Match day is almost here and I really can’t wait. For us west-coasters, I’ll be setting my alarm to get up and catch the match early Saturday morning. In truth, I am just happy that Fox Soccer is carrying the game.

If you recall, WBA gave us some trouble earlier this year and it was only by way of Arteta converting two penalties that we pulled out the victory. Additionally, there was that bit of a flop by Santi that gave us one of those penalties and it is rather nice to see that he hasn’t done something of the like since then (God knows they will bring it up, replay it, talk about it and endlessly analyze it before the match).

I believe that WBA away is going to be a tough test for us. Though we have been playing well the last few weeks, with a bit of added pressure, we have to win to keep pace and hopefully pass Chelsea or Sp*rs (hopefully both). We seem to like to drop points we shouldn’t this year and that is my concern here. No significant lineup changes are contemplated at this point so we should have roughly the same mix of souls from the Reading match. It will be interesting to see if ol’Arsene sticks with the same lineup or goes with a bit of a change. My hope is that he throws the same bunch out there and gives Santi the power to move as he wishes (please just put him back in the CAM position).

With regard to Gervinho, if confidence is really all he needs then starting another match up top should be enough to quell his little boy issues. If Arsenal struggle early then we get into the whole bit about do we attempt to stick it out for the rest of the game (showing “confidence”) or pull the changes and do whatever is necessary to get the 3 points (yes please). For this Arsehole, I am really hoping Arsene runs the exact same lineup out there and tells Gervinho to keep on truckin’ at the defense. It seems that with the seasonal gelling that has occurred (why the F does this always take them so long?) I think the rest of the team can handle the Ivorian strikers miscues without losing “confidence”.

There was also a bit of concern that Nacho (libre) would be kept out because of his knee knock last week but reports are that he has recovered well enough to play. Personally, I think his ego was hurt more than his knee after that shitty misplay on D. All things aside, I would be happy to see either Nacho (libre) or Gibbs out there.

On a positive note, ESPN has been reporting that Jack and Theo may be fit enough to return for the Norwich match. Honestly, I really don’t want to see these guys rushed back into the bench or lineup for that matter; especially if they are not 100% fit. There is no reason to believe that Arsenal can’t handle WBA and Norwich without them and I would rather have a fully fit, fully rested, fully prepared lineup for the run ins with Everton, Fulham, and Man U. We have to get at least 7 points from those matches to keep the pressure on those above us in the table. My fear is that if we pull a Gervin-NO against WBA that Arsene will be tempted, or the players themselves, to push into the lineup too soon against Norwich and then find themselves not playing the rest of the season. Given that Norwich is at home, I would rather our English stalwarts return for the home match against Everton than Norwich.

That’s all for today. Post match analysis to come Saturday morning.