please log in to view this image please log in to view this image Arsenal take on Queens Park Rangers in this London derby. The Gunners go into this having won their previous seven league games. The best league run the Gunners have been on since 2007. Arsenal beat Aston Villa at the Emirates in their last league match. Kieran Gibbs opened the scoring with his first league goal for the Gunners. Theo Walcott then extended the lead with a deadly finish. And finally, Mikel Arteta rounded it up with a stunning free-kick. Aston Villa put up little resistance but Arsenal still made it look easier than it should have been. QPR go into this on the back of a defeat against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light. QPR's indiscipline came back to bite them again after Djibril Cisse got sent off for violent conduct. So once again they were down to ten men. And Sunderland took advantage by scoring three goals before Taye Taiwo pulled one back. QPR have been down to 10 men on six different occasions this season. Cisse has been given a straight red card twice this season. Because of that he we will miss four games games. That is a massive blow for QPR. Cisse when he is not getting sent off does score goals. He scored three goals since arriving from Lazio. Before the Sunderland game, QPR fans witnessed their team pull off a stunning comeback against Liverpool at Loftus Road. They trailed Liverpool by two goals and only had twenty minutes or so to rescue something. Shaun Derry started the fight back and Cisse leveled the scores before Jamie Mackie scored the winner. QPR fans would have no doubt hoped that was the turning point in their season and it was something to build on. But having lost their next game and having lost Cisse for four games, QPR's survival hopes looks bleak once more. Arsenal are looking for an eighth league win in a row against QPR and looking to seal a place in the top four. They have an eight point gap over Chelsea at the moment and if they sustain their current form then they should be able to seal Champions league football for next season. QPR after coming into the Premier League found a new owner in Tony Fernandes. He kept faith in Neil Warnock before replacing him with Mark Hughes. Warnock went eight games without getting a win and that was not good enough and he got the sack. But under Warnock, QPR never dropped into the bottom three. Fernandes hired Hughes in time for the Welshmen to start bringing in his own players. QPR were the busiest team in the January transfer window, they brought in six players. Bobby Zamora and Djibril Cisse were brought in from Fulham and Lazio in order to get the much needed goals. And they have five goals between them and because of Cisse's indiscipline he has missed three games already and will miss another four after picking up his second straight red this season. To shore up the defence they got Nedum Onuoha from Manchester City and loaned Taye Taiwo from AC Milan. So far under the management of Mark Hughes, QPR have won two premier league games out of five. One 3-1 win against Wigan at home and the 3-2 win against Liverpool also at home. In fact, QPR have only won three home games in the entire season, only Wolves can match that unenvied record. QPR face a tough run in and because of that many people have them going down alongside Wolves. But, they have won one of the games in this tough run in. QPR fans will hope that their team can build on the last home game and hope they can repeat and sustain the sort of performance they witnessed from their team in the last 20 minutes against Liverpool. But Arsenal have won their last three away games. Bobby Zamora scored the winner against Arsenal when he was playing for Fulham. Zamora hit a 90th minute winner and he has always caused the Gunners problems with his physical approach. With Thomas Vermaelen in great form, this should be an interesting clash. Joey Barton was dropped by Mark Hughes and he was booed off in his last home game for QPR. Barton is also another player who has created problems for the Gunners in the past. He has managed to get Arsenal players sent off in the past and the Arsenal players will have to make sure they do not fall foul of Barton’s tricks if he plays. With Wigan and Bolton finding form in the business end of the season, QPR need make sure that they do not get cut adrift in the relegation battle and a win against Arsenal will be a huge boost in their survival campaign. Arsenal have opened up and eight point gap over Chelsea who sit in fifth. They have also overtaken Tottenham Hotspur to go third in the league. It’s Arsenal’s highest league position in the entire season. In their last two league games, Arsenal have managed to keep a clean sheet. With a settled defence, Arsenal have finally managed to look assured at the back for the first time this season. They also have natural full backs once again and they have also made a telling contribution in the final third. Both Gibbs and Sagna have scored since returning from injury and Bacary Sagna has been his usual solid self in the defence. His return has also coincided with Theo Walcott’s return to form. Walcott has been very much hit and miss this season but with a proper full back behind him, he does not have to worry about anything other than scoring and assisting in the final third. Walcott has scored six times in the league and have eight assists to his name. So stats wise, it’s not been a bad season for Walcott. Alex Song is a different player when attacking these days and his passing has improved beyond belief. His trade mark long passes have been a key feature in Arsenal’s season. Against Aston Villa, Song played in Walcott with yet another great pass. Song has provided eight assists in the premier league this season. A great return for a player who seen as a defensively midfielder mainly. Mikel Arteta has also been a great influence in this Arsenal team, his experience has helped Arsenal control the midfield in most games and his passing has kept them ticking over. Him and Song have formed a very good partnership and QPR will do well to win the midfield battle against Arsenal. The Gunners go searching for their eighth league win on the trot and if they achieve it then that will be another win which help them achieve their target of securing Champions league football for next season, but with QPR fighting for their lives in the league, it’s not going to be easy. Teams News: Arsene Wenger: Form Guide: please log in to view this image Three Key Match-ups: please log in to view this image please log in to view this image please log in to view this image Overall Record vs: Queens Park Rangers: Played: 48 Wins: 20 Draws: 14 Losses: 14 For: 61 Against: 44 GD: 17 Last 6 Meetings: Arsenal 1 - 0 Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers 0 - 6 Arsenal (FA Cup) Queens Park Rangers 1 - 1 Arsenal Arsenal 3 - 0 Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers 1 - 0 Arsenal Arsenal 1 - 3 Queens Park Rangers please log in to view this image Mangers Views: Arsene Wenger on the importance of having captains in the squad: My Team: please log in to view this image Final Score: please log in to view this image
Been looking forward to this one for weeks, just go easy on us, was hoping you would keep Tierry Henry till this game but not to be,
Super Jack, you should get employed by a website/newspaper to do this kind of stuff, it beats a lot of the stuff I read on a monday morning in the Metro, for example, by far
would like to see gervinho start again. he did well in the match vs. aston villa, although he was a bit quiet at times. however, the ox needs games to keep improving, and the weaker teams would be the best for him, so can see him starting.
With our current run of form, and QPR's defensive issues, we should win this game comfortably. So on that logic, here's my prediction; QPR:2 Arsenal:1 We will lose eventually, QPR have a knack of raising their game for bigger sides.
we're gon smash ye bastards RVP or whatever he's called is no match for big Anton in all seriousness, i hope we win, mainly because i have many Arsenal supporting 'friends', who happen to be ****s. And, we could do with some points, with the form you're in, and the form we're in, you could get complacent and we are always better V the big teams, so am hoping for a smash and grab. Head: QPR 0 - 2 Arsenal RVP, Walcott Heart: QPR 1-0 Taarabt/Buz
Every QPR fan would take the draw I am sure. Those that are looking for the win, I sooooo hope you are right. What we can offer your players is a very warm welcome, especially when taking corners at the Loft end. Maybe there won't be any?!! (corners, that is;not players though if Arsenal want to field no players that would significantly help our goal difference too )
Because you can no longer cross-board threads, otherwise I would have added QPR's board like I did when we last played.
If we raise our game then this will be very tight it depends if we turn up but I am going for 2-0 hoops because I have to ... I am in a living hell
A trip down memory lane... [video=youtube;z8DCAWI2nho]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8DCAWI2nho [/video]
