What can we expect at Old Trafford?

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Date	Time	C	Opponent	F	A	R	S
29 Apr	7:45 PM	CL	Manchester United (A)	0	1	Lost

To be honest, I'm not looking forward to the semi-final clash at Old Trafford. I'm extremely nervous and have been since Sunday. I'm more nervous than I was leading up to the and during the finals against Barcelona.

The stakes are pretty high for Arsenal. The League, FA Cup and Carling Cup are gone. Fourth place is almost secure but that's no victory. This game is what Arsenal's season is hanging on right now and it has come at a time when William Gallas and Gaël Clichy are missing. Robin van Persie is a smaller but still significant loss.

Of course this could be seen in another way. It could be seen by Arsenal players as a great and last opportunity for something big this season – a huge prize. This, and the missing players might indeed work as extra motivation.

Manchester United v Arsenal is never easy to call. Arsenal beat United even when United seem unstoppable – it has happened several times. The way I see it, it happens because both managers are tactically poorer than say, Hiddink or Mourinho so what they take into the game is what they are as a team in their basic make-up. For United, it is their aggression and determination and for Arsenal it is their passing and excellent inter-play.

United, for a while now has been unusually apprehensive when playing against Arsenal, which has stopped them bringing their basic ingredient to these games. I think it is because at crucial times in the past they were beaten by Arsenal's great football and so they then resorted to getting overly physical and kicking Arsenal off the pitch. The public disgraces from these rather violent games (that Arsenal won anyway) back in 2004 made a change in the meetings between these two teams. Using that overly physical style was widely seen and reported in the press then as an admission from United that they could not compete with Arsenal on football alone. That hurt United. Since then, United have tried to play football against Arsenal to prove that they are as good. That has had the effect of diminishing United's greatest asset when they meet Arsenal – their aggression – as they tried to concentrate on style.

In the Champions league semi finals, we should expect Man U to bring aggression to the table. They have proven their point as being a good football side now especially in this campaign so those hang-ups would not be there. This game will be about winning, not football. Paul Scholes has already spoken in the press to warn their fans that the objective in this semi is to get to Rome, not to play beautiful football.

What does this mean for Arsenal?

Quite simple – it means they are going to get physically pushed around and United is going to attack them with power, force and muscle everywhere. I envisage a quite physical and fast paced premiership type of game from United on Wednesday.

Let's look at this from Ferguson's point of view. Arsenal has been defensively solid for a long period. In fact since January, Arsenal has played 24 games with 13 clean sheets and only conceded 1 goal per game in 9 other games. It was only since the absence of Gallas that Arsenal conceded more than one goal. Those 2 games were against Chelsea and Liverpool.

Arsenal's good form since January has also coincided with the arrival of Arshavin. Arsenal has not managed more than one goal per game without Arshavin apart from the home game with Villareal if I remember correctly.

Ferguson must be thinking that the backline is vulnerable to pressure and is inexperienced. He must be thinking that Arsenal cannot manage many goals without Arshavin and would certainly be ineffective in attack if enough pressure is put on them in midfield and defence. I would, therefore, expect to see aggressive galvanising players like Tevez, Rooney, Anderson and maybe Park Ji Sung on the pitch. You add Ronaldo to the mix and we have a lot on our hands with a depleted backline.

But Arsenal can win this game if they refuse to panic. Unlike what people have been saying, I think this tie could be decided in the first game. These are not tactical managers. The first goal could very well throw everything out of the window. And that is why Arsenal must be cool and calm in this tie.

Should the game not be going Arsenal's way or should they concede, they must stay calm. It will allow them to launch counter-attacks effectively when they are pressed and find release. It would give United something to think about whenever they attack and diminish their confidence going forward decisively. It is important for both sides that the first goal does not lead to an avalanche – especially so for a young Arsenal team if the first goal goes against them.

Wenger also has more options now in formation than ever before, and he has tried many this season. In central midfield, there are various combinations of Cesc, Song, Denilson, Nasri and Diaby. On the wings with Diaby, Nasri, Walcott, Eboue, Vela and even Eduardo and Bendtner. And then in attack with possibilities of Cesc, Eduardo, Vela and Bendtner along with Adebayor.

This means that Wenger can react during the game and he hope he does. He has to be bold and flexible and he has shown more signs of it this season than ever before.

In fact, now I have written this, I feel much better. We're gonna have 'em!

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