The Game

With Manchester United getting all three points against West Bromwich Albion, it is now our turn to do the same and keep the distance intact at the top of the English Premier League table.

The Wigan game demonstrated how all the maturity manager Arsene Wenger keeps on talking about is still an optical illusion for this Arsenal team and if we fail to take all three points from the City of Birmingham Stadium then the likes of Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City of course will all be breathing down our necks.

All rested players from Wednesday will feature today with our manager confirming that Aaron Ramsey will be back from Nottingham Forest but how he will only be fit to play in February.

The game kicks off at 18:30 in the UK and as always credit goes to all those who woke up early to follow their beloved Gunners.

And, until you wait for kick-off, check out why Carlos Vela will be finally loaned out and also why the Club’s medical staff has no idea what is going on with Abou Diaby.

As always, please do join the discussion in our chat room which will also be active after the full time whistle. You will be glad to know that from this season, to provide a better chat experience to our readers, users can be banned if they post offensive comments.

Streaming Links

For those who don’t know where to watch the game, maybe we can help, follow this link for streaming options. Links are updated before and during the match.

The Line-Ups

Birmingham City

Foster, Carr, Johnson, Dann, Ridgewell, Larsson, Gardner, Bowyer, Ferguson, Beausejour, Jerome

Subs: Taylor, Jiranek, Hleb, Fahey, Derbyshire, Phillips, Zigic

Arsenal

Fabianski, Sagna, Djourou, Koscielny, Clichy, Walcott, Song, Wilshere, Nasri, Fabregas, van Persie

Subs: Szczesny, Eboue, Squillaci, Arshavin, Denilson, Rosicky, Bendtner

Half-Time Thoughts and Analysis

In a first half of football of missed chances, Arsenal are leading Birmingham with a deflected Robin van Persie effort with a far from convincing performance.

The Gunners started with a bang, creating chances and taking the lead in the 12th minute but unfortunately, as it is almost always the case, they let Brum take the initiative and the home side took advantage by creating chances of their own.

Lukasz Fabianski was superb to deny ex-Gunner Sebastian Larsson in the 17th minute and minutes later we were lucky when the home side were not awarded a penalty for a clear hand-ball in the penalty area by Robin van Persie. The Dutchman looked rusty and missed two clear goal opportunities including opting for a chip in the 35th minute instead of firing it home. The result was embarrassing to say the least.

All in all it was a half which could have easily ended 2-3 for us, instead it’s 0-1 and we’re living dangerously.

At half time, it’s indeed Birmingham nil, Arsenal one.