Previews

The only real question mark I reckon will be that of Granit Xhaka, not because of his thunderbolt shooting but as Clive said on this weeks Arsenal Vision podcast (have a listen if you haven’t already) without Giroud starting (I’d imagine) we lack height from set pieces and power in the middle of the pitch. They have Matic, Cahill, Luiz, Costa and Ivanovic. That could be a little worrying for Arsene Wenger from corners or free kicks around the box, especially as our centre backs are not exactly the tallest in the world. Xhaka would bump up the average number a little

Grant Xhaka has been in and out of the side and if you look carefully, he was rarely included in our strongest teams during the pre season while Francis Coquelin has consistently been in the team, playing alongside various partners. Now is this because Xhaka lacks fitness? has not adjusted to the speed of our game? or some other reason. It certainly cannot be anything to do with the Euros as players who progressed further are already starting regular games (Ozil and Koscileny)

Southampton have been dealing with a few teething problems this season. They have a new manager, have sold a couple of their best players including one of John Cross’ favourites Victor Wanyama. They have also switched to a diamond shape which has taken some getting used to. That being the case, I wonder if we will look to exploit the flanks a little bit. If Kieran Gibbs comes in for Nacho Monreal for example then you would have to assume that Arsene is very much setting his team up for the opposition. With the Saints midfield likely to be quite narrow, you would imagine that our full backs will be more able to saunter up the pitch and provide our width for the afternoon a little more than usual.

You know what I am excited about? Watching Mesut Özil and Granit Xhaka combine for the first time. If ever a deep lying midfielder and number 10 were suited, it was these two guys. Xhaka is great at finding his team mates between the lines in advanced positions while Özil is the master of finding spaces in between the lines

Personally I think City are there for the taking as long as we approach the game correctly. If we are smart and organised when City have the ball and play with some aggression/urgency then I think we can repeat last seasons scoreline. We have been pretty poor in our last few games but those were games where we had to take the initiative, where it was almost solely down to us to play, that shouldn't be the case today. Hopefully Yaya Toure can have another game in which he walks around the pitch dreaming of tasty cake while Aguero can slot back into Koscielny's pocket as he has done so many times in the past