French Revolution: Marseille (H)

Three days on from our five goal blitz and it's the return of Marseille in the Champions League, where a win will see us through to the last 16.

The French side are no mugs and expect them to hit us hard on the counter attack. In all truth, this game is most likely to decide who will top the group as both look like progressing. Carl Jenkinson and Thomas Vermaelen return, as does Yossi Benayoun, Though Marouane Chamakh is ruled out with a knee problem and joins Bakary Sagna and Jack Wilshere on the sidelines.
Another player that misses out is Abou Diaby and Wenger had this say on the Frenchman's recovery:

"You won't see him for a while, the next three weeks. He will not play for France either. I am worried but I was more worried three months ago. His ankle was not good but the surgery went very well then. Now his balance has changed so he has to adjust his muscular strength. He has had two small muscular concerns and if he can get rid of them in the next two to three weeks he will be ready. It's a good time to get him right as we have a two-week break after Saturday."

Loic Remy and Andre Pierre Gignac will pose a threat for Marseille, but I expect three points, and with Van Persie in the form of his life, expect to see the net bulge once more with the Dutchman leading our line.

Score prediction: Arsenal 2-0 Marseille

Post Match Reaction: Chelsea (A)

It was ARSENAL who left Stamford Bridge with the points after an eight goal thriller. Robin Van Persie's superb hat-trick sealing the most entertaining game of the season so far.

Positives:
As a spectacle, it will be hard to find a more open, free-flowing, end-to-end game of football all season. Both sides stood toe to toe in what was an all-out-attack straight shootout. On the day, we had the sharper Guns and though the game was littered with defensive errors, it made for a great advert for the Premier League with goals and chances galore.
Laurent Koscielny was an absolute rock all afternoon and had a touch of Tony Adams about him as he mopped up every lose ball and jumped in front of every challenge in a do or die style. Sky Sports Jamie Redknapp described today as the day Koscielny came of age and it's hard to disagree.
Aaron Ramsey was instrumental in midfield, dictating every creative move in the same way Cesc used to in these big games, whilst Walcott was electric up front, capping his afternoon with a wonder goal.
As for Van Persie, where shall we begin?! Lethal with either foot, a cool head to round Cech for our match winning fourth goal, and always in the right place at the right time. Whlst £50m man Fernando Torres barely had a sniff, Van Persie was busy demonstrating why he is the best player in the Premier League right now with his 28th goal in his last 27 games and led from the front superbly all day long.

Negatives:
Despite banging in 5 at Stamford Bridge (the first time any side has done so since 1992), the day could have been oh-so-different thanks to numerous defensive frailites. Per Mertesacker was at fault for both goals and has looked more Igors Stephanovs than Sol Campbell since his arrival. The German's lapse marking of John Terry for Chelsea's second on the stroke of half-time could see him drop to the bench now Vermaelen is fit once more to partner Koscielny. Meanwhile, Johan Djourou looked very much out of place at right-back and was torn to shreds on numerous occasions by Cashley, whilst though impressive going forward, the way Juan Mata just bounced off Andre Santos to whip in the cross for Chelsea's first was embarrassing.

Conclusion:
With 8 wins in our last 9, it's fair to say we are well and truly back! Any side would struggle with the losses of players of Fabregas and Nasri's quality. And though it may have taken us a little longer than we would have liked, we finally look as though we are over these losses mentally and have the belief in ourselves and eachother to know we can win this kind of games. As long as Robin Van Persie is on the field, we will always have a chance in any game and the celebrations witnessed at the final whistle are testiment to our ability, our mentality, and back up Wenger's claim that the media have brainwashed fans into their negative perception of this current side.
We are now sixth, ahead of Liverpool - perhaps our main challengers for that vital 4th place slot - and though the title looks out of reach this year, let's kick on with this great run and keep moving up that table!

Battle of the Bridge: Chelsea (A)

After successfully coming through the midweek game at Bolton unscathed, Thomas Vermaelen is set to return to the starting line-up for the first time in two months. With Sagna and Jenkinson both out, Laurent Koscielny looks set to start at right-back ahead of Johan Djourou.
The Frenchman has been in sensational form recently, and with the experienced Belgian Vermaelen partnering Mertesacker at the back, our defence is finally looking more formidable than it has been in recent months. Andre Santos will continue at left-back in place of the injured Keiran Gibbs.

For Chelsea, Didier Drogba, who is suspended following his dismissal against QPR, misses out (which is more than handy considering his recent goal record against us!) though Fernando Torres looks like he is (finally!) hitting form, and will be partnered by the impressive Daniel Sturridge. Chelsea have lost just three of their last 19 games in all competitions against us and we've lost our last two Premier League visits to Stamford Bridge - both by a 2-0 scoreline.

However, the home side have gone eight Premier League games without a clean sheet and with RVP in red hot form, it's a fact we'll be looking to exploit.

Likely Line-Ups:
Chelsea: Cech, Ivanovic, Luiz, Terry, Cole, Lampard, Mereiles, Ramires, Mata, Torres, Sturridge
Arsenal: Szceszny, Koscielny, Mertesacker, Vermaelen, Santos, Ramsey, Song, Arteta, Walcott/Arshavin, Van Persie, Gervinho

Post Match Reaction: Bolton Wanderers (H)

An Andrey Arshavin inspired Arsenal side marched into the Carling Cup Quarter Finals with South Korean Park Choo Young netting his first goal for the Gunners.

Positives:
Arshavin was fantastic all night and is finally re-demonstrating the form we saw during his four goal rout at Anfield, and cracker at Old Trafford. The Russian led from the front and looked brilliant in a central role just off the main striker.
Park's first goal for the club was sublime and had a touch of Thierry Henry about it in the way he cut in off the left flank and the bent the ball into the far corner. Meanwhile in midfield, Alex Oxlade Chamberlain looked assured in possession once more and was always a threat going forward.

Negatives:
A lapse in concentration saw us fail to keep a clean sheet at home once more. This is something we must work on in all competitions.

Conclusion:
With a very impressive record in the Carling Cup in recent years, our path to the final this year is looking more and more likely as the rounds go on. There is alot of quality in our youth players and let's hope we carry on with this rich vein of form in the competition as we look to end our long wait for a trophy.

Post Match Reaction: Stoke City (H)

As United crumbled 6-1 at home to Man City, we are quietly going about our business and clambering back up the table. Super sub Robin Van Persie came off the bench today to spare our blushes once more and lift us up to 7th, just two points off Liverpool.

Positives:
Marouane Chamakh, starting in place of the skipper, looked confident and despite not hitting the back of the net, linked up well in front of goal. It's also hard to ignore Van Persie's contribution, the Dutchman adding his 24th and 25th goals in his last 26 games. Meanwhile across the frontline, Gervinho looked sharp all game and a goal was the right reward for the lively Ivorian, whilst Andrey Arshavin looks well and truly back to his best, terrorising defenders with clever flicks, passes, and dribbles.

Negatives:
In what was a pretty comfortable victory, it's hard to pick out any real faults.

Conclusion:
Even with our star man on the bench for 70 minutes, we managed yet another victory - our 7th in the last 8 - and are rapidly making up for our awful start to the season. The longer people write us off the better as we perform best when we have slipped under the radar. Van Persie agrees, and says he didn't even mind starting on the bench:

Post Match Reaction: Marseille (A)

Aaron Ramsey's last gasp winner gave us a vital three points in France as we soared to the top of our Champions League group after a solid professional display.

Positives:
Another victory was key as the morale in the squad keeps on rising, and an away win at the home of a side of such pedigree is a great message to send out to rivals that we're on our way back to top form. Ramsey's goal was a demonstration of the massive potential the Welshman possesses and a clean sheet was a fair reward for a solid defensive display.

Negatives:
At times, we looked vulnerable from set pieces. With 5 goals conceded from free-kicks so far this season (the most in the league), it's a worry that players like Mertesacker aren't stepping up and leading us in these situations.

Conclusion:
A fantastic victory on the road in the Champions League has seen us top our group and Wenger will be hoping for more of the same in two weeks time as the French side visit the Emirates

French Revolution: Marseille (A)

It's a trip to Wenger's homeland in the Champions League on Wednesday as we look to leapfrog table toppers Olympique Marseille in their own back yard. The French giants smashed three past Borussia Dortmund in their last European game and will certainly be no pushovers here at the Velodrome.

With Robin Van Persie in scintilating form, we will no doubt look to our inspirational skipper once more in France but even the Dutchman may have trouble outscoring an impressive Marseille front line containing French duo Andre Pierre Gignac and Loic Remy, whilst French national team Alou Diarra is flanked in midfield by creative Argentine Lucho Gonzalez and playmaker Mathieu Valbuena.

Aaron Ramsey faces a late fitness test in the race to partner Arteta and Song in our midfield carousel whilst Koscielny should continue alongside Mertesacker once more at the back. This will no doubt we our toughest test so far in this season's Champions League, but it is worth remembering that under Arsene, we have never lost in France. Either way, it looks set to be a very open, very attacking, very entertaining game!

Post Match Reaction: Sunderland (H)

After dominating for the entire match, a moment of set piece magic from Sebastien Larsson looked to have robbed Arsenal of a crucial victory. Cue Robin Van Persie, who's late free-kick of his own saw the Gooners take a deserved three points.

Positives:
Van Persie declared his commitment to the club in the matchday programme following reports he was planning to join Manchester City - and then backed that up with his match-winning display on the pitch. First with our fastest ever goal in the Premier League (just 29 seconds!)and then almost doubling the lead after 12 minutes with a sublime piece of skill, turning effortlessly on the edge of the box before spotting Mignolet off his line but chipping his effort onto post in an outrageous display of skill. His late winner was a sublime cherry on the cake and the 29th Premier League goal (23 goals, six assists) he has been involved in since 16 October of last year.
Meanwhile, Wojciech Szceszcny pulled off the save of the season so far at the other end - a superb point blank stop from Lee Cattermole.

Negatives:
Once more, after a large period of domination, all our hard work was undone with a lapse in concentration as Mikel Arteta's needless handball resulted in Larsson's pin-point free-kick. The confidence was then visibly drained from the team until Van Persie's late winner whilst Rosicky was once more absymal, giving the ball away needlessly time after time.

Conclusion:
Three more points see us clamber back into the top half as we look to scurry up the table and make up for our woeful start to the season, yet there is still alot more to come from this team. A point backed up by Monsieur Wenger who had this to say:

"The spirit in the team is exceptional and in the second half we just came out and played in their half. We are growing as a team and getting stronger and stronger. Robin van Persie is a special player and he's shown that again today. He's blessed at the moment and let's touch wood with his injuries. He's shown what a great player he is when he can be consistently playing. We have answered a few critics but not enough and there is a lot more for us to show."

S-Under The Thumb: Sunderland (H)

Sunderland are the visitors to the Emirates on Sunday and after that loss to Spurs before the international break, three points will once more be top of the agenda as we look to clamber up from 15th position in the table and our improve on our dismally woeful current 7 points from 7 games.

Laurent Koscielny, Johan Djourou, and Sebastian Squillaci have all been passed fit to bolster the defence whilst Carl Jenkinson looks to stand in for long term absentee Bakary Sagna at right-back. Aaron Ramsey has also been ruled out and joins Jack Wilshere, Abou Diaby and Thomas Vermaelen on the treatment table so Tomas Rosicky faces a late fitness test as he looks to partner Mikel Arteta in centre-midfield.

For Sunderland, the black cats will have to do without on-loan Gunner Nicklas Bendtner so Stephen Sessegnon will lead the attack with ex-Arsenal midfielder Sebastien Larsson on set piece duty for Steve Bruce's side.

A good defensive display will be imperative and at home, you'd have to fancy us for the win. Score prediction? 2-0 Arsenal.

Post Match Reaction: Tottenham (A)

It's always sickening to lose to Spurs, but when you dominate for large periods and end up losing to a goalkeeping error and losing your most consistent player to injury for 3 months, it makes your day that bit worse.

Positives:
Thrust into the heart of the midfield in a North London derby, young Francis Coquelin excelled and atoned for his awful display at Old Trafford. Alex Song looks like he has played centre-back all his life and we dominated possession for large periods and should have had the game out of reach long before Walker's winner. His error aside, Wojciech Szczesny excelled once more and kept us in the game with a smart stop from Adebayor towards the end.

Negatives:
Yet again, we struggle to find consistency in an away run now stretching to 10 games without a win. Defensive lapses were once again our nemesis with Mertesaker run ragged by Defoe and a lapse in concentration from Szczesny costing us the game.

"It is two steps forward and one step back," said Wenger. "Sunday was a game we could have come out of with a point but it [our inconsistent form] is down as well to a lack of confidence. We will come back because you could see again that there is a strong spirit in the team. But we have to become a bit more realistic and do our job better in certain situations.

“We lost the ball from good positions in the final third so we could have done better with our passing. Tottenham's second goal made the difference. After that they could sit back and play on the counter-attack. That is why we are guilty because we did not do our job properly, we didn't defend properly on the winning goal."

Conclusion:
It was more of the same for us at White Hart Lane as wasted chances up front and schoolboy defending cost us the game. Per Mertesacker, a man with 76 international caps, was made to look like Igors Stephanovs, whilst Bacary Sagna, our most consistently excellent performer in recent seasons was ruled out for three months with a broken fibula. His replacement, Carl Jenkinson was made a fool of by Bale and in truth Tottenham could have added a third and fourth late on.