Opposition View

I think one of the main problems has been Tony Pulis' tactics. For the majority of the season we have been playing some pretty uninspiring defensive football, with central midfielders out wide and central defenders in the full-back roles. It's certainly not the type of football that a player such as Gnabry would fit into. Only recently, after much criticism from fans, has Pulis recalled Stephane Sessegnon - who is very smiliar to Gnabry - to the team, but you get the feeling before long he will be sidelined by Pulis again. Gnabry is not the only one that can feel hard done by, Callum McManaman is another quick and skilful player that Pulis has by and large ignored this season in favour of hard-working 'plodders'.

Alexis Sanchez always has an eye for a goal, and a knack of arriving in the right place at the right time. Santi Cazorla usually plays well against us, and Theo Walcott's pace will be tough to defend against. Having said that, both teams will probably put out reserves and none of the above will feature. If we are mentally in the right place I don’t fear any of your players. Giroud occasionally scores against us, Ozil has the potential to do something other than disappearing, but honestly the days of fearing Henry, Pires, Ljunberg and co have long gone. You aren’t a scary team anymore which can be seen in how defensively you tried to set up against us last year, and how you played vs Chelsea when you had 11 men on Saturday

Above all else, he’s just taken the reigns off the squad. Villa were dull, negative, and just looking to hold possession (though doing nothing with it) under Paul Lambert, and he’s completely flipped that around, which was exactly what the club needed; there’s not a lack of attacking talent here. He also brought Jack Grealish properly into the first team, which has been huge.

Our main threat of course is Saido Berahino. Whilst his goal tally is impressive there is much more to his game than just scoring. He can hold the ball up well and his link-up play is also good. It's easy to see why the country's top clubs are 'sniffing' around him. Callum Mcmanaman, if he features, is also capable of causing problems for most teams. We haven't seen a great deal of him since his move from Wigan but in the glimpses we have seen of him he looks to possess pace, skill and trickery, a nightmare for opposition defenders.

It's funny because I always feel that since the invincibles side Arsenal have been a bit soft centred and easy to beat. If you flood the midfield and then go in a little hard then your lot seem to really struggle and latterly Fergie had really got a bit of an Indian sign over you. Especially at Old Trafford. I feel that we have to try and go back to that in this game. Last time out, in the FA Cup, we gave your pacy

Yes I do believe we have under performed somewhat, the fact that we are still fighting for safety to stay in the premier league tells the story. That said, injuries have been a big factor and really have not helped our cause at all.