Standard Liege vs. Arsenal Match Preview

Liege are only Standard, Please don't be Goons Arseholes - Day 83

Tonight we get to watch Champions League football.

A match between Arsenal FC from Engerland and Standard Liege from Belgium in Londerlon.

It´s hard to get excited for these group stage matches when qualification is all but secured.

That being said, I´ll still be paying my seven euro to UEFA.com to make sure I get a good stream of the match and I won´t be heading to the Irish pub with my mates to watch Liverpool STRUGGLE to beat Debrecen or Barcelona get put out by Inter Milan (Please god - If only for their disgraceful non-commentary comments about Cesc Fabregas and the orientation of his chromosones).

Arsenal FC vs. Standard Liege

As always I´m going to my little squad prediction, and as always I´m going to be a little off. But who the fook cares, it´s good craic if you even get half the team right. I mean it´s probably about the level of BBC Punditry but bare with me.

Bare with me

Little aside here—I always wondered what the etymology of "Bare with me" was?

Today´s question? What is the etymology of bare with me? And is it, as I´ve always thought, bare your naked body with me, so we can feel the shame together, or is it let´s be nude together? Is it a pick up line? [Editor's note: The answer is that the phrase is spelled "bear with me," using "bear" the way you would "bear a load."]

Lineup

After last weeks international bonanza of fury and injustice...Still can´t believe Russia got knocked out (Ba dum Chish!). We´ll probably see a couple of our regular starters rested today and see Wenger brood some more youth into the team again. Unless he plays Old Man Fish Face, in which case the team will become three things.

a) Poopier

b) Oldier

c) More fishier

For the non-hilarious—Old Man Fish Face = Mikael Silvestre...Get it? Cause he's old. And his face looks like the face of a fish, or at least like the face of a human who had a face like a fish.

I think Almunia will keep in place in nets. He hasn't played a lot of minutes this season. He OBVIOUSLY didn't play international football because's he's not good enough for Spain and not Engerlish enough for Englerland, and putting recently fit Fabianski back into the team probably isn't the best move unless you want to see the Don back between the sticks.

Which I wouldn't mind actually seeing as he gives our team a slightly more Mafiose (New adj.?) element.

Traore will probably keep his place at LB. Just to clarify, I ALSO hope he keeps his place like JamRock and IAWWT. When he first started playing for Arsenal I thought he was going to be a very tidy little player.

Unfortunately I think he's unravelled a bit, and perhaps playing in LM last season for Portsmouth didn't do wonders for his positional sense. Anyway, I think he's got all the tools to be a very good player indeed. He just needs some minutes under his belt.

Gibbs won't be risked with Chelsea this weekend, and Silvestre shouldn't be played because...well because he's Silvestre. Go chase Tweety Bird ya smarmy c**t ya.

Eboue has been playing frequently in the CL, I expect that to continue with Sagna having played 120 against Ireland, and 90 against Sunderland.

Vermaelen is a warrior and he'll probably want to show all the Belgiums watching Liege in Belgium that he's a very good little Belgium. I expect him to start.

I think Gallas is suffering from Sagna Syndrome (or SS in the medical world) having also played 120 and 90 recently. So I think Big Phil, who is apparently suffering from depression since his failed move to Everton and after seeing his Swiss Passport, might get the nod.

Song will probably keep playing. Song is very good.

Cesc will probably keep playing. Cesc is very good.

Ramsey will probably keep playing. Ramsey is very good.

I expect Vela to get a sneaky start in the LWF posish. Wenger talked him up recently on Arsenal.com and said that he was the reason he didn't replace Adebayor this summer. You would have to think that means he's going to get a chance.

I expect Eduardo to lead the line. Van Pervert is out until the new year, so Eddie is going to have to get used to this position sooner or later, and every game will help him get more accustomed to this role.

I think we'll see Nasri, who probably still needs some more minutes to be really match fit, play on the right, and I think we'll see Andrei and Tomas drop to the bench. Andrei played in the internationals last week and has played a lot of football for a little lad this season. Tomas...Well I wouldn't be surprised to see him start, but I think maybe 2 games in 3 days is a little much for Mr. Glass.

Standard will play a bunch of Belgians. They will be pretty good. Defour won't play because he's injured. But they'll have Axel Rose Witsel who's very handy at breaking legs.

And Jovanevic (or something) and he's got a tidy left foot on him. Whenever I played with Standard in Pro Evo (all three times) I would just give the ball to Jovanevic, get it on his left foot, and rope it in the top corner (rope it in the top corner can also be read as blast it into the stands).

Right that's enough, Hastalapasta,

ArsenalAdam