What: English Premier League
Who: Bolton Wanderers vs Arsenal
When: Wednesday 1st February, 2012, at 20:00 UK Time
Where: Reebok Stadium, Bolton, England
New Year Revival
A shock victory over Liverpool last time out in the Premier League meant that Bolton climbed out of the relegation zone for the first time since October. That victory has injected belief into a team which has started 2012 in complete contrast to the way they finished 2011. The Trotters have won at Everton as well as beaten Swansea in the FA Cup in January, and will be confident of building some momentum as they look to push their way out of the danger zone.
Doubts remain though, and the lacklustre nature of Liverpool’s defending was certainly a mitigating factor in the 3-1 win over Kenny Dalglish’s men. This is a team still weak on paper and weak for much of the season, as well as now deprived of their best player in Gary Cahill.
Owen Coyle’s men are however showing signs of rediscovering belief. The victory over Everton was the first time that Bolton had turned around a game they were losing this season, and the side did the same thing against Swansea in the FA Cup last weekend. And against Liverpool, the Trotters did not allow Craig Bellamy’s goal to make them think that a comeback was inevitable against a team they may not have thought they could beat before the match. Many questions remain, but the signs have been encouraging for Coyle’s survival plan.
A January to Forget
Arsenal’s start to 2012, by contrast, has been tumultuous. Arsene Wenger’s team have the opposite problem to Bolton, and are past masters at clinching defeat from the jaws of victory. That was shown best against Fulham: When having dominated for much of the first period, the Gunners contrived to drop their game in the second half, allowing the home team to overrun them and eventually win 2-1 at the death. Similarly, a strong opening against Swansea then gave way to an impotent rearguard against wave after wave of attacks from Brendan Rodgers’ men.
And against Manchester United, having turned round a 1-0 scoreline to appear the stronger team at 1-1, a defensive error saw Wenger’s team concede another late winner and lose three consecutive league games. At the weekend though, the Jekyll and Hyde character of Arsenal was perhaps at its most illustrative, with a timid first half display and shoddy defending leaving the Gunners 2-0 behind against Aston Villa at the break in their FA Cup clash. But in the second half, Arsenal produced arguably their best 45 minutes of the season, running their opponents into the ground and producing a stirring comeback to win 3-2.
Much depends on the return of Wenger’s full backs. Arsenal’s collapse in form has coincided with the absence of any specialists on either side of defence, and the return of Bacary Sagna could not be more timely in this regard. Remaining injury free will be key for Arsenal’s shaky hopes of a 15th consecutive season in the Champions League.
Recent form
Bolton Wanderers:
Bolton Wanderers 2-0 Macclesfield (17/01; FA Cup)
Bolton Wanderers 3-1 Liverpool (21/01; Premier League)
Bolton Wanderers 2-1 Swansea City (28/01; FA Cup)
Arsenal:
Swansea City 3-2 Arsenal (15/01; Premier League)
Arsenal 1-2 Manchester United (22/01; Premier League)
Arsenal 3-2 Aston Villa (29/01; FA Cup)
Key absences
Bolton Wanderers: Jussi Jaaskelainan (doubt); Ricardo Gardner (doubt); Chung-Yong Lee; Stuart Holden; Marcos Alonso
Arsenal: Kieran Gibbs; Andre Santos; Jack Wilshere; Carl Jenkinson; Abou Diaby; Ryo Myaichi; Gervinho (international duty); Marouane Chamakh (international duty)
Players to watch
Bolton Wanderers – Chris Eagles: Bolton have not had much to cheer this season, but what they have done well has often been through Eagles. The former Manchester United man’s direct running and skill, as well as pace and passing ability, give him the attributes to cause defences problems. And for Arsenal, that is a particular worry as the Gunners back four has been creaky in recent weeks without recognised full backs. Eagles can take advantage of that if he is at his best.
Arsenal – Thomas Vermaelen: Throughout the toughest of times, Arsenal do not tend to lack goals, though Vermaelen is a useful player in the opposition’s penalty area. The Belgian will be tasked with forcing some organisation and discipline into an Arsenal defence which has too often become narrow when playing with four centre backs. That was exposed two weekends ago when it meant Andrei Arshavin was left alone to deal with Antonio Valencia for Manchester United’s winning goal. Vermaelen’s influence and defensive nous will be pivotal for Arsenal if they are to get back to winning ways in the league.
Match Prediction
Arsenal’s defensive shape has been poor of late and Bolton should cause Wenger’s men problems. Against Manchester City and Swansea, Arsenal’s full backs rampaging forward have left wide spaces for the opposition to score, but with four centre backs they have looked narrow and invited pressure in the area of late.
That said, Bolton are hardly the most threatening of opponents, even if they are in good form and this is the perfect game for the Gunners to steady themselves and rediscover some stability at the back. Going forward Arsenal have shown an ability to prise apart defences recently, though they have been profligate at times. But this is not the hardest game the London giants will play this season and Wenger’s troops should have more than enough to claim the three points. Bolton Wanderers 1-3 Arsenal.
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