Portsmouth game may have changed that. Eduardo was very lively on the left flank. Bendtner to me is a 1st 11. Wenger likes to have a tall forward to catch the long balls. Maybe Arshavin can play at the expense of Diaby (sub in later).

Arshavin has proven his capability on left flank last season, I don't find it hard for him to repeat the feat this season. Just give some time, he will find his form back on the left.

Contradictory, I think AW will do it slowly on playing Eduardo frequently. No doubt he has made impact in his few substitutions, so why not continue in that way? This is similar to Walcott case last season, being an effective subs is a good news

In order to keep the consistency, AW will make minimum changes. Diaby will most likely to cover Fabregas' absent (or rest) in Celtic game with others remain the same - although I'm still in doubt on the fullback positions - any insight on this?

was clichy being rested last week against portsmouth?

coz having kieran gibbs and arshavin on the left flank did leave some holes on our left side for Piquionne to exploit with his pace and he very nearly did take advantage on a few occasions.

the main agenda for the celtic game i think would to be for us to get an early goal or 2 since we are at home then rest players after we have secured the result so that we dont accumulate more injuries and have fresher legs to kick the manchesters

Sagna and Clichy please. Can't afford to be overconfident. They have Mat Giddy
And I want to see attacking football as usual. Maybe an early goal or 2 to kill their motivation. I hope Wenger don't plan to absorb their attacks with 4-5-1. At least not from the kick-off.

with current arsenal form...i think should not be a problem dealing with celtic..

and thats exactly how complacency kicks in

how is our capitan? when can he come back? already passed 48 hours and no result i seen..

Is AW want to make any last minute signing? still have less a week to bring out someone lol...

Please la no more injury especially keyplayers. Hope Rosicky can play for the next 2 match.

I was never bothered by the "sideways passing" comments about Denilson as I believe it's a myth similar to his "lack of physique" and "lack of height" to play in the DM position. Towards the end of last season he has been acting as the midfield link man who collects the ball and spreads it to the other players eg Fabs or the other flank players, and he is doing it in a consistent and simple way. Hence my "typical Denilson" comment which is more of a compliment than a criticism.

Diaby... the jury is still out but credit should be given as he did impress vs Pompey despite the minor complaints which we agree upon. Abou needs to be consistent and avoid injuries before he can start thinking of securing a starting lineup position. Song will be absent during early next year due to ACN so if Diaby manages to keep up the good work he might just give Song a run for his money.

Now this is hilarious...
http://www.football365.com/story/0,17033,8...5510765,00.html
Replays clearly show that Utaka's right foot got tangled with his left shin and he tripped on his own, whereas Gallas never even touched him. Since it is from "The Sun" which are more often dodgy than not, I'd give Utaka the benefit of doubt. But if he really claimed that it was Gallas's fault than I'd lose all respect for him.

Not to say over confident, with 2 away goals. I guess this tie is not going to a hard one. But I do agree Arsenal should adopt an attacking strategy. This is because attack is the best defence.

I predict Gallas to score with his hands this time?

I'm predicting a very strong squad against Celtic. We will see most of the players sitting out the Portsmouth game return bar a few. 2-0 is by no means a big lead to be honest. Certainly a mountain to climb for Celtic, but not impossible and Arsene knows that. A first goal from Celtic changes everything. Strong squad early on and depending on the situation we will see our key players being subbed out probably around the 65th or 70th minute mark.

for our boss, CL is priority at this stage of the season. hence i'm very confident that we will see the best team available playing in the match against Celtic

True true, qualifying in CL Final stage is more important than MU match to be honest.

To balance out the two matches, AW should field the strongest squad for Celtic encounter and sub out three important players when the match is heading to an obvious result

That would be Van Persie, Vermaelen, Fabregas (if he plays), Arshavin...

I think AW would not risk Cesc. It not about the game with Man Utd's but its for Arsenal's season.

lol, Maybe Utaka forgot there are video replays now adays.

Credits to the linesman.

seems like cesc still not fit yet. i dont really mind for the celtic game, i am not being complacent or what, its just... u guys saw how celtic played last week? rough. i dont fance playing cesc there.. hopefully he will be fit for mu cozz we need him against mu!

i think AW should rest cesc. His hamstring has been acting up ever since preseason. So, i don't think it's easy but it's necessary to rest him. Let him rest the next few weeks.

I think if Ramsey and Diaby can be consistent, i don't see why not rest cesc. I think Denilson, Song and Diaby combo is something we haven't seen yet and certainly there's an element of surprise there. Ramsey also could cover for cesc but his lack of experience could be exploited by the likes of carrick/scholes/fletcher and ireland/robinho.

all in all.. i think Wednesday's game is the most crucial to get thru to the group stages. ManU is just another league game and i don't mind if we lost to the at OT. It's not easy playing there anyway.

but can they? i doubt it. but watever. having cesc out for a few weeks is better than playing him, him getting injured and off for a few months. and on the mu game, have some faith. i know its not easy to beat them at OT, but i dont think we will give up so easily. at least a draw

i believe arsene will use attacking, counter attack 2 get 1 goal up then celtic gotta score at least 3-1
diaby will start ?
is rocky able to play as sub?

It seems like with a formation of 4-3-3, all our players can be fully utilized to the max and all our previous problems on player selection are gone, don't you guys think so?

AW's favorites (Denilson & Diaby) can fit in and complement each other while Fabregas can play in a free role position.

With already short of wingers, we can fit our excessive (yet highly regarded) strikers (despite losing Adebayor) in the formation.

Besides that, with one or two midfielder(s) in front of the back four most of the time, our defense has improved as well. Although not many like it, we are having Gallas bombing forward more often because the defense is pretty much covered - I prefer to have Toure for that role though.

For this formation, my concern is on our fullbacks. With lesser help from wingers, they may have to mark opponent wingers and bombing fullbacks (for teams who brave enough to leave our wide forward alone).