Surely, what has been widely described as a comfortable win over Chelski at the Emirates must have fed the confidence of Arsene's 'boys'. Wigan are also on a bounce following their away win over Wolves at the weekend.
Surprisingly, the comparisons do not end here as Wigan manager Roberto Martinez tries to keep true to the attacking football philosophy. Just as his challenger today, Arsene Wenger, Martinez has steered his team down this route, strong in conviction even the face of loud voices shouting for a change in tact.
You see, both clubs are deep in the business end of a battle albeit at different ends of the scale. While Wigan are fighting relegation, Arsenal want to reclaim the title of The Best Team in England following a seven year wait.
First, Consistency
Even in the face of the now forgotten 1-0 loss at Old Trafford, Arsenal should be the team with the better away form among the team s in the English top flight. Wigan, on the other hand last lost at home in September.
While Martinez will be keen to keep at bay a team he considers worthy Champions this 2010/11 season, Wenger will be asking for a performance like the recent Carling Cup win at the DW Stadium rather than the woeful capitulation in the final quarter of the game that saw his team let loose of a two goal lead, losing 3-2 back in 2009/10 season.
For Arsenal, consistency means overcoming a new mental challenge. That of keeping their heads above all the hype. Chelsea is the past, in a few hours, Wigan will be the past. Simply put, there is little time to be caught in the festivities. It's time to move on to the next one.
For Wigan, consistency entails a defensive performance that has kept a clean home record in the last five games, coupled with just enough attacking potency to improve on the result end of their attacking play.
Second C- Word : Chances
The bet is at 13-2 for a comfortable 2-0 win for Arsenal. Away from the business of wagers, for Wigan, any result other than a loss will go a long way in improving their chances of avoiding the drop. Arsenal after witnessing what must had a hint of Dejavu, when Manchester United let a lead slip away at the dead of the game at Birmingham city, once again have a chance of pushing their tally to 38 points.
A five goal drubbing of Wigan will see Arsenal top the premier league table on goal difference, ahead of Manchester United who have played a game less and Manchester City who have played a game more than the gunners.
Finally, the Chilling...
At a bar named Bangladesh, Nakuru Town, Nakuru County in the central regions of the Kenyan portion of the Great Rift Valley, an Arsenal supporter sadly lost his life on Monday night. He was beaten to death after his jubilation following Arsenal 3-1 win over Chelsea incensed 'friends' who were Chelsea supporters..... R.I.P Allan.
Arsenalii Line- Up For Wigan Away
Arsene is expected to shift the squad around considering the heavy fixture list coming up and the healthy options available to him. Andrei Arshavin could get a start after sitting out Chelsea on the bench, Marouane Chamakh is expected to regain the lead striker role as two games in two days may be to much of a stretch for Robin Van Persie who has come back from a long injury lay off.
The same could be said of impressive Swiss Djourou who could be replaced by Squillaci in defense. Cesc's fifth booking of the season in the Chelsea match keeps him out so this one with Rosicky expected to fill in.
Denilson looks set for start and so does Diaby while Sagna could be destined for a rest as Eboue steps in. Fabianski at Goal and sadly for Clichy, if Eboue is not experimented there today, it's another 90 for him: Talk of a working Christmas!
Too obvious- the changes- if you ask me. It may be too disruptive for Wenger to make all these changes, but as he has shown this season, he is not afraid to shake thing up. As he [Wenger] has said in the past, he puts out the team that he is confident is going to win.
Maybe, RVP may play the deep role as he did so effectively against them in the Carling Cup with B52 upfront? Leave your suggestions, opinions in the comments section below.
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