Preview: Arsenal vs Fulham - English Premier League

Although Monday’s clash with Aston Villa felt like a limp affair punctuated with 60 seconds of brilliance that was nearly upended through 20 minutes of frantic pressing after Benteke found the back of the net for the first time since September, Arsenal have entered what is arguably its softest string of fixtures all season. The next four—home against Fulham, home against Coventry, even away against Southampton, and at home against Crystal Palace—present our best chance at creating some distance between us and our rivals, each of whom have somewhat tetchier fixtures of their own coming up.

Along comes Fulham, currently a mere two points above the drop-zone and struggling to find anything that resembles form, having failed to win two games in a row since October. Still, they’re coming off what looks like a strong stretch, such as it is, recovering from a seven-game losing streak to win four of their last nine matches under new manager René Meulensteen, who took over from Martin Jol in December.

Could Fulham then be on the verge of turning their season around? Meulensteen previously plied his trade at Old Trafford and apparently draws rave reviews for his technical expertise from the likes of Giggs, van Persie, and van Nistelrooy. Whether that apparent gift for working with individual players translates to managing the tactical elements of an entire squad is another question, though. The last time Meulensteen managed a squad was with Anzhi Makhackala—but he was sacked after two weeks, apparently as part of Anzhi’s clearing the decks to reduce costs. He remains a well-respected manager, but sorting out how to forge an actual team that includes forwards like Taarabt, Bent, and Berbatov (who may literally be allergic to tracking back on defense), a central midfield that is built on a foundation of 31-year old Steve Sidwell and 33-year old Scott Parker, and a similarly aging and creaky defense, might just be a fool’s errand.

However, he’s shown that he’ll suffer no fools, making no less than nine changes from the side that lost to Sunderland 1-4, and the changes did work to the tune of a 3-0 win over Norwich in the FA Cup‘s third round. Meulensteen, like many Dutch coaches and managers, stresses totallvoetbal, that fluid, dynamic, and interchanging, and highly technical style of play that Arsenal and others also strive for. Whether he’d be able to get such an aging group of players to buy into, much less perform in, such a system is unlikely, especially after a sudden, midseason switch. It’s more likely that we’ll continue to see the lingering residue of Jol’s “tactics”—a mix of care-free attacking, overwhelmed midfielders, and desperate defending—think Tottenham on the cheap. Tactics and technique aside, though, we would be remiss to underestimate the Cottagers on Saturday. All we need is for Berbatov to decide that it would be a great time to audition for a transfer. The last time he visited the Emirates, after all, he bagged a brace in that messy, 3-3 draw.

Still, the threat of that looks to be mooted by our ability to dominate the midfield. Parker is not the runner he once was, and it will take a heroic performance from both he and Sidwell to counter the youth, movement, and passing they’ll face on Saturday. As such, Berbatov may end up cutting a rather forlorn figure as he waits for some kind of service, exacerbating that laconic insouciance of his into outright, diffident, apathy. Shorn of any real attack, though, Fulham may resort to defending in numbers in order to at least keep a point—something they’ve done in their last two trips to the Emirates, after all.

Last three meetings

Fulham 1-3 Arsenal (24.08.13)Fulham 0-1 Arsenal (20.04.13)Arsenal 3-3 Fulham (10.11.12)

Factfile

• Arsenal have never lost at home to Fulham; in 27 matches since 1913, Arsenal have won 22 and drawn five at home.
• Fulham have earned a draw in their last two trips to the Emirates.
• Fulham have conceded 21 goals in their last six Prem matches, including 11 in their last three trips away from Craven Cottage, fueling their league-worst goal-differential of -24.
• Darren Bent has scored eight goals in his last ten appearances against Arsenal.
• In his last start before going down with an injury, Lukas Podolski bagged a brace, scoring on each shot he put on goal. This brings his team-leading total against Fulham to three—from three appearances.

Injuries

Walcott (knee), Sanogo (back), and Diaby (knee) are out, and Arsene has ruled out Ramsey, Arteta, Vermaelen, and Bendtner while suggesting that Rosicky (nose) and Monreal (foot) could be available, calling the former a “big doubt” and the latter one they’ll “have to monitor closely.”

Possible Starting XI

Szczesny, Gibbs, Koscielny, Mertesacker, Jenkinson, Flamini, Wilshere, Podolski, Ozil, Gnabry, Giroud

By contrast with Monday’s tepid affair, I expect a lively start and a fair number of highlight reel-moments as the Gunners run away from the overmatched Cottagers.

Goonersphere’s Prediction

Arsenal 4-1 Fulham