This weekend Arsenal will take on a resilient Cardiff side in the Welsh capital. With wins against Southampton and Marseille following on from the international break, we’ll be looking to make it 3 wins out of 3 since the return. This means that our confidence will be high, especially in the defensive areas of the pitch, where we’ll be attempting to keep yet another clean sheet this month following some brilliant displays against the likes of Liverpool and Dortmund. However, Cardiff will be tougher than many think.
Many people thought that Cardiff would be relegation candidates at the beginning of the season but they’re beginning to show the class that got them into the Premier League. I believe that they will stay up as they play good free-flowing football and actually seem to have a game plan, unlike sides such as Crystal Palace and Sunderland at the moment. Previous meetings between the two sides suggest that Arsenal will come out on top on Saturday. The Gunners are unbeaten in their last 11 matches in all competitions against Cardiff City, winning six and drawing five. They haven’t played each other since 2009 in the FA Cup where Arsenal won 4-0. Meanwhile it’ll be the first league meeting between the two teams since 1962, a game that was drawn one a piece. Another good omen for Arsenal is the fact they’ve got the best away record in the league this season.
This will be a very special game for a certain Aaron Ramsey. The Welshman will be taking on his former club who he left in 2008. Ramsey’s form has seemed to have dried up a bit in terms of his goals but his performances aren’t going unrecognised. He’s been a stalwart in central midfield this season and I’m expecting that to continue at the weekend. Ramsey should get a very good reception and considering its against his former employers, I’m expecting a good performance from him. Wilshere will be looking for goals too after Tuesday night. He’ll be potentially switching throughout the game with Ramsey himself down the right flank. That’s something that has worked quite well recently, although we have lacked a little bit of width when that system is operated. Mesut Ozil also needs a big game to regain his confidence. He’s been nowhere near his best yet despite his positive start. He missed a penalty in the week against Marseille and looked a little lost for a while. However, his second half performance was much better and I’m hoping to see more of that at the weekend.
Going back to Cardiff, they are a pretty disciplined side. Gary Medel will be a key player to watch out for as he tries to break down our attacks through his bulldog style approach in the middle of the park. Malky Mackay’s side have done fairly well at home. Winning 2, drawing 2 and also losing 2. Their only defeats have come late on against Spurs and also against Newcastle. However when the crowd have got behind them they’ve really seemed to be a driven side. They managed to beat Man City earlier in the season whilst also beating rivals Swansea the other week. More recently though, last weekend, they managed to grind out a famous last minute draw against Manchester United. The right hand side of their defence is in my opinion one of their strongest areas. Theophile-Catherine has had a solid start to English football at right back whilst the towering presence of Steven Caulker is one to look out for from set-pieces. Expect Per Mertesacker to be keeping a close eye on him.
It’s not certain who’ll start on Saturday. Jack Wilshere has impressed over the past 2 games whilst Flamini is also available having served a one game ban last time out. I hate seeing Aaron Ramsey stuck out on the flank but if Wenger continues to keep Walcott on the bench for the time being I could see him being played out there. It’ll be a decision that Wenger will need to have a long think about. With Podolski to return and also Oxlade-Chamberlain, our squad depth is beginning to look like a good one once again. The past two previews I’ve done I’ve had a rough idea of what the starting XI would look like but this week I just can’t call who’ll be in that Arsenal midfield. It will certainly be very intriguing to find out what the line-up is.
I feel as though it’ll be one of those games where we dominate the possession stats but struggle to create much. Seems hard to believe with all the midfield talent we have, but in some cases this season we have indeed struggled to break down well regimented sides of a similar stature to Cardiff’s. Despite that, it’s a game I’m expecting us to win if we want to go on and really challenge for the Premier League title.
By Matt Dawson
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