in the bottom three with only a solitary win to their name. Of course, Arsenal fans wouldn’t be foolish enough to judge a side after five games given our own shaky start, but it does seem that Coyle’s results don’t really equate to the praise he gets.
The backdrop to this game is of course the Cahill “saga” this summer, with Phil Gartside and Coyle throwing their toys out the pram after they rejected a “derisory” bid from Arsenal for their star centreback. Unfortunately, Owen Coyle seemed to have got caught up in the “English premium” after Kenny Dalglish went a little wild this summer. Cahill’s reported £17m price tag with one year left on his contract would make him a £30-40m player if he had four years left on his deal, which translates to him being one of the best defenders in world football, and not playing for Bolton with five England caps. Owen Coyle was well within his rights to reject the bid but he made a big mistake in my eyes: we’ll either offer less in January than we did in the summer, or secure him on a pre-contract deal meaning he joins us for nothing in the summer.
With that backdrop, a testy game may be in the offing despite Coyle and Wenger’s protestations to the contrary. We should be fairly confident of a result at home, even given our own shaky form. I’m lucky enough to have a ticket for this one, so I’m really looking forward to getting down to it despite a six hour round trip. Let’s have a look who’s fit.
Rosicky is back in the squad; whilst Sagna and Ramsey had positive tests so are expected to be involved. Benayoun and Djourou are out with minor muscle injuries, alongside long termers Diaby, Vermaelen and Wilshere. Giving us something along the lines of:
Szcznesy
Sagna Mertesacker Koscielny Santos
Song Arteta
Ramsey
Walcott Van Persie Gervinho
Szcznesy comes back in after Fabianksi’s run out against Shrewsbury, whilst with Santos getting a start at Blackburn and Gibbs playing in midweek it seems the Brazilian international is ahead of Gibbs in Wenger’s mind. The continued absence of Thomas Vermaelen means the Mertesacker-Koscielny axis continues in the heart of the defence, with Sagna at right back.
Further forward Mikel Arteta continues in midfield, buoyed by his first goal for the club, while Song shields the back four. The now-fit Ramsey could play further forward in midfield. Up front Robin Van Persie leads the line, flanked by Walcott and the impressive Gervinho.
That team should have more than enough to beat Bolton, but if one of Mike Riley’s disciples decide to turn down a couple of penalty calls then who knows what will happen. I’m expecting a fairly comfortable 2-0 to the Arsenal, but I’ll reserve the right to change that after reading RefWatch.