Arsenal vs Birmingham Preview - It's Our Time

Let's deliver some karma to Brum.

     Alright then.
     It's the cup final on Sunday and I want to focus on Birmingham, but Barca president Sandro Rosell has stopped me from fully doing so; a small speed bump.
     Apparently in Barcelona it's okay to be hyprocrirtical. This is what Sandro Rosell said:

"We told the Arsenal directors that we knew they were after Toral and we told them we didn't like it.

Legally they have done nothing wrong but it's a little immoral.

There are two philosophies; ours is to invest in La Masia and the other is to fish all over Europe for kids of 15 like Arsenal."

     We can thank @DarrenArsenal1 for the quotes, and you can find him on twitter here.
     Based on this quote, I now hate Barcelona. Not the city or it's people, but those in charge of the club for the manner in which they conduct themselves. This may not be the message the club conveys, however it is clear that the way their president goes about his woes.
    
     Although we have agreed to terms with Toral, and Barcelona is upset, we have done nothing wrong. Toral, being half English and half Spanish, wanted to come to north London, and as a result he has signed for us. It's quite simple really.
     While Barcelona can shop for youngsters in the Americas, Arsenal can't. And if you look at their Cadette A, there are seven non European players. In their Cadette B, nine. Therefore, is it professional to try to call Arsenal out when you yourselves commit the 'crime'  even more so than us, Barcelona?
     When asked about the matter of Toral in a press conference, Wenger simply said:

"If you go in the academy of Barcelona and you look where all the players come from, come back to me and we can talk about it."

     Well played Mr. Professor.

     But let's get this naivety, hypocrisy, and idiocy of Barfelona out of our heads and focus on the task at hand.

     That's right, we're in the fucking Carling Cup final. It is now time we silence all of those that have said in the past that this Arsenal side is not capable of winning a trophy. Sagna said this:

"We were [scared], but we are not any more. We have grown up as a team, we are wiser and now in the final. It has taken time, but we are on a good way to being successful.

We have been close to winning something but we got scared, we stopped playing and were waiting for the result to happen."

     This side certainly has grown. From last year to this year, a massive improvement has been made. Wilshere has flourished, Song has flourished, Szczesny has flourished, defensive signings were made, and we haven't been as unlucky as last year regarding injuries.

     But it's not just what's on paper that has changed, it's this squads confidence, as Sagna points out. A year ago, I would not have imagined Arsenal being capable to close out a match against Stoke with just a one goal lead for 82 minutes. Our side this season has been more determined, and focused. It almost seems that in the past this Arsenal team just didn't want a trophy badly enough, with their minds switching off at times and not finishing matches off. But what we are capable of shined through when we beat Chelsea and Barcelona. It showed that when we want it, we can have it.
     Against Chelsea, we were clinical with our chances. We pressured them, and forced them to give up the ball. Against Barca, we stayed focused, had determination, but came up short n the first half. The second half was a different story. We stepped onto the pitch determined to fight back and get the result. And we did just that.

     The only problem the Arsenal has now is that we must learn to have the same eagerness to win day in and day out, even against sides lower in the table. If Arsenal had the same determination against West Brom or Spuds as they did against Barca or Chelsea, we wouldn't have lost those matches, and we would be at the top of the table.

     That being said, we need to be thrown back into reality. This Arsenal side is obviously better than the one of last year, but the Premier Leagues quality seems to have dipped for a season. To have lost five matches and still be in the title race is astonishing in my opinion.
     But this gives us more hope and promise; our squad continues to develop and we are growing into a side that can win the Premier League year in and year out. So even if we don't win a title this season (even though we will), in August I will have even more confidence. Our main problem this year was our defense. We had a rotation of keepers, and I believe we have finally found a confident, promising, long-term number one goalkeeper in Szczesny.
     Also, our key center back in Vermaelen has been unluckily troubled by injury this year. Next year, just imagine this: A fit Vermaelen, Djourou, and Koscielny. A front three of Nasri, RvP, and Walcott. A midfield of Cesc, Wilshere, and Song. Not to mention a plethora of youngsters making their way up the ranks and on the brink of the first team such as Miquel, Miyaichi, Afobe, Watt, and Bartley, just to name a few.
     Some say that we won't have Cesc next season. Maybe we will, maybe we won't. I'd like him to stay, but in all honesty I think that next season we can manage without him if we have to. Ramsey, Wilshere, and Nasri can make up for his absence.

     Well, I just got a little bit off topic. Back to the preview!
     Because of Cesc's absence, RvP will take the armband. And by the way, Cesc was told that he would not play Sunday by the official website. Did no one care to mention it to him? Absolutely absurd. And a very harsh way to find out he wouldn't take part. Kudos to the website of the year? I think not.

     I am more than certain van Persie will lead us out well, he is a very experienced player and will not have a problem leading the lads out on Sunday. While some point out that he has never won anything for Arsenal, he did play in the World Cup final, where I think their is sufficient pressure so that he won't be nervous at all on Sunday. Well, perhaps a little.

     My predicted lineup -

                        Szczesny

Sagna      Djourou      Koscielny      Clichy

                  Song          Diaby

                        Wilshere

      Nasri          van Persie        Arshavin

     Szczesny stated in an interview with Arsenal.com that he understands if he is not picked for Wembley, that he is aware that Wenger likes to rotate keepers for cup games. I on the other hand, think that Szczesny has come a long way and deserves this match. I am also afraid of putting Almunia in goal, especially with the presence of Zigic and Jerome. Certainly a lot of crosses will be put in, which is Almunia's weak point. And I'm scared shitless after seeing his slow motion collapse/attempted save against Orient this past weekend.

     Also you can note that Diaby is back in the squad, and Wenger indicated that he will start. Some suspected that he would play in Cesc's spot, but I suspect Wilshere will be given the nod to take up the important role. Diaby and Song together should give us real physicality in the midfield to deal with the cunt Lee Bowyer. I hope he's booked up the arse on Sunday just for being a twat. Right off the bat. In the first four seconds. Let's set a record, Mike Dean.

     As expected Nasri will take up Walcott's position and the little Russian comes back to the office. it's also very good to have Nasri back because he's scored three goals in his three appearances against Birmingham.
Although I think the line up I listed is the best one we have, it would be interesting to see Bendtner to start, or at least come on late on which I'm sure he will. He's done well in the Carling Cup, scoring six goals in his last seven appearances. Well done Nik.

     While on the subject of Nasri, according to the Sun he has agreed to terms with Arsenal for a five year contract extension. His salary supposedly would be 100,000 pounds, compared to what he was paid before, 60,000 pounds. How much of this story is true, I'm not sure, because Nasri himself has said that the deal would be sorted out this summer, and apparently his agent has said that no agreement has been made. And also it's the Sun that has published the story.
     If it is true, I'm happy to see him stay and his paycheck is a reward for his great form this season.

     Going back to the threat that Brum poses regarding their aerial department, the good news is that David Bentley is cup tied so he won't be able to take part in the match, and we won't have to deal with his damn crosses. Also, James McFadden is out and Scott Dann as well. So clearly, we aren't the only ones suffering from injury. Scott Dann is an important player for Birmingham in the back. Regarding Hleb, he is a major doubt. Meh.

     Regarding the match itself, I believe it will be dominated by the Arsenal. I believe that Birmingham will have a lot of belief being the underdogs, so when they go forward they will do so in numbers. However, when we are pressuring them I feel they will sit deep and invite the pressure onto themselves, and have ten men behind the ball. I am full confident that we can win this on Sunday, and that if we don't it will be tragic and will have a terrible effect on the squad. But we're going to win, right? Of course. My prediction is 2-0 to the Arsenal.

     For those of you (and myself) who were gutted for Cesc because he couldn't play, and also because he could not lift the trophy, there is some good news: There are rumors going around that Fabregas will be able to lift the trophy for us. I'm not saying it will happen, but it would be brilliant if he could.

     Well that's that. We're off to Wembley. The best of luck to the lads, and lets take home the Carling Cup.
     Enjoy yourselves on Sunday, and let's bring home some silverware.