Arsenal America

Two massive games coming up. First, here’s the Kentucky Gunner with a preview of the Birmingham City match. Later today we’ll get a preview of Inter Milan from one of their supporters…

Birmingham City will present a tough test for the Gunners this weekend. Not only from The Gunners own squad concerns but management has developed an impressive line-up of young and experienced players. City have no real superstars, per se, but they carry a number of players with real name recognition. It’s these individual players that make up a team that Manager Steve Bruce appears to have a real command over.

David Dunn was the best off-season deal at 5.5 million. Not necessarily a creator by nature, he is given free reign to move forward and try to score. As a Rover he led the team in scoring but was actually given few opportunities to shoot. I can imagine he likes the new strategy he has moved into as he is given free reign to move forward and score.

Robbie Savage may be the least graceful player in the League and outside of City, one of the most disliked. He is an intense and menacing force in the midfield, scrapping for every 50-50 ball on the pitch. Not afraid to jump in the fray, he is also not afraid to mix it up with the opponent. Then again, with a name like Savage did you think he would be soft?

Cristophe Dugarry is not the average striker. He has a World Cup under his belt along with plenty of Club experience. He is just not relied on to score; strange being that’s what strikers are for. He acts more like a central middie, directing traffic and looking to distribute the ball instead of score himself. There are injury rumors and it would be a huge blow to City.

Forsell is the teams leading scorer and has done such a good job that Chelsea, who has plenty of strikers, may recall him after his December loan is over. 5 goals thus far, he is an impact player and must be watched tightly to keep City off the score sheet.

Stan Lazaridis is one of my favorites. A pacy winger or a solid defender he captains the team and keeps the gameplan moving. Thing I like most is his “pompadour” hair-style.HA!

Lastly, look at Matt Upson. Former Gunner with a lot to prove against his old team, he now comes off a mistake filled outing for England. He has had to suddenly endure a great deal of scrutiny and it may push his focus elsewhere. A “possible” weak point in the center he could be a goat or a god in this match.

City sit in 5th place with a 5-5-2 record. They have only won one of the last six. 11 goals in 12 matches shows that they are not an offensive juggernaut, in fact they have been shut out 4 times. This fact is counteracted by the fact they have only given away 8 goals and hold 8 shutouts. They put plenty of bodies in the 18 to defend and keep these bodies behind the ball. Keep from being arrogant, the Gunners should not be in trouble of losing this match but stand a huge chance of losing points with a hard fought draw.

ArseAm Predicts: Bad timing for this match. A tough team, and we’ve got to go to Italy next week, plus injuries and suspensions. A win would be fantastic, I see a 1-1 draw and we stay unbeaten.