If Bendtner continues from where he left off then I expect the Dane to flourish in a more creative and fluid team around him. I have a good feeling that he will score if he plays this evening

I was going to copy and paste my preview from earlier on in the season before the snow came tumbling down but that would be rather cheap wouldn’t it? Times have changed, circumstances are different but the feelings of animosity still remain between the clubs, at least from the fans point of view. There is no reason for me to go back into what happened, we all know but if you want to get an idea of how much it means then have a read of yesterday’s piece by Wenger Boy if you missed it.

We will be playing a very different line up to the one against at Leyton Orient but unfortunately for Wenger, he will not be making as many changes as he would like. Robin Van Persie has a slight hamstring strain and Laurent Koscielny carries a back problem so will both be absent for this evening’s match.

Arguably two of our best players of the last few months along with Jack Wilshere and that is obviously a slight concern but we have the strength of squad to deal with minor set backs. I had truly almost forgotten what it was like to have injuries, we have been rather fortunate for a change during the last few months and have been able to keep most of the lads together.

It is hard to predict which position and player will be missed the most, I expect Arsenal to have most of the ball and to be in and around their penalty area more than our own so you would say that Van Persie’s absence will be felt more from the squad but Stoke will play a direct game, looking to get balls into our box as often as possible, while Koscielny may not be as strong as Djourou in the air, he is in fantastic form and has stood up to practically everything that has been thrown at him.

Koscielny’s replacement should be pretty straight forward, the experienced Squillaci will continue in the heart of defence. He has played pretty well on the whole when partnered with Johan Djourou earlier this season. I remember at Wolves, they were tested continuously but stuck to their tasks superbly.

My concern is not really in the air but playing a high line against Kenwyne Jones and getting caught on the turn. It really shouldn’t be a massive concern because you would expect our team, even without Van Persie to put them under far more danger than they put on us.

Van Persie’s replacement isn’t so cut and dried, Wenger has the choice of two, Chamakh was second in command earlier in the season when Van Persie first started to find his form but Chamakh’s form has drastically diminished in recent weeks. Nicklas Bendtner looks sharper and is more hungry for goals so if the choice was mine then the Dane would get the nod from me. Chamakh didn’t make the bench in the game against Barcelona so that would suggest that Bendtner has currently moved above him in the pecking order, at least for the short term.

So Theo Nik Nasrgas it would have to be for me. Bendtner is powerful in the air and could be useful in both penalty boxes.

Mean Lean’s Predicted Line Up:

One to watch: Nicklas Bendtner

I seem to be the odd one out when it came to Bendtner’s performance against Orient on the weekend. I thought he looked sharp and interchanged well with Arshavin and the midfield. His shooting was wayward but his overall play looked neat and tidy. If Bendtner continues from where he left off then I expect the Dane to flourish in a more creative and fluid team around him. I have a good feeling that he will score if he plays this evening.

Mean Lean’s Match Prediction:

Arsenal 2 (Bendtner, Cesc) Stoke City 0

Stoke City will be hoping to use the long ball as well as Rory Delap’s long throws to try and unsettle us but they may find that a little more difficult with the physical stature of both Johan Djourou and Wojciech Szczesny in the Arsenal team.

It will be very interesting to see how physical the opposition are and if it affects the referee’s performance. Would you be surprised even in the circumstances that Stoke City are allowed to get away with over the top tackles and Arsenal get booked for minor offenses.

Needless to say, victory is very important once again. The team are in a good habit of winning Premier League fixtures and we must continue doing that.

I hope the sight of Shawcross heightens the atmosphere at the Emirates, he will deserve every boo and hiss from the home support, let us use that to our advantage and pen them in their own half and let our football do the talking.

I ask the footballing gods for two things tonight, three points and a clean bill of health.

COME ON YOU REDS!