I feel there’s a negative aura around the squad, players and coach at the moment which will get even worse if we fail to beat Manchester United tomorrow. Considering the opponent, a match against Manchester United should never be a must-win match but since we failed to win points against the low-ranked teams, then this is what we are faced against.

Shall we be worried about injuries and suspensions and the current state of form? Of course, but I honestly believe that with the players that will be available tomorrow, we can go out there and turn this season around. Luckily, the match will be played at the Emirates and this should be a bonus, should be I say, after the behaviour of some in the latest month. Fair enough, the team has been lacking in determination lately, but this doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t get behind their backs, and tomorrow will be special, so make sure to make your voices heard friends.

As for injuries, it seems we always have them. Theo Walcott(shoulder) and William Gallas(thigh) are doubtful and so is Bacary Sagna. Emmanuel Adebayor(ankle), Emmanuel Eboue(knee) and Robin van Persie (suspension) are of course missing, but missing Adebayor and Van Persie, believe me, is a blessing in disguise. Changes were needed up front and as I said yesterday, since Wenger is too stubborn to do them, the injury and suspesion to these two will see forced changes. Will it be Bendtner alone, Vela alone or both?

Nicklas did speak ahead of the match, saying that the squad is strong enough to win the title:

We still believe we can win the title and it will be like that until the season finishes. We owe that to ourselves. We are young but we can still prove people wrong. We’re very strong and we have played well against big teams this season. It will be no different on Saturday.

After what happened against Tottenham and Stoke, people can get the impression that things are not going right but we don’t feel that way ourselves. We are strong and believe we have another chance tomorrow to show that we are united and can get back to winning ways.

This is what coach Arsene Wenger said:

I believe in this team and I believe in the strength of this team and I have always to answer questions that the team has ‘failed’. We make a balance in May. You can expect Arsenal to be active tomorrow at 12.45 and for the rest January is a long time away. I believe that this team personally is very strong and recently they don’t get any credit. But it’s a good moment for this young team to grow together, show resilience, show strengths and an opportunity to be a strong team in the future.

Good players can always help you but I believe at the moment I have good players here. I do not want to focus on January and I am not sure at all that I will buy. The solution is not always to buy players. The solution for me at the moment is to trust the players I have because I trust their strengths and I trust their intelligence, so let’s show it.

I don’t feel [we are] underdogs at all. I go into this game with the desire to win it and that’s all the belief I have. I am convinced there is a mental strength there. What these boys take at the moment, maybe you are a father as well, it is not easy. The way to respond is on the pitch and I am very proud of what they do.

So what about the starting line-up? I would start like this:

Almunia
Sagna – Toure – Djourou – Clichy
Song
Walcott – Fabregas – Nasri
Bendtner
Vela

Despite not being troubled a lot, Johan gave a very good performance in the Champions League but United are of course not Fenerbahce and the importance of the match was much lower, but seriously, can he perform worse than Gallas and Toure did so far? I’ve been calling for changes, so let’s make them. Wenger has to stop looking at faces when making the line-up, he has to look at the current fitness level of the team. Like Cesc. If tomorrow he goes out there uninterested as much of this season, Wenger should replace him with Ramsey and no questions asked.

The match will kick-off at 12:45 in England, that’s 13:45CET. A couple of hours later we will either be in heaven, or in hell. Until then, don’t just hope, but believe.