Match Preview: Arsenal vs Hull city (Tigers?) Test of Squad Strength

If my picture choice for this post comes across as unusual or unfit for purpose, well.. expect no apologies as i had to make a choice between what you see above and the face of Tom Huddlestone and co..That shot above is nearly Ten years ago now. Ten long years, how time flies!..Half the faces in there have bade goodbye to the game, while the remaining few are in the twilights of their careers. *sigh* Those were truly the days..what a team! Its interesting how, just looking at that front row we had Henry, Pires, ljunberg, Reyes and Kanu as the designated offensive players in the team. Fast forward 10 years and now we have only Giroud,Walcott,Sanogo(remember him?) and *cough* Bendtner. The invincibles were simply a squad of immense quality that could call upon a depth of experienced players outside the starting 11 to get a job done when necessary,without loosing momentum. Keyword here is momentum. That has been the driving force of our form of late but tomorrow night it will come under scrutiny as what looks like being a 2nd string Arsenal will face Hull City Tigers.. or is it Tigers of the City, or Hull the City of Tigers....ahhh whatever.

It goes without saying that no manager will ever be able to prosecute any EPL season with just a starting 11 of  choice players. Inevitably the need to trust other members of the squad with the responsibility of winning a game while the regular first choice players are in need of a breather will arise. Hull City will provide a stern test for us in the sense that we may not be at our free-flowing best tomorrow given the changes that are expected to be made. 

With Everton to come on Sunday after tomorrow, then Napoli on Wednesday, closely followed by a trip to the Etihad ''slaughter-ground'' its a difficult fixture list ahead, therefore warranting the legs of some like Ramsey, Sagna, Giroud, Koscielny,Gibbs and Ozil to be rested as they will be required in the more tougher battles ahead. The boss feels there is no special pressure involved, as the lads understand what is required of them. Nobody gave us a chance to be top of the league after 13 games, the pundits gave us a zero chance of challenging for this title. However, we are top thus far not by chance but by being the most consistent team out there.We only now need to show that we are also the most focused all-round squad in the division who are able to drop their regular performers and yet still grind out the victory. I expect a run out for Rosicky, Jenkinson, Monreal, Vermaelen , and Gnabry. Bendtner may see some action but Walcott is favorite to start up top in attack. If either Flamini or Arteta may be rested my guess will be Arteta. He has had marginally more games and its my belief that the nature of the game we can expect from Hull will be right down Flamini's alley.

Its a tricky one to call, Hull have been inconsistent. Their win against Liverpool was unexpected and against the odds, but still a big warning to us. They sit quite comfy away from the relegation zone and survival this season is all they'll be after. In Livermore and Huddlestone we have familiar foes in midfeild and would need to avoid underating them. I think we are good enough for a win if we maintain focus and stay disciplined to our style..here's to 3 points then..