And so, we let the rest swelter in the last chance saloon, while we admire the depth of our squad « Untold Arsenal: Arsenal News, supporting the club, the players and the manager

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“Making the Arsenal” – is available on Amazon, Arsenal on line, the Woolwich Arsenal site and in the Arsenal store.

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By Billy The Dog McGraw.

Phil’s off to a job interview, so I’ve got the job of doing the game preview.  And what a funny old game it is with everyone else wondering if they will make it, while getting lots of agitation about, well, everything, and we are just strolling along.

Liverpool’s failure against Fulham took away some of the strain from the draw with them in the last home game, and leaves us securely in fifth, on the same points as we had at this point in 2001/2.  2001/2, now let me think…. ah yes, we won the league by seven points.  Behind us were Liverpool, Man U, Newcastle, Leeds and Chelsea.

Liverpool are leading the agitation field, claiming that the crowd is against them, the ref is against them, and so is everyone else.  Except actually the referees, although that must be a matter for another article.

At Man City there seems to be a players’ revolt going on, at least in places in the club, with our old pal Kolo getting very agitated according to reports in the press today.

As for Chelsea, apparently half the squad are past it, half of them won’t ever hack it and have to be sold, and there’s doubt about getting through to the knock out stages of the Champs League.   Just fancy, they have spent £99,000,000,000,000,000 more than we have (I may have exaggerated a bit there) and all for just two more points than us, and less certainty in Europe.

Even lower down the league people are unhappy, and Aston Villa have so many discontented fans that their team gets booed off the pitch at half time and full time now.  So the focus there is on how the naughty away support won’t sit down.

And here’s a good one: Peter Ridsdale is now chairman of Preston North End!  I will leave you to savour that.

And all the time everyone is looking over their shoulders at what the judge will say in the football creditors rule legal case.  He’s already told the EPL some home truths.  We await the result with interest.

But back to matters of the pitch.  The kiddies and back up staff are in foreign parts for a match against Oλυμπιακός Σύνδεσμος Φιλάθλων Πειραιώς or Olympiacos Club of Fans of Piraeus as the Elvis impersonator down my local tells me.

We are playing at Γήπεδο Γεώργιος Καραϊσκάκης), The Karaiskakis Stadium, named after the man of the same name who was a hero of the war of independence.  Built in 1895.

How about this for a team:

Fabianski

Djourou, Squillaci, Miquel, Santos

Frimpong

Benayoun, Rosicky

Oxlade-Chamberlain, Chamakh, Arshavin

With on the beach (sorry bench) Yennaris, Park, Eastmond, Ozyakup, Mannone, Vermaelen.

Santos it seems has to play all the games because we are short of full backs, Squillaci is being rehabilitated, but I am not sure about Park.  Maybe a swap over on 60 minutes with Chamakh?

The match is being shown in Britain on the Shopping Channel.  We will win 6-0.

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