I wouldn’t be surprised to see a high scoring game at the Emirates later this afternoon. Leeds United will come and play football I believe and they will look to take advantage of a mixed team, hopefully we will have enough quality to score more than they do, even if our first half football

Ding ding, all change as the FA Cup rolls into town, a chance for Wenger to rest many of his tired Christmas playing legs. High flying Championship side Leeds United come to the Emirates for the very first time, much has changed since they gambled on success and ended up spiraling down into relegation from the top tier of the English league.

Things are looking up for Simon Grayson’s team and have only recently had a nice unbeaten run of 12 games ended by Cardiff City. Ironically the last team to beat them back in October.

If the Leeds United management team were doing any sort of preparation and taking notes at our game against Manchester City on Wednesday evening then they would have wasted their time, our recent draw against Wigan would have been far more appropriate.

Samir Nasri, Jack Wilshere, Laurent Koscielny, Lukasz Fabianski and many more players will be putting their feet up at home whilst certain impact players may be needed on the bench incase of emergency.

With the semi final of the Carling Cup against Ipswich also on the horizon, it will be a good chance for many of the squad members to get their sharpness up to scratch as the games continue to come thick and fast.

With Manuel Almunia almost certain to seek pastures new, it should be another chance for the younger Pole, Wojciech Szczesny to follow on from his impressive Premier League debut at Old Trafford last month. Emmanuel Eboue will replace the suspended Bacary Sagna, which doesn’t even need to be said as that change would have been 99% likely to happen even if Sagna didn’t lose his rag against Zabaleta late on Wednesday evening.

The game has an emotional sub plot to it as Aaron Ramsey is included in the first team squad for the first time since Ryan Shawcross showed how he isn’t that sort of player.
Arsene Wenger will have to decide if Ramsey is ready to start for Arsenal as he hasn’t had the games he would have expected when his loan move to Nottingham Forest was confirmed. The snow put paid to Ramsey’s match sharpness and fitness, but I would imagine that the only way for the young Welshman to get up to speed would be to play him. If he was ready to start for Nottingham Forest then surely he would be ready for an FA Cup game at home against a footballing Leeds United side.

If Wenger is cautious and holds Ramsey back on the bench then Craig Eastmond could come into the deepest midfield position, freeing Denilson into the second midfield position, allowing Tomas Rosicky to support the central striker.

Complacency cannot rear it’s ugly head as it was much of this Leeds team that went to Old Trafford last year and played them off the park from start to finish. With Arsenal in a good vein of form, it could be easy to expect victory against opponents in a league below at home but as we have found out, it is never that straight forward when you expect victory.

The players coming into the team do not worry me in the slightest, all should be of, as Arsene would call it, ‘top top quality’ but my only reservation would be the lack of understanding between the players which always takes a few games to sort out.

The other position that will need an eye kept on will be which central defender partners Squillaci. Koscielny will be rested whilst Wenger has gone on record saying that he does not want to risk Djourou in too many games due to his knee problem last season. Youngster Ignasi Miquel is the only possible option from below the first team squad. We shall wait to see what the boss has in mind.

Mean Lean’s Predicted Line Up

One to watch: Tomas Rosicky

It has been a while since Rosicky came into the side and made a strong impact. He was fantastic at the start of the season when he came through pre season and had a run of games as Cesc struggled for fitness. With so many games coming up in several different competitions, Rosicky will be vital and it is important that he gets back up to speed with his fitness and form. It should be an open game so hopefully the Czech captain finds plenty of space to exploit.

Mean Lean’s Match Prediction

Arsenal 3 (Bendtner [2], Rosicky) Leeds United 2

I wouldn’t be surprised to see a high scoring game at the Emirates later this afternoon. Leeds United will come and play football I believe and they will look to take advantage of a mixed team, hopefully we will have enough quality to score more than they do, even if our first half football may not be fluid. I am tipping Rosicky to score, simply because at some point he has to.

COME ON YOU GUNNERS.