The Arsenal Press: A-Project: The Blackburn-Arsenal Pre-match News

The Gunners travel to Lancashire for their third Premier League fixture to play against Blackburn Rovers, a side managed by former Bolton manager Allardyce at 12:45 GMT later today. With their current two match unbeaten, the Arsenal would want to avoid a repeat of last season's game at Ewood Park, where they lost 2-1 to Blackburn due to Fabianski's howler and horrific display in goal. As for Blackburn, their notorious "physical and long ball" style is not new to their opponents today and is expected to pose problems to the North London side.

Arshavin looking for revenge at Ewood Park

With the Blackburn game looming, Arshavin found time to talk about the game. Recalling the 2-1 defeat at the same venue last season, Arshavin wants his team to win this time around. He said:

"We have a very important game against Blackburn. We should win in order to leave without any worries for a break caused by the participation of the players in the national teams; this will give confidence to the team. In addition, we haven't forgotten about the defeat against Blackburn at the end of the last season."

Harbouring the hopes of winning things with the Arsenal, Arshavin is of the belief that the Arsenal have grown up, learning vital lessons from last season and have acquired valuable experience. He added:

"My opinion is, if you look at the points on last season's table, we were close, but then we met Chelsea and Manchester United and they beat us very easily. I would like to see this season that we will manage to fight against big teams."

Arshavin, we too are hoping for that.

Big Sam strikes back at the Arsenal

Wenger's on-and-off "complaints" about dirty play in football has not gone all well with Blackburn manager Allardyce. The Englishman claimed that Wenger's 2001/02 team which won the league and cup double, was "also the dirtiest team". He backed his claim by saying the following:

"They had more sendings off and bookings than anyone else ever before.

Arsenal had players like Patrick Vieira, Emmanuel Petit, Kevin Campbell and Martin Keown and they would mix it anyway you wanted to."

Big Sam seemed confident of beating the Frenchman again in this upcoming fixture as be believed he has "a way to beat them" due to his "record" of beating the Arsenal many times. Interestingly though, Big Sam's record against the London side tell us otherwise. As Bolton manager, the Arsenal still have the upperhand over Big Sam with 6 wins, 4 draws and 6 losses in all competitions. Under his management, Big Sam has only managed to chalk up 1 win in three occasions, losing the remainding 2 matches against the Arsenal.

Almunia is the key against Blackburn

Former Arsenal striker Alan Smith believes Almunia will be under pressure from the start of the Blackburn game. His worry is understandable due to the way the Gunners lost the similar fixture last season, with Fabianski being the centre of criticism for his dismal performance.

Arsene Wenger mentioned about players playing rugby on goalkeepers in the modern game, suggesting that "in some situations, the goalkeepers are not protected." One would understand his concerns as goalkeepers are the ultimate last line of defence which in his opinion should be given more protection from the referees.

Therefore, Smith advised Almunia to "rise to the occasion" and not give into Big Sam's "physical" tactics in the game. He brought up some interesting questions, saying:

"Does he hold his position on the goal line and hope his defenders can deal with the cross? Or does he try to barge his way through in an attempt to catch or punch the ball, so risking getting blocked and caught in no-man's land?"

These will be Almunia's questions to answer at Ewood Park.

Injury Room visit...

The Arsenal welcome the return of Denilson and Koscielny from injury and suspension respectively. The good news is that there is no further injury reported to any of the Arsenal players other than the long term absentees, which include Nasri, Ramsey and Bendtner. In other words, Arsene Wenger will have a pretty strong squad to pick from this time around.

Enjoy the battle this weekend. Post-match news to follow!

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