Gooner Talk

Arsenal’s bid to secure a top-four finish faces a stern test when the Gunners head to Goodison Park to take on Everton.

Arsene Wenger’s side are currently fifth in the table and are five points ahead of their opponents, but are three points adrift of fourth-placed Aston Villa – a margin that could be doubled before Arsenal take to the field.

Everton’s lack of fit strikers was expected to see them struggle to maintain their top-four challenge, but boss David Moyes has guided his side to an eight-match unbeaten run in all competitions.

Their last two games have seen them secure back-to-back 1-1 draws at Anfield against Liverpool, with Moyes delighted by the spirit shown among his injury-hit squad.

He commented:

“We’ve had it now for four or five weeks and we could have gone under because we didn’t have any forwards, but they haven’t half mucked in and got around it well.

“The boys at the back have given us that opportunity by keeping clean sheets and defending very well and we have to base ourselves on that until we can get some of the forwards back.”

Moyes still has Yakubu, Louis Saha and James Vaughan all sidelined, but record signing Merouane Fellaini returns after a two-match suspension.

Arsenal were held to a goalless draw by Cardiff City in the fourth round of the FA Cup at the weekend, with the Gunners’ strikers failing to find their shooting boots.

Wenger still has Mikael Silvestre, Theo Walcott and Cesc Fabregas sidelined by injuries, but Gael Clichy should return at left-back after suspension.

“We are very short at the moment and cannot rotate very much,” Wenger admitted after the weekend stalemate. “I could rest a few players today but not as many as I had wanted.”

However, things are not as bad as they may seem for the north London outfit, who are unbeaten in their last eight league games.

Earlier this season Arsenal won 3-1 against the Toffees at the Emirates Stadium, thanks to goals by Samir Nasri, Robin van Persie and Walcott.

Gooner Talk’s Predicted Starting XI

Almunia
Sagna – Djourou – Gallas – Clichy
Eboue – Denilson – Diaby – Nasri
Adebayor – van Persie

Match Prediction: Everton 1-1 Arsenal

Gooner Streams will provide live stream links of this Premier League clash on GoonerStreams.com. Post-match highlights will be avaliable at midnight on Gooner Talk for those of you who were unable to watch the game.

Leave your views and predictions of tonight’s  game – which kicks off at 20:00 BST time – in the comments section below.

This game features two sides who love to get the ball down and play it, so it should make interesting viewing for the neutral. Last year’s finalists Cardiff have had a very good season by all accounts and currently sit in 6th position in the Championship. Arsenal on the other hand have been slightly disappointing and after performing so well for much of last season, only sit in 5th place in the top flight.

The fact that so many Premiership clubs are looking at many of Cardiff’s players speaks volumes for how well the Welsh side are performing at the moment. The likes of Joe Ledley, Rodger Johnson, Ross McCormack and Paul Parry have caught the eye of many clubs yet Cardiff have so far stood strong and refused to sell any of their star men. At the moment they’re in the final play off spot in the Championship although with the Bluebirds also having a game in hand, all looks good for Dave Jones’ men at the moment. They haven’t lost since mid-November and having beaten the likes of Birmingham, Reading and Preston in recent weeks, they’re in very good form and betting patterns suggest a few people believe an upset could occur here.

As for Arsenal, a poor start to the season has hindered Arsene Wenger’s men in the race for the title and it now looks as though they are well and truly out of the hunt. The Gunners are six points behind leaders Manchester United which is a huge gap at this stage of the season, especially with United also having a game in hand. However, after struggling for consistency in the early parts of the season, things finally start to be coming together for the Gunners. They’ve won their last four games and while those haven’t been against any of the so called bigger sides, it’s still proof that they’re making progress. They were knocked out of this competition at an early stage last season and with the Premiership title looking unlikely now, Wenger knows it’s important to at least progress at this stage.

In terms of team news, there’s not much to report for Cardiff with Peter Whittingham being the only absentee. Whittingham will miss out with a hamstring injury but Paul Parry is waiting in the wings to replace the midfielder. As for Arsenal, Arsene Wenger is expected to give a few fringe players a chance in this one. However, one or two experienced pros are tipped to start with William Gallas being one of those after the former Chelsea man recovered from a hamstring injury.

Gooner Talk’s Predicted Starting XI

Fabianski
Sagna – Toure – Djourou – Gibbs
Eboue – Denilson – Diaby – Nasri
Bendtner – van Persie

Match Prediction: Cardiff City 0-2 Arsenal

Gooner Streams will provide live stream links of this Premier League clash on GoonerStreams.com. Post-match highlights will be avaliable at midnight on Gooner Talk for those of you who were unable to watch the game.

Leave your views and predictions of today’s  game – which kicks off at 13:30  BST time – in the comments section below.

With Arsenal currently sitting outside the top four in 5th position in the league, can Arsene Wenger and his team get back into form and the top four where they belong? With Hull’s form stalling in recent weeks, the Gunners will be eager to post a convincing victory as they form begins to return to them.

The Arsenal beat Bolton Wonderers 1-0 in their last league outing, extending a run to seven games undefeated since losing 3-0 away against Manchester City.

They have won four and drawn three of those seven games, picking up 15 points from the 21 available. During this run, they have found the net on 9 occasions, whilst being breached 5 times, as they currently sit fifth in the league.

Arsene Wenger has revealed that The Gunners have reached a stage of negotiations to sign Andrei Ashavin and is hopeful of signing him before the transfer window closes, signaling his plans boost the quality of the team sheet and garner something extra from the existing players with higher class competition.

Gooner Talk will have an exclusive article tomorrow afternoon which will include quotes from Arshavin’s agent, Dennis Lachter, who agreed to answer a couple of questions for Gooner Talk.

Team news for the Gunners is as follows:

Cesc Fabregas (knee), Theo Walcott (shoulder), Tomas Rosicky (hamstring), Mikael Silvestre (thigh) and William Gallas (hamstring) are all out. Whilst Alex Song (thigh) has a chance of returning.

Gooner Talk’s Predicted Starting XI

Almunia
Sagna – Toure – Djourou – Clichy
Eboue – Denilson – Diaby – Nasri
Adebayor – van Persie

Match Prediction: Hull City 1-2 Arsenal

Gooner Streams will provide live stream links of this Premier League clash on GoonerStreams.com. Post-match highlights will be avaliable at midnight on Gooner Talk for those of you who were unable to watch the game.

Leave your views and predictions of tomorrow’s  game – which kicks off at 17:30  BST time – in the comments section below.

Arsenal are likely to make a number of changes to the team that beat Plymouth Argyle in the FA Cup third round when they entertain Bolton this afternoon.

The Gunners, who have beaten the Trotters in all of the last four league games between the clubs, used the FA Cup to blood a number of young players who should be relegated to the bench this weekend.

Lukasz Fabianski, Aaron Ramsey and Nicklas Bendtner could all find themselves back out of the first team at the Emirates Stadium despite a good team performance in the 3-1 win over Argyle.

Goalkeeper Fabianski and Bendtner replaced the rested Manuel Almunia and Emmanuel Adebayor, both of whom should come straight back into the starting eleven.

Ramsey and Johan Djourou, who impressed last weekend, have a better chance of keeping their places but both are reliant upon injuries keeping Kolo Toure, Denilson and Alexandre Song – just back from suspension – on the sidelines.

The final place of contention in Arsene Wenger’s side is at left-back, where Mikael Silvestre and Gael Clichy could both be out injured – although the latter is close to a return.

“I have to look at it but at the moment with the injuries we are a little bit short everywhere.”

“On the left-hand side we are a bit short, but Gael Clichy should be back for next week,” Wenger conceded earlier this week.

Wenger is likely to be optimistic regardless of the strength of his starting eleven – the Gunners have won their last two matches after drawing with title rivals Aston Villa and Liverpool.

He can also look at Bolton’s record with glee as the Trotters are on a three-game losing streak, including last weekend’s 2-1 FA Cup defeat at Sunderland.

Gooner Talk’s Predicted Starting XI

Almunia
Sagna – Toure – Djourou – Clichy
Eboue – Ramsey – Diaby – Nasri
Adebayor – van Persie

Match Prediction: Arsenal 1-0 Bolton

MyP2P will provide live stream links of this Premier League clash on MyP2P.eu. Post-match highlights will be avaliable at midnight on Gooner Talk for those of you who were unable to watch the game.

Leave your views and predictions of today’s game – which kicks off at 15:00 BST time – in the comments section below.

Arsenal come into this match with the aim to qualify for the fourth round of the FA Cup by beating lower league opposition in the form of Plymouth Argyle when they meet at The Emirates Stadium.

For the record, under Arsene Wenger, Arsenal are unbeaten against teams outside the Premier League with their last FA Cup upset coming against Sheffield United way back in January 1996.

As for Plymouth, last season they were beaten by eventual winners Portsmouth and the season before they managed to reached the last eight of the competition.

However, they do not have a good record against teams from the top flight is not impressive with their last win coming against West Brom in the fifth round way back in 1984.

Arsene Wenger is likely to field a strong side here instead of a young side and that could mean Emmanuel Adebayor will start upfront since he did not feature in the high scoring 2-2 draw with Aston Villa as he was suspended.

Adebayor had Nicklas Bendtner as his striking partner for Arsenal’s 1-0 win over Portsmouth and they are likely to be retained although Robin van Persie could see action at some stage of the match. The likes of Eduardo or Carlos Vela could also be brought on if Wenger wants to give them a feel of the FA Cup.

Wenger could also give a rare start to Jack Wilshere who is a youngster in the team. However, the likes of Gavin Hoyte and Jay Simpson will not be available after they have been loaned out to Watford and West Brom respectively.

Norwegian defender Havard Nordtveit has returned to Arsenal after a poor loan spell with Spanish outfit Salamanca and he could find himself in Arsenal’s starting line up if Arsene Wenger decides to throw him on and rest his first choice defenders.

The likes of Cesc Fabregas, Theo Walcott and Tomas Rosicky all remain long-term casualties for Wenger while Denilson and Kolo Toure are unlikely to start this match after just recovering from small knocks.

Gooner Talk’s Predicted Starting XI

Fabianski (c)
Sagna – Gallas – Silvestre – Clichy
Eboue – Ramsey – Diaby – Wilshere
Adebayor – Bendtner

Match Prediction: Arsenal 2-0 Plymouth Argyle – A comfortable outing for a mixture of fringe and first team players.

Gooner Streams will provide live stream links of this Premier League clash on GoonerStreams.com. Post-match highlights will be avaliable at midnight on Gooner Talk for those of you who were unable to watch the game.

Leave your views and predictions of today’s game – which kicks off at 15:00 BST time – in the comments section below.

Porstmouth coach Tony Adams returns to Arsenal tomorrow afternoon where he will pit his wits against his old boss Arsene Wenger and a Gunners team who look in disaray.

The north London giants were held to a 2-2 draw by Aston Villa at Villa Park on the Boxing Day, while Pompey suffered a 4-1 defeat by West Ham United at Fratton Park.

Arsenal are fifth in the table, as a result of their inconsistent display so far this season where they have suffered defeats at the hands of Fulham, Hull City, Stoke City, Manchester City and Aston Villa, who had won last month at the Emirates.

However, Gunners boss Wenger is still hopeful that his side can resurrect their campaign but cannot afford any more slip-ups.

Pompey are, meanwhile, 11th in the table with just three points separating them from the drop zone.

The Gunners are boosted by the return of striker Emmanuel Adebayor, who missed the Villa game due to suspension.

However, Wenger has injury concerns with Alex Song (thigh), Gael Clichy and Johan Djourou (both calf) facing late checks.

Portsmouth also have their problems with Glen Johnson (knee) ruled out, while Younes Kaboul and John Utaka are doubtful.

The trip to north London also marks the return of former Arsenal legend Adams to his old club first time as Pompey boss having been promoted to the top job following Harry Redknapp’s departure in October.

Gooner Talk’s Predicted Starting XI

Almunia
Sagna – Toure – Gallas – Silvestre
Eboue – Denilson – Diaby – Nasri
Adebayor – van Persie

Match Prediction: Arsenal 1-0 Portsmouth – The Gunners scrape through a tough contest in which several chances are wasted by Arsenal’s frontmen partnership of Bendtner and van Persie.

MyP2P will provide live stream links of this Premier League clash on MyP2P.eu. Post-match highlights will be avaliable at midnight on Gooner Talk for those of you who were unable to watch the game.

Leave your views and predictions of tomorrow’s game – which kicks off at 14:00 BST time – in the comments section below.