Do not underestimate Dowie

I swear that I feel more confident when we go to Old Trafford than when we visit teams rooted at the bottom of the table. The great news for Gunner's is that William Gallas is almost certain to play, the man is in tremendous form and is part of the defence that is achieving clean sheets on a regular basis.

 Arsenal have won four in a row in all competitions in the last fortnight, and played the kind of football that Wenger is renowned for during his ten glorious years at the helm. The only area that needs to improve is the strike rate which is far lower than one normally expects from a Wenger team, but no doubt that will soon be put right. Although this looks like an easy win on paper, and Mark Lawrenson is predicting an Arsenal victory (groan. Ed), matches are not played on paper but they are often played on slippery turf, with defenders in your face.

 No doubt many Arsenal fans remember with fondness the St Valentine's Day massacre of Dowie's Palace at Highbury, but have properly forgotten the one-one draw at Palace. Dowie's team played that game at a frenetic pace, pressed up tightly against Arsenal with Andy Johnson giving the Gunners all kinds of problems as a lone striker drifting out to the wing. At the same time Arsenal forwards got little opportunity or space. Dowie will repeat the tactic, or at least try, today. He will persuade his team to play at high tempo as high up the field as they can, anyone expecting an easy match may be disappointed. The result will very much depend on how quickly Arsenal can get a first goal.

Arsenal have done fantastically well in the last fortnight, to prove they are championship contenders, but this is a tricky banana skin of a match that they have to win. Teams seem to raise themselves for Arsenal visits: if Charlton do not raise their game for this one they will pay for it heavily.