 Friday, 21st Sep 2007 12:09 Sighs of relief all around Pride Park following our first victory of the season. Arsenal V Derby County A hard fought 1-0 victory over Newcastle put a few smiles on the faces of the faithful. Some people leaving Pride Park made the point "Newcastle at home is one thing, Arsenal at the Emirates is quite another". The pundits of course have written us off. Mark Lawrenson says; “A routine home win - if there is such a thing in the Premier League.” For once he does qualify his lazy punditry. He went on "It was a good win for Derby against Newcastle on Monday, but it is asking a lot of Billy Davies' side to get something from this game because Arsenal's form at the moment is nothing short of imperious." Imperious is probably a bit over the top but Arsenal are the early season form team. Unbeaten so far this season, only Liverpool have scored more goals than them. They have progressed nicely into the group stages of the Champions league and recorded an emphatic 3-0 victory over Sevilla on Wednesday night. Arsene Wenger told the BBC; "We were maybe a bit lucky on the first goal but we were completely in control in the second half, after we'd had more of a game in the first." His further comments show why he's so widely regarded in the managerial stakes and why Arsenal went to such lengths to tie him to a new contract in the summer; "I feel sometimes we could improve in the final ball, we lost some we shouldn't have done and made two or three defensive mistakes." It does sound as if he's being critical for the sake of it but consider; Arsenal have only kept one clean sheet in the last eleven home games. This does suggest a defensive weakness however they have not conceded more than one goal at home since last December - and they won that game 6-2. Even when they've gone behind, they have come back and won the game. It has to be remembered that Arsenal have only lost one league game at the Emirates. Wenger carried on; "As long as the attitude is right and the players want to improve you can always get better. The challenge for the team is not only to play well tonight, but every three days." Billy Davies probably said the same on Monday night. Current Arsenal Squad Last 5 games Danger Men Arsenal have played 8 games already this season and have several injury concerns. Philippe Senderos has a hip problem and Alexander Hleb has an injured knee. Tomas Rosicky, William Gallas, Jens Lehmann and Emmanuel Eboue definitely won’t feature. It’s not beyond the realms of possibility that Arsene Wenger will rest several players for this game. That shouldn’t be a comfort for Rams fans as many of the younger Arsenal players are very very good. The Rams One strategy would be to play a spoiler/defensive game and try not to lose by too many and pick up again against Bolton next week. Stronger teams than Derby have thrown the towel in before now - why bother when defeat is inevitable? That strategy sticks in the craw of all true Derby fans. We sold out of the paltry allowance Arsenal sent us before Season ticket holders were allowed to apply. The fans aren't going on a sight seeing tour; they are going to see the team compete. And unless Billy Davies is not the man I think he is, he thinks the same way. How do we play tight & defensive while retaining an attacking flair? A 4-5-1 formation with Steve Howard leading the line has not worked so far. Steve is very good at winning the ball in the air but without support on the ground his labours are in vain. A goal would do him the world of good and it's a shame the big fella didn't break his duck on Monday. An alternative would be to play Kenny Miller in the lone striker role. Miller took his goal with aplomb on Monday and we saw enough to suggest that he might become a new crowd favourite. Without someone to play off him however he may labour just like Howard. What about Rob Earnshaw? He seems to have become a forgotten man. Against the Arsenal defence however, he might be nippy enough to get in behind them - much like Dean Saunders did in the 80's. The problem there of course is, who would Earnshaw receive the ball from? Defensively, we did well against Newcastle however there was much said after the match about our centre halves wrestling the Newcastle players to the ground. While much of it was sour grapes, it has to be said our players do seem to be willing to raise their arms and against the Arsenal's of this world, that will be a disaster. I would play Todd in front of Leacock and Davies to break up Arsenal's attacking play before it gets to the centre-halves. I would also challenge the midfield to play further up the pitch making Arsenal play the ball more. Reports suggest the team from Monday are still all fit. I would expect that Todd will replace Howard as an extra midfielder and the Benny Filthier might replace Eddie Lewis. Although Darren Moore and Giles Barnes are progressing, Billy feels it's too early to risk them. I wonder if Giles will make the bench? Mick’s Team: Bywater, McEveley, Davis, Leacock, Mears, Teale, Todd, Oakley, Pearson, Feilhaber, Miller. What the bookies think Information for travelling fans A suggestion from London Ram on Popside.com is to ‘go to Cockfosters off J24 of the M25 and get the tube in.’ parking is a nightmare near the Emirates and you’ll be away a lot quicker. Parking: Footballgroundguide.co.uk say “There is little parking at the stadium itself or in nearby streets. An extensive resident’s only parking scheme operates around the stadium on match days. It's probably better to park further out of London around a tube station such as Cockfosters and get the tube to the ground.” This all seems to suggest that London Ram is right. Drinking: The recommended pub for away fans is the Twelve Pins (formerly the Finsbury Park Tavern) near Finsbury Park Tube Station, and the Blackstock directly opposite There are several pubs on the Holloway Rd that are recommended. The Highbury Barn near Highbury/Islington tube us also popular. Mick’s Prediction Photo: Action Images Please report offensive, libellous or inappropriate posts by using the links provided.
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