Arsenal v Wolves Preview, Line-up and Prediction
Thanks to the London Underground strikes, Arsenal play Wolves a day after most other teams including Chelsea, Liverpool, Man Utd and Man City. Two of those teams above The Gunners only drew yesterday so this is another must-win match for Arsenal that should prove considerably easier compared to the slugfest against Man City and the tough contest against Aston Villa.
Wolves sit just above the relegation zone on 17th place, a point ahead of a Wigan Athletic team which has impressed in recent weeks, having drawn their previous match and lost the two matches before (one of them albeit against Manchester United).
The Arsenal season so far is a one that we all know about. The team has taken 25 out of 30 possible points in the last 10 games, which is no small tally! Right now we are in 5th place, two point behind Chelsea and one ahead of Liverpool with Newcastle one point below them.
It would be right to say that other teams have been dropping points (case in point: Wigan Athletic drawing with both Chelsea and Liverpool) and that Arsenal has done well to capitalise. Dropping points against Wolves, therefore, is not an option for Arsenal.
Possible starting line-up:
Van Persie
Gervinho – Arteta – Song – Benayoun – Walcott
Vermaelen – Koscielny – Mertesacker – Coquelin
Szczesny
There is little doubt about the front three (Gerinvho, van Persie and Walcott), but it is interesting to see if Arsene Wenger chooses Benayoun ahead of Ramsey after the Welshman’s shocker against Aston Villa.
I expect Arsenal to dominate possession and probably take more than just a few shots on goal in the first few minutes, with Wolves throwing men forward only late into the game.
As such, getting the early goal would be key not only to give the players less pressure to work with but also to force Wolves to attack. All too often we have seen teams “parking the bus” especially if they get to half time goal-less and Wolves might do the same especially with their ambition to stay in the top-flight for another season.
My prediction is a solid 2-0 win for the Gunners. Hopefully no players will sustain injuries especially Arsene Wenger can ill-afford to lose anyone in this crunch period. With this being stipulated as the easiest game out of the three during this festive period, it is all about getting three points which Arsenal is surely the end result.
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I want v persi to score today so i will not be happy if he is on the bench
Top Gooner!. Agree or not?:
25 
0
I am eager to see Benayoun ahead of Rambo
Top Gooner!. Agree or not?:
25 
2
Play benayoun instead of ramsey
Top Gooner!. Agree or not?:
27 
2
benayoun ahead of ramsey he desrves his chance and isnt getting any younger we cant afford for ramsey to slip up again he has a massive weight on his shoulders filling wiltshires shoes and is still only 20 great player but not quite a premiership stater yet?????
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4 
4
I Think its a tough call between Benayoun and Little Mozart… Both played really well vs Aston Villa…
But you never know… Wenger might just use the same team again…. Anyway my prediction is 3-0 win to Arsenal….
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4 
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Play rosicky instead of ramsy
Top Gooner!. Agree or not?:
17 
5
The article says the welshman scored a shocker against Villa. Huh…didn’t know Benayoun was welsh. Lol.
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3 
2
I WISH ARSENE WENGER TO CHOOSE BENAYOUN INSTEAD OF ROSISCKY EVEN IF THEY USE THE SAME EFFORT!!!!
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1 
2
I ll like 2 ben or rossa ahead of ramsey. Any oda change aside rvp is welcm in as much as its a suitabl replacement. Im predictin 5,6-0 wiv rvp gettin 3. I ‘d like 2 c park too. All in all,we pray 4 no injury esp to rvp. Merry xmas
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4 
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i want V.P 2 score 3 goals 2day, my predition- ar-4 wol-1
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6 
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i think arsewenger should use ramsey instead of benayoun my pridiction is 4.0
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1 
3
dream on people,if you think ramsey will be dropped while we all know he’s played the most yet the few performances rosicky has had he’s been outstanding,it wouldn’t happen,its only wenger who disappoints with selections and costly mistakes and is always ready to appologise like someone who doesn’t learn from mistakes.in my opinion,he cost us the city game with his decision to play ramsey the whole game and put arshavin in it,yet oxlade who terrorised zabaleta in the carling cup game was amongst unused subs,rosicky and benayoun would have played well as subs for ramsey and walcott,we are lucky to have won villa because he made the same mistake and as usual made late changes that would have been done earlier would have won us the game with little pressure.AA should not play for clearly he doesn’t have the urge to play for arsenal anymore and ramsey should earn his position because he’s started been complacent again,rosicky should play in his position,lets just hope wenger makes the right decision in the wolves game
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3 
3
Rosicky shd start a head of ramsey, chamberane shd be given a chance
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4 
1
i belove benayoun shd b given a start tonite todate ramsey has not performed wel enough to b first choice to start he is in confort zone hving started in all the games so far puting him on the bench might give him a bit of a shock n hopely jolt him into better performances next time he gets a start
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7 
0
I like the way you put it for Benayoun in for Ramsey. But Wenger seems to have a penchant for Ramsey, even if he is making blunder after blunder. You will see the Welshman starting instead of either Rosicky or Benayoun.
For me, I think Rosicky should always play the position played by Ramsey. He (Ramsey) just does not play the Arsenal game and slows the game and misses sitters!
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3 
1
I’d like v.persie to start so that he will break record of alan.My prediction line up and score are following below:
13
6 4 17 5
14 8 26 30 27
10
and the gunners will gun down them by 3-1 to arsenal
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0 
0
wtf fk fans, benayuon infront of rosicky u havin a laugh. u seen ben play. a lot of you don’t even no how to play football so suk
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1 
2
Do you think rosic is better than ben.let me tell you my friend,i have been arsenal fan and i know how to play football.playing ben will create space for us to score.
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1 
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i have always known Benayoun to be a good player so his glorious goal against aston villa wasnt a suprise to me, am also happy dat we are now having a competitive midfielders dats gr8 to hear cos dat will make midfielder to utilize their chances. I hope dat can also be done in our attacking side by signing just kaka.
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2 
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Rosicky and Benayoun have come on late in the games, fresh and have contributed as they are quick and skillfull. Ramsey has done all the hard work when the games have been at their most intense. Having said that Ramsey has looked a little jaded recently and maybe time for a rest. Dont rely on Rosicky to do all the hard work that Ramsey does.
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2 
3
szczesny
coquelin vermaelen
mertesacker koscienly
song benayoun
artata
walcott chamberlain
v.persie c
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2 
2
Ramsey has been ever-present in a team that has 25 points out of 30 in the last 10 league games while still being only 20yo. It’s not support to trash a player that has been contributing so much to your team (Jagombe) and will be a star for years to come. By all means suggest that Benayoun and Rosicky deserve games and they do but Ramsey is having an excellent season. You people slaggin him off don’t have a clue what you’re talking about.
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2 
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we need vanpersie to score
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0 
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@andy bishop you make it sound like these guys have no breaks at all. They are professionals, paid hundreds of thousands a week and train almost everyday. So Ramsey really has no excuse for his lack of focus and control. What about all the other players who play game in and out? I hear no one asking them to take a break. It boils down to Ramsey not actually being good enough. Sorry to say but we need a better midfielder than him if we wish to beat the best. I would prefer Benayoun or even Rosicky over him.
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2 
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rosicky for ramsey..actually rosicky is good and is only missing some confidence and playing time..So give him a chance..
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0 
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ramsey having an excellent season? no,good yes,but,we’ve seen rosicky have excellent performances in his position when ramsey was injured,what surprised me and is common with wenger is immediately ramsey was fit without any reason put rosy back on the bench,despite outstanding performances,rosy is experienced to the point that he knows when to hold the ball and when to pass,he reads and anticipates passes and movements better than all midfielders and still is the fastest in reaction seconded by benayoun,surprisingly wenger sparely uses them,i even believe the AA who’s giving us poor performances can do an even greater job there behind the strikers than ramsey but wenger doesn’t want to use him there,he proved in the bolton carling cup game and when he captains russia,that’s why i insist wenger will always do what he feels like because in pecking order all other excellent managers who are tacticians will use ramsey as the third or fourth choice behind the players i’ve mentioned above.the best option is they compete for the position and see if ramsey can start before the other three
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0 
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yes its another oportunity 4 the gunners to pruve that they can still do it. 4 the line up is ok………….. Is arsenal 3 woves 0.
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