Not allowing Newcastle United time to settle on the ball and pick passes will be key to our defensive and indeed attacking performance. It will be interesting to know who Arsene selects in the wide attacking positions. Yossi Benayoun performed the inverted left attacking role very well against Tottenham which gave Theo Walcott more licence to join van Persie in

For the first time in a while the Arsenal squad will have had the chance to rest legs, aches and any strains. Physically a reset of health was very much needed, a chance to push on again for the final stretch of the season will be very important. I just hope the reset button was not pushed on the attitude, commitment and fight of the players.

I hope that the squad which take to the field at any stage during tonight’s clash with Newcastle remember what has been the foundation of our very good run of victories in recent matches over the last couple weeks.

Not allowing Newcastle United time to settle on the ball and pick passes will be key to our defensive and indeed attacking performance. It will be interesting to know who Arsene selects in the wide attacking positions. Yossi Benayoun performed the inverted left attacking role very well against Tottenham which gave Theo Walcott more licence to join van Persie in attack. He wasn’t as influential against Liverpool before being replaced and was injured for the Milan clash.

We are playing in front of our fans and I wonder if Arsene will go for it a little more with the inclusion of Gervinho out wide on the left and probably Theo Walcott out on the right.

While we all want to see more of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, I think he will be kept wrapped in cotton wool for the time being and will continue to be behind Theo Walcott and Gervinho in the pecking order.

Gervinho hasn’t been amongst the goals for some time now and given his debut red card at St James’ Park earlier in the season, I think finding the back of the net would be the best way to make amends for dismissal and subsequent suspension earlier in the season.

Newcastle have grown and improved over the season but at Newcastle we were far bar the most dangerous team on the day and Szczesny was virtually a spectator throughout the 90 minutes.

We were very much in the early stages of trying to adjust our game and van Persie suffered from a lack of service as the link between our midfield and attackers was badly lacking.

That is not the case today, in recent weeks Tomas Rosicky has continued to improve his form and has been key to our football. I am glad that he has signed a new deal with the club. He has scored in his last two home games after struggling for months without finding the net. What are the odds of him making it three in a row? I can see it you know.

Andre Santos will return to the bench and that is great news and I hope we are winning at the end of the game, preferably with a comfortable score line so he can get on and regain some match fitness.

That is by no means an assumption, just purely a hope. In fact Newcastle who have a fully fit squad to choose from will probably sit back and use the pace they have on the break. That will be interesting as it is likely that Vermaelen and Koscielny will push Newcastle high up the pitch. Demba Ba, Gutierrez and perhaps Cisse will be looking to get in behind which is another reason why we need to apply the pressure high up the pitch when we do not have possession.

The midfield battle will be very intriguing, I have already mentioned the ever green Tomas Rosicky but slightly further back Mikel Arteta and Alex Song will have a fight on their hands with the impressive Cheik Tiote and Yohan Cabaye.

It will be interesting to see if Pardew is stupid enough to play two in middle just as Redknapp did. I certainly hope so. The likely hood is that Cisse will be sacrificed for another midfielder to match up with our trio.

Mean Lean’s Response

Arsene Wenger’s team talk should be straight forward. In fact he could just write it on the tactics board without having to say a word.

“Play like you have done against Tottenham and AC Milan and we will take all three points”

It is that simple really.