Arsenal's excellent performance against the reigning champions on December 27 led Arsene Wenger to claim his side may have reached "a very pivotal moment", but they swung firmly back into the outsiders' category on Wednesday when following that victory over their London rivals with a disappointing 2-2 draw at Wigan that leaves them two points behind Manchester United having played a game more. Wenger was accused of carelessness having made eight changes for his side's second game in three days, but in truth his team were more than capable of securing a win, and the attack functioned well with Andrei Arshavin and Nicklas Bendtner on target. Instead it was defensive frailties that came into play - a familiar state of affairs this season.
However, Birmingham appear ill-equipped to exploit such a weakness given their impotence in front of goal; Craig Gardner is their top scorer with four goals while only Wigan, with 17, have scored fewer than Blues' 18 goals in 18 games this season. The fact that Alex McLeish's side are out of the relegation zone thanks to goal difference points to a parsimonious defence, and in fact the hosts have conceded one goal less than Arsenal in the Premier League. Though their form has been disappointing of late, Birmingham showed good resolve to draw 1-1 with Manchester United on December 28 and have also defeated Chelsea at home. Arsenal won 2-1 at Emirates Stadium earlier in the season in a game that saw Jack Wilshere dismissed for a nasty foul on Nikola Zigic.
Having appeared, and subsequently been replaced, as a substitute against Wigan, Wilshere could well return to the starting line-up as the Gunners are expected to make a number of changes for Saturday's game, with captain Cesc Fabregas returning from suspension and Jack Wilshere, Alex Song, Samir Nasri and Robin van Persie pushing for starts. Thomas Vermaelen, crucially, remains absent from defence and Abou Diaby joins him on the sidelines after suffering a calf strain against Wigan. Birmingham are missing James McFadden to a knee injury.
Birmingham player to watch: Lee Bowyer
Thirty-four next week, the midfielder rarely scores these days, but when he does they tend to be important goals. Bowyer's two strikes this season have come in a 1-0 home defeat of Chelsea and the 1-1 draw with Manchester United on December 28, suggesting he reserves his best for the big occasion. He also scored against Arsenal last season at Emirates Stadium and will be a threat in a Birmingham side that has aggregated only nine goals in nine home games this season.
Arsenal player to watch: Andrei Arshavin
After being unexpectedly supplanted in the starting XI by Theo Walcott for the 3-1 win over Chelsea, the Russian responded impressively when scoring a fine scissor-kick and setting up Nicklas Bendtner as a much-changed side drew 2-2 at Wigan. Arshavin's performances this season have been punctuated by flashes of genius and decisive contributions, but his default setting continues to be that of morose mediocrity, and it will be instructive to see whether he reclaims his place in Arsene Wenger's first-choice line-up on Saturday.
Key Battle: Sebastian Larsson v Lukasz Fabianski
They may not come within ten metres of each other on Saturday, but the Swedish midfielder and the Polish goalkeeper will be the key protagonists at Birmingham's set-pieces - an element of the game which could decide the final outcome. Larsson, who learned his trade with the Gunners, is very proficient at corners and free-kicks and his dangerous deliveries are likely to be of some concern to Fabianski, who has shown consistently that he can be a liability in such situations. If the Pole can avoid catastrophe and deal convincingly with whatever Larsson throws at him, then Birmingham will be significantly less dangerous.
Source: ESPN Soccernet on 31 Dec 10
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