Fulham manager Roy Hodgson has promised that he won't be taking a negative, overly cautious approach when his side take on Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday.
Gunners manager Arsene Wenger has issued some veiled criticism of some of his team's recent domestic opponents this week, hinting that they take a deliberately negative approach to stifle the game when playing at the Emirates.
"I think what Arsene was referring to is that sometimes when they play at home they come up against teams who don't really come to beat them or to take them on toe to toe," Hodgson, who is set to name an unchanged strike partnership of Andy Johnson and Bobby Zamora for the game, told Sky Sports News.
"They come to contain them, work very hard, pack the defence and hope for a lucky break. But my task is to prepare Fulham for the game and to do the best for them. Ideally we do (play with two strikers).
"I can't say I would never contemplate moving one of the strikers to bolster the midfield if I thought that was the best chance of us getting a result because I wouldn't hesitate to do that.
"But I prefer to play two strikers."
He added that there was no reason to change what they had been doing so well with all season, whoever they were playing.
"That's the way we've set up our players, that's the way we've trained all season and all of our patterns of play are built around that," he said.
"So given normal circumstances that's the way I would prefer to do it, but I'm not prepared to take the moral high ground which would prevent me from playing another system.
"We'll play with two strikers against Arsenal tomorrow because we think that's our best chance of getting a result."
Arsenal have not scored in their last three league games, but Hodgson feels that is no reason to be incautious, and highlighted Arsene Wenger's problems with injuries to key members of his squad, feeling that the goals would return soon for the Gunners.
"That's a no-brainer, it's just a question of when they're going to do it," he added.
"In the past they've had matches where they've scored a lot of goals and really outplayed a team and I know it's going to happen, I'm just praying it isn't tomorrow.
"I think Arsene has been very unlucky with injuries to certain players, not least his strikers.
"But we think that with Robin van Persie and Nicklas Bendtner backed up by (Andrey) Arshavin and (Samir) Nasri there is plenty of goals in this Arsenal team and we'll have to be very good if they are not to score."
Fulham can do 'the double' over Arsenal if they win on Saturday, having already triumphed 1-0 over Wenger's men at craven Cottage this season.
Gunners manager Arsene Wenger has issued some veiled criticism of some of his team's recent domestic opponents this week, hinting that they take a deliberately negative approach to stifle the game when playing at the Emirates.
"I think what Arsene was referring to is that sometimes when they play at home they come up against teams who don't really come to beat them or to take them on toe to toe," Hodgson, who is set to name an unchanged strike partnership of Andy Johnson and Bobby Zamora for the game, told Sky Sports News.
"They come to contain them, work very hard, pack the defence and hope for a lucky break. But my task is to prepare Fulham for the game and to do the best for them. Ideally we do (play with two strikers).
"I can't say I would never contemplate moving one of the strikers to bolster the midfield if I thought that was the best chance of us getting a result because I wouldn't hesitate to do that.
"But I prefer to play two strikers."
He added that there was no reason to change what they had been doing so well with all season, whoever they were playing.
"That's the way we've set up our players, that's the way we've trained all season and all of our patterns of play are built around that," he said.
"So given normal circumstances that's the way I would prefer to do it, but I'm not prepared to take the moral high ground which would prevent me from playing another system.
"We'll play with two strikers against Arsenal tomorrow because we think that's our best chance of getting a result."
Arsenal have not scored in their last three league games, but Hodgson feels that is no reason to be incautious, and highlighted Arsene Wenger's problems with injuries to key members of his squad, feeling that the goals would return soon for the Gunners.
"That's a no-brainer, it's just a question of when they're going to do it," he added.
"In the past they've had matches where they've scored a lot of goals and really outplayed a team and I know it's going to happen, I'm just praying it isn't tomorrow.
"I think Arsene has been very unlucky with injuries to certain players, not least his strikers.
"But we think that with Robin van Persie and Nicklas Bendtner backed up by (Andrey) Arshavin and (Samir) Nasri there is plenty of goals in this Arsenal team and we'll have to be very good if they are not to score."
Fulham can do 'the double' over Arsenal if they win on Saturday, having already triumphed 1-0 over Wenger's men at craven Cottage this season.
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