Barclays Premier League

  • Venue: Emirates Stadium
  • Date: Wednesday, 1 January

Lineup, Bookings (3) & Substitutions (4)

Arsenal

  • 01 Szczesny
  • 03 Sagna
  • 17 Monreal
  • 20 Flamini (Rosicky - 65' )
  • 04 Mertesacker Booked
  • 06 Koscielny
  • 14 Walcott
  • 08 Arteta
  • 09 Podolski (Bendtner - 64' )
  • 10 Wilshere
  • 19 Cazorla

Substitutes

  • 05 Vermaelen
  • 07 Rosicky
  • 21 Fabianski
  • 23 Bendtner
  • 25 Jenkinson
  • 31 Miyaichi
  • 44 Gnabry

Cardiff City

  • 01 Marshall Booked
  • 25 McNaughton
  • 42 John
  • 08 Medel (Gunnarsson - 61' )
  • 04 Caulker
  • 06 Turner Booked
  • 16 Noone
  • 13 Kim
  • 10 Campbell
  • 18 Mutch (Cowie - 68' )
  • 07 Whittingham

Substitutes

  • 05 Hudson
  • 09 Cornelius
  • 14 Smith
  • 17 Gunnarsson
  • 19 Cowie
  • 23 Maynard
  • 32 Lewis
Ref: Jonathan Moss
Att: 60,004

Match Stats

Shots

15 4

On target

1 1

Corners

10 1

Fouls

5 7

Live Text Commentary

69:18

Corner, Arsenal. Conceded by Fraizer Campbell.

68:51

Corner, Arsenal. Conceded by Declan John.

67:58

Per Mertesacker (Arsenal) hits the left post with a header from the centre of the box. Assisted by Theo Walcott with a cross following a corner.

67:40

Corner, Arsenal. Conceded by Ben Turner.

67:06 Substitution

Substitution Substitution, Cardiff City. Don Cowie replaces Jordon Mutch because of an injury.

66:25

Attempt missed. Per Mertesacker (Arsenal) header from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the left. Assisted by Theo Walcott with a cross following a corner.

66:10

Delay over. They are ready to continue.

65:24

Delay in match Jordon Mutch (Cardiff City) because of an injury.

65:03

Corner, Arsenal. Conceded by Declan John.

64:12 Substitution

Substitution Substitution, Arsenal. Tomas Rosicky replaces Mathieu Flamini.

64:00 Substitution

Substitution Substitution, Arsenal. Nicklas Bendtner replaces Lukas Podolski.

63:29

Jack Wilshere (Arsenal) hits the left post with a left footed shot from the left side of the box. Assisted by Nacho Monreal.

60:33 Substitution

Substitution Substitution, Cardiff City. Aron Gunnarsson replaces Gary Medel.

59:43

Corner, Cardiff City. Conceded by Wojciech Szczesny.

59:15 Booking

Booking David Marshall (Cardiff City) is shown the yellow card.

58:42

Foul by Mikel Arteta (Arsenal).

58:42

Jordon Mutch (Cardiff City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

57:06

Jack Wilshere (Arsenal) wins a free kick in the attacking half.

57:06

Foul by Gary Medel (Cardiff City).

56:17

Corner, Arsenal. Conceded by Jordon Mutch.

55:53

Attempt missed. Theo Walcott (Arsenal) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the left following a corner.

55:34

Corner, Arsenal. Conceded by Kevin McNaughton.

54:14 Booking

Booking Ben Turner (Cardiff City) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.

54:06

Theo Walcott (Arsenal) wins a free kick on the right wing.

54:06

Foul by Ben Turner (Cardiff City).

52:49

Attempt saved. Theo Walcott (Arsenal) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the top right corner. Assisted by Laurent Koscielny with a headed pass.

52:25

Corner, Arsenal. Conceded by Steven Caulker.

52:20

Attempt blocked. Lukas Podolski (Arsenal) left footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Nacho Monreal.

50:44

Corner, Arsenal. Conceded by Steven Caulker.

49:13

Attempt missed. Bacary Sagna (Arsenal) left footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the left.

46:56

Attempt blocked. Jordon Mutch (Cardiff City) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Declan John.

45:00

Second Half begins Arsenal 0, Cardiff City 0.

45:00 +2:05 Half time

Half Time First Half ends, Arsenal 0, Cardiff City 0.

45:00 +1:01

Corner, Arsenal. Conceded by Kim Bo-Kyung.

43:58

Foul by Mathieu Flamini (Arsenal).

43:58

Fraizer Campbell (Cardiff City) wins a free kick on the right wing.

43:02

Corner, Arsenal. Conceded by Steven Caulker.

42:58

Attempt blocked. Santiago Cazorla (Arsenal) right footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Jack Wilshere.

41:59

Offside, Cardiff City. Ben Turner tries a through ball, but Fraizer Campbell is caught offside.

41:29

Attempt missed. Craig Noone (Cardiff City) left footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the left. Assisted by Fraizer Campbell.

39:01

Attempt blocked. Jordon Mutch (Cardiff City) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Fraizer Campbell.

33:45

Foul by Theo Walcott (Arsenal).

33:45

Declan John (Cardiff City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

33:29

Attempt blocked. Jack Wilshere (Arsenal) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Theo Walcott.

32:07

Delay over. They are ready to continue.

31:42

Delay in match Craig Noone (Cardiff City) because of an injury.

30:43

Mikel Arteta (Arsenal) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

30:43

Foul by Jordon Mutch (Cardiff City).

30:07

Attempt missed. Theo Walcott (Arsenal) left footed shot from the left side of the box is close, but misses to the left. Assisted by Santiago Cazorla.

29:07

Wojciech Szczesny (Arsenal) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

29:07

Foul by Fraizer Campbell (Cardiff City).

27:45 Booking

Booking Per Mertesacker (Arsenal) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.

27:24

Attempt saved. Jordon Mutch (Cardiff City) left footed shot from a difficult angle on the left is saved in the bottom right corner.

27:08

Attempt missed. Santiago Cazorla (Arsenal) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the left. Assisted by Mathieu Flamini.

25:22

Attempt missed. Theo Walcott (Arsenal) right footed shot from the right side of the box is just a bit too high. Assisted by Mikel Arteta.

23:34

Mathieu Flamini (Arsenal) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

23:34

Foul by Jordon Mutch (Cardiff City).

17:18

Attempt missed. Santiago Cazorla (Arsenal) left footed shot from outside the box misses to the right. Assisted by Jack Wilshere.

15:04

Attempt blocked. Bacary Sagna (Arsenal) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.

14:01

Mathieu Flamini (Arsenal) wins a free kick in the attacking half.

14:01

Foul by Gary Medel (Cardiff City).

12:54

Attempt missed. Theo Walcott (Arsenal) right footed shot from the right side of the six yard box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Jack Wilshere with a cross.

11:49

Offside, Cardiff City. Jordon Mutch tries a through ball, but Fraizer Campbell is caught offside.

9:20

Offside, Cardiff City. Peter Whittingham tries a through ball, but Ben Turner is caught offside.

8:54

Foul by Santiago Cazorla (Arsenal).

8:54

Jordon Mutch (Cardiff City) wins a free kick in the attacking half.

8:11

Offside, Arsenal. Mikel Arteta tries a through ball, but Theo Walcott is caught offside.

7:42

Lukas Podolski (Arsenal) wins a free kick on the right wing.

7:42

Foul by Jordon Mutch (Cardiff City).

3:53

Offside, Arsenal. Jack Wilshere tries a through ball, but Theo Walcott is caught offside.

2:05

Kim Bo-Kyung (Cardiff City) wins a free kick in the attacking half.

2:05

Foul by Mikel Arteta (Arsenal).

0:00

First Half begins.

0:00

Lineups are announced and players are warming up.

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TEAM NEWS

Arsenal have a lengthy injury list with Olivier Giroud (ankle), Aaron Ramsey (thigh) and Mesut Ozil (shoulder) out.

Kieran Gibbs (calf) is also missing, while Theo Walcott (shoulder), Tomas Rosicky (calf) and Jack Wilshere (ankle) all face late fitness tests.

Cardiff are without Craig Bellamy because of a knee problem, while Declan John is expected to continue in place of injured left-back Andrew Taylor.

Aron Gunnarsson and Peter Odemwingie will hope to earn recalls.

MATCH PREVIEW

Top of the league, Arsenal have seemingly recovered from the wobble which saw them take just two points from the three games immediately prior to Christmas.

The win at West Ham was expected, the one at Newcastle more impressive but both required steel as well as skill and their title challenge has to be taken seriously.

Arsene Wenger does have a few injuries piling up but it's still hard to see Arsenal making any errors against a Cardiff side battling though a chaotic and bitter storm entirely of Vincent Tan's own making.

A fixture between Arsenal and Cardiff echoes the Welsh club's finest hour, the 1927 FA Cup final.

That game remains one of the great cup stories, the first singing of Abide With Me, and the mistake by Arsenal's Glamorgan-born keeper Dan Lewis which helped Cardiff take the cup to south Wales. It's all part of the game and Cardiff's treasured history.

I'm not sure how much appreciation of history or heritage Tan has.

Enforcing a switch from blue to red was crass and dismissive of the Cardiff fans, while the sacking of manager Malky Mackay also angered supporters.

I would be surprised if Mackay has not found a club every bit as good as Cardiff before Cardiff find a manager as good as Mackay.

MATCH FACTS

Head-to-head

  • Arsenal are unbeaten in the past 12 matches in all competitions against Cardiff (W7, D5), since a 3-2 home defeat in February 1961.
  • The Gunners are winless in their past three home top-flight games against the Bluebirds (D2, L1), albeit the most recent of those matches was in 1962.
  • Former Cardiff player Aaron Ramsey scored twice in Arsenal's 3-0 win when the two sides met at the Cardiff City Stadium in November. Mathieu Flamini fired the third.
  • This is the second time the two clubs have met on New Year's Day. Arsenal won 3-2 at Highbury in an old Division One clash in 1927.

Arsenal

  • Arsene Wenger's table-topping side collected a league-high 82 league points (W25, D7, L6) in 2013. That is despite failing to win their first three games of the calendar year (D1, L2).
  • Arsenal have only scored 16 times in nine Premier League home games this season.
  • They share the record for fewest Premier League goals conceded (18) and most clean sheets (8) this season.
  • Arsenal have the best shooting accuracy (54.5%) in the Premier League this season, whereas Cardiff have the worst (35.7%).

Cardiff

  • Cardiff have recorded only one league win in nine games. They have conceded at least two goals in seven of those matches.
  • All four of the Bluebirds' league wins this season have been by a single-goal margin.
  • Cardiff have scored just four first-half goals. They led at the break for the first time this campaign in Saturday's draw with Sunderland.
  • Only 18 different players have started a league game for Cardiff this season, fewer than at any other Premier League club.