Forget Barcelona: Arsenal Must Beat West Ham Today

The draw for both the quarter finals and the semi finals of the Champions league was made yesterday and Arsenal of course drew the club that everybody wanted to avoid in those quarter finals. On Wednesday March 31st we play at home to current Champions league holders Barcelona and we travel to their stadium 6 days later for the second leg. It couldn't get any harder for Arsenal but as I see any progress in the Champions league as a bonus I'm not particularly bothered at the prospect of playing them.

Don't get me wrong I want Arsenal to win of course but if they do go out there is no disgrace in losing to a team who currently hold six trophies and play what is considered by the majority of unbiased commentators to be the best football of any team in the world at the moment. For me the most important thing is the battle for the Premier league and it would be terrible if we were to slip up in that due to our Champions league commitments. Of course that opinion could change if we were to fall off the pace in the league but I don't think that will happen.

It will be a huge occasion when Thierry Henry comes back to Arsenal and I'm sure he will get a fantastic reception from the fans. We will also get to see Cesc play against the club that have tried everything they know to get him to sign for them and I hope he can show them exactly why Arsenal will not be selling him. The first leg is only 11 days away and before we know it Arsenal will be standing on the pitch with Barcelona as the Champions league music blares around the Emirates. Whenever I hear that music it makes the hair on my arms stand up as I know it's a really big game. It's funny that we get to hear it every single season but it has never been heard at White Hart Lane.

If we can somehow manage to get the better of Barcelona we will have a semi final date with either Inter Milan or CSKA Moscow and to say it's the tougher side of the draw is an understatement as "Manure" will play Bayern Munich in the quarter final and the winner of Lyon v Bordeaux in the semi final if they progress. I know we have to beat them all if we are going to win the trophy but I'm sure there must be an easier route to the final.

Anyway I'll deal with all of the business of the Champions league as the event gets closer but first of all we have the little matter of a Premier league game at home to West Ham today. With "Manure" and Chelsea not playing until tomorrow we have the chance to go second in the league with a win and a four goal win would see us top the table. West Ham had a mini revival recently but their form has slipped again and they find themselves two places and three points above the relegation zone. I think that they're too good to go down but I suppose that hasn't stopped other teams from being relegated in the past.

At least we can expect West Ham to try to play football against us and that in itself will be a nice change. Their away record this season is very poor with one win, five draws and nine defeats in the league so far this season. They have scored 13 goals and conceded 27 and with all of that in mind we simply have to put them to the sword.

The boss said yesterday that both Cesc and Rosicky had been passed fit to play and with Song back from suspension our options are better than they have been for quite a while. Interestingly enough I heard no mention of Vela yet again and it really would seem that he has disappeared from the scene at the moment. We are still without the injured RVP, Gallas, Ramsey, Djourou and Gibbs but we are no longer on top of the table for injuries. 

I see the team as Almunia in goals with Sagna, Vermaelen, Campbell and Clichy at the back. The midfield should consist of Song, Cesc and Diaby with Bendtner, Arshavin and Nasri up front. There is of course a case to be made for Eboue at right back as he offers more going forward than Sagna but I think the manager will start with Sagna. With Cesc back Nasri should revert to a wide position although I think the manager likes to play Walcott at home where we have a big pitch and so much possession. The midfield is the strongest one we have and they should be able to dominate West Ham and create plenty of chances for the whole team.

The big question for me is if we can manage to keep a clean sheet for a change and I would love to see Almunia give a commanding performance for a change too. I hope the players can put all thoughts of our game with Barcelona out of their heads and concentrate from the first minute. I'll be happy if we win the game but I'll be much happier if we don't leave it until injury time to get our winning goal. My nerves can't take all these grandstand finishes and wins with almost the last kick of the game. I expect Cesc to take control of the game from the first minute and dominate the game  as he builds up to the battle with his hometown club.

I predict a 3-1 win for Arsenal and I'll be surprised if Cesc doesn't score  at least one of the goals. I was at the last league match at the Emirates when we beat Burnley 3-1 and Bendtner missed a hat full of chances. I said at the time that at least he was getting in the right positions and if he continued to do that the goals would hopefully come. He has four goals in two games since then and his injury time winner may have been scuffed a little but it was priceless for Arsenal. More of the same today would be very much appreciated and I hope he has his shooting boots on. 

There was some bad news yesterday when the boss said that he thought Gallas was 80% out of the Champions league first leg against Barcelona and the thought of Campbell trying to stop Barcelona's quick moving game is a bit of a worry. What's even more worrying is that Campbell finds it hard to play two games in a week and if he plays at Birmingham next Saturday we could see Silvestre lining up against Barcelona. I need to take something to calm my nerves just at the though of that. 

The club site is full of stories about the Barcelona game after the manager's press conference yesterday and a few other stories too. Interestingly he spoke about the possibility of Portsmouth fielding a weakened team in the league after the FA deducted 9 points from them for going into administration which left them 17 points from safety with nine games left. They are effectively relegated but they have an FA Cup semi final against either The Spuds or Fulham and there is speculation that they will concentrate on that and rest players in their league games. With Chelsea going there next Wednesday it's very important for us that Portsmouth play their strongest team and perform at the required level. I'm sure that their manager would love to put one over on Chelsea after being sacked as their manager not so long ago. 

He also spoke about the Gallas contract negotiations and he said that they are still ongoing and his injury won't affect them. Apparently Gallas has being seeing a specialist in a rehab centre in the south of France and he will be back at the club on Wednesday but things will have to be taken slowly as there have been two recurrences of the injury already. That gives him one week to make the Barcelona first leg which is probably too soon but it would be good if we could have him available for the return leg six days later. 

I'll be going to the supporters club in Bray to watch today's game live on ESPN which unfortunately means that I will miss out on LadyArse's fantastic live blog that she is running during the game. I tried to get it on my phone but my phone doesn't support whatever format it is and I'll have to stick to my beer and chat with my fellow Wicklow Gunners. As we near the time for prizes to be handed out I hope we can get a good turn out and the half time cocktail sausages and chips or wedges are always appreciated. That's it for today. Come on you Gunners.

Here's a video concentrating on Henry's contribution in the 2006 Champions league final.

See You Tomorrow.