Nasri and Fabianski to start Liverpool game
By Richard Clarke
Samir Nasri and Lukasz Fabianski will make their first appearances of the season in the Carling Cup Fourth Round tie with Liverpool on Wednesday but Jack Wilshere will be missing.
The return of the French midfielder (broken leg) and Polish keeper (knee) was widely expected after they came through a Reserve game at Wolves last week. However, the loss of Wilshere (ankle) is a blow. The 17-year-old has been one of Arsenal's shining stars in this competition for the past couple of seasons.
Armand Traore (groin) is also missing but Wenger will be fielding a relatively experienced side. He intends to use the game to give Eduardo (thigh) and Nicklas Bendtner (groin) a start. Both came off the bench against West Ham on Sunday but, before that, they had missed a few games with injury.
"Nasri comes back but Traore, who played in the last round is out," said Wenger. "He has a groin problem.
"Fabianski will get a game too, he will start. But Jack had a knock on his ankle and will be out unfortunately. It is a question of days but we made a trial with him on Sunday and we are resigned to the fact he will be just too short to play.
"Eduardo and Bendtner will be back. But we still have Rosicky, Denilson and Walcott out."
source : http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/nasri-and-fabianski-to-start-liverpool-game
By Nick Teale
After pushing Manchester United almost all the way in the Premier League title race last season, much was expected of Liverpool this term.
But Rafael Benitez' side have already lost twice as many league games as they did throughout last season and are struggling in the Champions League too.
However, a win over Manchester United on Sunday will have given the Merseysiders a welcome boost ahead of their trip to Emirates Stadium.
To find out a little more about how Wednesday night's opponents will approach this Carling Cup fixture, Arsenal.com spoke to the Liverpool Echo's Dominic King.
FOCUS - CUP FEVERCUP FEVER
"Liverpool take every competition seriously. I know that might sound like a bit of a cliché but it's true because Rafa Benitez is determined to win as many trophies as he possibly can and the Carling Cup offers a great opportunity to do that."
FOCUS - THE MAN IN CHARGETHE MAN IN CHARGE
"It's been a frustrating start to the season and there's been many contributing factors. Players have been injured, some have been out of form and it's all had an adverse impact on results but Rafa Benitez still has the backing of the vast majority of Liverpool supporters."
FOCUS - REASONS TO BE CHEERFULREASONS TO BE CHEERFUL
"[The win over Manchester United] has given Liverpool a massive lift. It's just the kind of result and performance that was needed to banish the gloom that had been hanging over the club for the couple of weeks beforehand. It will have given everybody an injection of confidence and they will be looking to make sure that becomes the norm rather than a one-off."
FOCUS - IMPRESSIONS OF ARSENAL
IMPRESSIONS OF ARSENAL
"I don't think the pressure will be on Liverpool because Arsenal are the home team and home advantage in clashes between the big four is usually quite significant. I don't know what team Arsène Wenger will pick but I dare say it will be very strong. I don't think Liverpool will be under pressure to win but they'll be going all out to win."
FOCUS - TALKING TACTICSTALKING TACTICS
"It will be a mixture of youth and experience from the Reds. Some people who've been on the periphery like Ryan Babel will probably be given a chance. Rafa Benitez has indicated that Alberto Aquilani, the big summer signing who ironically played his last game for Roma against Arsenal, will play some part after an ankle injury."
FOCUS - NEW FACESNEW FACES
"Aquilani is a different player to Xabi Alonso. He's a little more dangerous in the final third. Alonso was a fabulous player, dictating in the terms Liverpool play but Aquilani is a different model."
source : http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/-liverpool-will-be-going-all-out-to-win-
