The most offensive thing about Wenger is his tactics.

Apparently a similar headline has been given to a story about Roger Federer in an Aussie paper and it rings true with Wenger too. Arsenal will play like the home team at Villa Park and that will play straight into Martin O’Neill’s hands.

Aston Villa are on a poor run in the league and have failed to score since we beat them at the Grove but they have beaten the rest of the big four this season because they have not been expected to take the initiative in those games. In Young and Agbonlahor they have devastating pace on the counter attack which they will definitely be able to exploit this evening. We should still be favourites for the game but we will have to make sure we create more chances than most do against the joint best defence in the league.

Niklas Bendtner makes a welcome return and takes up a place on the bench. The Dane’s aerial prowess could be a useful weapon if we are unable to break down Villa with our more artistic approach. Samir Nasri will join him on the bench and will provide another very welcome option ahead of our season making run of games over the next two weeks. Aaron Ramsey also bolsters the midfield after making a quicker than expected recovery and coming on as a sub at the Britannia stadium.

The midfielder that will really make a difference when he returns though is Alex Song. Cameroon have been knocked out of the African Cup of Nations now but Song may still miss the Man Utd game on Sunday as well as tonight’s fixture. Without him or Abou Diaby, there is a worry that our midfield can still be overpowered. Diaby scored a memorable goal in the same fixture last year when we managed to throw away a two goal lead and we do appear to rely far too much on Fabregas to break from midfield when the rangy Frenchman is missing.

It should be an intriguing match but as ever, possession will not automatically deliver goals and we will need the captain to step up to the plate again to ensure we have a decisive quality to our play.

Prediction: 2-1 to the Arse.

Photo: Action Images

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