Tomas Rosicky and David Silva could be important to either side and I wouldn’t be at all surprised if the one that contributed more to their team were the team that went on to win the game. David Silva started the season flying and has tailed off towards the end of the season whilst our Czech play maker has found his stride in the second half of the season. Both players have different roles for their team, Silva starts from wider positions while Rosicky starts  from a central position. In a game of possession, both teams will be looking

The spotlight falls on the Emirates as our rivals for the two most likely remaining Champions League spots, added to their points total yesterday. It is now down to us to grab some much needed points in a tough match at home.

Manchester City who were prematurely hailed as the best thing since the invincibles are currently skidding and swerving in the home straight. A crash at the Emirates could see their hugely expensive vehicle written off for this season and that is the reason why I have a little more fear about this fixture than perhaps I did last week.

Pointing at Manchester City’s away form of late and their public in-house squabbles is not a good enough reason to expect victory. We saw how that mindset got us last weekend against relegation strugglers Queens Park Rangers. Most people (including myself) expected the team to go to Loftus road and play the West Londoners off the park, perhaps the players thought the same and we dropped a very important three points. It is now time to jump straight back on our bike and not dwell on the sore knees.

We face a very different team today, a team full of quality in every area but more importantly a team that will be fighting for their season so I hope we will forget about their current form and go at them the same way we went at Tottenham and the same way we took on AC Milan at the Emirates. Whatever happens, with the players on the pitch we should expect a great game of football from two clubs who play a similar system and have a collection of top quality footballing players. Both teams are amongst the best at keeping possession and it will be interesting to see which team wins that battle.

Tomas Rosicky and David Silva could be important to either side and I wouldn’t be at all surprised if the one that contributed more to their team were the team that went on to win the game. David Silva started the season flying and has tailed off towards the end of the season whilst our Czech play maker has found his stride in the second half of the season. Both players have different roles for their team, Silva starts from wider area while Rosicky starts  from a central position. In a game of possession, both teams will be looking for that special pass or drive forward and both players can do that.

I would have felt much more comfortable had Kun Aguero continued to be unavailable for the game but he returns to the City squad after missing the 3-3 draw with Sunderland. Thomas Vermaelen and Laurent Koscielny will have their hands full trying to stop his movement and close control in the penalty area. Koscielny handled him very well in the Carling Cup defeat but in a split second the ball was at his feet and he finished to win the game.

We all know what our team will be, the team has pretty much picked itself since we stuffed the Spuds 5-2. The system is the same, the defenders will be the same and Robin van Persie will start in attack. The only question will be who plays to van Persie’s left. It has been a contentious issue since the defeat at QPR.

While I thought we paid Rangers too much respect using Aaron in that position last weekend, it would seem that Ramsey would be more suited to this type of clash where both teams will be wrestling with the right to play our game. Both David Silva and Samir Nasri will start off in wide positions but will also move centrally to join the likes of Yaya Toure and Gareth Barry or Nigel de Jong. Arsene will not want to be outnumbered in the midfield area but also Arsene will want to give City more problems offensively.

There have been whispers that Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain will be given the sought after wide position, perhaps with instructions to play more narrow when we do not have the ball. Any inclusion that didn’t include Gervinho would be pretty harsh considering his work with and without the ball in our last victory, the 3-0 victory at home to Aston Villa.

Mean Lean’s Predicted Line Up:

Our 1-0 defeat in Manchester earlier this season was difficult to take, as we gave as good as we got on the day. Robin van Persie had a wrongly disallowed goal ruled out for offside. That was a time where our team suffered due to missing all our full backs and that will not be the case today. If we play the way we did that day then we have a good chance of winning the game.

Once again it will be the return of several old boys. Kolo Toure and Gael Clichy should both receive a warm welcome while Samir Nasri will have his every touch jeered just as it was in the Carling Cup earlier in the season.

If victory and a good performance for ourselves isn’t good enough reason to give it our all then watching Nasri leave the Emirates deflated due to finishing his only chance of silverware should be. I would love to see Nasri given a rough ride from Sagna for the whole time he is on the pitch, enough to make Mancini replace him at the hour.

Bouncing back will be vitally important not solely because of the points on offer but to maintain the strong run we fought to get on before we took our eye off the ball last weekend. Keeping that momentum will be vital from now until the end of the season.

Best of luck Arsenal, let us prove that big money signings is not everything and that team work and spirit is at least just as important.

Three points please boys.