SOCCER:MARK HUGHES has told his Fulham players they must take full advantage of Arsenal's defensive frailty if they are to stand a chance of a first away win against their London rivals today.
Arsenal have lost their last two Premier League home games and three of their last five in what has been a frustrating start to the season in front of their own fans.
West Brom, Newcastle and Tottenham have all recorded shock victories at the Emirates Stadium but a Fulham win after more than a century of trying would arguably be the biggest surprise of the lot.
Manager Hughes is under no illusions about the task at hand but has seen enough weaknesses in today’s opponents to convince him his side can cause an upset and end a winless away run that stretches all the way back to the start of last term.
“I have probably seen Arsenal more times this season than any other team in fairness,” he said. “The quality they have on occasions is excellent. At times, defensively, they have been caught out. We will use that as a positive.
“There is no doubt in my mind that we can create situations that will ask questions of them. It is up to us to take the chances that present themselves.”
Despite having lost as many home games as any side in the division, Arsenal are only two points behind leaders Manchester United and Hughes is refusing to write off their title hopes.
“Chelsea have been pegged back and United, obviously, will always challenge, you feel,” he said. “Arsenal would hope that this year they would show some progress in terms of challenging for the title.
“It doesn’t seem as if any one side at the top wants to grab the opportunity and run away with the league this year. Arsenal, I would imagine within their own confines, would think they’ve got a hell of a chance.”
Fulham’s concerns lie at the other end of the table, with Hughes having registered only two wins from 15 league games since taking charge.
“We have probably had just one poor 45 minutes in a 15-game season to this point, which is not too bad. We were disappointed with what we produced against Man City in the first half, but, apart from that, we have been competitive in every game and our defensive record is decent.”
Arsene Wenger has challenged his Arsenal side to kick-start their title ambitions today. The Arsenal manager insisted he was confident his side would return to winning ways at home.
“I don’t worry about it because you win football games when you play well nine times out of 10.”
Robin van Persie is in the squad and Wenger insisted the Dutch striker could be used in tandem with Marouane Chamakh.
“Van Persie is getting stronger every day,” explained the Frenchman. “He had 70 minutes the other night and I am confident that if we can get him injury-free in the next three weeks he will be back to his best level.
“We can play Chamakh and Van Persie together. We can play Chamakh up front and van Persie behind. What is interesting is we can play all kinds of formations with the two.”
Wenger also reiterated his belief that the Premier League is wide open and as many as seven clubs realistically are in the race for the title. “I have not changed my mind. Maybe I was a bit strong when I said seven, but if you look purely mathematically yes, but if you look more at the quality of the squads you would go down a bit. But five or six can still win it.”
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