Real Football Man All of the Football, All of the time
Arsenal forward Alexis Sanchez is back in training after a hamstring injury and could be in contention to play.
Mikel Arteta could also be back after a calf injury, but Jack Wilshere, Francis Coquelin, Danny Welbeck, Santi Cazorla and Tomas Rosicky remain out.
Manchester City hope to welcome back top scorer Sergio Aguero, who has missed four games with a heel injury.
But captain Vincent Kompany is still sidelined, along with Pablo Zabaleta, Fernando and Samir Nasri.
Editor’s Note: Arsenal play host to Manchester City later tonight in the battle to be 2nd in the table at Xmas. Arsenal and City are 5 and 6 points respectively behind league leaders Leicester and both sides will be looking to reduce that gap at the top in what is set to be a mouthwatering encounter
The Gunners have won their last two matches and looked at ease in their win over Aston Villa last Sunday, a game in which Mesut Ozil bagged his 12th assist of the season so far. It’s fair to say that the German International has stepped his game up since the injury to Alexis Sanchez to the point where Arsenal haven’t missed him all that much.
Arsenal fans and Arsene Wenger alike could get an early Xmas present this evening with the possibility of the mercurial Chilean being fit and ready to play against Manchester City, will Wenger throw him in for the start or will his return be managed so that we don’t see a repeat injury.
Tonight they play host to a Manchester City side whose form has been stumbling as of late with only 2 wins in the last 5 matches and an incredibly lucky win over Swansea last night thanks to a cruel deflected last minute goal. But it’s those kind of late goals that can win titles, so how much of a difference will that make come May.
They also could have an early Xmas Present of their own as their talisman Sergio Aguero looks set to return from injury after hobbling off in the win over Southampton last month. By Aguero’s standards it hasn’t been the best of seasons, in 10 league appearances he has scored 7 goals but 5 of them came in a solitary game. So it’s been fits and starts for the Argentine. That said he is a big game player and where better to kickstart your season than The Emirates.
Last weekend Kevin De Bruyne was left on the bench but I would be very surprised if that was to happen again tonight, one key man they will miss again is their Captain Vincent Kompany who is still sidelined through injury. City are a different proposition without Kompany but they can’t keep using that as an excuse if and when they drop points without him.
Talking of dropped points, I have a feeling that is going to be the case for both sides tonight with the outcome being a draw. Neither side will want to lose this one and have a feeling they could cancel each other out, if that is the case then the real winners from this would be Leicester City. A draw for me tonight
