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Arsenal v Udinese – Preview

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Arsenal take on Udinese in the first of their two-legged Champions League play-off at the Emirates tonight.

The Gunners will go into the match on the back of a 0-0 draw against Newcastle on the opening day of the season last Saturday.

With Cesc Fabregas officially completing his move to Barcelona yesterday, Arsenal are at least free of the media hype that engulfed the Spanish midfielder’s transfer saga.

The draw against the Magpies was a mixed result for some. The defence looked solid with Laurent Koscielny and Thomas Vermaelen in the centre of the back-line. But without Samir Nasri and Jack Wilshere, the Gunners lacked creativity in midfield, and RVP had an off day.

So I am finding it extremely difficult to draw conclusions from one game, though I have to admit that we have a lot to do to catch up with the big spenders.

Arsenal news:

Arsenal’s defence picks itself after a decent performance during the weekend. Song is likely to face a three match domestic ban for his stamp on Barton and hence Arsene Wenger will play him in the defensive midfield role in order to keep Emmanuel Frimpong fresh for the game against Liverpool this weekend. Wilshere is still out with injury, and with Nasri on a one match suspension, Wenger has no option but to start with Tomas Rosicky and Aaron Ramsey – unless he decides to change the formation (highly unlikely!)

Robin van Persie is also suspended and so Arsenal’s front trio will be interesting tonight. Gervinho has to start since he won’t play against Liverpool and Theo Walcott is likely to occupy the other wing. Marouane Chamakh is Arsenal’s best option upfront, but if Wenger decides to hand Andrey Arshavin or Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain a start, we are likely to see Theo in a central striker role.

Likely line-up:

Szczsney

Sagna     Koscielny     Vermaelen     Gibbs

Song     Ramsey     Rosicky

Walcott     Chamakh     Gervinho

Udinese news:

Udinese have been depleted with the loss of Alex Sanchez, Cristian Zapata and Gokhan Inler during this transfer window. However, they still have a strong line up led by veteran striker Antonio Di Natale.

The most interesting aspect of Udinese, apart from their attractive football, is their formation – they regularly use a solid 3-5-2 system. It might not look pretty on paper, but they achieved success with it last season so Francesco Guidolin will stick to it. Arsenal will have to adapt quickly to these new tactics if they want to win at home tonight.

Likely line-up:

Handanovic

Domizzi     Larangeira     Benatia

Isla     Pinzi     Asamoah     Doubai     Armero

Di Natale     Barreto

Players to watch out for/Key men:

Tomas Rosicky:

Rosicky started the game against Newcastle last Saturday and one has to agree that he looked a lot better than last season. He isn’t THE replacement for Cesc, but if we fail to sign anyone, Rosicky is definitely an option for Wenger to think about. I personally feel that this could be an important season for Rosicky and he will be looking to justify Wenger’s faith in him tonight. If he is our primary creative outlet, it reduces the pressure on young pairing Wilshere and Ramsey. Rosicky has the ability, but we haven’t seen much of this since his injury woes. Rosicky will have to perform exceptionally well for Arsenal if they want to succeed against Udinese tonight.

Antonio Di Natale:

In the absence of Sanchez, Di Natale will be crucial to Udinese’s fortunes. He netted over 25 goals last season for the Serie A club and was one of the star players in Udinese’s fourth place finish. He has fantastic footwork and will be a step up the ladder for Arsenal’s defence after their midweek exploits against Ameobi & Co. If Arsenal manage to keep this prolific scorer quiet, then they have a great chance of winning and will rob Guidolin’s best bet to score a crucial away goal.

Prediction:

This is Udinese’s first competitive fixture of the season and will probably be a bit off the pace and will take time to settle. Wenger has already seen his team in action and has had a couple of days to tweak things around. This is a huge bonus. No matter how good the team looks in the training ground, it is a match that will tell if the line-up is good enough.

Arsenal will have to take advantage of Udinese’s lack of match fitness and secure a comfortable win. Vermaelen has an important role as captain tonight and, more importantly, preventing Di Natale from getting into the game. But the crucial aspect will be the goal count. Arsenal need to create, and create a lot. They will need to be a bit more adventurous tonight.

Despite the unconvincing performance against the Toon, I’ll put my money on our boys picking up a comfortable home win.

ARSENAL 2-0 UDINESE

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