You're Wondering Now.

We travel to Burnley tonight in another game that we just have to win. After our win at Anfield on Sunday we got ourselves right back into the title race and now we have to maintain that with a win tonight followed by another one at home to Hull on Saturday. That's what genuine contenders for the league do and we have to show that we are genuine contenders as there are still many people who doubt our credentials. I'm absolutely certain that we won't get the sort of helping hand that Manure got from Wolves last night as Burnley are sure to play their strongest team. I can understand why McCarthy played with 10 different players from the ones that beat The Spuds on Saturday but he could well be in a spot of bother from the FA and his own fans were none too happy either. If we tire Burnley out tonight and Wolves' rested players beat them on Saturday I'm sure those same fans will forgive him as Wolves move out of the relegation zone.

Looking ahead to tonight the team will be without Traore and Denilson after they picked up injuries on Sunday but Eboue will be back in contention. I'm sure the manager will continue with Almunia in goals but the clamour for Fabianski to get a chance grows by the day and surely Almunia's days are numbered unless he has a dramatic change in form and attitude. Gallas and The Verminator will be our centre backs for sure and the problem then lies in the full back areas. Sagna is the first choice right back but also probably our best option at left back tonight too. I don't think it would be sensible to break up the central defensive partnership to accomodate Silvestre as a centre back and allow Gallas or The Verminator at left full. I would worry about either Eboue or Silvestre at left back but then again I worry about both of them no matter what position they are in when they play. Silvestre is past his best to say the least abd Eboue is a liability as you never know when he's going to do something stupid. My ideal defence would be Fabianski, Gallas, The Verminator, Sagna on the left and Eboue on the right but I think we will see Almunia, Sagna, Gallas, The Verminator and Silvestre on the left.

In midfield Cesc and Song are certainties and the manager likes Diaby in there too so I expect him to get the nod ahead of Ramsey. He usually does well in his first game back from injury and if he starts to night I hope he plays well but I always worry about him too. In attack Arshavin is sure to continue in a central role as he has scored in both games he has played there and his performance against Liverpool may not have been as good as his one against Stoke but he did score the all important winning goal. I would imagine that Nasri and Walcott will keep their places too and hopefully Walcott can improve on his recent efforts. He is only really starting his season as he has missed so much of it due to injury so far and maybe he just needs to play himself in. We will have plenty of attacking options on the bench with Vela, Eduardo, Ramsey and Wilshere but defensively our only option will be to drop Song back or bring on whoever out of Eboue or Silvestre doesn't start.

Burnley are sure to come at us as they always do at home and they will give it everything they have. We will have to fight for the right to play our football but there will be space to play it in as Burnley like to play football too. I would be surprised if we keep a clean sheet as Burnley have a very good home record and have beaten Manure already at Turf Moor. However that form has slipped just a little recently and it's up to us tonight to impose our passing game on them and tire them out as they chase the ball. Their defence is not the fastest and if he's on his game Walcott can cause them problems although the pitch isn't exactly the greatest. Given the time and space that he got against Stoke Arshavin will also be a huge threat to them and Cesc is due a goal too in my opinion. I predict a hard fought 3-1 win for Arsenal with Cesc, Arshavin and Diaby scoring and Arsenal moving on to a home game with Hull on Saturday looking for our 4th win in a row.

Our youth team begin the defence of the FA Youth cup tonight with a home game against Crewe and while we have a strong team again this year they aren't quite sweeping all in front of them like last year's team and of course Wilshere won't be playing for them even though he is eligible as he is in the first team squad. Let's hope they can retain the trophy as we did in 2001.

The boss has said he understands Cesc's desire to play for Catalonia against Argentina on December 22nd but that Arsenal cannot release him and after RVP's injury in a friendly for Holland who can blame him. Hopefully Cesc can understand all of this too and it won't effect his performances for us or lead to him looking to move in the summer. I'm sure the Barcelona players will be released but as they have a winter break it's not a problem for them to play in a charity match but we have a full programme of games and we need our captain and best player to be fit for every one of them. The boss said he will talk to Silvestre about his contract in March and how things go depends on how often he plays which probably means we will see the back of him in the summer. By March we should also have Djourou back from injury and that will be a relief to me if it means we don't see Silvestre again. The boss did say he is a great influence in the dressing room and I suppose from the outside that is hard to judge. He said the contract negotiations with Gallas are a bit more pressing as he is in the team and I hope we can sign him up for at least another year as his form this season has been very good. That's it for today as I have to rush and catch up on a lot of chores after 11 hours of sleep last night.

Here's a look at the great goal Vela scored against Burnley in the FA Cup last season.

And to finish today's title track from The Specials recorded live at Oxegen 2009 by me on my phone. You're wondering now who the hell will be left back tonight and when our players will stop getting injured.

See You Tomorrow.