There is
an EPL game at the weekend to consider but it is the late Sunday kick off and against Burnley so I do not think we need to make any changes other than Xhaka for the injury hit Coquelin.
This week they have the replay with Norwich City before
an EPL game at the weekend and then a massive EFL cup second leg against Liverpool before Arsenal go there, assuming they beat Norwich.
With Arsenal taking a 4 - 1 win to Russia in the Europa League this week, even the fact that CSKA Moscow are a tougher team to face on their own turf, the feeling is that the tie is abut over, so with the Gunners also now in touching distance of Chelsea in the fifth Premier League place, there is an argument that Arsene Wenger should have one eye on
our EPL game at the weekend.
Hopefully that unwanted extra game could help Arsenal this week, as three of the clubs just above and below us in the Premier League table do have to play cup replays this week before
their EPL games at the weekend.
Not exact matches
The Arsenal side will look set to re-focus on the
EPL today with a visit to West Ham United in their new stadium in one of the most eye catching
game at the
weekend.
Not only have Pep Guardiola's team yet to lose in the league, with just one draw and nine
EPL wins so far this season, they are scoring on average more than three goals a
game, so we know it is going to be a tough task for the Gunners
at the
weekend.
Per has bags of experience and defensive quality and we need him to show it all
at the
weekend, but that is exactly what he did in his last big
game against
EPL rivals, when he helped us to beat Chelsea
at Wembley to lift the FA cup.
Arsenal fans may not like the look of the Premier League table
at the moment and we can only hope that is starts to look better rather than worse after the next round of
EPL games set to be played this
weekend.
I kind of hope so, because that could end up doing us a big favour,
at least for this
weekend of
EPL games, as both the Toffees and the Baggies are up against teams currently above us in the table.
Surprising to see the Ox benched
at the
weekend but was it because of the need to rotate the squad with two
EPL games in a week?
Even though Arsenal piled the pressure on our Premier League rivals by taking all three points off Sunderland in the first
game of the
EPL weekend at the Stadium of Light, we are still locked on points with both Liverpool and Man City
at the top of the table after they both managed wins of their own.
The job for the Arsenal team got a little bit harder
at the
weekend with the Premier League leaders Leicester City riding their luck to grind out yet another 1 - 0 win to move them closer to an amazing title win, but if you look
at it another way it has not changed what Arsenal have to do, which is to win all of our remaining
EPL games.
With another must win
EPL game coming up on Sunday, though, and with the long haul travel involved in our trip to Belarus this week to factor in, the chances are that Arsene Wenger would not want to start Alexis but keep him on the bench and as fresh as possible to face Brighton
at the
weekend.
So we are all hoping that the attacking midfielder can pick up where he left off when our Premier League campaign gets back under way with the trip to West Brom next
weekend and the fact that Ozil is in sublime form and is breaking
EPL records, with 10 assists so far and
at least one in the last six
games in a row has got the pundits purring and a lot of people suggesting that Ozil can win the title for Arsenal this season.
James Kempton is back with his gambling
game capsules for a busy
weekend highlighted by a showdown
at the Etihad between the top two teams in the
EPL table.