Matt Le Tissier - Sky Sports Expert

Gunners are goners?

Posted: 20th March 2008 12:17

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Grand Slam Sunday
Emmanuel Adebayor hasn't found the net since he changed his haircut. He's drawn blanks since he took the braids out, so I think we're going to start calling him Samson Adebayor!

Matt Le Tissier
Quotes of the week

GRAND SLAM SUNDAY
Man Utd v Liverpool
Chelsea v Arsenal
Starts 1pm, Sky Sports 1
Le Tiss on Man Utd v Liverpool

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Chelsea v Arsenal
3.30pm, Sunday, Sky Sports 1

Chelsea have got to win this match if they have realistic hopes of winning the title, especially after they dropped points against Spurs in midweek.

But I'd say the same thing about Arsenal; a defeat would be extremely damaging and they need to win if they realistically want to stay in the hunt.

If United win their game against Liverpool and either of these two sides lose then that might be too much of a blow to recover from. Effectively, defeat in this one could knock you out of the title race.

A draw would keep both sides interested, but I don't think either side will be looking for a point - they both need to go out and try to win it.

Therefore this is a huge game and it will be quite tense, especially in the opening stages - it's tough to predict what's going to happen.

Chelsea will be disappointed to have conceded a late goal against Tottenham on Wednesday. A 4-4 draw isn't really the Chelsea way and it has dented their hopes a little bit.

However, they were on a good run before that and they are still in a strong position to challenge for the title, especially as Arsenal and United have both got to come to Stamford Bridge.

If Chelsea can get six points from those two games they'll have a great chance of winning the Premier League, but it's a big ask to beat both of those quality teams in the space of a few weeks.

Options

Avram Grant has virtually a fully fit squad to choose from and he's got plenty of options. I expect him to play 4-5-1 with Didier Drogba up front against Arsenal because that's what the players know and they've been successful with that formation in recent times.

If it's a straight choice between Drogba and Nicolas Anelka, I'd pick the former because I feel he gives the team a little bit more.

No disrespect to the Frenchman because he's a great finisher, but I think Drogba has a little edge over him and I'm sure Anelka will have a part to play from the bench if the game's tight with 25 minutes to go.

I'd always have Joe Cole in my starting line-up as well. It was a bizarre decision to leave him out in the Carling Cup Final and he's shown since then what a quality player he is.

Heat

As for Arsenal, they've had a catalogue of draws against teams they should be beating - Birmingham, Villa, Wigan and Middlesbrough.

They just seem to be faltering when the heat is really on them and it's difficult to explain why. Some of their players haven't been in this position before and they might be feeling the pressure.

United's good form might also be having an impact. Every time they go out onto the pitch they feel United are going to win, so that puts extra pressure on Arsenal to go for the three points.

But there's still plenty of belief in that squad - as they showed by scoring late equalisers against both Villa and Middlesbrough. The character is there, but you wonder whether the pressure of being frontrunners got to them a little bit.

Now they've slipped behind United we might see some better football from them. Chasing the leaders might suit them more and they might start to relax and get back to playing how they were a couple of months ago.

Hair

Emmanuel Adebayor has picked a bad time to stop scoring and as Charlie Nicholas pointed out to me, he hasn't found the net since he changed his haircut!

He's drawn blanks since he took the braids out, so I think we're going to start calling him Samson Adebayor!

To be fair to him, he's had a cracking season and he was always going to have a slight dip at some stage. It's just a shame it coincided with the run of draws they've had.

The return of Robin van Persie might help the situation, but I think Adebayor thrives on playing up on his own with the midfielders running off him.

Therefore I can see Arsene Wenger starting off with a 4-5-1 as well and we could see a cagey start to the match.

However, a draw won't really suit either side and I can see the likes of Van Persie being involved at some stage. If it's still level with 20 minutes to go we could see a brilliant end to the game.

I'm really looking forward to Sunday, it's going to be a great footballing day.

Le Tiss Predicts

HOME WIN - This is one of the toughest predictions I've been asked to make all season because it's such a big game for both teams. On current form I'd have to go for Chelsea, especially as they have home advantage. They'll be smarting after that draw in midweek and I'll say they'll do what they normally do and nick it 1-0. If that happens, then Arsenal won't be winning the title this season.

Matt's Main Man

JOE COLE - He'll probably end up on the bench now I've named him as the key player, but I just think he's a fabulous footballer. It baffles me when he's left out of the side and we saw in the Carling Cup Final that they miss him when he doesn't play. After scoring two goals in midweek, he's the man in form and he could be the key to this game.