Everton v Arsenal Preview

A must-not-lose game.
But still I feel good about this game and I think we can win it. A win certainly would go far in ensuring our place in the top 4 and still give us a bit of hope that one of the top 3 will fade in the last few games in order for us to overtake that side.

Btw, I still feel, to this moment, that the reverse fixture between the sides earlier this season is the best game of the season in the league.

Great work Sam.

I am not worried about the match. Maybe the battering we suffered from City,Chelsea n Liverpool have made me desensitized about any negative result.

Also I do think we have the top 4 all but secured. No result will matter at goodison. Saying that, obviously we have to win. To go in to the Semi Final with some positive momentum and morale.

Good to have Ramsey back. 10-15 minutes should be ok for him. None if we are losing. Can't risk him.

I'll be honest, I'm slightly worried about tomorrow.

I would love to see Cazorla have a boss game, though. As long as confidence & chemistry are good (big "if"), this is something we should get at least a point from.

Everything points to this being a very difficult game. Everton are in very good form and just the right time and are riding a nice big wave of momentum at the moment, whereas we're not in any sort of form at all and seem to be barely getting by on a deprived squad. They've got players playing well and making a difference, while we've not got anyone playing too well. Home advantage and a big juicy carrot to play for... yeah, it's easy to be worried.

Away from the tactics and fitness of both teams, pressure will play a major part here. Both teams will know that they cannot lose the game if they want to have the momentum going into the final few games of the season, and with it being such an important game, nerves are bound to play a part. We've notoriously lacked confidence and belief in these sorts of away games, but I think the 2nd half performance against City will have done a lot to remedy that and carrying that sort of confidence into this game will be vital towards getting a positive result. Everton, on the other hand, may feel they have nothing to lose - chances are they'll get European football of some sort next season - and that may liberate them, but in doing so that may leave them vulnerable.

Arsenal have to play this game smart. A draw is a good result since it'd keep them at arm's length, so there's no need to be playing an open game at all. Our passing needs to be a lot better than it has been, because this Everton team are dangerous on the counter. Above all, our defence needs to be on top of its game because right now we struggle to score one goal, let alone two or more.

all i ask is that we dont get destroyed in the first 20mins, like we have done against every fuking big team away from home.

Great job Sam.

Everton have only one loss at home and it will not be a easy game, I take a point now but Everton score early we could see another blow-out.
Baines and Coleman will kill us if we allow them to cross from wide areas.

Ramsey, you such a sexy beast. Do us proud when you make your comeback cameo in the 85th minute.   

I know I sound like a broken record when I repeat this all the time but I hope Wenger FINALLY plays Oxlade-Chamberlain on the left wing instead of Podolski or Cazorla. We need to make sure we expose Coleman's poor positional sense and no one in our team does that better than Oxlade-Chamberlain.

It's important to keep a clean sheet and score the odd goal.

I hope we see this team:


Gibbs* if fit