Follow every kick as Blackburn Rovers take on Arsenal at Ewood Park in the Premier League
on 03-May-2010, kick off time 17:00
Blackburn Rovers v Arsenal Live
Arsenal take a long trip north as they get set to tackle Sam Allardyce's Blackburn Rovers on Monday. The Gunners' title-charge has now fizzled out and with just two games of the campaign remaining, they will be looking for back-to-back wins to offer some cheer for their suffering fans. But Allardyce's well-drilled Rovers unit will make sure it is a tough day for the Londoners over the Bank Holiday weekend. This will now be the fifth successive season that Arsenal have failed to win a piece of silverware and it will be interesting to see if any wholesale changes are made in the summer. Although Blackburn have been held to three draws and suffered a defeat in their previous four fixtures, their home form has placed them in a healthy position this term. They sit in 11th position and with nine wins, six draws and just three defeats on home soil, the Lancashire side are a tough nut to crack at Ewood Park. Arsenal's form of recent times has ended their title hopes. Their 1-1 draw at Birmingham City on March 27 proved to be a hammer blow and although they beat Wolverhampton Wanderers the following weekend thanks to a last-gasp Nicklas Bendtner goal, they have failed to prevail in any of their three previous encounters. A 2-1 defeat at fierce rivals Tottenham Hotspur on April 14 was then followed with a demoralising 3-2 setback at Wigan Athletic after the Gunners held a two-goal lead. Then last Saturday, Arsene Wenger's struggling outfit were held to a goalless draw at the Emirates Stadium to top-four chasing Manchester City. Arsenal's problems can arguably be pinpointed to their growing injury troubles and they are without a number of star players for the weekend clash. Thomas Vermaelen and William Gallas (both calf) and Cesc Fabregas (broken leg) will not feature again this term while double leg fracture victim Aaron Ramsey is still a long way from a return. Wenger may welcome goalkeeper Manuel Almunia (wrist) and Denilson (groin) back into the fray as they near full-fitness. Blackburn have doubts over three key figures ahead of the weekend. Christopher Samba (groin), Brett Emerton (hamstring) and El-Hadji Diouf (tonsillitis) will be touch-and-go to make the squad. Earlier in the season, Arsenal handed out a 6-2 hiding at their Emirates Stadium home. The visitors grabbed a shock lead through Steven Nzonzi inside four minutes but powerful centre-half Vermaelen restored parity soon after. Blackburn regained the advantage thanks to David Dunn but once again a dominant Arsenal outfit hit back through Robin van Persie, before Andrey Arshavin put them in the lead for the first time. Fabregas made it 4-2 on the hour and Theo Walcott ended the game as a contest before Bendtner added a sixth at the end of a pulsating contest.
Source: DSG
