Tomas Rosicky should return to the side tonight after having been fully rested at Wolves in midweek. Gervinho returns to the squad and so could Kieran Gibbs if he comes through late fitness checks. I am interested to know who will get the nod at left back. Gibbs has done very well since his return to the side and Santos is not quite up to speed since his long term

I cannot think of the last time that a relegation threatened team travelling to the Emirates made me feel as anxious as I do today especially considering our very impressive run of form in the league over the last few months.

But Martinez and his Wigan outfit are not the typical side who are scrapping for survival. They are not the bus parking, get in your faces and pray for set pieces type of team who usually occupy the bottom side of the league table, also their form does not reflect their position at present. Having beaten Liverpool at Anfield, Manchester United at the DW stadium and having an assistant referee cost them a result at Stamford Bridge, Wigan must be soaring psychologically right now.

Wigan outplayed and out passed Manchester United while we did the same to Manchester City last weekend so it will be interesting to see which team keeps the ball better this evening not that possession is everything but it is usually a good indicator as to which team is in control of the game.

Tomas Rosicky should return to the side tonight after having been fully rested at Wolves in midweek. Gervinho returns to the squad and so could Kieran Gibbs if he comes through late fitness checks. I am interested to know who will get the nod at left back. Gibbs has done very well since his return to the side and Santos is not quite up to speed since his long term absence but Gibbs may not have had enough recovery time to be plonked straight back into the action.

Mean Lean’s Predicted Line Up:

Although I have Santos ahead of Gibbs in the above graphic, I actually believe that it will be Gibbs who will start the game and his performances of late fully deserve that start.

Former Crystal Palace forward Victor Moses will be a major threat for the Arsenal back four tonight, he is direct, quick and skilful. He usually occupies the left of the attack but I wonder if Martinez will switch him to the right if Santos is in the side. As Tottenham have found out more than once, there is not much use having your best player playing on the left when facing the best right back in the Premier League.

Arsene’s other selection issue will be who plays ahead of the left back. Yossi Benayoun has been solid and dependable, he even found himself on the score sheet at Wolves with a whipping drive into the near post but at home against a team we will want to attack from the off, I wonder if Oxlade-Chamberlain or Gervinho will get the nod. The ox has not started a game for a while now after a run of consecutive starts a few months back.

When we played Wigan in their stadium, they were woeful and we dominated the game from start to finish. It was incredible how much time they gave us to pass the ball, barely putting in a challenge for the 90 minutes. I haven’t watched them closely since then but I doubt they could have achieved recent results without improving dramatically defensively off the ball. I am intrigued to know how they handle that this time round.

I suspect that Wigan’s recent results could go either two ways, one that they take us on at our own game and make us pay with their technical ability or two they try to go toe to toe with us and get punished, hopefully early on. If we can score two early goals without reply then I really think we can beat them well but if we are not careful then they have players who can hurt us and they could make us chase the ball.

Whatever happens, our application should be no less than it was against Manchester City and I am sure the visitors will cause us more problems than the mega spenders did at the Emirates.

We have a great chance to open up a 8 point gap which is huge at this point in the season. The players need to take this opportunity and they can only do that by fighting for it and playing our game quickly and effectively.

Robin is due goals tonight so I am backing him for a brace along with an Arsenal victory.