Football Special Report: Arsenal probable starting eleven against Chelsea
Arsenal will face their fierce London rivals and Barclays English Premier League leaders Chelsea tomorrow, as Arsene Wenger’s inexperienced team attempts to reconstruct their slowly faltering domestic season.
Arsenal is trying to come back from a shocking 3-2 loss to buoyant West Bromwich Albion at their home. However, the Gunners did conquer over Serbian Champions Partizan midweek in the UEFA Champions League, which surely would have boosted their confidence
before facing Premiership winners, Chelsea.
Furthermore, Arsenal is facing a growing injury list which could affect their overall performance including attack and defence. If Chelsea does inflict a heavy defeat on the Gunners, Arsenal supporters could feel the campaign is already over.
It is set to be an intense, exciting clash that will boast flowing attack and strong defence, with the latter set to be the game breaker. The Gunners goalkeeper would be in much focus as it could loom as potential destroyer for Arsenal
None the less, here is the probable starting eleven of the Gunners against Chelsea
Goalkeeper
Gunners’ veteran goalkeeper Manuel Almunia will not be featuring in this fixture as he suffered an elbow injury last week against West Bromwich Albion. In midweek, Lukasz Fabianski played between the sticks for Arsenal against Partizan.
The 25 year old goal keeper was impressive as he expertly saved a penalty kick and made other extraordinary dominant saves from the set pieces and corners. Fabianski impressive performance earned him a place in UEFA Champions League’s dream team of last
week.
Fabianski’s impressive performance against Serbian Giants Partizan should earn him a place in starting eleven of Arsenal this weekend. However, there are also chances of Manuel Almunia starting against Carlo Ancelotti’s men given he clears his fitness test.
However, neither Almunia nor Fabianski are in good form and both have made important mistakes this season between the sticks. Their recent poor form could prompt Arsenal legendary manager to bring in his young guns Vito Mannone and Wojciech Szczesny, albeit
it is unlikely to be happening.
All in all, if Arsenal veteran goalkeeper Manuel Almunia doesn’t pass the fitness test then it would be his deputy Lukasz Fabianski who will start for the Gunners at Stamford Bridge.
Defenders
Over the years, defence has been a main concern for Arsenal. Last season, the Gunners lost 21 points just because of poor defending and unimpressive goalkeeping. Thus, defence proved to be the only major concern for ‘The Professor’.
The defensive ranks were also set to be met with new quality presence after Arsene Wenger declined the option of renewing the contracts of William Gallas, Mikael Silvestre, Sol Campbell, and Philippe Senderos. However, Arsenal manager hardly stuck to his
word. Arsene Wenger failed to secure the singing of new quality goal keeper. Along with that, Wenger only managed to land two centre backs at the Emirates.
The Gunners defence welcomes back the inspiring leader Thomas Vermaelen. The Belgium international was suffering from Achilles which he suffered during international duties. Vermaelen’s addition to Wenger’s fringe squad after three weeks will be a huge boost
for Arsenal, as defence clearly lacks experience and inspiration. Thomas Vermaelen presence could prove to be a great asset for the Gunners on this crucial fixture against their fierce rivals Chelsea.
However, it remains unseen that who will play with Vermaelen in the heart of Arsenal defence. Two new signing of Arsenal legendary manager, Sebastien Squillaci and Laurent Koscielny are both available to partner Vermaelen. The French pair endured horrible
performances against West Bromwich Albion. Moreover, Squillaci feature in the midweek’s match against Partizan, so it would the young Koscielny who will partner Vermaelen.
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