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ARSENAL: Premier League: Arsenal v Birmingham City - Preview

/noticias.info/ By Richard Clarke

If Arsenal beat Birmingham on Saturday to stay top of the Premier League then Arsène Wenger will have earned his corn.

You could argue this is an overlooked game against underwhelming and unheralded opponents. Exactly the type of encounter in which needless points are dropped and hopeful title bids are dashed. At his pre-match press conference on Friday there was barely a question about Birmingham. The focus was Anelka, Van Persie, Lehmann and Diarra. The emerging talent at Arsenal got a mention but no-one gave much heed to Alex McLeish’s doughty side.

And that is the point. Arsenal have been playing two games a week since the end of November but they have the luxury of a clear midweek after Saturday. So with Manchester United in the title race, Tottenham in the Carling Cup and even Milan in Europe starting to crowd the psyche, Wenger knows he must clear the minds of his side. He has already been making preparations.

“We rested a few players recently to give them a breather mentally,” said the Frenchman. ”It is all more mental than physical at the moment. But you still need an edge in these kinds of games and I feel that is down to how well you prepare, especially mentally. That will make the difference.”

The players could do worse than to copy their manager’s determined but perhaps absent mind. Wenger was handed the Manager of the Month trophy on Friday. He admits to have misplaced many of similar awards but steadfastly fails to accept the supposed ‘curse’ that haunts the game immediately following handover.

“I don't believe in curse, I believe in performance,” he snapped back. “It is as simple as that. I've won the Manager of the Month award many times and won the next day.”

Johan Djourou (groin) and Robin van Persie (thigh) picked up injuries in the midweek draw with Tottenham. However the Dutchman’s problem has not really been assessed because he has been bed-ridden with flu ever since. Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Eboue are on duty in the African Nations Cup and, Wenger confirmed, Alex Song will be joining them despite the whittling down of the Cameroon squad from 30 to 23 on Friday. The manager admits it does leave issues at centre back.

“We had hoped Song would not be retained by Cameroon,” he said “But they gave a list of their squad and he was in it. He now looks like he will play with Cameroon. The latest all the African Nations Cup players are back is on February 10 but Justin Hoyte had a good game in the centre of defence so we can count on him. Gilberto can also play centre back, even if he does not even enjoy it.”

As for Van Persie, his tally of 14 games in his injury-hit season is just under half that of Bacary Sagna, the leading appearance-maker. It has taken its toll.

“He is highly frustrated,” said Wenger. “You don’t see him smile. He loves football so much that he is sad when he does not play.

“We thought we were over it this time. The only positive thing on Wednesday night is that he was feverish and perhaps what he felt in his muscle was the effects of the flu than a real set-back. I did not see any muscular set-back during the game.”

Meanwhile Arsenal can ill-afford a set-back of their own on Saturday. notas_de_prensa_archivo