EPL 11/2/2008 - Arsenal vs Blackburn Rovers

There is much talk about Arsenal having mouting injury problems for this live commentary and play by play English Premier League soccer match between Arsenal and Blackburn Rovers at the Emirates Stadium and how Arsene Wenger is struggling to put up a full team and that he might have to ask Koulo Toure to play 2 games in 3 days with a 7 hour flight sandwiched in between. The soccer media are also baying for Arsenal's blood and they smell an upset on the cards as Blackburn Rovers have come close to beating Arsenal twice this season in the EPL and League Cup as they held the North London league leaders to draws in both games after 90 minutes. Arsenal faces a bad defensive crisis as even Philip Senderos is injured and he might have to put in young Justin Hoyte although I see no problem in that since Hoyte has acquitted himself well for the most part whenever he plays, and Gilberto Silva might also have to be drafted in as Hoyte's central defensive partner. But Silva has played there before and done decently well so where the problem is, I do not know.

Much less has been made about Blackburn Rovers own injuries and midfield problems for this live commentary and radio broadcast soccer match in the English Premier League against Arsenal. They are also facing many missing players and their midfield is especially bad as guys like Stephen Reid have relapsed again and are doubtful for this match. Without a midfield, how much can a Blackburn Rovers team cope with Arsenal's still present midfield force of Cesc Fabregas and Flamini? There has also been much attention on the return of Arsenal old boy David Bentley as he seeks to put one over his former club with Blackburn Rovers, after being elevated to the England first team and a rising star. Arsene Wenger has been asked if he regrets letting Bentley go but what could he have done at that time as Bentley did not exactly impress enough as yet and he wanted regular first team football so you had to let the lad go to improve and develop his game if he did not want to wait. It worked out well for everyone although in the future if UEFA forces all teams to have a quota of local players, Arsenal might rue letting Bentley go.

However, this live commentary and TV telecast English Premier League game between Arsenal and Blackburn Rovers would be one of the hardest to call as both sides facing injuries and player crisis due to that. The slight edge still belongs to Arsenal not because they are playing at home but because they will be motivated to put more distance between them and Manchester United after the latter flopped badly at home against Manchester City, and also because Arsenal has capable substitutes for the injured and missing players while Blackburn Rovers might struggle with their players out. Therefore, expect a scrappy win for Arsenal over Blackburn Rovers in this live commentary and radio broadcast English Premier League soccer match at the Emirates Stadium and while the season might still be early, the omens are looking good for the young Arsenal team for the EPL title as Manchester United seem to suffer from a temporary lapse in form.