United-Arsenal: The Truest of Tests

Needless to say, the midfield as a whole will play a big part, with Song—our defensive cog—hoping to mop up whatever United throw at us.

And, whilst United may have Ronaldo on the right wing—who will surely be confident of attempting to terrorise young Kieran Gibbs (who, by the way, has performed admirably since the shaky performance at the JJB)—our own winning card and link to the home side’s penalty box might just lie in our right wing.

No one ever doubted Theo Walcott’s talent, but his impressive run of form and with his showing the only one to be truly proud of in the FA Cup defeat, Theo has begun to show something of an end product in terms of his crossing, and—more tellingly—his finishing.

Wenger has promised to play our normal passing game and attempt to secure a positive result in midweek. And, whilst I do firmly believe that this is exactly what we will do—as defending is not the Arsenal way—I cannot help but feel that our chances will be at a premium at Old Trafford.

With arguably the world’s best central defensive partnership in Ferdinand and Vidic, and the limitless experience of Edwin van der Sar behind them, being clinical will be crucial. This is also where Emmanuel Adebayor will need to wake up, and stop claiming that he is “tired of not winning trophies” and then showing the sort of performance that is an embarrassment to any professional, let alone a supposedly top striker in a semifinal.

The United defence might not quite be Beyoncés, but, in reference to Adebayor’s ridiculous analogy regarding the previous cooing from AC Milan, the Togolese giant will sure have to attract the sort of attention from the United rearguard that will maximise our attacking potential.

And finally, we just need to believe.

United are a class act, but they are not a team without their weaknesses, and a team we are used to playing, and in fact, do well against more often than not. As the sun sets on Old Trafford on Wednesday night, the truest of tests will show if we really are ready to do battle against the big guns, a second chance for glory, or the shot at glory anyway.

Just to finish off, many of you have recently attacked me for my apparent lack of support and cold attitude towards the manager and the team.

Yes, I do not forget what Wenger has done, and I know full well that we are indeed a young side when compared to others, but this is the team that Wenger was adamant would succeed, and so he is responsible for keeping his promise.

When I see the team that I have loved and followed religiously since I was a kid decline so dramatically and who find finishing fourth as a glorious achievement after Wenger had always said that he wouldn’t settle for second-best, I find it quite disheartening to say the very least, especially with a side as talented as ours; one that fails to produce when it matters.

The next 10 days can change all that. And God do we all hope so!

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