So into the Interlull we go. Practically two full weeks with no real football and the potential for our players to be injured, run over by a lawnmower, get lost in the woods and never be seen again, and countless other little issues to worry the manager between now and the time they return.

Having a quick look around the Spanish papers this morning it seems that Cesc will still be called up and they're hopeful he can play in both games. Having been unfit to play against Manchester United though you have to worry a little about that but there doesn't seem to be any sign of Arsenal withdrawing him at this stage.

Going back to the United game and the manager has had a little pop at United and Darren Fletcher in particular, saying:

Look at how many deliberate fouls some players get away with. That's a bigger problem because it cuts the flow of the game. And people pay to see football, not free-kicks. Players who make repeated fouls and who are never punished and get out of the game without a yellow card. That, for me, is more anti-football than a player who has done what Eduardo did.

He certainly has a point. How Fletcher didn't get booked is a bit of a mystery but hardly that important in the great scheme of things. Felcher says he deserved a bit of luck with penalties against Arsenal having missed the Champions League final after his professional foul on Cesc Fabregas back in May. I'm not quite sure how that works though. The clear penalty he conceded at the Grove means the most penaltiest penalty I've ever seen shouldn't be given at Old Trafford? Erm, no. That's not luck, it's just terrible refereeing.

Yeah, Fletcher is a bit of a hacker and Mike Dean is never likely to treat United's fouls as harshly as he did Arsenal's but we shouldn't really get bogged down in stuff like this. If we really need to make a point we could just kick him up in the air next time we play. Job done. And while United weren't at their best on Saturday they've always been a good footballing team, even if they are chock full of despicable flangeinhalers.

And while the press are reporting that AW has labelled United 'anti-football', my interpretation is that he's having a little go at officialdom there. It's always been quicker and easier to punish a guy who dives, for example, than a guy who fouls constantly. Those kind of players can hide behind the fact they're 'physical' or 'committed', in fact they're even praised for it, but the other guy is slaughtered. The fact is that deliberate fouling is cheating too - yet you never hear anyone say we have to rid the game of it.

Anyway, I have no real problem with United's approach on Saturday. We gave away our share of free kicks, Gallas's in particular was deliberate and cynical, so it's not like we're angels. It's a physical game, we have to accept that, and it's the job of the ref to deal with it. Sometimes, like on Saturday they don't, or they won't. We pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and move on. 

Expecting some reference to the Celtic player sent off after getting a 2nd yellow for a dive yesterday? Who cares? More media driven crap with which I want nothing to do with.

So, the transfer window, eh? It closes at 5pm tomorrow and there's only thing I can say with any assurance - that Sky Sports and the NewsNow hit hoors will whip everyone up into an absolute frenzy. There'll be gossip, rumour, tales of press conferences, medicals and all kinds between now and the time it closes?

Am I expecting us to do any business? Maybe. I really don't have the first clue. Nobody does. That's the truth. Would it be a surprise if we brought in a couple? No. Nor would be a surprise if our chequebook remained closed. Could we do with a couple? Sure. Am I hoping we sign someone? Yes. Can we cope without them? Yes, for now. 

And as there's nothing at all I can do to influence what happens I'm going to remain an interested, yet unfrenzied, unpanicked, unpullingmyhairout, unbleatingabouthowmuchwegotforkoloandcuntybayor, observer.

And of course I'll be spreading rumours like wildfire via Twitter.

Till tomorrow.

ps - To those of you using the Arseblog iPhone app - yes, there's a problem with it at the moment. It's been removed from the iTunes store and has to be reapproved, so that could take a week or two. In the meantime you'll have to be all old fashioned and stuff and just visit the website.

Please excuse the brevity of this blog. I am very, very tired. I didn't so much drown my sorrows last night as beat them to death, chop them up into little pieces, piss on them, wrap them in shiny paper and then dump them in a lake in a weighted down bag.

A 2-1 defeat yesterday at Old Trafford, one which we didn't deserve but which came about because of mistakes we made. We went in 1-0 up at half-time, Andrei Arshavin's fantastic long strike into the top corner putting us ahead. But it came after Mike Dean refused Arsenal the most nailed on penalty you will ever see in your life. The ball arrived to the Russian from the right hand side, he controlled it, flicked it out of the way of Darren Fletcher who slid in, knocked Arshavin over and then handled the ball.

It was two penalties in one. Yet amazingly Mike Dean did nothing. He didn't give us the most stonewall penalty you will ever see. The referee couldn't have got it more wrong if he tried. Perhaps Arshavin was a little pissed off because when the ball came to him a few seconds later he absolutely cunted it into the net to open the scoring. Foster got hands to it but couldn't stop it. And a few moments before the Arshavin penalty shout I thought van Persie was tripped in the box for what also looked like a penalty. Of course we didn't see any replays of that.

So half-time 1-0 and all was good. The second half began brightly, some good work by Arshavin setting up a chance for van Persie but Foster made a good save with his feet. Van Persie hit the bar with a free kick and United really didn't look threatening at all. Then we handed the game to them. 

A Giggs pass put Rooney behind our defence, out came Almunia, Rooney went down, penalty. I know there are those who will say it was a penalty but for me there was absolutely no difference between what Rooney did and what Eduardo did on Wednesday night. Both players went down anticipating contact from the keeper, Boruc kept his hands to himself, Almunia made it easy for Mike Dean to give his customary penalty at Old Trafford. 

Rooney was falling over before there was any contact. Yes, there was contact, but it wasn't the contact which made him go to ground. Of course on Sky it was lauded as clever play by the England player. What can you do? It was poor from Almunia all the same, Rooney was going nowhere.

Rooney picked himself up and stuck home the penalty to equalise. Shortly afterwards United got a free kick on our left, Giggs floated it in, it was a nothing ball, there was no danger, but Abou Diaby headed into his own net. It looked like he was trying to head it back to the keeper from five yards. A ludicrous own goal. I really have no idea what he was thinking. 

We brought on Bendtner and Eduardo to try and rescue something from the game but there was nothing doing. I might be wrong but I don't remember Foster making a save. Diaby had a great chance not long after his own goal when he danced through their defence but he pulled a left footed shot wide. In the final minute of the 5 injury time minutes Arsenal had the ball in the back of the net. The goal was rightly disallowed for offside. Gallas was clearly off when the ball was played in, and Arsene Wenger, having initially thought we'd salvaged a point, kicked a bottle of water up in the air when he saw the linesman's flag in the air.

He wasn't aggressive, he did not shout or complain, he just kicked a bottle of water out of frustration that the goal he thought had been scored would not stand. The fourth official called over Mike Dean who sent Wenger off. With nowhere to go, and the game over for all intents and purposes, Mike Dean refused to allow Wenger to sit in the dug-out, instead making him stand in front of fans who had been singing a song about him being a paedophile throughout the game.

It was a disgraceful decision and a disgraceful way to treat our manager. Wenger had nowhere to go but to stand in front of a group of United fans who, as you would imagine, taunted him, which is fine. That happens. 

But Dean must have heard them singing 'Sit down you paedophile' on various occasions throughout the game. It rang around Old Trafford again and again. Yet with the game over and injury time finished he did that. It seems like Wenger will get an apology from referees chief Keith Hackett but where is the apology from Manchester United for their fans singing that vile song? Where the fuck is the media coverage of them singing that song? 

Why is it glossed over again and again and again? It'd be very easy to do something about it. Deduct points from United if they sing it again. They'd soon shut the fuck up. Remember when Ferguson was accused of rape in South Africa some years ago. It was a false and horrible accusation against him. Yet if Arsenal fans, in one voice, sang about him being a rapist don't you think we'd hear something about it in the press, from the FA? Wouldn't we condemned, and rightly so? So why the silence over United's fans?

That the media continuously overlooks and blatantly ignores is a shame on them and Mike Dean is a fucking cunt for subjecting Wenger to that treatment when it was clearly not necessary.

So the first defeat of the season and one you feel could easily have been avoided. Maybe we missed a little bit of craft in midfield yesterday. I think the result would have been different if we'd had Cesc or Nasri or even Rosicky available. That ability to find a pass which the others don't quite have. Nevertheless it's not the end of the world.

We did well agains the 'big' teams last season yet it made little difference to our season. It's how we react and the results we get against teams outside that top four that will define our season.

There's an Interlull now until we go back to Manchester to play City on September 12th. Hopefully that visit will provide a much happier result. 

Laters.

I don't know how many of you subscribe to the Arsenal TV thing on the official site. Those of you that don't really ought to, even just for a day, to watch Arsene Wenger's press conference yesterday. It was a masterclass. For me Wenger's press conferences are always interesting but yesterday's was a real classic.

It began not long after news emerged that UEFA were charging Eduardo with diving, leaving the Crozilian facing an unprecedented two match ban. Wenger said:

I find it a complete disgrace and unacceptable. It singles out a player to be a cheat and that is not acceptable. We will not accept the way Uefa has treated this.

His ire is understandable. Players have dived time and time again, often in cases where it's had a much more significant effect on the result, yet nothing has been done. Why now? Why Eduardo? I thought Gunnerblog made a couple of good points yesterday via his Twitter. One is that the SFA's decision to get involved distracts very nicely from the fact that one of Scotland's top clubs could barely compete with a top four English club, the gulf in class apparent over the two legs.

The second is that it allows Platini to promote his five referees plan, using this one incident as evidence that it's needed. We know the kind of regard in which Platini holds English clubs, we know he's got his own opinions about Arsene Wenger, and that has to be a factor in this (and if you need further proof that Platini is little more than a smarmy politician take a look at his lauding Roman Abramovich as a 'football person' this week. What bullshit. How can anybody take him seriously after that?).

The difficulty is, of course, that if UEFA are going to punish Eduardo then they have to punish every player that dives. And that is going to be an administrative nightmare, I'm sure. Will banning Eduardo act as a deterrent to players who think about taking a tumble in the box? Only if every player is banned. And then you get into the nuts and bolts of it and you see how difficult this is going to be for UEFA.

As Wenger pointed out yesterday the charge is 'deceiving the referee with intent'. How do you prove intent? It's long been the argument that UEFA and the FA have used against longer bans for players who seriously injure an opponent. Intent is practically impossible to prove. The boss asked the journalists at the press conference about defenders who pull an attacker's shirt. That's not in the rules, they're doing it to gain an advantage, to deceive the officials, are these incidents going to be punished as well? If not, why not?

Let's step back a bit and think about what would be happening if Eduardo's dive took place outside the area or in midfield. It would have been a free kick to Arsenal, would any of this fuss be going on? If the issue is the diving it shouldn't matter if it's because it won a penalty or won a free kick in a less dangerous area. Are we going to highlight every instance of a player going down to easily to win a free kick? What about a player who jumps out of the way of a tackle, who anticipates the challenge? It's easy how quickly the lines get blurred.

Wenger said:

Now the existing rules of football have been changed just for one case so we will from now on challenge every single decision that is made in Europe by the referees. This is the first time since I've been in football that the judgement made by the referee is not accepted by the football bodies. UEFA have opened a very dangerous door.

And there's no doubt it is dangerous. Arsenal fans are looking at Ashley Young's dive in the UEFA Cup the other night which won a penalty for Villa yet not a word has been said about it, not by UEFA, certainly not in the media. So already we can see that consistency is going to be unlikely. If the offence is the same the punishment should be the same but it's not. And why not? Wenger has the answer:

This case has been ruled by the media and emotionally by Scotland, by the Scottish FA and by Scottish people working at Uefa.

Damn right. And to me that's the crux of the matter. It was a high profile game, it was never a contest, and the 'Battle of Britain' they all wanted turned out to be a damp squib. How much copy do you get out of Arsenal dominating Celtic? Not much. How much do you get out of labeling a player a cheat, as if he were the worst in the world? Loads. As you can see. Wenger did not hold back either. He told the journalists at the press conference:

We have been victims of dives in the past from players, some English players, and they have never been treated like that. So you have to answer a case as well, the media and the press to treat every case exactly the same.

So the next time Steven Gerrard takes one of his falls let us please see him called a cheat and a disgrace. Let's have idiot fans call for his legs to be broken. You're either totally against diving, whoever does it, or you're a fucking hypocrite and there are far, far too many of the latter in the media. Those who will castigate the foreigner and turn a blind eye when it's one of their own.

From the start I've said Eduardo took a dive, I've said it was wrong and he should not have done it. I have not heard one Arsenal fan defend Eduardo's dive. I said I would happily accept a punishment if it was a case that the same rules were applied across the board. But Arsene is absolutely right in that he is being made a scapegoat. This is a witch hunt. Eduardo is now regarded across Europe as a diver because of what's happened, which is absolutely unfair. He dived, that doesn't make him a diver.

So the club will defend him as far as they can and they're right to do so. The treatment of this case by the media and the press has been appalling and they can go suck one as well. But to me there's something positive out of all this. It has begun to foster a real sense of them and us which has been missing at Arsenal for the last few years. 

Remember all the red cards? Them and us. When Vieira did something wrong? Them and us. When Wenger didn't see things? Them and us. And when it was them and us there were these lovely silver things arriving at the club on a fairly regular basis. Every team needs something that strengthens the bonds beyond the norm. And this, I hope, will do exactly that. Because the Arsenal players know they've been victims of far worse than Eduardo's midweek incident yet nothing is said. There's nothing like a bit of perceived injustice to fire you up.

If they ban him for two games then fine. Let them open that can of worms. On a footballing level we can cope and the best we can hope for then is that punishments are handed out to all and sundry whenever something similar happens. We can hope that the media highlight the dives of other players the same way. We can hope but we won't hold our breath. 

Anyway, all this has detracted from the fact there's a rather important game of football today. We go to Old Trafford for the first really big game of the season. Unfortunately we go without captain Cesc Fabregas whose hamstring injury hasn't cleared up enough for him to take part (and hopefully it will mean his withdrawal from the Spanish squad). In that case you have to imagine it'll be the midfield trio that started in midweek, with van Persie returning up front with, I'd imagine, Arshavin and Bendtner flanking him. The rest of the team picks itself.

There's a tremendous history between the two clubs, the rivalry might have softened over the last few years as we haven't been perceived as a real threat to them, and I found it funny that the managers were expecting a more respectful kind of game than the ones we used to see. Keane v Vieira was often the catalyst for ructions and looking at the teams now that head to head is not obvious on either side. If only somebody would light the touch-paper.

Step forward Patrice Evra. You know, I look at the Spanish papers during the summer to see if there's anything going on and on the AS website if you search for Arsenal the stories are displayed first by 'relevance'. The first story for most of the summer was:

EVRA: Fue hombres contra niños.

It was men against boys. Evra's crowing after the Champions League semi-finals. That annoyed me every single time I looked at it. There's no escaping the fact United were much better than us in those two games. We might have had a bit of bad luck but they deserved their win. All the same Evra's comments were disrespectful, that there might have been a hint of truth in them made then hurt even more. Evra's words did not go down well in the Arsenal dressing room. At Old Trafford, in the league game, he got a bit of a kicking from some of the Arsenal lads and it was good to see. He deserved a bit of treatment for his arrogance. You poke a hornet's nest don't complain when you get stung.

Today he has opened his big fat mouth again, labelling Arsenals' behaviour that day 'shameful'. Remember as well his comments about Cesc when he spoke about meeting him off the pitch one day to get revenge for one of those tackles. He is, unquestionably, the most dislikable of all the players in the United squad. For me he's up there with van Nistelrooy such is his cuntitude. And I hope all our players have seen his latest comments.

One man who remembers well is Alex Song who speaks to the Telegraph today. About Evra's comments he said:

We will never forget that. When we go there, everyone wants to show him we are not kids. We will see, but we are confident. We are different to the team that played in May.

The old cliché about putting those comments up on the dressing room wall to act as motivation would seem to apply here. Not that their motivation should be revenge on Evra, but revenge against a United team who beat us in the Champions League semi-final last season. The atmopshere at the Grove for the second leg was spectacular ... for ten minutes. Then it was over. The players need to take the hurt and turn it into something positive.

Today is a huge test, no doubt about it. You can say United are weaker, and I think they are, but that doesn't mean it's going to be easy. They're the champions for the last three years and they're an experienced, quality side. Yet we're improving. Today is a big chance to show how much. We need to carry on the momentum we've built up but we'll need to work harder than any other game this season if we want a result. 

It's Vermaelen's first real test. United's attack, Rooney in particular, will prove much sterner opponents than anything he's faced so far. The midfield three need to show that they can cope without Cesc. In this system the work they do, the pressing and closing down when United have the ball, is absolutely vital and we need to see the Diaby who has worked extra hard this summer, not the guy who coasts through games. The front three have got to take their chances and both van Persie and Bendtner could do with a goal to kick start their seasons.

All in all though, it's exciting. We're going there in good shape, in good spirits and, I'm sure, determined to show United that it's no longer men against boys. I mean, we all know that anyway. It was never men against boys.

It was us against cunts.

So it was, so it shall be, cunts without end.

COME. ON. YOU. GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONERS.

Well there was a modicum of pride restored yesterday at Old Trafford, not enough to stop them lifting the Premier League trophy (sorry, 'smasher), but it was a much better performance than in recent weeks.

United certainly played within themselves, knowing they only had to draw, but we worked hard and kept possession well without ever causing them too many problems at the back. The two best chances fell in either half. In the first Robin van Persie probably should have done better with a pinpoint Andrei Arshavin cross but his header went over the bar.

In the second half some good play from Alex Song set up Cesc and his left footed shot hit the outside of van der Sar's post. Apart from that a few semi-dangerous van Persie free kicks were all we had to offer. Nevertheless it was good to see the team respond. Patrice Evra's comments about the Arsenal players being babies obviously touched a nerve or two and he was reminded of that, first by Cesc Fabregas and then Samir Nasri.

Nothing wrong with it, as far as I'm concerned. Neither tackle was dangerous, they were just there to let him know that 'babies' can kick too. If you're going to mouth off like Evra did then you have to expect a little in return when you face the same team just over a week later.

A goal would have spoiled the United party, it didn't come and as soon as the final whistle went so did the off button on my TV. United are worthy champions this season but that doesn't mean I want to see the cunts leaping around enjoying themselves.

Afterwards the manager said the team played with heart and desire, saying:

At the moment the team doesn't get the credit it deserves and it is down to us to show the same consistency. It is not a victory today but it was very important for our pride.

I think over the course of a season the table doesn't lie and whatever happened in the league between the two teams is not the best indicator of how close they are in terms of quality and efficiency. Put it this way, the North London derbies are generally tight, close matches, that doesn't mean Sp*rs are anywhere near as good as us, does it?

The major talking point of the day though was the absence of Emmanuel Adebayor. The manager said afterwards it was because the ubiquitous 'small groin problem' but that his absence came after this interview on BBC's Football Focus was aired speaks volumes.

I suspect the club got wind of what he had spoken about and took action. Under simpering, leading questioning from the appalling, smarmy, noxious Garth Crooks Adebayor slammed Arsenal fans for not singing his song, for giving him stick all season, and said that if Arsenal fans want to win trophies it's down to them to get behind team.

Now, while there might indeed be some merit to what he's saying on a very basic level, it struck me that he was using the fact that he damaged his relationship with the fans to excuse his poor season. That somehow it's the fans fault that the players haven't performed at times this season. He said 'How is it Adebayor's fault if Milan want to buy Adebayor?'.

Of course that completely misses the issue. If Milan want to buy Adebayor, then that's up to them, nobody would have any issue with it if that's all it was. It's when Adebayor's agent talks constantly about Milan, it's when Adebayor talks constantly about Milan as if it were a hot R'n'B chick while Arsenal was Susan Boyle, it's when he holds the club to ransom, remember this from last summer?

Barcelona have made a good financial offer and there is also the chance to play alongside great players. Yes, I am still under contract to Arsenal but it's up to the directors to satisfy my demands or I'll leave. I have to prepare for my retirement. Even if you are not scoring fine goals and you have money, you can enjoy a happy retirement. The time for preparing for that moment is now.

And you'll notice that was Barcelona, not Milan. That was the thing. It was Barcelona one minute, Milan the next, and he did little to quash those rumours. Remember he gave an interview to El Mundo talking about how great it would be to play with Henry again? And he was pictured holding a copy of El Mundo too. At an Adidas sponsored event he gave one interview saying he wanted to stay at Arsenal, then another just moments later to a different news channel saying he would leave if Arsenal didn't do enough to keep him.

Basically Adebayor spent last summer trying to move away from Arsenal, then when he didn't get a move used that to engineer a massive, massive pay rise. That, naturally, did not sit well with many Arsenal fans who felt his behaviour to be poor in the extreme and that one good season did not merit the kind of reward he was getting.

At the pre-season Emirates Cup he scored a penalty in a meaningless friendly with Real Madrid, ran to the fans kissing the badge and was roundly booed. What did he expect? The lack of self-awareness in that incident alone is frightening and even in the BBC incident he feels like he has nothing to apologise for because he genuinely doesn't think he's done anything wrong. He feels the reason he's got stick this season is because of what happened in the summer and while that's the basis of it the reality is that he's being taken to task for his lack of effort on the pitch.

Now, while many thought another 30 goal season was beyond him, the least we expected from a player now earning £80,000+ a week was that he would work hard because this is what had endeared him to Arsenal fans, had won over some of the doubters. He began his career clumsily, missing easy chances, but there was never a question about his application. He ran, chased and harried defenders to within an inch of their lives. Last season he combined that work ethic with improved finishing and scored 30 goals.

This season the difference couldn't be more marked. He's become a stroller, a guy who thinks he's made it, hard work is beneath him and his displays in the Champions League semi-finals were offensively bad. The biggest games of the season and he couldn't give a fish's tit. Yet he's complaining that the fans don't sing his song as loudly as they did before? Give me a break.

Combine that with rumours of off-field shenanigans and we have an ego out of control who is leeching £80,000 from our football club every week.

It's sad that it has ended so acrimoniously, and I do believe it has ended and that Adebayor will leave this summer, but when you so publicly fall-out with the fans of the club there's little chance of reconciliation. He's probably driven down his transfer value by a few million too on the back of that interview, nice one. Will he feature next week against Stoke? I doubt it. Will he take part in the lap of 'honour'? That's going to be a tricky one.

For the final day of the season you want a decent win and for the players and the fans to sign off for the summer on a positive note. This season, more than ever, that's so important. If Adebayor is on the pitch that might not happen. It's going to be an interesting week for the manager and the club as they consider that one and I don't think we've heard the last of this story by any means.

Anyway, so as not to end today on a negative note, I pass on some interesting gossip I heard. Now, I'll stress that it is just gossip (although from a reliable source) but it seems that Mikael Silvestre will leave the club in the summer for PSG. He wants more first team football, Wenger's use of Alex Song at centre-half yesterday is the perfect indication that he won't get it at Arsenal, so he's off. What time does the party start?!

Right. There's not much else happening. I'm ignoring the News of the World's van Persie/contract delay story. We've enough crap going on as it is. Have yourselves a good Sunday, more tomorrow.

Amidst all the guff and flapdoodle that has gone on this week there's the small matter of a game of football today.

It's hardly one we'd choose to be playing at the moment but what can you do? We face Manchester United today in a game which could see them crowned champions. They need just a point and you only have to stop and think about it if it were the other way around (haha, as if - joking!) to know how up for it they're going to be.

They'll be desperate to win the league at home and have a big old celebration in front of their own fans. Arsene spoke in the week about how this game was a chance to restore some pride, and he's right. Another capitulation would be rather too much to take. On the other hand a performance and a win might dampen down the negativity that's clouding the club, and the manager in particular, at the moment. 

On today's encounter, Cesc says:

It will be hard to clap United off the pitch as champions and we will do all we can to make them wait another week for the title. But if we have to do it, we will. We have to be men about these things and they deserve to be champions.

Entirely correct. And on the season in general, he says: 

We have a very big job to do and we didn’t do it well enough. We all feel we could have done better and maybe some things have to change before we start winning things again.

What those things are remain to be seen but I think we all have a good idea. He goes on to reaffirm his commitment to the club, dismissing talk of leaving in the summer (for about the 956464th time, it has to be said), and hopefully we'll have a season next time where we see the very best of Cesc. This one, for various reasons which I may go into at a later date, will be one he'll want to forget, I'm sure.

Anyway, today's game. I'd be inclined to have a right go at them. Why not? We've got nothing to lose, and with the players available I'd play the following team:

Fabianski - Sagna - Toure - Djourou - Gibbs - Walcott - Song - Cesc - Nasri - Arshavin - Bendtner

That's a traditional 4-4-2, or 4-4-1-1 with Arshavin just behind big Nick. Adebayor was dropped for the Chelsea game, sadly from not a great enough height, and his pathetic diving hardly merits a recall. Bendtner came on, worked hard, scored a goal and looked dangerous. He deserves his start.

It doesn't really need any kind of tactical analysis. United will throw the kitchen sink at a defence they know is shaky, we need more of what we saw in the first 25 minutes of the Chelsea game, but with better finishing.

I can't say I'm overly confident but this is football, you never know.  

Andrei Arshavin has been talking to Martin Samuel of the Daily Mail. It's interesting stuff, he tips Arsenal to win things very soon, reaping the benefits of having young players who have grown in experience but he also believes, like most of us, that the squad must be supplemented with players who have been there, done that and worn the t-shirt until it's gone from black to a kind of faded, bluey grey. He says:

We must buy in the summer. Not more potential, but players who are ready to do it now, players like me. We need two or three. If Arsenal want to win, they have to do it. We are tired of waiting.

Exactly right. One of the things that got lost in all the other stuff this week was Arsene, when asked who his transfer targets for the summer were, spoke not about individual players (obviously) but the type of player he was looking for. His answer was that he would be looking for players of experience and yesterday he said:

There is money available to buy. Where do I buy or who, that is difficult to speak about because if you come out with that you pay double price. We are rich, but we are not rich enough to do that. However, we will buy.

But that's twice he's stressed that he wouldn't be buying more potential. Which, of course, is a good thing. Anyway, the Arshavin article is interesting ... when he's talking about football.

Anyway, that's about that. There's other Wenger stuff out there but I said pretty much all I had to say on that in yesterday's blog. The shareholders have had their say, Arsene has had his, now it's time to step back, calm down a bit, and let the man get on with his job.

Fingers crossed for today. I do hope there's a response from the players, as a team I think they owe the manager and the fans a performance, and given the circumstances at Old Trafford today it would raise spirits a little bit if we could delay United's fireworks for a week.

Till tomorrow. 

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.