Match Preview: Arsenal v Chelsea; Celebrating Arsene Wenger

At about an hour before kick off tomorrow Arsene Wenger will turn in his 1000 starting XI. This puts Wenger in the company of only 3 other individuals who have done the same.  Arsene now joins Sir Matt Busby, Sir Alex Ferguseon, and Dario Gardi as the only managers to have presided over 1000 matches with the same club.

It’s likely that once Wenger retires or steps down that he will be the last to achieve this. We are in era now were patience and consistency are not well regarded virtues. In terms of managers Wenger represents the last of a dying breed.

The tributes are superfluous and all well deserved.

As Arsenal supporters we get a lot of stick over the last 8 years. Some of it’s deserved some of it is just blindly inane. But what we can say with pride is at Arsenal we’ve been blessed with some of the best and most effective managers in the game.

While our heritage doesn’t start with Herbert Chapman, he is the catalyst for a lot of the change in the overall game in England and easily considered the real starting point for our defining the club’s glorious trajectory. It’s only fitting then that the next brightest era of Arsenal football is presided over by a man of equal innovation.

There isn’t a team operating in England right now that hasn’t in some way implemented a change Wenger brought to the game. Whether it’s the diet, training and scouting of players, or more profoundly the aesthetic that Arsenal ply their wares on the pitch, Wenger’s touch in England is everywhere.

I believe it is for these and other changes that Wenger is often chastised by those who often speak ill of him. The changes he brought and were eventually adopted and adapted have changed the face of football (among other things.) Those changes brought about a seismic change in how the game was played and by extension the culture of football.

Like many I have had my fair share of criticism of our Manager. You know what? That’s okay. No one is above criticism. However, I am still a fan. I still think he has it and I really do laugh at any one who says he “doesn’t want to win.” You only need listen to current and former players to know that isn’t true.

I don’t mind when we criticize our manager but I am fiercely protective of him when others who don’t support the club do it.

While I know we have a match to play on Saturday, I was steaming at comments from Adrian Durham of TalkSport earlier this week regarding his tenure. Before I go on, I don’t willingly always listen or read Durham because frankly he’s an imbecile and his opinion is only meant to stir.

Well, he did his job with me. In the 1000 games Arsene has presided over, the first 500 resulted in 7 trophies. The last 500 not so much. Durham argues that he didn’t deserve to get the other 500 and any other big club would’ve jettisoned him a long time ago.

What I’d like to ask Durham and any one who believes that is this:

Name me one other so-called big club that managed to do what Arsene and Arsenal have done in the last 8 years namely (in case you forgot):

• Build a stadium without a sugar daddy
• Remain competitive while placing financial constraints on themselves
• Build a self-sustainable model so that the club doesn’t have to worry about its long-term future being riddled with debt.

All of that done without any financial doping at all. Mourinho has never built a team. Fergie always had the resources to spend but under the Glazers saw the club strapped with debt. No one at Barca, Mardid or Bayern have done it.

The fact is the feat that Arsene has presided over in the last 8 years and that we now find ourselves coming from may not be everyone’s tea, especially those who only care about winning at any cost, but it is as remarkable an achievement as any – especially in light of how the game has turned on its head with all the sugar daddies in the game today.

If you don’t think it’s an achievement why is it that many clubs are trying to do as Arsenal did and either build a new stadium or expand their own with secure means. Why? Because like 1996 when Wenger’s revolution started, he set the English game on a course for the better and while he will implore his work was only for his beloved Arsenal, he has shown again the way forward that others will look to emulate.

There are endless lists of Arsenal’s best and worst XI. The best matches and all that are presented all over the place. Praise is coming from every corner – though Mourinho had to be his normal twatish self. But Wenger should be remembered for the course he set in 1996 and the one he began again in 2006.

Yes, there is a game on Saturday and yes it means a lot for Arsenal. But you know what, somehow I don’t want to talk about a Chelsea side and manager that are complete opposites to the class and focus of Arsene Wenger represents. Enjoy the stats below and because it’s a special occasion I am going for Arsenal to finally break that Jose Mourinho duck (despite all the naysayers who say opposite)

Probable Lineups:

Injuries & Suspensions:
Arsenal: Diaby (knee), Walcott (knee), Özil (hamstring), Ramsey (thigh), Wilshere (foot)

Chelsea: Cole (knee), Van Ginkel (knee), Ramires (suspended), Willian (suspended)

Match Officials:
Referee:  Andrew Mariner (21M  64Y 6R 5PK)
Assistant Referees: Ledger, Perry
Fourth Official: Taylor

Head to Head:

Broadcast Information:
UK: BT Sport 12.45 GMT

US: NBC Sports Network 8:45 AM EST

YAMA Prediction:
Chelsea 1 – 2 Arsenal 

Match Facts (courtesy FourFourTwo)

• Jose Mourinho has never lost against Arsene Wenger as an opposition manager (W5 D5 L0).
• Arsenal have won away at Stamford Bridge more often than any other visiting side in the Barclays Premier League (7).
• Chelsea have scored first in their last five home matches against Arsenal
• This will be Arsene Wenger’s 1000th competitive match as coach of Arsenal – his record in so far is W572 D235 L192.
• The last five Premier League wins Arsenal have enjoyed at Stamford Bridge have all seen the Gunners come from behind to win.
• Chelsea have won their last five home matches against top-six teams
• Arsenal have failed to score in the two games against Chelsea this season (0-0 in the Premier League and 0-2 in the Capital One Cup, both at the Emirates Stadium).
• Arsenal have won none of their last 11 Premier League meetings against Chelsea, Man Utd or Man City (W0 D5 L6).
• Arsenal have had loss/loss results in their last five away defeats against top-six teams
• Chelsea have recovered more points from losing positions than any other team in the Premier League this season (14).
• This is Chelsea’s lowest points haul after 30 games of a Premier League campaign with Jose Mourinho at the helm (66), but their fifth best in Premier League history.
• Chelsea have been leading at half-time in their last five home matches against Arsenal
• Chelsea have the best home record in the top flight with 41 points and are the only team not to suffer a home defeat in the Premier League this season.
• Arsenal have the best away record with 29 points on the road, which is level with Spurs, but they have a better goal difference of +6.
• The last Chelsea player to concede a Premier League penalty under Jose Mourinho was Khalid Boulahrouz and it was against Arsenal (May 2007).