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Arsenal v Manchester United, Saturday 8th November, KO 12:45pm, Live on Sky Sports 1


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Arsène Wenger has many major decisions to make on injured players before Saturday’s massive clash with Manchester United at Emirates Stadium.Speaking to Arsenal TV Online on Thursday afternoon, the manager confirmed Mikael Silvestre did break his nose in the goalless draw with Fenerbahce the previous evening. The 31-year-old defender is still likely to be available against his old side but Wenger suggested it may be “a gamble”.Goalkeeper Manuel Almunia is over his sickness and trained today. However Bacary Sagna sat out the session. The right back injured his ankle at Stoke on Saturday but was named on the bench in the Champions League tie. He did not come on and his fitness for Saturday was still “a slight concern” for Wenger.It seems the injuries to Theo Walcott (shoulder) and William Gallas (hamstring) are bigger issues. Both are only rated as 50:50 to feature and Wenger will not be able to make a decision until after Friday’s session. Emmanuel Adebayor (ankle) and Emmanuel Eboue (knee) are definitely out while Robin van Persie is suspended.“Mikael has a broken nose with an open wound on the side,” said Wenger.“Basically he should be capable of playing. But in the next 48 hours I will have to decide what we do. You cannot rule him out and I feel he can play. But I have to decide whether I go for the gamble or not.“We will not know about Walcott and Gallas before tomorrow afternoon. It is 50:50 for both.“But Manuel Almunia was back in training today so he will be available.“As for Sagna, there was a gamble on him that I did not want to take [last night]. We could not take it today in training either. He still needed to be out of impact work.“I think he should be OK for Saturday but there is still a slight concern.”
Kolo Toure believes that a win against Manchester United on Saturday would send out a strong signal of intent to the rest of the Premier League. Arsenal’s title credentials have been under scrutiny following three defeats in their opening 11 games and the Gunners now trail leaders Liverpool by six points. However, Toure thinks that a win over the current English and European champions will show that Arsène Wenger’s side are still thoroughly in business.“A win would be really fantastic for us to show that we are there for the title,” said the Ivorian after Wednesdays draw with Fenerbahce. “We know that the Premier League is really long - we are not in the second half yet. We just need to take it as a really important game and to show Manchester United and those big clubs that we are there to fight for the title. “I have played against them already and I know what I have to expect [from Man United]. I think it’s going to be a good game and we will show them we are still in the race for the title. We are still in there. We are fourth at the moment. We are six points behind but the season is really long. We just need to play game by game. “We concentrate on each game and as a team we just rely on our solidarity. There are some games we are going to lose and there are some games we have to win.”Arsenal will be without Emmanuel Adebayor (ankle injury) and Robin van Persie (suspension) against United but Toure is in no doubt that their replacements can fill the void admirably.“When the boss gave them the chances, they scored,” he said. “Vela scored three goals against Sheffield United. It wasn't a really easy game and he showed he is a good striker. He is progressing really well. Bendtner is doing really well as well - he is doing his best at the moment. Obviously he didn't score [against Fenerbahce] but I think on Saturday if he gets a chance he will do it. “It's up to them to show now that it doesn't matter who they play against, you just focus on your game and take your chance.”
Nicklas Bendtner has warned Arsenal’s title rivals not to write off his side just yet.The Dane is likely to continue up front for the crucial Premier League game with Manchester United on Saturday.The match is being billed as pivotal in Arsenal’s season. Victory will put them right back in the title shake-up. Defeat could leave them nine points off the pace.Having dropped five points in their last two games, the media seem pessimistic for Arsenal. Bendtner is not so sure.“We still believe we can win the title and it will be like that until the season finishes,” he said. “We owe that to ourselves and we want to win it for everyone.“We are very young but we can still prove people wrong. We shouldn't be written off yet. We're very strong and we have played well against big teams this season. It will be no different on Saturday.“Yes it's an important game and Man United are a big team but we'll go out there and try to win it like we always do.“Every match we play against them is big and we believe we can beat anyone with the players we have available.”In the absence of Emmanuel Adebayor (ankle), Robin van Persie (suspension) and Eduardo (broken leg), Arsenal will be relying on Bendtner in their biggest game of the season so far. The 20-year-old is quite happy to shoulder the individual responsibility but, at the same, he is aware scoring goals is a collective activity.“I always feel confident whoever I play,” he said. “I'll play to my strength and the team will play as a unit. If we all play well that should be enough but I want to do the best I can.“If I play I'd like to score. It would be fantastic to score against Man United. If I can score and help us win the game then I'll be very happy. If I play well and someone else scores I'll be happy too.“If you play well, you keep your place so you have to keep working hard.
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SHEET I dont usually do this but im nervous as f*ck....we are the underdogs and for that I think is our only chance coz our boys know they need to give it all from the get gothe 2 possibilities that I can see happening is either 0-0 or 1-1 then last minute nick a winner otherwise I see a 0-3, 0-4 thrashing from the mancs heres my team -------------Almunia Sagna---Gallas---Silvestre---Clichy------Fabregas--Denilson--DiabyWalcott-----------------------Nasri-------------Bendtnerprediction: I support a team that rises to the occasion so Arsenal win!come on you gunners!!!!

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