Onwards to Villa Park

Morning all

I hope the snow isn't causing too much trouble wherever you are!

Tomorrow we are kicking off the weekend football with the lunchtime kick off live on Sky Sports. I'm pleased we're away from home, as our form domestic away from home this year is pretty darn good. It gives the players that breathing space and less pressure to perform. Not that they should need it though, especially at a club as big as ours.

The young Villa side will cause us a few problems, but I fully expect us to win and go top of the league, if only for a little while. After the last week, being top of the league will go some way to restoring the faith.

I'd expect Robin van Persie to get his first start in the Premier League since August, as he didn't travel to Braga. I reckon Nicklas Bendtner will drop to the bench and quite rightly too. I'm disappointed in Nicklas Bendtner, I thought he was very poor midweek albeit in a poor Arsenal side. He didn't offer anything and didn't close down defenders enough for my liking. When Chamakh came on, he looked the more lively. Which is a shame because I am a huge fan of the Big Dane but he needs to start letting his football do the talking. Chamakh should also be on the bench as lately, particularly against Tottenham, he looked knackered.

Nasri should be the outright replacement for our skipper, Cesc Fabregas. I believe the Frenchman has been much more inspirational than the captain, and I'm relishing Nasri in the more central role. This is in no way a dig at the Spaniard, but on form Nasri is the better player.

I hope Djourou keeps his place for the game tomorrow. He was very unfortunate to lose his place last Saturday, and his performance in Braga enforced that. Murmurings of Almunia regaining his place, but if he does, Wenger has alot of explaining to do. Fabianski hasn't done an awful lot wrong, so dropping him would make little sense. In the long run, we're better off improving and working with the Pole instead of the bleached one.

We see a former friend tomorrow. The legend that is Robert Pires. I wish him all the success at Villa, just not tomorrow :-).

That's it for today, will hopefully post over the weekend. Depends how Jack Daniels treats me!

Thanks for reading, have yourselves a fun filled weekend.