Here we are, the last game of the season. It’s been a long journey, full of emotions, some nice, some less nice but of course one day it had to come to an end.

I would have wanted to publish this preview with a headline saying, “Three points for the title” but as you are surely aware of, our objective, tomorrow, is to get one point to keep our noses in front of Tottenham Hotspur for yet another season.

I will not write about how good or bad our season has been this campaign as I will be doing that in my usual three part season review like last season. For today, I just want to appreciate the fact that if you also take in consideration pre-season friendlies, Arsenal played more than 55 games and for each and every one of them, I always made sure to publish a preview which kicked off what I call the “three day” of Arsenal football.

Of course it’s not just about me, the number of contributors in our comments section also played an important part in making the season an interesting one from the discussion point of view so my thank you goes to those who always support us and who will be back next season.

There will be changes for the 2010/2011 campaign, not really in the number of articles I publish as that will not change, but new writers will probably join my team so as to have different point of views besides mine, which is ultimately what I always wanted for the “By Arsenal Fans” section of our website.

Anyway, even if this is not my last article for this month, allow me to again show my gratitude for making us one of the most important entities in the Arsenal blogosphere, I always like to call The Gunning Hawk a family rather than a blog or website, and I hope to see our family grow further next season, especially since we have something in store for all of you which I’m sure you’ll appreciate.

Fulham

They may only be 12th in the table, but having reached the final of the Europe League, under Roy Hodgson they had an amazing season which of course included the 3-0 win over Manchester United.

When we played them last September, we didn’t deserve to win but a certain Vito Mannone made sure that we got all three points from Craven Cottage, which is sad, not the three points of course but that Vito never got the chance he deserved later on in the season.

What everyone is of course asking is whether Fulham will field a weak squad or not, which I believe they will, since their request to have the game moved was turned down. We’ll see tomorrow, hopefully it will be an entertaining game of football and a party for everyone at the Emirates.

Favourite line-up

We have no injuries. Besides Cesc Fabregas (knee), William Gallas (calf), Thomas Vermaelen (calf), Denilson (groin), Manuel Almunia (wrist), Aaron Ramsey (leg), Tomas Rosicky (ankle), Alex Song (knee), Nicklas Bendtner (groin) and Gael Clichy (ankle).

It seems Gael could recover but I don’t think it’s worth the hassle of risking him, at least not from the start. In goal, I would love to see Vito, he deserves it for the aforementioned away game against the Cottagers. With Nicklas out, I would move Carlos Vela on the left and start with Andrey up front. The Mexican has yet again shown – against Blackburn – how uncomfortable he is as a striker, he just doesn’t belong there. So move him on the left I say, and let’s see if he can replicate the Osasuna and Mexico form.

Pre-match Interviews

Pride and quality. This, according to Arsene Wenger, will make sure we finish third. I’d say Fulham’s weakened squad is more of a factor in winning the battle with Spurs, but at least Wenger and I agree that we are surprised we are in this situation going into the last game of the season.

He explained:

I am surprised [we are in this situation] because I thought we would make the points before now. I knew that we had difficult games and that there could be something at stake. But it’s not too bad – it’s good to have something at stake and we have an opportunity to go for third place.

I know this match comes after a few disappointing results and, of course, since we have gone out of the Champions League there was a little downer in our heads. But I think we have enough pride and quality to finish the season well and to secure the third place.

Fulham boss Roy Hodgson would not say no if a big club calls one day. The Englishman, as I said above, impressed many this season and explained how his future is with Fulham but if one day another big club calls – another because let’s not forget his Inter Milan experience – he would be happy to do it.

He said:

If the day comes when a so-called big club wants me and I’m available then I would be happy to do it.

If the question is ‘Now you’ve reached this final are you putting yourself on the market to try to get the biggest club you can get?’ then the answer is no, I’m not.

I’ve signed a contract here. I’m happy at Fulham. Until I hear otherwise that’s where I intend to be working.

There’s always speculation about managers. The speculation is rife about me at the moment but it will be rife around someone else in the future. That’s the nature of things.

The Gunning Hawk Coverage

As always, tune in for team line-ups, streaming links, half time and full time reports, post-match thoughts, video highlights and what the press is writing. And of course, do contribute if you want to by making use of the comment box available at the bottom of the post as it’s always nice to hear your opinion. And as a final note, if you want to go one step further than just leaving a comment and want to have your articles published on our website, take a look here for more information.