You know that thing you get when your alarm goes off and you think 'It's Saturday, I can have a lie in!' but seconds later you realise it's not Saturday but Thursday and you have to be up earlier than normal because your car which went to the garage and was supposed to be ready yesterday but isn't because they found stuff wrong with it which is going to take ages to fix and is probably going to cost a fortune which means having to leave the house much earlier than you normally would because you have to walk to get somewhere and you have two very painful ankles from football so you'd rather not walk at all but walking is far preferable to getting the bus because the bus is full of smelly people who cough all the time and spread germs?

Yeah, well I got that this morning.

Arsene Wenger won't be happy this morning either as Theo Walcott has been called up to the England U21 squad for the European Championships this summer. He's not the only Arsenal man either, Kieran Gibbs has played his way into the squad too so congratulations to him.

There are two schools of though here. One is that Theo will be tired without a summer of rest. The competition ends on June 29th and we have pre-season training on the 6th of July. 

The other is that Theo's had four months off through injury, he's only 20 years of age so he's got all the energy in the world, and that Stuart Pearce is actually a bit crap and England will probably go out in the group stages having lost to Austria, Bratislava and the tiny principality of Perineumia. There's not much we can do about it anyway so there's no point stressing about it.

Some good news though, the squad is getting a good bolstering already. Many of us thought it'd take a few weeks at least before we saw some transfer action but not so. Two players are on their way into the club. 15 year old Cheltenham midfielder Jamie Edge and 15 year old FC Zurich centre-half Martin Angha (nickname, Lookbackin), will join the club and immediately add some experience and quality to the first team squad.

To be honest I don't think we need to sign anyone else after this. I mean, if we did it would just kill them and one thing Arsene Wenger is known for is his Angha management.

From an Arsenal point of view that's about all there is this morning. Last night's Champions League final was quite enjoyable though. After a 10 minute spell at the start in which United threatened Barcelona, Demento's men got sucker punched with Eto'o's's's goal and after that they were never in the game. Barcelona dicked all over them, Iniesta was incredibly good and Messi's header to seal the game was fantastic.

Despite everything I was happy for Thierry but especially happy for Silvinho who was very emotional at the end. I love that little raised-by-wolves guy. What made it even better was that Alexander Hleb didn't even make the bench. Hahahaha. Not that I'm bitter or anything but that made me smile and I suspect there was a certain dreamy Arsenal legend watching the game in the Valencia region who enjoyed that as well.

Of course he cavorted around the pitch with a medal and what have you but he didn't play. He wasn't inured, he just wasn't picked. 'Discarded' as the Spanish press so eloquently put it. Tee and indeed hee.

Right, that'll have to do you for today. Thanks for all your phone messages in relation to the Arsecast so far. I'll leave lines open until noon so if you have any thoughts on the season and feel like sharing see yesterday's blog for more info.

Update: Lines closed now, thanks. Yes, it's too late.

Till tomorrow.

There's nowhere else to start today but with Bouldy's Boys and the fact that Arsenal won the FA Youth Cup last night at Anfield.

Twenty years to the day of the famous league victory the youngsters, none of whom had been born at that stage, took to the field in the commemorative shirts and won the game 2-1. The goals came from Sanchez Watt and an Ayala own goal giving an aggregate scoreline of 6-2.

It's the first time we've won the FA Youth Cup since 2001 when we beat Blackburn 6-3 on aggregate. Obviously people will have high hopes for many of these young players and rightly so, they look an extremely talented bunch but the reality is only a small number will make it at Arsenal. Have a look at the team from 2001:

Holloway, Bailey, Chorley, Sidwell, Svard, Garry, Volz, Ricketts, Itonga, Aliadiere, Thomas.

Of that 11 only one is now playing Premier League football (Sidwell), Aliadiere has just been relegated with Boro and Volz is at Ipswich, I think. The rest have drifted down the leagues and to foreign climes.

Now, I think this bunch of players is a bit special though with some incredible talent. Obviously all eyes are on Jack Wilshere and he's had the ringing endorsement of none other than Liam Brady but there's often an element of good fortune to a player making a breakthrough. It usually comes at the expense of another more senior player. Ashley Cole was on the brink of being sold when Silvinho was rather rapidly moved on in the summer of 2001, even look at Kieran Gibbs who made his mark when Gael Clichy was injured.

There are a number of blogs about the young players at Arsenal and very interesting they are too. I don't think we've ever had such in-depth coverage of the kids and it does make a refreshing change. My worry is, and this is no disprespect to those blogs, is that they become household names very quickly and the level of expectation around them grows with that. So that when they get a chance in the first team we're looking for them to reproduce the displays of youth games, we expect them to be ready to just slot in and make the vast jump to Premier League football without a problem.

And that's not the case. It's the exception rather than the rule. So my point is that we need, perhaps, to step back a bit and realise that while these are the best youths in the country, and deservedly so, they've got a lot more developing to do before they're going to be ready for first team action. Most of them won't see it. Those that do may struggle at first and we need to be aware of that and not as hyper-critical as we tend to be.

Anyway, it does seem to be putting a dampener on their fantastic achievement and that's not my intention. Well done to all of them, all the squad that played their part and to Steve Bould whose progress through the coaching ranks is very encouraging.

Elsewhere it's very quiet really, as you'd expect. That hasn't stopped Patrice Evra breaking away from his Champions League final preparations to offer out Cesc Fabregas. Reacting to the challenge at Old Trafford last week he said:

If it amuses you to hit people, you do boxing, you do taekwondo, whatever you want. But you don't play football. We will see each other again off the pitch and there will not be a referee to give me a red card.

What. A. Twat. Seriously, surely those are words worthy of a disrepute charge and while Evra might be a fine left back he's got previous here. He was given a four match ban for fisticuffs with a Chelsea groundsman last season and the idea that he'd threaten the Arsenal captain with an off the field beating shows what he's made of.

Here's an idea Evra, if you don't want to get kicked on a football pitch, keep your stupid mouth shut. And if you can't handle being kicked on a football pitch and feel the need to 'take it outside', then maybe you might choose a more appropriate career like barfly or professional scumbag. I sincerely hope Messi turns him inside out tonight.

Speaking of which Robert Pires believes Thierry Henry could dedicate a goal to Arsenal fans if he scores against United tonight. I'd very much enjoy an Henry goal, especially an Henry winner, but it would make me purse my lips a little and think back to that chance late in the second half in Paris when he might have made it 2-0.

Anyway, water under the bridge now. Horrible, three-eyed fish, scum on top, bits of poo floating down it water, but water nonetheless. Despite the 2006 final I'm hoping Barcelona can do the business tonight and they can put in a performance like they did against Real Madrid a few weeks ago which was just sensational. Henry and Iniesta are both fit so that's a big plus.

And did I mention that I hope a portal to another dimension opens up and that a hideous monster who devours his prey with razor sharp teeth, then vomits them back up, brings them back to life and then devours them again more slowly and much more painfully takes to the field and chooses Evra as his victim? I didn't? How remiss of me. Well, I hope a portal to another dimension opens up and that a hideous monster who devours his prey with razor sharp teeth, then vomits them back up, brings them back to life and then devours them again more slowly and much more painfully takes to the field and chooses Evra as his victim.

Yesterday I mentioned the London Masters 5-a-side tournament and the Arsenal team is still available for sponsorship. Maybe something your business might interested in. For more info email Adam.

Finally for today some feedback wanted for this week's Arsecast. What I'm looking for is your response to just one of the following questions:

Goal of the season? Player of the season? Performance/match of the season? Disappointment of the season? Hope for next season?

Choose just one of those questions and leave a voicemail on the Arseblog hotline. The number is as follows - from the UK call 020 3286 6360 and from outside the UK it's +44 20 3286 6360. Remember, choose only one of the questions and try and keep your answer in the format below:

Hello, this is Bob from Arseville, my player of the season was Emmanuel Eboue because I am a mentalist.

Nothing more than 30-45 seconds. You have until tonight to get them in, I'll go through them and broadcast some in the Arsecast on Friday.

Right then, that'll be that. Have a good one.

We've had some disappointing nights in Europe down the years. Too many to mention and enough to garner their own acronym here on Arseblog, but last night has to be the most disappointing, heartbreaking of them all.

What was supposed to be one of the biggest nights at the Grove became a night to forget after just 10 minutes. Arsenal started promisingly, we were busy, passed it well, full of energy. And then Kieran Gibbs slipped, Ronaldo's cross went behind him and Park got the luck of the bounce and finished smartly to put United one up.

On its own not a disaster and there can be no finger pointing at Gibbs who was obviously crushed by the mistake. Anyone can slip. We've seen Gael Clichy make bigger mistakes than that and the young man should hold his head high for the job he's done since he came into the team. We all suspected United might score and for them to do so after 8 minutes was probably better than after 80. We had time to make it better.

Then the ref, who was generous to United all night I thought, bought a Ronaldo dive from a van Persie challenge and gave United a free kick a good 35-40 yards out. The ballerina took it himself, Almunia got it all wrong and United were 2-0 up. The Grove was silenced, Arsenal heads went down, it was all over. The crowd knew, the players knew, Arsene knew. It was over. Afterwards Arsene said it was 'impossible' to come back from that.

It would be nice to say that we responded and peppered the United goal but we didn't. We had a first half to forget to add to the first and second halves at Old Trafford. Three halves of poo. And the second was more of the same. Misplaced passes, poor crossing, and United quite sensibly got their men behind the ball. At 3-0 up on aggregate you would expect nothing less so it was difficult to create anything.

We pressed though and got caught with the counter-attack sucker punch. A flowing move beginning and ending with Ronaldo saw them make it 3-0 meaning we had to score 5 to win. And with the greatest of respect to our lads we could play until Christmas before we scored 5 past this United team.

A consolation goal came via a Robin van Persie penalty after Darren Fletcher stupidly chopped down Cesc in front of goal. We might have had one more when Cesc got in behind the defence but his tame sidefoot summed up Arsenal during the 180 minutes of this tie.

In the end it finished 1-3 on the night, 1-4 overall and despite my rather intense feeling of disappointment and hurt there's no doubt in my mind that the best team won. Leaving aside the first two goals tonight which were unlucky, and even the referee who was a bit crap but hardly cost us the game, it was United who made all the chances.

Over the course of the two games Almunia must have made 7 or 8 extremely good saves. I know he was at fault for the second tonight but more than any Arsenal player he kept it respectable when you think about it. How many saves did van der Sar make? One from van Persie tonight is about all I can remember.

I don't want to say it was men against boys (and someone needs to staple Evra's 'men against babies' comment to the dressing room wall before the league game) but we have to look at United and say well done. They played the best football, they made the most chances, they scored the most goals, they deserve to go through. We can't feel hard done by in any shape or form.

And we need to look at United as the standard that we have to aspire to (from a footballing point of view, of course). Whatever about the number of utter cunts on their team, they play really nice football. They're the Premier League champions, they're the Champions of Europe, are on course to retain that title, and much as it hurts, and it does fucking hurt let me tell you, they've won those titles because they're a very, very good team.

They're better than us. There can't be an Arsenal fan who watched those games and didn't realise that. Arsene Wenger can't have looked at those two games not realised that his team is not as good as Man United. On any day you can pull of a result as we showed earlier in the season but ultimately the better team won the day in the crunch game. At home, in front of our own fans, we got destroyed on the night and I'll congratulate United and then hope they get stuffed by Barcelona in the final.

From our point of view I don't want to go into the ins and outs of the performance. As a team we didn't play well in either leg, some of the individual performances weren't up to scratch, and to go out in the manner we did was painful in the extreme. Arsene talked his team up all week long, and I know why he did it, but they've left him with egg all over his face.

To me the reasons are simple. We missed our settled back four, Gallas in particular at the business end of the season, and, at the end of the day, some of the players aren't good enough. That's all. I'm not going to start naming names or anything like it. The lads did brilliantly to get to the semi-finals of the Champions League. It was unthinkable four months ago that we'd be on the brink of the final so credit to them for that. But the sad fact is that this is about as much as you can expect from this group of players.

My solution is simple and it's something I've said all season long: Arsene needs to spend some money on experienced, quality players. We've seen what kind of an impact Arshavin has made and it's because he's a good player and the right age. He improves the side. We need more of those signings. We need experience. If Arsene wants these kids to be as good as he keep saying then he should do them favour of bringing in players they can learn from. If Arsene really wants to win the Champions League, if he wants his team to compete properly for the league, then that's what he has to do, in my opinion.

There's obviously the nucleus of a good side in this group of players. They'll have learnt from this European run, some of them will have anyway, and we need to make sure we get the maximum from those players. To do that you bring in better, more experienced players to replace the ones who aren't up to it and have proven themselves below par throughout the campaign.

However, that's a discussion for the weeks and months ahead. We have three games still to play this season, no matter how little we feel like playing them. And the worst thing is they're not just any old games. The next one is Chelsea, then it's United away. A chance for revenge or more pain at the hands of despicable bastards?

Afterwards Arsene said:

It's the most disappointing defeat. The fans were up for a big night and to disappoint people, it hurts really. The most difficult thing for me is that we have the feeling that we never played in the semi-final. We can only look at ourselves.

And how can you argue with any of that? You just hope that the 'looking at ourselves' brings about some positive change. I love Arsene. I think he's a fantastic man and a great manager but he's not infallible. He makes mistakes.

I don't want to dwell on the Chelsea semi because even if Arshavin had played it was no guarantee we'd win or that Fabianski wouldn't hand the game to them but I'm sure he'll look at Everton sitting in the final and wish he'd played the Russian from the start. Last night would have been less painful with a cup final still to come - and a cup final that was realistically our best chance of a trophy this season. It may not have the prestige of the Champions League but it's a trophy and one I think this team should have won this season.

We've enjoyed a few months of this season because the team has performed above our expectations. We didn't expect to get to a Champions League semi-final, the most optimistic of us could not have predicted a 21 match unbeaten run in the league after losing to Stoke, Fulham, Hull, Man City and Villa. Yet when it comes to the crunch this will show up as another season without a trophy, another season of building a young team. And there's only so long you can go without success before you have to change things.

My feeling is, now that our season is essentially over, that Arsene has to change. He has to bring in the experienced players we spoke about earlier, he has to stop thinking of all his players as all-rounders. Strikers should play as strikers and not right wingers, wingers as wingers and not as holding midfielders, midfielders as midfielders and not support strikers, right backs as right backs and not right wingers or central midfielders. He has to bring in players who will improve this team and who will help us win trophies.

As Arsenal fans we consider ourselves to be a top club. We have a great stadium, some excellent players, we compete in Europe every year, our recent record in the CL is good, yet we have now gone four years without a trophy and you have to ask if that lack of success would be tolerated at other top clubs. Don't get me wrong, I still think Arsene is the man for the job. For now.

What he does this summer will determine whether or not he's the man for the job in the future. With the right kind of spending he can improve this team (although I get a strange sense of deja-vu typing that). If he chooses to rely on players who have let him down this season then it might well be time to start asking questions about him.

And before I'm accused of moaning or forgetting where we were before Wenger came along, I'll say this: Arsene Wenger is being judged by the standards that Arsene Wenger has set. Doubles, league titles, FA Cups. I don't think it's unfair to suggest we've fallen below the admittedly high standards we've grown accustomed to. As he said famously some years ago 'If you eat caviar every day it is difficult to come back to sausages'. We're eating sausages, Arsene.

He'll have been hurt by how his team was taken apart by United. Faith and belief in young players is all good and well but when reality slaps you in the face, humiliates you at home in front of your own fans, many of whom walk out of the ground with 30 minutes still to play, then maybe it's time to change your thinking. It's something Arsene is obviously considering. After the match at the press conference he was asked if he needed to look outside the club to find solutions (ie - new players), he said:

I have to take some distance from this season. We are on a consistent run, twenty-one games unbeaten, but recently in a game where it mattered, like Chelsea or tonight, we couldn't win and that, of course, needs thinking.

True that, Arsene. Anyway, this is all a bit rambling and incoherent. Probably because of booze. In fact, definitely because of booze. The negative amongst us will say we've gone without silverware again, the positive will say we got within 90 minutes of two cup finals this year. The truth, if there is such a thing in football, probably lies somewhere in the middle.

The only thing I know is that all of us, no matter our perspective or how we react to defeats last night, love the Arsenal. We do it in our own ways and today we'll all be hurting about last night.

Till tomorrow.

How long is today going to take, do you think? The waiting, the anticipation, the nerves, excitement, building all day long. 7.45 seems an eternity away.

The team news is that Robin van Persie is fit, as is Sylvester. In that case I think the team for tonight picks itself. In a 4-4-2 it's got to be: Almunia - Sagna - Kolo - Sylvester - Gibbs - Walcott - Song - Cesc - Nasri - van Persie - Adebayor.

In a game in which we have to score at least once we've got to put out our strongest team and this is arguably it. The only real question mark is whether or not you'd play Djourou ahead of Sylvester but I suspect the manager is going to err on the side of experience.

Watching Arsene's press conference yesterday he wasn't even considering the idea that we might lose this game but was under no illusions as to what it might take, saying:

I am very confident the team will produce a magnificent performance and that we will manage it. Everybody is focused and ready for the game.

And it will take a top, top performance to go through. Unless United play like complete chumps and I don't see that happening. Cesc Fabregas said:

Of course we can win this tie. It’s not as if we are talking about them winning the first game 4-0. For most of our players, this is probably the most important game of their career. So as long as we are strong and compact, put pressure on United and don’t let them play, we have a great chance of going through.

From an attacking point of view we've certainly got players who can hurt United. Adebayor, van Persie, Nasri, Walcott, Fabregas - all capable of scoring goals. Where we have to be really focussed is at the back. We know what an away goal means for United and they have such an array of talent up top as well. The back four is going to have to play out of its skin to stop them from scoring but for them to do that they need the rest of the team to work hard as well.

Cliché it might be but defending starts from the front and the best way to stop them scoring is to stop the supply to the front men as early as possible. Arsene has singled out Kolo Toure as one of our key players and he's probably right. He hasn't had his best season, not by a long way, but he's got to lead that defence tonight and show us the Kolo of old.

Despite how truly massive this game is it doesn't stand up to much analysis. We know where United are strong, we know what we have to do and how we need to play. Every single player has to sweat blood for the team tonight. An early goal would be brilliant but it's no panic if it doesn't come. Remember, one goal might be all we need. A draw, extra-time, penalties, we're through. Of course I'd rather not go through the torture of a penalty shoot-out but it's a definite possibility.

Let's not forget we've already beaten United this season. 2-1 at the Grove back in November - and that result came when we were in the doldrums. We'd just been beaten by Stoke, drawn 0-0 at home to Fenerbache and thrown away that two goal lead against Sp*rs. Confidence was low and our form was poor.

Tonight is a different proposition entirely. This is a chance to go to the Champions League final. It's win or bust for the season and the lads are going to be rightly fired up for this one.

The players have, over the last few days, spoken about the fans and how they can help. Now, I think United are too experienced a team to be fazed by any kind of atmosphere, no matter how intimidating. However, I think our players would benefit hugely from having a noisy, passionate crowd right behind them from the first whistle.

This is probably the biggest ever game at the new stadium and there's no question the fans have a part to play. There'll be 60,000+ people there tonight. The club are providing red flags, urging everyone to wear red, and to make as much noise as possible. Every single Arsenal fan there tonight needs to shout and roar and sing the songs. Ultimately it's down to the 11 players on the pitch but if they know the crowd are with them then it does make a difference. It can provide tired legs with that last surge of energy that might stop a goal or score a goal.

We have to rock the Grove tonight, ladies and gentlemen. This is Arsenal, fighting for a place in the Champions League final, against Manchester United. If that's not a reason to support the team as loudly as possible then I don't know what is. You don't need to have a voice like Pavarotti to sing, you just need to open your mouth and make noise. And if someone said to you 'Arsenal will win if you sing the songs tonight', wouldn't it be an easy task to ensure our qualification?

Remember, the guy or girl to your left or right is an Arsenal fan. The boys in red are your team. Our team. United are the enemy. United would kill your mum. They'd run over your puppy and then point and laugh. They would make you listen to Phil Collins. They would insist on putting cloves on everything. They would dip their pizza in ketchup. They would offer you a cup of coffee then serve you chicory. They would force you to watch Tom Hanks films. They would kidnap you then read to you from the novels of Dan Brown. They would drive really slowly in front of you when you're in a hurry then speed up so they get through the amber light and leave you stuck at the red. They would chew gum loudly in your ear. They would come on our pitch and dance after getting one of our players sent off because of their theatrics. They would score a goal in the last few minutes of a semi-final then show everyone their hairy chest. They would dive to win a penalty to stop us going 50 games unbeaten. They would sing disgusting songs about our manager.

Need I go on? They are not our rivals, not our competitors, not our competitors, not our peers: they are the enemy. Treat them as such.

And in the face of such monstrous evil, such hideous, diving, tantrum throwing, ballerina, monster faced malevolence, make sure you let our lads know that they are fighting the good fight, on the side of truth and righteousness. For, after all, we are The Arsenal.

COME ON YOU REDS.

Bank holiday blogging, morning to you all.

It's all about United from here until 7.45pm tomorrow night. There'll be a whole pile of analysis, thought, team news, prediction and everything else to wade through. 

The manager is bullish, obviously to boost his players confidence, but there's no doubt he's as up for this game as any I can remember. He says:

We know we have to score two goals against United and not many teams have done that. We believe we can do it. This is special. This is not The Premier League. If we go 1-0 up then they become under pressure. Score again and they are out.

I believe we can do it. The whole squad believe that.

What is they say about belief? It's half the battle? Or two-fifth of success? Or 72% of victory? I wouldn't know, I'm not a statistician. 

It's interesting to hear him talk about our potential line-up. He's hinting at playing a 4-4-2, saying:

We played 4-4-2 at Portsmouth on Saturday and I think we look more threatening that way. Maybe we will play with two strikers against Manchester United — but the way we line up depends on who is available.

Obviously the fitness of Robin van Persie is the key factor here. If he's fit then he and Adebayor will play up front, and that's obviously more dangerous to United than Adebayor on his own and Cesc behind him. It's also good to hear the manager talk about Cesc when he says:

When Cesc Fabregas plays behind the striker, as he did at Old Trafford last week, the striker looks to be a little isolated.

As everyone has been saying our best players have to play in their best positions. If we play 4-4-2 with van Persie I think we've got a chance. If we play the same line-up/formation as we did in the away leg I don't think we'll do it. You can't have players in unfamiliar roles in games as big as this one. And I think we all agree Cesc is far more effective in central midfield.

It's interesting because in Europe our best games have come playing the 4-5-1 or 4-4-1-1 formation. At the moment though we don't really have the personnel to do it so a return to the formation we're most comfortable with seems the best option. I suspect United are going to line-up the same way as they did at Old Trafford, with the three in midfield and using Rooney and Ronaldo to stretch us wide, so there'll be a big onus on Samir Nasri and Theo Walcott (who you'd imagine would start in wide positions for us) to get back and help out defensively. 

Speaking of Theo he's in no doubt as the importance of the game, saying:

United is the biggest game of our careers. Everyone is buzzing, we cannot wait and we’re on our own pitch, in front of our own fans. That will be crucial and hopefully we can do it for them because they have been excellent for us.

It shouldn't be underestimated how much of a role the fans can play tomorrow night as well. That's something I'll touch on in tomorrow's blog, as well as more preview stuff after the pre-match press conferences and what have you.

Meanwhile the boardroom goings-on are beginning to get ugly. It seems it's Red & White that have asked the Takeover Panel to probe the recent share sales and they're unhappy at being treated like 'just any old shareholder'.

You always got the sense that things could get ugly. I mean, I know anything involving Usmanov has got to have a reasonable smattering of ugly to it, what with him being so very fat and ugly, but if he did harbour ambitions at taking over Arsenal fully they've been well and truly scuppered by Kroenke's share purchases. 

Despite various statements which said the club and Red and White were maintaining civilised dialogues you always felt it was an us against them situation. Now they've set out their stall and I think, unless we're lucky, we're going to see boardroom war at Arsenal, which would be a real shame. The AST have issued a statement saying:

The AST regrets that a shareholder has chosen to involve the takeover panel. Their complaint is about protecting shareholder value. We represent Arsenal supporters who own shares as custodians of the club. Our primary interest as shareholders is what is good for Arsenal Football Club rather than trying to make money.

Once again we would urge all of the major shareholders in the club to reflect that Arsenal would be much better off if everyone worked together. It strengthens our resolve to work to increase the number of Arsenal supporters who own shares in Arsenal. 

At a time when we should be focussing fully on football it's a bit painful to see this kind of thing going on. Now, I don't think for a second that it affects the players or the manager in any way. I've never quite understood how anything that happens in the boardroom should affect what happens on the pitch. As long as the players are paid there's no reason why anything there should unsettle them, so I'm not worried about it from that point of view.

You just worry about how this is going to play out. Usmanov and his cronies love using the press for their own end, they have journalists and writers to help spread their propaganda. To many it's hilariously transparent (even when some seem to do an about turn to bat for the other side) but Arsenal have always tended to maintain a dignified silence in the face of such trash, so there's no counter-argument. If they're going to play this out in public then we have to consider fighting fire with fire.

Anyway, it's all speculative at the moment but I would not be surprised in the slightest if this was a recurring story during the summer. At least it'd be a break from the players we're not going to sign. Hahaha (weeps).

So, that should do it for today. It's all about tomorrow. And tomorrow is just today in the future. Enjoy the bank holiday. Till future today. 

Well, not exactly the 'audacious' away performance Arsene had promised us, was it?

I think the first thing we need to say is that Man United played very well. They stretched us as often as they could, looked dangerous from the first minute to the last, and there's no doubt in my mind that they deserved to win the game.

That they probably deserved a couple of goals more than they scored is not my problem. We have Manuel Almunia to thank for that. The Spanish keeper made three or four fantastic saves in the first half and without him we'd almost certainly be out of this tie now. He was Arsenal's man of the match on the night, no question about it.

They went ahead through John O'Shea. Poor defensive play saw Kolo Toure, who was marking O'Shea, run off to try and get the ball like a schoolboy. When the ball came to the back post O'Shea was umarked and lashed it home. And if he hadn't two other unmarked players might have done the job for United. It was extremely bad from a defensive point of view, but not very surprising.

And we can sit here and say that United played well, there's no shame in that. Ronaldo might have scored in the second half, his long range shot, as we backed off him, smacked off the crossbar. Sylvester headed a clearance over the bar, Ronaldo blasted another half chance over the bar, Giggs had a goal ruled out for the most marginally correct offside, and that's just at the front.

At the back United were really excellent. We got behind them a couple of times in the first half but barely troubled them subsequently. Vidic and Ferdinand won everything against Adebayor and bar one Cesc shot in the first half, an Adebayor shot on about 75 minutes which went well over and a late Bendtner header we didn't trouble them at all.

So, before this becomes a United love-in, the point I want to make is this: when you're playing a team who are playing that well then you need your players, all eleven of them, to dig in to get back into the game. I don't think some of our players did that.

I'm thinking primarily of Adebayor and Diaby who were really, really disappointing last night. The big striker didn't get a kick, didn't even try to jump for some headers, and I know we didn't create much but he didn't do enough in my book. His job was to try and hold it up, but every time Vidic got there first, both in the tackle or in the air, and we struggled because of that. I know you can point to the fact he was playing on his own up front against the best central defensive partnership in England but I don't think it's unfair to say he had a very poor game.

Diaby was the same. Lazy when it came to defending, he had an 18 year old full back behind him, playing against Ronaldo who, while he's certainly a cunt, is one of the best players in the world. The number of times Kieran Gibbs was left two on one was not funny. Diaby also suffered the Adebayor problem of first touch bouncing off him about 10 feet away - when we did have possession so much of it broke down with his poor control or dribbling in dangerous areas. And it's frustrating because I find it hard to understand why a player wouldn't give 110% in a game like that. If a Champions League semi-final against United can't motivate you then there's something wrong.

The main problem as I saw it though was the deployment of Cesc in the support striker role. My thinking on this is very fucking simple: Cesc is our best central midfield player by a long, long way. Therefore play him in central midfield.

One because we lose his calmness and ability on the ball in that position and two because he's not really very good as a support striker. I know he got two goals against Boro but, you know, it was Boro. They're shite. United aren't shite. Cesc might outpage the lumbering Huth but he's never going to get near Ferdinand or Vidic in a race for the ball. Pace is not his arsenal.

I just think playing all the players out of position weakens us. Cesc is not a support striker, Diaby is not a wide midfielder, Nasri is not a central midfielder, Adebayor is not a strik ... oh. But play the three central midfielders in central midfield, Barcelona style. Let Nasri on the left and Walcott on the right push on a bit and support the striker.

I just think Cesc is absolutely wasted in that position. He's much better deeper, he gets on the ball more, he can see the passes that others don't see, and I'd be a bit upset if he played there in the home leg. I also find it hard to see the logic of playing him there when Nasri is probably better suited to the role. That the manager is using a number 10/winger in central midfield speaks volumes about the quality of the players at his disposal, in my view, but that's a whole other argument and not one for today.

However, to move from the negatives to the positives we have to give huge props to Almunia who made top saves and swept up beautifully at times. I thought Gibbs did well when you consider the quality of his opponent most of the night and Alex Song battled hard in midfield.

As well as that we have to think that we got a bit lucky to be bringing this game back to the Grove at just 1-0. It's difficult as it is. A United goal means we have to score three to win the game but let's face it, it might have been much worse and I don't expect us to play that poorly in the second leg. You do need some luck to go through and maybe Ronaldo's shot that hit the bar, maybe the fact we rode our luck and kept it at 1-0 is what we need.

There's no question we need to play a lot better though. United wanted that game more than we did last night and that's hard to take. However, we have to look at it as half-time. We have 90 minutes to put it right. One goal could, with the aid of a penalty shoot-out, see us through. So we have to regroup and the manager has to be a bit braver in the second leg.

Cesc has to play in his natural position, we should play 4-4-2, we have to go and attack them, and that is when we're at our best. It was disappointing last night and we're on the back foot, no question, but it's not over yet.

Afterwards Arsene said:

It was a difficult game played at a high pace. Manchester United started stronger than us and if you look at the clear cut chances they were on top, of course, tonight. The positive is that we are only 1-0 down and we are still to play at home. I am convinced you will see a different Arsenal at The Emirates. It will be a good opportunity to show our character and our mental strength.

I'd rather we saw a little bit of our character and mental strength last night but there you go. It's advantage United as it stands and it's probably going to take our best performance of the season to get to Rome. But at home, 60,000 fans, semi-final of the Champions League, against United, it promises to be an incredible night next Tuesday. 

More, and an Arsecast, tomorrow. 

I'm not really sure how to start this blog, to be honest.

It goes without saying how important, how massive, how nerve-wracking tonight's game is. There's no point in talking about what we need to do because everybody already knows. Is there any need to point out where United's dangers are? I don't think so. We all know how and with whom they can hurt us.

The team news this morning centres around the potential left backs. Both Kieran Gibbs and Sylvester face fitness tests today. Gibbs on an ankle problem, Sylvester on his back. If they're both fit I do wonder whether the manager might err on the side of experience, although I'd rather see Gibbs than Sylvester, no matter how fired up to face his former teammates the latter might be.

But whatever team he picks, in whatever formation he picks it, they're going to have to work their bollocks off tonight. No two ways about it.

I also wonder if he's going to play Cesc in that advanced role behind Adebayor as the lone striker. I don't doubt that's the formation we're going to play, I just wonder if Cesc is the best man for it. We've seen him there quite a bit in recent times and two goals against Boro might have convinced the manager. I just think that we miss him too much in the centre of midfield where his vision and passing and his ability to keep possession is so important. And Boro aren't exactly United. They're not even Sp*rs.

It is the semi-finals of the Champions League, of course, a trophy that Arsenal have never won. We came close in 2006 and in his career it's not exactly a blot on Arsene's copybook but definitely a notable absence. The manager spoke about it yesterday, saying:

In fairness, I'm at the stage of my career where I'm more focused to do it for the club, the fans and the players, than to do it for myself. Winning the Champions League has never been done in the club's history. I want this group of players to do it for the first time.

I don't think there's a tougher test in the semi-final than United. They won it last year, by the skin of their teeth and a hilarious John Terry slip, but how they won it isn't important. They have the belief and the confidence that winning brings. They've got big players, experienced players, who have been winning things for years.

We have a promising team who have yet to win anything. Kolo Toure has won something, Cesc an FA Cup, Sylvester won all his shit with those cunts, but as a team, as a unit, this lot haven't won anything yet. How much do they want it? How much does it burn that they've got no silverware, no medals? We'll see tonight because it will show in the way we play.

Nothing less than 100% from every single player will be required to beat United and I do think an away goal, while not an absolute necessity, would be huge to bring back to London.

Theo Walcott says:

We have learned a huge lesson from the way we went out of last season’s competition at Liverpool. We thought we’d won it right at the death and we were still buzzing from our goal instead of concentrating on our job when they scored again. We won’t make that mistake again.

While Samir Nasri wants to repeat his two goal haul against United which won us the game at the Grove earlier in the season:

Our game against United is my greatest memory at the Emirates. I scored a double for the first time in my career and I am very hopeful I can repeat that.

Abou Diaby:

We will concentrate on our game knowing that if we play we have a good chance. We have the quality here to win the Champions League, so we will give it everything.

It's a big night for these players but they know that. They'll understand the importance of the fixture, its location, what victory will bring, but as fans these are the kinds of games you live for. I can feel my stomach flipping already. Later on I'll have to decide between lucky beer (which flavour of lucky beer?), or lucky wine or lucky Jameson, and I'll sit in my lucky chair, perhaps wearing my lucky socks, with the television volume at the same lucky setting it's been at for our last few matches.

Of course I know this is all a load of superstitious bollocks, that none of it makes the slightest bit of difference, but I'll do it anyway because I would almost do anything to ensure a good result tonight. I said almost anything, you filthy minded perverts.

But I'm sure every single one of you reading this is the same. Whether it's a lucky jersey or shirt or pre-match routine we all have our little foibles and that's just part of being a football fan.

It's 8.56am as I write this. That's a little under 11 hours to kick-off. 11 hours. Jesus. That seems like a long time.  

To those of you lucky enough to be going tonight may your trip be loud and successful. The rest of us, whether at home, with friends (RedAction are having a Manc free screening in The Rocket if you fancy it), will be glued to the our TVs crossing our fingers, drinking our beers/wines/whiskeys and hoping we put in the kind of performance that befits the big stage.

We've beaten them before this season. No reason why we can't do it again. No reason at all. We are the Arsenal, after all.

COME. ON. YOU. REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEDS (who will, in fact, be YELLOOOOOOOOWS tonight).

Till tomorrow. 

Right, well the countdown is well and truly on for tomorrow night and the game against United is unquestionably the biggest game of the season so far.

A Champions League semi-final first leg at Old Trafford against the holders. Blimey, and such. The manager is very much aware of how important an away goal is and has promised to be 'audacious' tomorrow night. That does sound a little bit cavalier, I have to say, but I'm sure the boss is stressing the need for defensive stability too.

Kolo Toure says Arsenal aren't afraid of anyone and that the pressure's on United. He says:

United are the ones who won it last season, but for us we are going there to do the best we can playing free and passing the ball. The team that will win will be the one which defends the best. It is going to be a really big fight.

You do worry if defending best is going to be the key because that hasn't exactly been our forte this season. The Liverpool game is still giving me the sweats if I think about it and the lessons from that night have to be learned if we're to go through. The idea of Kieran Gibbs vs the man with no underarm hair (I mean, it's not like he's a swimmer and needs to be more aerodynamic or anything, so why does he shave his underarm hair?) might worry some but Toure thinks the young left-back is good enough to cope.

The Captain is very aware of how small the margins might be in this game, saying:

In games like these, each goal is very, very important and the smallest mistake can count.

He also believes that he who defends best goes through so this is obviously some kind of training ground mantra at the moment. He goes on to say:

We just want to be in the final again. To be in two Champions League finals in four years could be one of the best things in the history of the club and we're determined to make that happen.

With newly crowned player of the year Ryan Giggs promising to celebrate like he did in the FA Cup semi in 1999 someone needs to sit down the current crop and make them watch that goal to make sure it doesn't happen again. If he gets it and starts running, chop him down on halfway. Better safe than sorry.

It is going to be an incredible spectacle though, I think. The games served up by the English clubs facing each other in Europe haven't always been brilliant. It took five years to get one watchable match between Chelsea and Liverpool but I suspect the two legs of this particular tie are going to be something a bit special.

We know about the rivalry between Wenger and Ferguson and that seems to have grown into something approaching mutual respect in recent years. Perhaps that's because they've matured (a weird thing to say about middle-aged men), perhaps because they were united, if you'll pardon the phrase, when a huge twat like Mourinho came along, but, as others have pointed out, it's more down to the fact that Arsenal haven't been a threat to United in recent seasons.

Ferguson is nice when he sees you as unthreatening to his team. We haven't been challenging in the league and while personnel at the clubs have changed I think the fact we've struggled in recent seasons has more to do with their alleged friendship than anything else.

Do you really think that if there's some kind of contentious issue tomorrow night, or in the return leg, that Ferguson won't blow up like he did in days gone by? Of course he will. Arsene says their respect will survive the two encounters but given the history and how strained the relationship has been at times it might very well be tested and I for one would enjoy seeing him go spastic and purple on the sideline.

What is for certain though is that we're going to see two teams whose philosophy is to attack and win games. Arsenal's best form of defence is attack, United never sit back, it's going to be massive. 

With the pre-match press conferences taking place later today we should get a better idea of team news ahead of tomorrow. There's a doubt over Sylvester while we'll find out if Eduardo, a man I think could be vital if fit, will make it in time or not.

So, more on this game tomorrow but I can feel the nerves tingling, the butterflies butterflying already. You? 

Morning all. It looks like all the rain in the world is about to fall here. Gah.

We start the week sitting 6 points clear of Aston Villa after Man United's last gasp victory yesterday. Watching United win is never much fun but I suppose needs must and anything that makes a top 4 finish more comfortable for us has to be ok. A bit of breathing room is nice.

We don't have any team news for tomorrow as yet but the manager has said there's a 'little' chance for Robin van Persie and a 'small' chance for Samir Nasri. I wonder how he makes the distinction between little and small. Is it like midget vs dwarf? I suppose there'll be doubts about Theo too as he finished the City game sitting on the bench holding a rather large ice-pack on his knee.

Fingers crossed they'll all make it though. Having that bit of extra quality, even on the bench, would be invaluable, and, of course, we go to Spain without Andrei Arshavin who is cup-tied.

The manager, in his infinite wisdom, has put aside all transfer and contract talks until the end of the season, claiming the team needs to be 100% focussed on the games ahead. He says:

I believe it can be distracting. It is a period when you have to be completely in to be successful. You cannot be half in and a little bit out, or 90 per cent in and a bit out, because that 10 per cent you can miss at an important moment of the game. I believe it is for us to be professional and to know what is important and when. We have to show maturity and get rid of all the talks that are not helping us to win the games.

Makes sense. There's so much to be decided on the pitch in the next 6 weeks that off the pitch stuff can surely wait. There's nothing more important than the next game and all that. The Mirror reports that the manager suprised the players and took them paintballing. Ahh, paintballing. There's nothing like shooting someone in the face with a pellet of Dulux Crimson Sunrise® to foster team spirit.

Back with a bang Emmanuel Adebayor is hungry. Not for pies. Not for some kind of fancy cous-cous dish. Nor for a giant steak or a side of bacon. No, he is hungry for trophies. He says:

When I came to this club from Monaco in 2006, I was told by my friends and team-mates I had a great chance of winning something. But for the last three years I’ve gone on holiday having not won a trophy and with an empty heart.

So now it is time to achieve things, starting with two games against Villarreal. We have to believe we can do it. I will do everything I can to play in the last four of this competition.

And then the last two, hopefully. There aren't too many members of this squad who have won trophies really and the hunger to do so should be a huge motivation for them. They should all be starving for delicious, home-made, still warm, crunchy trophies. Yes.

Do we want our players going around all summer with empty hearts? No we do not. For that means our hearts are also empty. Apart from all the blood and bits that block up our arteries and what have you. If we see the Adebayor of old, the one who re-emerged from his semi-hibernation earlier in the season, then our chances of full hearts are much greater.

So that's really about it for this morning. As I'm flying to Barcelona this evening and then down to Valencia and then Villarreal for the match, I won't be blogging for the next couple of days. You will, however, have the pleasure of Tom's company for the pre and post-Villarreal blogs. If I can find wifi I'll try and update the Twitter a bit, but data costs when roaming would bankrupt a sheikh so don't count on it.

Hopefully I'll see some of you in Spain and here's to a good result tomorrow night. Until Thursday, cheers.

Ok, well let's start with some bad news, get it out of the way.

Theo Walcott has injured his knee, just walking back from training, and could be set for a bit of a lay off. Initial reports, which were hopefully quite scaremongeriffic, suggested he'd be out for the rest of the season. On the official site Arsene Wenger said it might be a cartilage injury which would be three weeks out, then another two weeks before he can play again, bringing him to the start of May.

Which would be more or less the rest of the season. However, I'm told by a good source it appears to be less severe than they first thought so fingers crossed on that. It'd be a blow if he were to miss a few weeks and with important fixtures piling up between now and the end of the season we need as many hands on deck as possible. 

Obviously he misses today's game against Newcastle but the good news is that Eduardo is back in the squad and will travel.

It's an important game, as they all are at this stage. A win would allow us to open up a three point lead over Aston Villa who play Liverpool tomorrow. Newcastle are scrapping for their lives and despite their poor league position do have some quality players who we have to keep an eye on.

But if we show the same kind of application and spirit that we did against Hull, the same quality we did against Blackburn, then I think we'll win. Kick off is 5.30.

The draw for the Champions League quarter finals and semi-finals took place yesterday. We got Villarreal in the quarters. The first leg takes place on April 7th in Spain. The way the draw is set up that the winner of our quarter-final will play the winner of the Manchester United v Porto quarter-final. 

Obviously we've got a bit of history with Villarreal. We went through the final from El Madrigal when Jens Lehmann brilliantly saved Riquelme's penalty and I got to look down Mrs Blogs' top. There's an Arsenal connection too. Pascal Cygan is part of their team and, of course, Robert Pires has enjoyed some great seasons in Spain since joining Villarreal in 2006.

Arsene Wenger said of him:

We have to keep him quiet because he is a guy who can make a difference. I still have him on the phone many times - recently. He is playing very well, he was born in 1973, he is 36 in 2009 and he is still playing so that shows you what a fantastic player he is.

He rarely plays 90 minutes these days and I think that when he left Arsenal it was the right time for him to do so, but he's such an incredible player. Definitely one of my favourite Arsenal players of all time and a top bloke on top of it all.

He'll get a warm reception from the travelling fans in the first leg and from the home crowd in the second but after that it's down to us to stop him from contributing. He's out to win the game for his club, as any good professional would, past loyalties count for nothing during the games. 

I'm not going to get ahead of myself by talking about matches after the quarter-final but somebody should stick this up in the Arsenal dressing room. I know it's tabloid stuff but all the same seeing that every day would motivate the ever loving shite out of me. 

Beyond that not a lot happening this morning. I've got another weekend of shovelling stuff and trying to make the garden not look like a ploughed field so I'll leave you to it.

Up the Arse today! More tomorrow.