Arsenal will get their revenge over Everton
Our analyst tells GARY LIM there will be no repeat of Arsenal's collapse at Everton
EVERTON v ARSENAL
(Tomorrow, 12.30am, SingTel mio TV Ch 102 & StarHub TV Ch 227)
I like the look of Arsenal this season.
This group of players haven't won anything at the club until the FA Cup triumph last season.
Sometimes, you need the first trophy to get that confidence and belief.
I think we will see a different Arsenal this season. They have got that swagger about them.
I watched them in the Community Shield game against Man City and they played very well.
They had a tough game against Crystal Palace last weekend. But, the way Palace play, they are never easy to beat.
Arsenal were 1-0 down but they showed great resilience and character to come back and win the game 2-1.
They didn't really play well against Besiktas in the first leg of their Champions League play-off, but the pitch wasn't the best.
Despite being held to a 0-0 draw, the Gunners shouldn't have any problems getting to the group stages.
As for the league, they were only seven points off the top last term.
They were on top for long periods of the season, and they were on top during Christmas. So, they weren't really that far off the pace.
Arsene Wenger has reinforced the team shrewdly.
They now have strength in depth, perhaps the best in years.
New signing Alexis Sanchez is a top-class player. Calum Chambers looks like an excellent acquisition.
If they can sign Sami Khedira from Real Madrid, that will solve the defensive midfield problem which has existed for some time.
I am not convinced Mikel Arteta suits that role, although he's a good footballer. They wouldn't have made him captain if he didn't have quality.
But Khedira would be a great fit in that position in front of the back four.
However, the Gunners are certainly better than last year, and they have a squad capable of winning the title.
Everton were tremendous last season, although they fell apart a bit towards the end.
It's going to be tough for them to finish in the top four, because they have got to fight off the two Manchester clubs, Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea.
They've got to do better than two of them to gain a Champions League spot. And we have not even mentioned Spurs yet.
Expectations will be high, but they have not strengthened as much as the other teams.
Gareth Barry and Romelu Lukaku have signed for them, but they were already there on loan last season.
Gerard Deulofeu, who was a useful player for them, has ended his loan spell and gone back to Barcelona.
Everton still have a strong team, but I reckon the best they can do is finish sixth or seventh.
Last season, Arsenal went to Goodison Park and got beaten 3-0, but it will be a different story this time.
There is a gap in quality between the two teams. Arsenal shouldn't have too many problems getting the three points.
A 2-0 win for the Gunners.
- Dietmar Hamann has played for Bayern Munich, Newcastle, Liverpool and Manchester City. He won the Bundesliga in 1994 and 1997, and the treble of the FA Cup, League Cup and Uefa Cup with Liverpool in 2001, besides the Champions League in 2005. The ex-German international is the author of The Didi Man: My Love Affair With Liverpool.
Ignore the critics, Jack
Arsene Wenger is confident Jack Wilshere can fulfil his potential to have a "huge career" - and has told the England midfielder to block out any criticism of his game.
The 22-year-old has overcome several injury setbacks to become an integral part of both the Gunners' squad and the national-team set-up.
However, Wilshere continues to find his every move questioned both on and off the pitch, after pictures emerged of him smoking again while on holiday after the World Cup, where Roy Hodgson's side failed to make it out of the group stages.
Wenger feels that Wilshere, who battled back from a hairline fracture in his foot to help Arsenal win the FA Cup last season, just needs to concern himself with his own development and on staying injury free rather than worrying about what the pundits have to say.
"Before he was in (Calum) Chambers' position, then suddenly when you get to 22, the expectation level comes on you," said the Arsenal boss. "(Manchester United striker Wayne) Rooney has gone through that, now it goes through Wilshere.
"I believe at the moment he should not respond to it, just focus on his game.
"If Wilshere can maintain to be fit physically, then he will make a huge career.
"At the moment, I believe he should just focus on that - being fit, present and to improve physically. The rest will come along.
"Yes (he needs to block everything else out), I told him the target is for him to have the whole season being available to play."
Wenger is in no doubt of Wilshere's character, having watched him come through a run of frustrating fitness problems - including an ankle injury which would see him ruled out of the 2011-12 season, missing both the European Championship and London Olympics.
"He is a guy who when he goes out there, he wants to play, he works hard, but he was out for one and a half years," Wenger added.
"I think he is on target of where he should be.
"He is not as far as everyone expected him to be from when he was 18, but he is not as far because he was injured, not because he doesn't train seriously."
- PA Sport.
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now
