Match Preview
Arsenal v Blackburn
Blackburn will again be without midfielder Damien Duff and striker Andy Cole against Arsenal on Saturday.
Both players are still troubled by the hamstring injuries which caused them to miss the 5-2 victory over Newcastle.
Souness is not short of options up front, however, for the Highbury encounter.
Dwight Yorke and Egil Ostenstad look set to start, with Corrado Grabbi and Matt Jansen also pushing for places.
The Arsenal players have complained of being tired, but Souness remains wary of the opposition.
He said: "There are two ways you can look at it. The first one is you can say you have a real chance or you can say 'When was the last time Arsenal lost three games back to back?'. That's the thought that is in my head and that's the thought that should be in my players' heads. I go back to when I was a player. When you lost a game, two games, you were determined to put it right. Arsenal have some top players. They have had a taste of losing and they won't have liked it too much. They will want to put it right. At the moment Highbury is the hardest place to go and get a result."
Souness is delighted at the progress his team are making after arriving in the Premiership last season.
"We had young players who came into the Premier League without any experience and proved they could handle it," he said.
Meanwhile Patrick Vieira will start his two-match ban for insulting referee Andy D'Urso on Saturday after Arsenal decided not to appeal against his punishment.
Vieira, who was originally due to be suspended for games against Tottenham and Southampton in November, has instead opted to miss Saturday's match at home to Blackburn as well as the trip to Fulham eight days later.
Arsenal decided it was better for Vieira to put the matter behind him following Thursday's Football Association hearing into his behaviour after his red card at Chelsea in September.
Dennis Bergkamp faces a fitness test on the Achilles problem which has ruled him out of the past five games.
Ray Parlour, Martin Keown and Giovanni van Bronckhorst are still injured, but boss Arsene Wenger must decide whether to hand Robert Pires his first starting role since March in his comeback from knee surgery.
David Seaman will captain Arsenal in Vieira's absence.
"It is a boost for him - a needed one but the right one. He takes a lot of responsibility in the dressing-room and is a real leader now," said Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger.
HEAD TO HEAD NOTES
Six goals were shared when these two met for last season's corresponding fixture. Martin Keown put through his own goal to put Blackburn in front. David Dunn scored to pull Rovers back level at 2-2, and Dunn scored again in the last minute to secure a point. Arsenal's point put them top for 24 hours.
These two met four times last season. The Gunners scored goals in each of the League games, drawing at home and winning 2-3 away. Blackburn crushed the Gunners second eleven 4-0 in the Worthington Cup.
Arsenal have notched only one win in the last six corresponding fixtures.
The Londoners last completed the 'double' over Blackburn in the 1998/99 season.
Blackburn have won only once in seven visits to Highbury over eight years. That was 1-3 on 13 December, 1997.
Blackburn have won at Arsenal twice in the Premier League. The most recent was in '97 - the other was their first Premiership visit on 19 September, 1992 when it ended 0-1.
Two players were sent off in this fixture on 6 April, 1999 when the Gunners won 1-0. Arsenal's Martin Keown and Blackburn's Keith Gillespie both got their marching orders.
Arsenal's biggest win in this corresponding fixture was 8-0 on 25 February, 1933 in the original League - First Division. Blackburn's biggest most recent win in a League match at Arsenal was 1-3 on 13 December, 1997 in the Premiership.
The last man to be sent off in League fixtures between these clubs was Oleg Luzhny. The Arsenal player was shown the red card during the 3-2 win at Blackburn on 30 January, 2002.
The last player to bag a hat trick in League fixtures between these clubs was Fred Pickering. The Blackburn player scored three of his sides' goals in the 4-1 home win on 30 November, 1963 in the old First Division.
ARSENAL
Current League position
2nd 23 points
One point off the pace
Best Scenario at final whistle
Up 1 to TOP
If record a better result than Liverpool [home to Spurs].
Worst Scenario at final whistle
Cannot fall from 2nd
But will drop to within one point of Spurs if lose, and their North London rivals [away to Liverpool] win.
Sequences
LOST LAST 2 - 1 Prem, 1 CL
WON LAST 12 HOME PREMIERSHIP GAMES
HOLDING A 100% HOME LEAGUE RECORD
SCORED IN EACH OF LAST 49 TOP FLIGHT MATCHES
Recent Form
11 wins in last 15 League and Cup games
Won 25 of last 31 Premiership matches
Drawn 2 of last 13 in all competitions
2 draws in last 9 top flight encounters
Lost 2 of last 15 confrontations
1 defeat in last 31 top division duels
Failed to score in 0 of last 15 contests
Failed to find the net in 1 of last 53 League clashes
6 clean sheets in last 15
Managed 1 clean sheet in last 9 top tier League outings
Potential Career Milestones
Dennis BERGKAMP is a brace away from scoring 100 goals for Arsenal.
If involved from the kick off, Oleg LUZHNY will be making his 50th League start for the Gunners.
ADDITIONAL GUNNERS NOTES
Won last 12 home Premiership matches.
Last home Premiership defeat was 1-3 against Newcastle on 18 December, 2001.
Last League game when failed to score was the goalless draw at Newcastle on 15 May, 2001.
One of two clubs to have won most Premiership matches (7). The other is Liverpool.
Top scorers in the Premiership with 25 goals - that's an average of one every 36 minutes.
Only club with a 100% home Premiership record.
One of five clubs with an unbeaten home top flight record. The others are Everton, Liverpool, Middlesbrough and Southampton.
Only top flight club to have scored in every League a |
