I'm not sure we can get through a preview of the game without talking about the threat of Dimitri Payet. He has been pretty damn fantastic since signing for West Ham. His free kick goal last weekend against Crystal Palace was pretty special wasn't it? I hope Arsène has been having plenty of words to Gabriel, Koscielny and Coquelin about being careful not to give away cheap free kicks in and around our penalty box. Especially in our penalty box, that wouldn't be good
While scouring through the Coquelin videos, it struck me just how good that lad is at winning the ball back. We all know this already of course but when you watch his highlight reel, it's just amazing. The speed of which he gets across the pitch and the timing of his challenges is really second to none. Rosicky is just such a classy player but at 35 and coming off a long term injury, I don't see him starting many games unfortunately, perhaps a few cup games perhaps but what a player to bring off the bench when you want to grab some control of the game. Watching Ramsey earlier in the season, I thought to myself that a fit and younger Rosicky would suit that role so well.
I continuously bang on about small margins in top flight games and it could have been very different at 1-0 down when Vardy hit the post with a header, only for us to scamper down the other end of the pitch and equalise. 2-0 down away from home with the crowd buzzing would have been tough to come back from but instead Theo Walcott's left foot finish rolled into the corner of the net. Had he missed that chance
Arsène Wenger said that Francis Coquelin will not be available for today so it will be interesting to see what Arsène does in that area. Mikel Arteta would have been next in line before Wednesday but Mathieu Flamini's match winning performance may have changed the managers mind. The decision may not just be about the mindset of the players but Leicester have quick players who may well be used on the break against us, for all of Arteta's quality, his ability to get across the pitch wasn't his strength a few years back, let alone now so Mathieu Flamini may be the better option in that regard at least
We failed to deal with both Liverpool's intensity and also how they outnumbered us in the middle of the pitch with their 3-5-2 system. I wonder how Arsene will look to counteract that this lunch time. Perhaps Danny Welbeck will start on the bench so we can fit Ramsey, Cazorla, Coquelin and Özil into the same team. Or maybe we will just concede possession
So I expect Cazorla and Özil to remain as number 8 and 10 respectively. So I suspect that the only decision will be who plays on the opposite flank to Alexis Sanchez. Danny Welbeck was the preferred option last weekend and if Arsène wants a player who will work harder to put pressure on the ball when we haven't got it then he'll get the nod. But I'm going with the runs and finishing of Walcott today. Welbeck may be saved for Monaco at the Emirates.