The life of an Arsenal fan requires patience, an open mind, belief and did I mention patience? Every season turns into an emotional roller coaster, but unfortunately for Arsenal fans, that emotional roller coaster has been unable to reach anything more appealing than a Champions League spot in the last eight years.
Once again, the 2012/13 campaign is coming down to the wire, and Arsenal fans are hoping their North London neighbors will once again throw away what once looked to be a commanding and comfortable lead.
On paper, Arsenal has more than enough talent to brush aside a team like Reading with ease, but that can be much easier said than done. Looking at their previous two meetings this season, Arsenal should enjoy a high scoring affair, but with Nigel Adkins now in charge, things could be different.
A 15 point lead at this time of the season for the league leaders, and with less than ten games to go, almost certainly ensures yet another Premier League trophy for the red side of Manchester.
Miami Beach, Florida (March 16, 2013) – LiveSoccerTV.com (@LiveSoccerTV) reminds you that Fox Soccer 2Go will air three 10:00 a.m. EST kick-offs from the English Premier League on Saturday, March 16, 2013. This will be followed by two more games on Sunday. Fox Deportes and Fox Soccer Channel will feature three of England’s best teams – Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea, in its four-match coverage of the weekend. Fox Soccer Plus will feature Southampton vs Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur vs Fulham.
Arsenal exited this year’s UEFA Champions League in a glorious way. Their 2-0 victory at the Allianz Arena was not enough to reach the Last 8 of the competition. However, this result could give enough confidence for the Gunners to finish the EPL campaign strongly. This Saturday, Arsenal play Swansea City at 11:00 a.m. EST, hoping to take advantage of Spurs’ slip away to Liverpool last weekend.
The Red Devils suffered a major setback to their treble dreams, as they were controversially knocked out by Real Madrid in the Champions League. United were then under persistent media scrutiny as news surrounding Wayne Rooney’s imminent departure surfaced in top newspapers in England. There were further concerns when Ferguson’s men surrendered a two goal lead against Chelsea last week in the FA Cup semi-final.
Team NewsDarren Fletcher, Phil Jones and Paul Scholes are all out for Manchester United. Nani is a doubt for this match. Adam Federici and Jason Roberts are both out for Reading. Pavel Pogrebnyak is suspended. Jimmy Kebe is doubtful due to a groin injury.
Manchester United will try to recover from a shock draw against Chelsea…
Team NewsPaul Scholes is suffering from a knee injury while Darren Fletcher is suffering from a chronic bowel condition for Manchester United. Jason Roberts has a thigh injury while Alex McCarthy has a shoulder injury for Reading.
United earned an extremely valuable 1-1 away draw at Madrid in midweek.…
Team NewsJason Roberts and Alex McCarthy are both out for Reading. Oriol Romeu is out for Chelsea until June. David Luiz and Petr Cech are both doubtful for this one for the Blues. John Obi Mikel and Victor Moses are both away on international duty currently for the London side. Eden Hazard is suspended and hence, unavailable.
Chelsea…
Team NewsBenoit Assou Ekoto could return for Spurs this weekend after returning from a knee injury. Younes Kaboul is out for this one with a knee injury and isn’t scheduled to return before February. Jason Roberts is doubtful for Reading due to a thigh problem while Alex McCarthy is out for most of the remainder…
Team NewsMicah Richards and Jack Rodwell are both out for City. Vincent Kompany is doubtful due to a groin problem. Samir Nasri is highly doubtful for this one. His return is unlikely. Aleksandar Kolarov and James Milner are doubtful. Mario Balotelli might be out as well due to illness. Alex McCarthy and Sean Morrison are definitely…
Arsenal's defeat to Bradford City in the Capital One Cup is still very fresh in everyone's mind, so the Gunner's will be under pressure once again. The last time Arsene Wenger's squad won an away match in the Premier League was back on October 6th as they bounced back from an early West Ham goal to win 1-3.
The Gunners elimination from the Cup may well have sent ripples through the Arsenal locker room, but bouncing back from it will be important.
After the match, Arsene Wenger continued be the same way he has been throughout his Arsenal career and preferred to highlight the fact that his squad gave it their all on the pitch, opposed to pointing fingers at his players that he so often defends.
Team NewsJimmy Kebe, Jem Karacan, Alex McCarthy and Danny Guthrie are all out injured for Reading. Shinji Kagawa, Nani and Nemanja Vidic are all out for United. Antonio Valencia has returned to training following injury and could make the bench. Rio Ferdinand could start after being rested in midweek. Paul Scholes is back following suspension.
United…
Despite winning their last match in the English Premier League, Arsenal fans have not been very happy with the teams performances. A trip to take on Reading could turn out to be a tricky fixture for the Gunners.
Both teams have met a total of nine times in their history and Arsenal has been victorious in all nine of the matches. Not a very favorable stat for Brian McDermott's side who has also not been able to win a match in the Premier League.
The home side would love to pull of a shocking victory on Tuesday, but they are well aware of the challenge the face.
"I'm sure they want to win trophies—of course they do—but they always qualify for the Champions League, which is a phenomenal achievement in itself," said McDermott.
Liverpool’s fortunes in their last three matches were mixed. They took out a Norwich side which had been bleeding goals 2-5. They then lost at home to Udinese 2-3. They followed that up with an almost expected 0-0 draw with Stoke. Liverpool currently is transitioning from one style of play to another. They have left directness behind and are now focused on controlling possession and moving forward.
The first round of fixtures in England’s top-tier league involved great goals and stunning results. On Sunday, Chelsea managed to escape Wigan Athletic’s underdog threat at the DW Stadium. First-half goals from Branislav Ivanovic and Frank Lampard offered Roberto Di Matteo a positive start to the season.
Meanwhile, a day earlier, Reading avoided defeat in dramatic fashion on home soil. The newly promoted boys went a goal down due to M. Kightly’s 34th minute strike. However, a 90th minute penalty decision saw Le Fondre keep his cool to drive the ball home at the delight of the home crowd.
Can Reading build on that draw and stun Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday? After only one match, the Blues find themselves in fourth position with Fulham, Swansea City and West Bromwich Albion occupying the first three places in the English Premier League table.