By Chris Harris
The Madejski Stadium is an unfamiliar ground to Arsenal but they can expect to see some familiar faces on Sunday. Arsène Wenger will be reunited with former Gunners Steven Sidwell, John Halls, James Harper and Graham Stack when he takes his team to Berkshire for their first Premiership clash with Reading.
Steve Coppell's side romped to the Championship title last season and have made a good fist of their first top-flight campaign. Reading are sitting proudly in the top half of the table and have ruffled a few luxurious feathers - Manchester United were held at the Madejski and Chelsea needed a deflected free kick to nick all three points last weekend.
All of which points to a difficult afternoon for Arsenal. We spoke to Nick Ive of the Reading Evening Post about the Royals' solid start to life in the Premiership, the ex-Arsenal contingent, the qualities of Coppell and the tactics he is likely to employ this weekend.
THE STORY SO FAR
"They have done exceptionally well, they've exceeded
expectations so far. When they went 2-0 down against Middlesbrough
on the opening day a lot of people were thinking it could be a long
hard season but they came back and won 3-2. They lost the next two
but have been on a good run since then. They beat Manchester City
and Sheffield United, drew with Manchester United and lost 1-0 to
Chelsea. It was a deflected winner and Reading were unlucky to
lose. At the start of the season I thought they would be among half
a dozen teams who could be in trouble but now they could finish as
high as mid-table. They were going into the unknown, the only one
with significant Premiership experience was John Oster, and he
can't get in the Reading team. They have done far better than
most people expected."
MAN OF THE MOMENT
"Steve Coppell has been unbelievable. I did an interview with
him in pre-season and he reckons he would have been sacked if
Reading had not gone up. His record speaks for itself though,
he's taken Reading into the Premiership for the first time in
their history. Coppell is respected because of the way he goes
about things. He doesn't shoot his mouth off, he doesn't
get carried away, he's a calming influence."
NEW FACES
"The only significant change is Seol on the right, he has
scored a couple of important goals. It's a settled team and
they have grown together. Their style of play suits the Premiership
because they can counter-attack quickly. The players have stepped
up and the likes of Sonko and Sidwell give the team a strong
spine."
THE BOY MOST LIKELY TO...
"Shane Long is one to watch. He's a 19-year-old striker
and has been banging in the goals for the reserves. He has six in
five games at that level. He scored a few goals for the first team
last season and has a lot of potential. He came from Cork City with
Kevin Doyle and while Doyle has made his mark Shane is still
learning. I think we'll hear a lot about him in the next year
or two, he certainly has a big future."
CAUSE FOR CONCERN
"The one concern is Reading's overall strength in depth.
If they pick up a couple of key injuries and the odd suspension
they they could start to struggle. Dave Kitson has been out since
doing his knee on the opening day of the season and, although
Reading have done alright, I think they miss him. Graeme Murty, the
skipper, is out of Sunday's game with a hamstring injury. Andre
Bikey is suspended after getting a red card against
Chelsea."
TALKING TACTICS
"They play a 4-4-2 but against Chelsea they adopted a 4-4-1-1
formation with Doyle dropping deep to help the midfield. I
wouldn't be surprised if they did the same against Arsenal, but
Coppell's approach tends to be an attacking 4-4-2. They play
with two wingers and try to get the full backs going forward. I
think they have to take certain things into account and be slightly
conservative against the top teams but they try to attack if they
can."
IMPRESSIONS OF ARSENAL
"There is a strong ex-Arsenal connection at Reading because
Sidwell, James Harper, Graham Stack and John Halls were all at
Highbury. I spoke to Sidwell and he is really looking forward to
Sunday's game. Sidwell has done really well, he was one of the
better players outside the Premiership. There were doubts over
whether he could make the step up but he's proved himself at
this level. He pops up in the box and scores the odd goal, he never
shirks a tackle and has an excellent workrate."
