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Arsenal Preview
By Mark Heys
April 12 2007
Bolton hope to extend their unbeaten run to four matches when they take on another European rival in the shape of Arsenal this Saturday.

The last fortnight has seen the Wanderers pick up a respectable seven points out of a possible nine and this has put them just a couple of points behind the Gunners in the race for a Champions League spot.

Arsenal's form has faltered dramatically lately as they have lost to Liverpool, Everton and West Ham United in the last few games as well as picking up a solitary point over the Easter programme away at Newcastle United.

In fact the West Ham defeat spelled Arsenal's first loss at their new Emirates Stadium so Wanderers will go to the capital brimming with confidence in the hope of getting a positive result.

Bolton welcome back their captain Kevin Nolan for the trip South after he missed the league games against Wigan Athletic and Everton through suspension. Andranik Teimourian has done well in the absence of Nolan meaning Trotters boss Sam Allardyce will be faced with a massive dilemma when making the finishing touches to his team selection.

Tal Ben-Haim is expected to shake off a knock which forced him to miss the Easter Monday draw against Everton but it isn't mandatory that the Israeli centre back will make the starting eleven.

Arsenal are expected to name a similar team to that which played out a goalless draw with Newcastle so there will be starting places for the likes of Jeremie Aliadiere and Julio Baptista in the absence of Thierry Henry (groin) and Robin Van Persie (broken foot).

Teenager Theo Walcott is ruled out until next season after shoulder surgery thus completing a hattrick of front line absentees for the Gunners who had hoped to catch Liverpool in third place prior to their recent hiccup in the Premiership.

PREMIERSHIP RECORD

30/10/1995 BOLTON WANDERERS 1 (McGinlay) ARSENAL 0

05/05/1996 ARSENAL 2(Platt, Bergkamp) BOLTON WANDERERS 1 (Todd)

13/09/1997 ARSENAL 4 (Wright 3, Parlour) BOLTON WANDERERS 1 (Thompson)

31/03/1998 BOLTON WANDERERS 0 ARSENAL 1 (Wreh)

22/09/2001 ARSENAL 1 (Jeffers) BOLTON WANDERERS 1 (Ricketts)

29/04/2002 BOLTON WANDERERS 0 ARSENAL 2 (Ljungberg, Wiltord)

21/09/2002 ARSENAL 2 (Henry, Kanu) BOLTON WANDERERS 1 (Farrelly)

26/04/2003 BOLTON WANDERERS 2 (Djorkaeff, Keown (OG)) ARSENAL 2 (Wiltord, Pires)

20/12/2003 BOLTON WANDERERS 1 (Pedersen) ARSENAL 1 (Pires)

20/03/2004 ARSENAL 2 (Pires, Bergkamp) BOLTON WANDERERS 1 (Campo)

18/09/2004 ARSENAL 2 (Henry, Pires) BOLTON WANDERERS 2 (Jaidi, Pedersen)

15/01/2005 BOLTON WANDERERS 1 (Giannakopoulos) ARSENAL 0

03/12/2005 BOLTON WANDERERS 2 (Faye, Giannakopoulos) ARSENAL 0

11/02/2006 ARSENAL 1 (Gilberto Silva) BOLTON WANDERERS 1 (Nolan)

25/11/2006 BOLTON WANDERERS 3 (Faye, Anelka 2) ARSENAL 1 (Gilberto Silva)

PREMIERSHIP FORM GUIDE:

Played: 15

Won: 4

Drawn: 5

Lost: 6

CONNECTIONS

Nicolas Anelka, George Hunt, David Jack, Brian Kidd, Isaiah Rankin.

IT HAPPENED WHEN BOLTON PLAYED THE GUNNERS

Bruce Rioch managed both Bolton and Arsenal. His last game in charge at Highbury came in May 1996 when facing the Wanderers who had already been relegated back to the First Division.

Ian Wright broke Cliff Bastin's Arsenal goalscoring record when these two teams met in September 1997. This record has since been eclipsed by Thierry Henry in 2005.

In September 2002 Gareth Farrelly scored his only Premiership goal for Bolton away at Arsenal. It was a memorable one because it was never actually meant to be a shot on goal.

The most memorable head to head between these two sides came in April 2003 when in a top vs bottom clash. Arsenal looked to challenge Manchester United for the Premiership title whilst Bolton needed points to stave off relegation. At two down Bolton brought the scores back to 2-2 courtesy of a Youri Djorkaeff chip and an own goal by Martin Keown

Senegal midfielder Abdoulaye Faye headed home his first goal for Bolton against Arsenal in December 2005. The former Lens man has been likened to ex-Gunners captain Patrick Vieira who left London for Italy eighteen months ago.

Kevin Nolan scored Bolton's last ever goal at Highbury in February 2006 but it wasn't a matchwinner as Gilberto Silva popped up with an injury time equaliser for Arsenal

Nicolas Anelka scored his first Premiership goals for Bolton against his former club when these two sides last met in the league back in November. In February of this year though, the Frenchman had the misfortune to concede a penalty in an FA Cup game which the Gunners went on to win by a 3-1 score.

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