The Game

It is not easy to write after what happened last Tuesday but as it always the case after a disappointing defeat, the only way forward is to stand up and be ready for whatever comes next. Manchester United, that is.

And not just in the F.A. Cup. Although Chelsea could surprisingly be back in the title race very soon, it’s us and the Red Devils fighting for the remaining trophies in England and as Sebastien Squillaci said, winning tomorrow could be a massive psychological boost for what comes next.

The Barcelona defeat still hurts and I an bewildered how some can look at such a disappointing chapter in our season believing that it could be a blessing in disguise. Yes, we can now shift our focus on the domestic competitions but unless I’m wrong, at the start of the season, we were told that we are well-equipped to go for all four competitions so no, I can’t archive Catalonia as a blessing is disguise.

It will hopefully be a good game of football and it will hopefully bring just the reply we need from the players after back-to-back disappointing results in these last couple of weeks. It’s important not to crash out from yet another competition, very important.

And I expect big games from Abou and Andrey. The Frenchman is running out of lifelines and he would have been sold long ago if he was playing for a different club. And the Russian, oh well, we all know he deserved to start on Tuesday so hopefully he is rested and ready for the battle.

To conclude, a big thumbs up for Samuel Eto’o who went straight at Yuto Nagatomo after scoring the opener against Brescia for Inter Milan tonight. What is happening in Japan shows how foolish we are when we take a simple game of football so seriously as yes, there are more important things in life, much bigger than a rounded ball.

As always, my favourite line-up is below. Remember you can submit your own at Arsenal Interactive and then share it on Twitter and Facebook.

Favourite line-up

With Wojciech Szczesny out for six weeks, Manuel Almunia has to step up and show that he deserves to defend our goal for the next two months. He was immense on Tuesday but I’m afraid high balls in the air will be thrown at him tomorrow since the Red Devils know what he is weak at.

But hopefully he will prove all his doubters wrong. In front of him, I would give Laurent a rest as I’m sure he is mentally tired after the mistake against Birmingham and the penalty conceded in Spain. The rest back there is the same as last week as the same is the midfield with Abou and Jack teaming up to support Samir.

I was yet again disappointed with Tomas Rosicky and I’m afraid it’s time to relegate the Czech on the bench once and for all. Andrey should start on the left with Emmanuel Eboue in his preferred advanced position on the right.

And then Robin of course, full of anger, full of determination after Tuesday’s red. He has a point to prove Robin, he will provoked by the Manchester United back four and it will be his job to keep his cool and show that reacting the way he did when he was showed the first yellow was, plain and simply, foolish.

Pre-match Interviews

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger explained the players will try to win tomorrow as after crashing out of two competitions in a space of a few weeks, it is very important to keep our double dream alive.

He said:

We will try to win. I’ve said since the start of the season that we will go for all of the competitions. We’ve got two left and we lost one in the last minute, we played another against the super favourites of the Champions League and we lost under special circumstances.

We need to keep the right attitude to turn the luck around on our side a little bit.

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson confessed Nani will not start against Arsenal as he however explained that the Portuguese is recovering well. Antonio Valencia will also not be part of the squad as tomorrow’s game is too early for a comeback.

He said:

We have managed to stitch the injury, which is good news. We need to guard against infection and swelling. It is difficult to say exactly when he will be ready to return but we won’t get [Nani] back for the Bolton match next Saturday.

Antonio [Valencia] is difficult to assess because he has been out for such a long time. He has been training very well and is taking part in a few practice matches between the players. It is deciding when we can put him into the cut and thrust of a game. There is a question mark over the timing but at some point, we are going to have to try it.

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.

Arsenal Interactive

And of course, don’t forget you’re still in time to pick your preferred team for this game. And when the final whistle blows, don’t forget to rate the players, comment on their performances and share your personal ratings with your friends. All this and more, available at http://www.arsenal-interactive.com.