The Game

The UEFA Champions League Anthem. Eight teams, including “weak” sides like Shakhtar Donetsk, Schalke 04 and Tottenham Hotspur. But Arsenal, is not there.

It hurts to sit down and watch Gary Lineker’s hand go round and round, then stop and pick a ball knowing that the team you love, the team you support will never show up. We’re in mid-March, two months of football to go and contrary to Manchester United and Chelsea, we only have the English Premier League to fight for.

The reaction of many after last week’s F.A. Cup exit was understandable. It was, yet again, one of those defeats that leaves a sour taste in the mouth and it’s funny, because if you analyse all the games we lost this season, almost always we had regrets at the end of the game; either one or more players didn’t perform or tactics were not spot on or gambles didn’t pay off.

Meaning what? Simply, that if we want to win the title, we will win it. When our players went out there with the right mentality and the right fighting spirit, we were all proud when the final whistle blew and I’m referring to the two games against Barcelona. But those, are only two games. A season, is at least 60 games long.

It’s time to wake up, understand what our objectives are and achieve them. Enough of players who will only be good in two or three seasons, if a player is “special” he will show it straight away. Cesc showed it straight away, Jack showed it straight away, Aaron was showing it straight away and before running out of gas, Marouane showed it straight away.

Many believe we are to be patient with players because they are still young and one day they will be good but I’m afraid when you’re coached by Arsene, the best manager for a young footballer, you either show quality from day one or I’m afraid you will never make it.

Insisting, hoping to turn a mediocre player into a top-class star never worked and never will. It’s time for fresh blood in a particular area of the pitch and next season, Emmanuel Frimpong and Henri Lansbury should be sitting on the bench instead of you know who.

But anyway, that’s next season, this is now. Winning the title will not cancel all the disappointing results we had this season, last season and the one before. We lost five games in the league and we are virtually top and that’s because the league can forgive a couple of “bad days at the office”, the cups, on the other hand, are not as lenient and we saw the result.

Tomorrow we pay a visit to a very tricky team away from home without Johan, Cesc, Alex, Theo and Wojciech. And Thomas Vermaelen of course, the same Vermaelen who was first days away from recovery, then weeks, then months, then never. But injuries, just like anything else, should not be an excuse, as Marouane said. As it is, we simply, cannot fail anymore.

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

If you haven’t heard yet, Abou Diaby is not available for tomorrow’s game after he sustained a groin strain. So basically this means that we are forced to start with Denilson in the middle of the pitch simply because it seems too early for Aaron Ramsey to feature from the first minute.

The defensive department also raises an eyebrow or two with Sebastien and Laurent back together ahead of Manuel Almunia. Manuel has been very solid against Barcelona and Manchester United so hopefully he can keep going although I’m afraid he will have plenty of high balls to deal with at the Hawthorns.

Up front, let’s hope to have the “in-form” version of Andrey on the pitch, supporting Robin with Nicklas in his beloved right-wing role.

Pre-match Interviews

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger believes six points are too much for Chelsea to believe they can win the title as the Gunners and the Red Devils have the title race “in their hands”.

He said:

[If] Chelsea beat Manchester United and win all their games they might have a chance. But mathematically it is in our hands or Man United hands.

The other teams can only come back if Arsenal or Manchester United do not take their opportunities. So it is down to our results. It is simple – for me, we have a good opportunity to win the championship. If we do not do it, it will be Manchester United because certainly the other teams are too far away.

WBA boss Roy Hodgson knows that Arsenal will want to get all three points tomorrow as he explained that the Gunners will be fully focused on their job.

He said:

You could argue the Premier League title is their one remaining focus, so any hope we might have had that they will take their eye off the ball with regards to us we can forget.

They’re going to want to win this one because if they don’t, against a team that is struggling at the bottom of the table, they surrender points to their rivals, who are possibly not going to lose.

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.