After a less than convincing performance against United at Old Trafford on Monday, the Gunners will be boosted by the return of influential captain, Cesc Fabregas, as they host Stoke City on Saturday.
Victory over Stoke will see Arsenal get back to the top of the table, at least until Sunday. There is an undercurrent of simmering tension in this tie with Arsene Wenger accusing Stoke City players of being over the top in their tackles on his players. Aaron Ramsey had his leg broken last season by a Stoke player - Ryan Shawcross, who now captains the City side. Wenger had criticised Stoke’s overtly physical approach when the Gunners were beaten 2-1 at the Britannia Stadium in November, 2008. But Stoke Chairman, Peter Coates, has come out to say that the Potters bear no ill feeling towards Arsenal. Though Stoke City are still rankled that Arsene Wenger has failed to apologise for again accusing Shawcross of kicking Spurs keeper Heurelho Gomes earlier this season. On the eve of another tempestuous encounter at the Emirates, Coates has come out to douse tensions that are apparently building up. “We like Arsenal Football Club. I know the chairman well, he is a good man, there is no problem with him,” he said on thisisstaffordshire.co.uk.
No ill feelings
Though Coates admitted a running battle of words with Arsenal manager, Arsene Wenger, he said: “Yes, we have had a few little spats with Mr. Wenger, but that is all water under the bridge. However, it would be nice for us to do something against them at the Emirates. They are a good, strong team, but you always hope we can give them a game. However, we will be up against one of the top teams in Europe, so it is going to be tough.” Stoke were on a high of an unbeaten run of five matches before Blackpool came to the Brittania Stadium and left with the spoils last weekend. But Tony Pulis has refined their play from the typical British kick and rush style, and in Matthew Etherington and Kenwyne Jones, they have fine ball players who can mix it with the best. And expect Stoke to mirror the five-man midfield of Manchester United to water down the crisp passing of the Gunners.
One of the Arsenal players that has grossly disappointed this season is the Russian captain, Andrei Arshavin, and he has come out to say that the players and fans should get over the loss to United quickly and focus on their remaining matches. “There is no time to be melancholy or sad,” he said. “We need to forget this defeat and start thinking about the next match. We need to prepare properly for each opponent. The championship is very interesting this year and nothing has been lost yet.” Arshavin and his coach, Wenger, will definitely have no complaints about the pitch at the Emirates Stadium after blaming the Old Trafford pitch for the 1-0 defeat against United.
Hodgson faces former team
Liverpool FC were lifeless in their Wednesday Europa Cup tie, but the three points at stake are very important in this one. New Fulham boss, Mark Hughes, knows that he is flirting with relegation and sack, but new Liverpool boss, Roy Hodgson is fighting for more than that. Hodgson was labelled as the ideal Liverpool coach when he was named in the summer, but in four months, he is still struggling to get the respect of the Kop. Liverpool will have all their big guns back for this one except Steven Gerrard and Jaime Carragher.
The derby of Catalonia
There is nothing like a local derby to negate present form. Though Barcelona have been firing in the goals with relish in the past five league matches, a match against their city rivals, Espanyol, will have to be treated differently. The Nou Campers have scored 18 goals in their last five matches without conceding any, including the hammering given to Real Madrid. Right now, they look quite unstoppable but Espanyol are also on a good run - standing fourth on the La Liga table. Lionel Messi has been in scintillating form and has already got 17 goals in the league, compared to just five goals by Pablo Daniel of Espanyol. But on Saturday, at the Estadi Cornellà-El Prat, Barcelona will need a desire for a win against their neighbours. In the last eight matches between both sides, the best result for Barcelona has been a 2-1 victory in the 2008/09 season, but that match was played at the old ground, Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys, which hosted the 1992 Olympics. There may be a lack of goals in this tie but there won’t be any lack of desire.
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