This Emirates clash is a repeat of last season's third round tie in which Leeds very nearly caused one of the shocks of the round as they came away from the Emirates with a very creditable 1-1 draw.
It could have been so much better for the Yorkshire side, though, as the Gunners had to rely on a controversial last-minute penalty from Cesc Fabregas to salvage the draw and set up a replay at Elland Road. Those looking at the FA Cup betting odds will know how tight the game was.
As was predicted at the time, that was Leeds' best chance at beating Arsenal gone as Arsene Wenger's side ran out comfortable 3-1 winners in the replay but they get an unexpected chance to cause an upset again next month.
At the time of last year's game, Arsenal were arguably in a better shape than they are now as they were well in contention at the top of the Premier League and playing some fantastic football to boot. This year, Wenger's side have recovered after a poor start but are off the pace in the title race with a top-four finish looking like the best they can hope for this term. Fans of Betfair football should remember this.
However, they should still have far too much in this one for an inconsistent Leeds side, who remain very much in the play-off hunt but look unlikely to challenge for automatic promotion.
With the match from 12 months ago fresh in the memory, Leeds will have belief that they can cause an upset and approach the tie with nothing to fear but a repeat of the 1-1 score from a year ago is hard to envisage with a comfortable home win expected.
Friday, December 30, 2011
Friday, December 23, 2011
Van Persie Matches Henry's Record
Robin Van Persie's tremendous year saw him equal Thierry Henry's goalscoring record over the course of a calender year and Vc bet are putting him as favorite to win the Premier League top scorer award.
His 34th goal of the 2011 came from the penalty sport at Aston Villa on Wednesday night which set Arsenal on the way to a 2-1 win.
He has drawn level with Henry's best year who went on of course to become Arsenal's all time leading goalscorer.
Van Persie might have equalled Henry's record but he hasn't yet broken the Premier League record which was set by Alan Shearer back in 1995, when he score 36 goals with Blackburn
That would mean RVP needs to bag a Hat Trick in the Boxing Day fixture with Wolves. With the rate he is playing at It wouldn't be a bad place for you to put one of your victor chandler free bets on this weekend. But for now he has been speaking of how happy he is to have matched Henry's tally.
That return pulls him level with the best Henry managed during his time in England, with the Frenchman going on to become the Gunners' all-time leading scorer.
He said: "It is a big honor to equal Thierry's record because he is probably the best player Arsenal ever had.
"To achieve what he did in a year is really special. It makes me proud.
"I think it has helped that I haven't missed a single Premier League game and featured for 90 minutes in most of them.
Risks
"It is a big honour to equal Thierry's record because he is probably the best player Arsenal ever had."
Robin van Persie Quotes of the week
"When you have a good run, and you feel fresh and fit, you try things, you take more risks here and there than, for example, if you are just coming back from injury.
"You always need a couple of games (to get fully sharp) when you're back from injury.
"As a striker I think it is really important to have a go. If you look at my performances, I take more risks now because I know with the team behind me I will always get more chances.
"It's not that I only get one chance normally, I always get one, two, three, sometimes four chances in a game. That sort of tells me that I can take a risk here and there.
But Van Persie stressed: "It (the scoring records) is not my main target. The main target is to win games and to help my team out and to have a good run.
"After losing to Manchester City, it is always really important to bounce back after a defeat. Great teams do bounce back and that's what we had to do at Villa on Wednesday.
"Now we have Wolves on Tuesday, then afterwards QPR both at home, so hopefully we can have a good run again."
Hopefully RVP can stay fit and continue this sensational form for the entire season.
His 34th goal of the 2011 came from the penalty sport at Aston Villa on Wednesday night which set Arsenal on the way to a 2-1 win.
He has drawn level with Henry's best year who went on of course to become Arsenal's all time leading goalscorer.
Van Persie might have equalled Henry's record but he hasn't yet broken the Premier League record which was set by Alan Shearer back in 1995, when he score 36 goals with Blackburn
That would mean RVP needs to bag a Hat Trick in the Boxing Day fixture with Wolves. With the rate he is playing at It wouldn't be a bad place for you to put one of your victor chandler free bets on this weekend. But for now he has been speaking of how happy he is to have matched Henry's tally.
That return pulls him level with the best Henry managed during his time in England, with the Frenchman going on to become the Gunners' all-time leading scorer.
He said: "It is a big honor to equal Thierry's record because he is probably the best player Arsenal ever had.
"To achieve what he did in a year is really special. It makes me proud.
"I think it has helped that I haven't missed a single Premier League game and featured for 90 minutes in most of them.
Risks
"It is a big honour to equal Thierry's record because he is probably the best player Arsenal ever had."
Robin van Persie Quotes of the week
"When you have a good run, and you feel fresh and fit, you try things, you take more risks here and there than, for example, if you are just coming back from injury.
"You always need a couple of games (to get fully sharp) when you're back from injury.
"As a striker I think it is really important to have a go. If you look at my performances, I take more risks now because I know with the team behind me I will always get more chances.
"It's not that I only get one chance normally, I always get one, two, three, sometimes four chances in a game. That sort of tells me that I can take a risk here and there.
But Van Persie stressed: "It (the scoring records) is not my main target. The main target is to win games and to help my team out and to have a good run.
"After losing to Manchester City, it is always really important to bounce back after a defeat. Great teams do bounce back and that's what we had to do at Villa on Wednesday.
"Now we have Wolves on Tuesday, then afterwards QPR both at home, so hopefully we can have a good run again."
Hopefully RVP can stay fit and continue this sensational form for the entire season.
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