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.
