Chase The Devil.

We make the trip to Stoke today for a fourth round FA Cup tie that myself and quite a few other Arsenal fans see as almost a distraction from the main event of the Premier league. We have a list of injuries that's even longer that usual today and with such a tough schedule coming over the next few weeks it's anybody's guess what the team will be. There are a few unfamiliar names in the squad and it could well be a mixture of young players and a couple of has beens that takke the field at 1.30pm. I'm sure there will be a strong support of travelling fans for Arsenal today as always but it may not be an easy game for them. 

The additions to the squad are Bartley, Sunu & Coquelin and we are also likely to see Eastmond & Thomas get a chance as they have been in the squad a few times recently(and the team in Eastmond's case). We will also have both Campbell and Silvestre in the squad and I would expect both of them to start. With Fabianski our FA Cup goalkeeper we can expect to see Silvestre, Campbell and Traore in front of him but who fills the other defensive position is anybody's guess. We could possibly see Bartley make his first appearence outside the Champions league or Eastmond could also play at right back although I think the defensive midfield role is his most likely one. Up front I'm fairly sure that Vela will play as the central striker with Wilshere in 1 of the wide positions and Walcott in the other. The midfield is where we have a few problems but with Eastmond playing the holding role we might see JET make his first team debut too and possibly Coquelin playing as well. I'm not sure if Merida has recovered or not but if he has he should play from the start and not Coquelin. That is a very inexperienced team and I probably have it all wrong and the manager will more than likely use a few of his more recognised players as he did in the last round. We were all surprised when Gallas and The Verminator started at West Ham and it was an almost full strength team that day with the players that were available.

With the team selection above completely unclear one thing we can be sure of is the style of football we will play as that never changes. Another thing we can be sure of is that Stoke will attempt to put us under pressure at every opportunity they can by fair means or foul. When we lost there in the league last season the manager was furious with their tactics as 3 of our players were injured by bad fouls on them. If we get through this game without at least 1 player limping off I will be very surprised and the prime suspect for Stoke's attentions will be the brittle Walcott. We all know the danger from their long throws but at least Campbell and Silvestre can still cope in the air even if their pace has gone and if Bartley plays he is a man mountain. What we will need to do is take any chances we get and fight as hard as we can for every single ball and although I think it will be very difficult I still predict(as always) a 2-1 win for Arsenal. Hopefully we can see the real Walcott and Wilshere and if we do they will cause real problems for Stoke. Vela can finish very well on his day and hopefully today can be 1 of those days too.

I'll be driving to the supporters club to watch the game so I won't be able to join Ladyarse in her chat room but I'm sure that I'll get a chance very soon. If you're joining in I'm sure it will be a great time and  I can only imagine the abuse the Stoke players will get. Our youth team beat Portsmouth 4-0 yesterday with the goals coming from Freeman, Deacon(2) and Afobe and it keeps them in a strong position at the top of their league. I'm sure it's scant consolation for them after their FA Youth Cup exit during the week although as Ladyarse said a lot of their players were probably in the reserve squad as the first team squad promoted reserve players to it because of our injury crisis. It looks like the loan deal for Senderos to Everton has gone through and it will be interesting to see if he gets into their team and if so how well he plays. The lead at the top of the Premier league is sadly no longer ours as Manure beatHull 4-0 yesterday to go top although they have played a game more than us. All 4 goals came from Rooney and if he gets injured they will see their challenge fall apart. Every Manure fan I know is worried about how poor their team is and they all agree that Rooney is almost carrying the team on his own. I'll leave it there for today.

Here's a clip of a lovely piece of skill from Fran Merida.

And to finishtoday's title track from Max Romeo and The Upsetters. We have to chase the devil that is Stoke City and their style of football and kicking out of the FA Cup today.

See You Tomorrow.