The Game

So then, he we are. Tonight, our beloved Arsenal will face Manchester City in what will hopefully be an entertaining game of football.

In a way, it’s impossible to look ahead of today’s game without going back to last season’s final, one of the most disappointing chapters in the history of our Club, a defeat that started a run of negative results that seemed to last forever.

But that was then and this is now. Manager Arsene Wenger confirmed in today’s press conference that we will see a mix of youth and experience in the side with Yossi Benayoun, Tomas Rosicky, Ju Young Park and Alex Oxlade Chamberlain all expected to start with the likes of Robin van Persie, Mikel Arteta and Thomas Vermaelen getting a well-deserved rest.

Our manager also asked the fans to respect old Gunners who will today make their comeback but as it’s always been the case in the past, I very much doubt the fans will listen and I’m curious to see how they will welcome Samir Nasri and Gael Clichy.

And, until you wait for kick-off, check out Arsene Wenger’s comments on Gary Speed, the return of Samir Nasri and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and also why Andre Santos is determined to keep his left-back position even after the return of Kieran Gibbs, from injury.

As always, please do join the discussion in our chat room which will also be active after the full time whistle. You will be glad to know that from this season, to provide a better chat experience to our readers, users can be banned if they post offensive comments.

Streaming Links

For those who don’t know where to watch the game, maybe we can help, follow this link for streaming options. Links are updated before and during the match.

The Line-Ups

Arsenal

Fabianski, Djourou, Squillaci, Koscielny, Miquel, Frimpong, Coquelin, Benayoun, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Park, Chamakh

Subs: Mannone, Yennaris, Vermaelen, Eastmond, Ozyakup, Gervinho, Arshavin

Manchester City

Pantilimon, Onuoha, Savic, K. Toure, Zabaleta, Johnson, de Jong, Nasri, Hargreaves, Kolarov; Dzeko

Subs: Richards, Bridge, Taylor, Aguero, Suarez, Rekik, Razak

Half-Time Thoughts and Analysis

As the chat room has grown in popularity, my half-time thoughts as well as the comments of other Arsenal fans are now being discussed in the Arsenal Interactive chat room to which you can find a link at the bottom of this page. Please feel free to join the fun and share your point of view.