Alan Hansens Premier League Preview: Blackburn v Arsenal

Arsenal took Blackpool apart last Saturday at the Emirates Stadium but they face a real test of their title credentials at Ewood Park this weekend. The Seasiders were ruthlessly dismantled at times but Arsene Wengers team will find that Blackburn are a far more organised team on their own patch. Sam Allardyce has built a strong efficient side that possesses a strong record at home, so the Gunners are going to have to show they can compete physically if they are going to get anything from their trip.Blackburn really should have at least got a point at St Andrews last weekend to build on a great opening day win over Everton. However, they slipped to a narrow 2-1 defeat after missing a host of chances and will be determined to get back to winning ways. Rovers away form was a problem for them last season but at Ewood Park they proved more than a match for the majority of sides. Only Tottenham, Everton and Manchester City were able to win there last season while Chelsea and Manchester United earned draws. Arsenal were beaten 2-1 back in May despite leading, so they will know what they will be up against.If the Gunners are given the time and space to play they will beat most teams but you can be assured that Big Sam will have his team fired up to press Arsenal all over the park and to keep them hemmed in at the back. Arsenes side are great to watch and play superb attacking football but season after season they are exposed when it comes to the ugly side of the game. Teams like Bolton, Stoke and Blackburn will look to expose the Gunners lack of physicality and as long as its within the rules of the game, then they are right to do so. Rovers will play to their strengths which means set-pieces will be all-important in this clash.ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOWArsenal had veterans Sol Campbell and Mikael Silvestre at the heart of their defence in this fixture last season but this time Thomas Vermaelen will add an aerial presence as will new signing Laurent Koscielny. However, this will be a real test for the new Frenchman as Rovers will look to exploit their aerial power at every opportunity. Defensively, the Gunners will need to show great bravery and resilience, so we should have more of an idea of how their defence will cope this season after this match. Will he fancy it when big Christopher Samba is attacking the ball? We will soon find out. Rovers are not just a physical team by any means and their Croatian striker Nikola Kalinic will be a handful for the North Londoners defence. He has improved drastically and is starting to look a very good signing.This should be an intriguing game between two teams with very contrasting styles. I am going to back the draw on Premier 10 as I am still not convinced over Arsenals ability to compete with physically competitive teams on their travels. After all, theyve not won any of their last six away matches in all competitions (4 defeats) and may struggle against a Rovers team that rarely loses at Ewood Park. With an estimated30,000 Premier 10 jackpot up for grabs who will you back?Each week, Hansen will select a Pools game of his choice and hell make his predictions. If you think hes wrong or you can do better than him, just click this link to play that game as normal.Youll be entered into the normal prize pool for that game, and well also automatically enter you into our FREE bonus game, Challenge Hansen! , for a chance to win a bonus prize!If you get more predictions correct than Hansen, youll be a winner!
Watch Free Live Soccer Football Matches Online Here

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Mr. Hodgson Or: How We Learned To Stop Worrying And Blame The Manager

Image
The manager has risen from club secretary to official face of the club since the creation of football teams worldwide. He has moved from the man that kept the record books to man that is larger than the football team he manages. Commentators and pundits refer to Fergusons United or Wengers beautiful, passing football. He even has books written about him. The Manager by Barney Ronay, an excellent book that discusses the rise of the manager into the modern game, unearths some of the origins of the managers image and attempts todiscuss what kind of person the manager really is. While the book wasnt ever intended to be an academic study of the merits of various tactical thoughts of managers, it does address some of the often listed character traits ofsuccessfulmanagers. When all these traits are put together, to many the manager appears to be a father figure, a scary headmaster, a politician youd like to have a beer with, or somecombination. Yet despite all this popularity, he is little mo...
Keep reading

England World Cup camps need to lose doomsday siege mentality

Image
One day last week, near the junction of Maude Street and Rivonia Road, in the Johannesburg suburb of Sandton, a line of smiling young men in shirts and shorts strolled along the pavement towards their hotel. Wesley Sneijder, Arjen Robben, Robin Van Persie, Dirk Kuyt, Mark Van Bommel and the rest of the Dutch squad waited at the lights until there was a break in the traffic and then ambled across the road. These were some of the best known players in the world, superstars of the game, walking along city streets on their way back from training and looking as though they did not have a care. There was no security with them. None to speak of, anyway. There were no photographers running in front of them and taking their picture. There were no girlfriends tottering along beside them. None of them wore headphones. They did not insulate themselves. They seemed at one with their surroundings. It was only a snapshot of the way the Dutch are living their lives at this World Cup but ...
Keep reading

How an American Influence Is Rubbing Off On Manchester City

Image
Manchester Citys match day experience is becoming more and more American with each new season. While Maine Road was what you could expect a typical British experience of what it was like to see an English football match in the 80s, the City of Manchester Stadium experience seems as American as apple pie. In previous seasons, City have tried to focus on improving the match-day experience. Theyve added buskers, i.e. public performers, around the ground to add to the atmosphere. And recently theyve adopted American entertainment methods such as turning down the house lights before kick-off and trying to get everyone excited for the big match. Theyve also been a pioneer in English football in their usage of American social media sites such as Facebook, Foursquare, Flickr and others to create a bond with supporters. And now for their first home match in the league for the 2010-11 season, against Liverpool tonight, theyre set to unveil two new features. Both of them have a uniquely American...
Keep reading