Premier League preview: Arsenal v Blackburn

Arsenal will need maximum points to keep the pressure on Manchester United when Blackburn Rovers visit the Emirates Stadium on Saturday.

The north London side are five points behind United, but have a game in hand over the Premier League leaders.

They were forced to fight back from two goals down to secure a 2-2 draw away to West Bromwich Albion in their last match, and were held by Sunderland to a scoreless stalemate in their previous home league affair.

Rovers’ form in their past five games has been nothing short of abysmal – scraping a point from their clash with Blackpool after trailing by two; losing to Fulham, Aston Villa and Wigan; and luckily snaring a draw against Newcastle in a game Alan Pardew’s men dominated.Arsenal’s push for the Premiership could be boosted by the return to fitness of stars Robin van Persie, Cesc Fabregas and Theo Walcott for the clash with Steve Kean’s side.

Van Persie picked up a thigh injury while on international duty with the Netherlands, while Fabregas could return from a hamstring injury sustained in their loss to Barcelona in the Champions League this month.

Walcott has not appeared in Arsenal colours since February – outed by a right ankle injury, but reportedly trained well in the international break.

Blackburn have no fresh injury concerns, but will be focussing on breaking their run of five straight away losses in the league.